Author: Talalian Arpi

IGNORING GENOCIDE IS INEXCUSABLE
Michael Teahan

Glendale News Press
10/04/21/columns/gnp-teahan042110.txt
APril 21 2010
CA

It is difficult to make a more compelling case for the Armenian
Genocide resolution working its way through Congress than to recognize
the suffering of a people for whom the word "genocide" was invented.

There are, even for those without the gene for empathy, damn good
reasons to care. Reasons that go beyond the tragedy of the original
event.

How we choose to remember the Armenian Genocide will say a lot about
who we are as a people. This is no longer about the choices of the
Turkish government or the actions of the Ottoman Empire, but the active
role some in this country are about to play as accomplices after the
fact. To deny a historical fact for political expediency, or to say
that it doesn’t matter because it was another people or another time is
to take an active role in the crime. The truth is supposed to matter.

For a senator or member of Congress to vote against the resolution
means that they can never be trusted. It means that they are perfectly
willing to lie in service to a political agenda. In the face a
politically sensitive fight, I suppose that a politician can make
a case for anything. I think, though, that when the truth becomes a
commodity that can be bargained, it starts to lose its meaning.

It is that willingness to lie that is the core issue. It means that
when we expect to get straight answers about health care, banking
regulations or global warming, we will never be able to trust that
the answer isn’t colored by a political motivation in contravention
to the truth.

If a politician is willing to whitewash the deaths of hundreds of
thousands of innocent victims in service to the ego of a foreign
power, selling out the voter to the highest political contributor is
all too easy a task.

In some respects, this is an easy litmus test for how dishonorable
a politician can be.

More daunting than all of this is what it means to the victims
of genocide not yet born. If politicians outside Texas are given
a pass on rewriting history, it becomes a license to kill. Whole
generations are now being wiped out because the victor controls the
story. We rarely hear of Darfur, and our outrage over the atrocities
in Bosnia was tempered by our own bias toward the victims — many of
whom happened to be Muslim.

Our inability to stand firm to defend the truth gives permission to
exact cruel and inhumane acts in the future. This is no longer about
properly giving a name to a historical fact; striking a bargain with
propaganda is a crime for which we will condemn our children to pay.

For my part, I will not give my president permission to waffle on
the truth no matter what it costs in the near term.

I would gladly sacrifice the air space over any country if it is one
step toward drawing a line in the sand because I think it is better
to sacrifice a thousand lives for a just cause than to be party to
a crime to save one.

We can do little to heal the pain endured by the victims of the
Armenian Genocide, but our willingness to be honest and tell the truth,
even if a little politically inconvenient, might prevent the next one.

INGO-ARMENIA INSURES PICTURES OF ITALIAN PAINTER ANSELMO FRANCESCONI

ArmInfo
2010-04-21 13:53:00

ArmInfo. INGO ARMENIA Insurance Company has insured pictures of
the Italian painter Anselmo Francesconi on a topic of the Armenian
Genocide, to be exhibited in the National Gallery on April 25, 2010.

According to the company, insurance to the total sum of over 600,000
Euro is provided by the insurer free-of-charge.

According to international requirements, as well as in line with
Armenian legislation, cultural values must be insured for the period
of carriage. However, in view of the growing interest by private
collectors and their not always authorized actions on acquisition of
exhibits, the ‘nail to nail’ insurance becomes popular in the world,
i.e. insurance coverage is provided to the museum pieces for the
whole period of exhibition, including transportation and exhibition.

According to Nora Davtyan, Deputy Head of Cultural Heritage and
Cultural Values Department of Armenia, necessity of insuring museum
pieces for the period of exhibition has ripened long since. "Regular
cases of stealing from national museums indicate the necessity
of strengthening the security system and resorting to services of
insurers, especially taking into account a priceless collection of
historical cultural values", the expert said.

INGO ARMENIA Director Levon Altunyan also emphasized the importance
of cooperation of insurance companies and Ministry of Culture which
contribute to enhancement of the level of trust by foreign exhibition
centers and stimulate interest to Armenia. He added that the Company
has been insuring museum pieces and other cultural values on nail to
nail insurance programme since 2009. Ministry of Culture and National
Gallery have a great experience of work with local insurers.

Cooperation with INGO ARMENIA started in 2004. In 2009, on the
proposal of Ministry of Culture, INGO ARMENIA appeared a sponsor having
allocated 3.6 mln drams for reconstruction of Tatev monastery’s door.

To note, 18 pictures of Italian artist Anselmo Francesconi will be
presented at the exhibition dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide. According to the preliminary data, the pictures
will remain in Armenia in the Armenian Genocide Museum.

HAYK DEMOYAN: TURKEY ROUGHLY VIOLATES TREATY OF LAUSANNE

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 20, 2010 – 16:28 AMT 11:28 GMT

Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum and Institute Hayk Demoyan
said that throughout its history Turkey has been destroying Armenian
monuments, roughly violating the Treaty of Lausanne. Destruction
of cultural heritage is a punishable offence, while Armenia has all
facts proving destruction of Armenian monuments at Turkey’s territory,
Demoyan told Cultural Genocide international conference in Yerevan.

According to him, Armenia is ready to provide these facts to any
international institution.

"We should act efficiently and adequately estimate the actions similar
to destruction of Armenian monuments in Julfa," the historian said.

According to him, feeling the approaching threat, today Turkey states
about its readiness to reconstruct Surb Khach Church of Akhtamar
Island, however, it is a lie. "Through these statements Ankara wants
to divest itself of responsibility," Mr. Demoyan noted.

ON 95TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, NEW GENERATION SEEKS JUSTICE AND CLOSURE

Asbarez
Apr 20th, 2010

LOS ANGELES-Thousands of protestors will descend upon the Turkish
Consulate of Los Angeles this Saturday to demand recognition and
justice for the first genocide of the 20th century. Fueled by Ankara’s
ongoing denial, Armenian Americans and anti-genocide activists will
take to the streets to call for an end to over 95 years of Turkish
impunity.

The demonstration is being organized by the Armenian Youth Federation
(AYF) and is set to begin at 4:00 p.m. on the corner of Wilshire
Boulevard and McCarthy Vista. Los Angeles City Council member Paul
Krekorian will be one of several community leaders and officials who
will address attendees at the protest.

"This protest it is not just about commemorating the Genocide," said
Caspar Jivalegian, one of the lead organizers of the annual protest.

"It’s about saying 95 years is long enough. As youth, we want justice
and an end to all genocides plaguing humanity."

This year marks the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,
which began on April 24, 1915 at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish
government. It comes just over a month after the Foreign Affairs
Committee of the U.S. House adopted a resolution calling on the
President to properly recognize the killings as Genocide. Turkey
responded to the measure by recalling its ambassador from Washington.

Meanwhile, despite numerous campaign pledges, President Barrack Obama
has backtracked on his earlier promise to speak truthfully about the
Armenian Genocide. His administration has come out in opposition to
the House resolution, with Secretary Hillary Clinton stating "We
do not believe that the full Congress will or should vote on that
resolution and we have made that clear to all the parties involved."

"The Genocide began in 1915 but it did not end there," said protest
organizer and Chair of the AYF Arek Santikian. "We feel it in our
bones to this day because of Turkey’s aggressive campaign of distortion
and its blackmail of our representatives in the US Congress."

With chapters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations
around the world, the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) has grown
to become the largest and most influential Armenian American youth
organization. Inspired by the past and motivated by the needs of the
future, the AYF actively strives to advance the social, political,
educational and cultural awareness of all Armenian youth.

SARGSYAN-MEDVEDEV MEETING AT GORKI RESIDENCE

Panorama.am
21/04/2010

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met with Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan at the Gorki residence on Tuesday. Medvedev cordially greeted
his guest and offered to discuss bilateral relations, regional and
international problems.

"We have meetings very often, and I think it’s very important to
reinforce mutual trust and understanding, and it’s common to our
strategic partnership, which, I hope, will continue in our ties,"
Medvedev said.

Sargsyan thanked Medvedev for the invitation to Moscow and suggested
discussing the Karabakh settlement. He said that the Armenian-Russian
intergovernmental commission was working energetically and thanked
Medvedev for opening a research and innovations center in Yerevan. The
Armenian government and the Russian embassy in Yerevan are working
together on the reconstruction of a memorial to Russian officers
killed in the Armenian-Turkish War.

President Sargsyan thanked Russia’s Medvedev for the 500 million loan
and stated: "I’m talking about it, because we get the harvest only
now. I think we’ll restore what we’ve lost," Serzh Sargsyan said.

U.S. State Department: there are things Armenia and Turkey have committed to do

April 17, 2010 – 12:48 AMT 07:48 GMT
PanARMENIAN.Net –

The U.S. Department of State assesses the recent discussions with
Armenian and Turkish top officials as `very meaningful.’

`We continue to try to find the right formula working with both
countries. And clearly, we’re also supporting the Minsk process
regarding Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh. We are – the process has
stalled from last fall when the countries signed the protocols on
normalization. We want to see Turkey and Armenia ratify those
protocols, normalize relations, open borders. That has significant
benefits for both countries. And we continue to work with both to see
if we can find the right formula, the right timing to see ratification
and the benefits that come with ratification,’ said Mr. Phillip
Crowley, State Department spokesman.

`We continue to work to see how we can – I mean, there are things that
both countries have committed to do. There are difficult processes
working with their respective parliaments. We have the same experience
in this country where the Executive Branch can make a commitment that
has to work with Congress in terms of implementing that or getting
ratification of that. We know this is a difficult process. We know it
involves emotion on both sides, risk on both sides, and we will
continue to work constructively with Armenia and Turkey to try to see
this process through,’ he said.

Interfax, Russia
April 16 2010

Baku unhappy with U.S. role in Karabakh peace process

BAKU April 16

The United States has not been making a serious contribution to
efforts aimed at resolving the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh,
Azerbaijani presidential administration spokesman Ali Hasanov told
journalists on Friday.

"The U.S. has not been making any serious attempts as part of the
Karabakh settlement process. We have not seen such attempts," Hasanov
said.

"Society has already started to protest against the participation of
the U.S. in the OSCE Minsk Group because it has given nothing to
Azerbaijan," the spokesman said.

"Instead of making Armenia abandon its occupation policy, the U.S.

is trying to help Armenia emerge out of its economic crisis. That is
why no one should be reproached for making anti-American remarks," he
said.

AZERBAIJAN NOT READY FOR COMPROMISES, SAYS KOCHARIAN

Aysor
April 16 2010
Armenia

Baku assumes the illusion, accepting its perverted approaches as the
final and decisive stage of talks, Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister
Shavarsh Kocharian told Interfax.

Referring to the statement by Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliev that
the process of settlement to the Karabakh conflict has entered its
final phase, Shavarsh Kocharian said that this demands on the sides’
readiness for compromises.

"Azerbaijan isn’t fully ready for compromises. On the table at the
meetings is a single document, accepted by Armenia and Azerbaijan as
a basis for negotiations – the Madrid Document of 2007," he said in
an interview.

"If Azerbaijan wishes to move forward, then this will demand on talks
on controversial issues, but not refusal from the document’s principles
through distortion of its essence," said Shavarsh Kocharian adding
that to reach an agreement is possible "if Azerbaijan stops moving the
talks into a blind alley by its continuous distortions of the issue,
reasons of war and the problem itself.

ARMENIAN LEBANESE SERVE A BRIDGE BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES

National Assembly of RA (Parliament.am)
April 14 2010
Armenia

RA National Assembly Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan’s official visit to
Lebanon continues.

Within the official visit to Lebanon RA National Assembly Speaker
Hovik Abrahamyan on April 12 visited Aynjar. He was the first
Armenian high-ranking that was hosted in the settlement with
Armenian residents. Our compatriots, who went to meet the Speaker
of the National Assembly, warmly greeted him. Hovik Abrahamyan had a
short talk with them, and as he mentioned during the meeting in Galust
Gyulbenkian Hall he was extremely impressed by that warmth. RA National
Assembly Speaker said that he felt such warmth during his whole visit
and the meetings that he had with all the officials. He also noted that
due to law-abiding stance of our compatriots such attitude is shown.

After laying a wreath to the monument erected in memory of the
Armenians who died in Musa Dag, Hovik Abrahamyan had a meeting with
the residents of Aynjar. In the name of the latter the Mayor of
Aynjar handed a souvenir to the Speaker of the National Assembly,
who in his turn, as a memory, presented a souvenir depicting the
Armenian Alphabet letters to the residents of Aynjar, calling on
to keep and preserve the mother tongue. He said that he had brought
books for the Armenian schools.

After coming back to Armenia, RA National Assembly Speaker intends
"to find" a sister town in Armenia for Aynjar.

Hovik Abrahamyan touched upon the Armenian-Turkish relations and NK
conflict, presenting Armenia’s positions, as well as social-economic
issues.

RA National Assembly Speaker visited Saint Poghos (Paul) church
of Aynjar.

On April 13 RA National Assembly Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan left for
Antilias, where he laid a wreath before the chapel in memory of the
Genocide victims.

The next meeting in Lebanon the Speaker of the National Assembly was
with the Chairman of the Armenian Evangelical Churches of the Near
East the Reverend Mkrtich Karagyozian.

Hovik Abrahamyan had a meeting with the Armenian Catholic Patriarch
of Cilicia Nerses Petros XIX. In the last meetings the NA Speaker
touched upon Armenia-Diaspora ties, Armenian-Turkish relations and
issues concerning the Karabakh conflict settlement.

In the evening RA National Assembly Speaker had a meeting in the
Armenian Embassy with the heads of the political parties and community
structures. Later, in Lebanon in RA Embassy a reception was organized,
which also attended foreign diplomats, who were accredited in Lebanon.

FOREIGN MINISTERS OF ARMENIA, RUSSIA MEET IN WASHINGTON

armradio.am
14.04.2010 12:11

The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Russia Edward Nalbandian and
Sergey Lavrov had a meeting in Washington on the sidelines of the
Nuclear Security Summit.

The meeting covered a number of issues on bilateral agenda.

The interlocutors touched upon the cooperation between the two
countries within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group and exchanged
views on the situation in the region, including the process of
settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.