Author: Tigranian Ani

Genocide. Bundestag will condemn the killings of Armenians

Aktuell Politik Bund

Kuhn: “Beim armenischen Volk entschuldigen”
Genozid
Bundestag will Mord an Armeniern verurteilen

96A674F0A4780E75DA~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html#top

21. April 2005 Alle Fraktionen im Bundestag haben ihren Willen
bekundet, anläßlich des 90. Jahrestages des Völkermords an den
Armeniern die Türkei aufzufordern, ihrer historischen Verantwortung
gerecht zu werden.

Der türkische Botschafter in Deutschland, Irtemcelik, hatte zuvor
drastisch gegen eine derartige Resolution protestiert; er nahm seine
Drohung am Donnerstag jedoch teilweise wieder zurück.
Er äußerte in einer Mitteilung, er habe in einem Zeitungsgespräch dem
Bundestag nicht drohen wollen, sondern lediglich geäußert, daß er
darauf vertraue, daß die Mitglieder des Bundestages diesen Antrag
nicht annehmen werden”.
Gemeinsame Resolution geplant
Mitglieder aller Fraktionen des Bundestages taten am Donnerstag das
Gegenteil kund. Sowohl die Abgeordneten Meckel (SPD) als auch Kuhn
(Grüne) dankten der Unionsfraktion und vor allem dem CDU-Abgeordneten
Bergner für die Initiative, der Ermordung der Armenier im Osmanischen
Reich zu gedenken und dabei auch die unterlassene Hilfe seitens des
Deutschen Reiches in Erinnerung zu rufen, das damals mit der Türkei
verbündet war.
Beide kündigten an, sie wollten in den bevorstehenden
Ausschußberatungen aus dem vorliegenden Unionsantrag eine gemeinsame
Resolution des Bundestages machen.
In möglichst großer Eintracht”
Der CDU-Abgeordnete Bergner sagte, wenn sich nun der Deutsche
Bundestag nach neunzig Jahren dem lange verdrängten Thema stelle,
dann sollten wir es in möglichst großer Eintracht tun”.
Die Ermordung der in Anatolien lebenden armenischen Minderheit, deren
Angehörige mit planvoller Konsequenz und zügelloser Grausamkeit”
getötet worden seien, hätte schon vor neun Jahrzehnten im Deutschen
Reichstag debattiert werden müssen, sagte Bergner, doch habe die
deutsche Militärzensur und das politische Kalkül damals eine
Erörterung oder gar ein Einschreiten zugunsten der Armenier
verhindert.
Land zur Bewußtmachung ermuntern
Bergner beteuerte angesichts der aktuellen wütenden Reaktionen von
türkischer Seite, die Union habe in ihrem Antragstext bewußt auf die
juristischen Begriffe des Völkermords oder Genozids verzichtet.
Alle Sprecher wiederholten seine Versicherung, es gehe nicht darum,
die Türkei heute, nach so langer Zeit, an den Pranger zu stellen,
sondern darum, das Land zu einer Bewußtmachung der damaligen Vorgänge
zu ermuntern.
~DEuropäische Erinnerungskultur”
Bergner sagte, es gehe um die Einbeziehung der Türkei in jene
europäische Erinnerungskultur”, die Grundlage der Aussöhnung der
europäischen Staaten geworden sei und damit die europäische
Integration erst ermöglicht habe.
Der SPD-Abgeordnete Meckel erinnerte daran, daß das Schweigen über
den Völkermord an den Armeniern Hitler als Argument zur
Rechtfertigung seines Vernichtungskrieges im Osten gedient habe.
Keine Einmischung in innere Angelegenheiten
Meckel, Kuhn, der FDP-Abgeordnete Stinner und der außenpolitische
Sprecher der Unionsfraktion Pflüger forderten die Türkei zu einem
bekennenden Umgang mit dem Völkermord mit dem Hinweis auf, auch die
Deutschen hätten es vermocht, sich mit ihren noch weitaus
schrecklicheren Verbrechen auseinanderzusetzen.
Meckel bedauerte, daß die Auseinandersetzung mit dem Mord an den
Armeniern bis heute in der Türkei unter Strafe stehe; das sei in
keiner Weise akzeptabel”. Kuhn reagierte auf die Vorhaltungen und
Drohungen von türkischer Seite auseinander, um eine
Bundestagsresolution zu verhindern; die Debatte sei keine Einmischung
in innere Angelegenheiten der Türkei.
Ãœberdies entscheide der Bundestag ganz allein, womit er sich
befaßt”. Die Grünen seien an dieser Debatte im übrigen deswegen
interessiert, weil sie die Türkei in die EU führen wollten. Kuhn
erinnerte an die deutsche Mitschuld und sagte, er wolle sich dafür
~Dbeim armenischen Volk entschuldigen”.

Dies ist ein Ausdruck aus

–Boundary_(ID_OZo3uztHuXrKV8ntxzGIqA)–

Knesset member urges Turkey to admit to Genocide

21.04.2005 14:22

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Yossi Sarid,
a member of the Israeli Knesset, urged Turkey to assume the
responsibility for the Armenian Genocide, Armenpress reported.

“You should be held responsible for the Armenian Genocide, it can’t go
unpunished,” Sarid said referring to the Turkish government. He also
noted that while the present Turkish government is not directly
responsible for what had happened, they should however assume a
historic responsibility.

Sarid also mentioned that he presented his and his colleagues’
statements in his yesterday’s speech. “Unfortunately, I do not
represent the positions of the Israeli government, but being a member
of opposition I speak on behalf of the majority of the Israeli people
and Diaspora,” he added.

European, Armenian MPs pass statement on bilateral ties, Karabakh, Turkey

Noyan Tapan news agency
19 Apr 05

Yerevan, 19 April: The chairman of the foreign relations commission of
the Armenian National Assembly, Armen Rustamyan, and a French member of
the European Parliament, [Marie Anne] Isler Beguin, presided over the
seventh session of the commission on parliamentary cooperation between
the European Union and Armenia in Strasbourg on 13 and 14 April. At
the beginning of the session, members of the committee observed a
minute of silence to honour the victims of the genocide of Armenians.

The agenda was quite busy, Rustamyan said at a press conference
in Yerevan on 19 April. The meeting discussed issues related to
the political, social and economic situation in Armenia, democratic
processes, environmental, educational and cultural problems, as well
as Armenia’s relations with neighbouring countries, the situation in
Nagornyy Karabakh and programmes of European assistance.

As a result of two-day discussions, the commission endorsed the text
of a statement and the text of proposals comprised of 36 points. The
commission, in particular, said that all the South Caucasus countries
should refrain from statements and reservations which restrict or
obstruct the goals and the spirit of the European Neighbourhood Policy
and the inclusion of each of these countries into regional initiatives
and programmes. It is said that the efficient implementation of the
programme of activities will pave the way for signing a new type
of an agreement on European neighbourhood between Armenia and the
European Union.

The commission also touched on the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict.
Azerbaijan and Armenia can take decisive steps towards a peaceful
resolution to the long-standing conflict. The commission expressed
the view that a resolution to the Karabakh conflict should include an
agreement on the future status of Nagornyy Karabakh, on the population
of the adjacent territories, including refugees, and encourage the
participation of the Nagornyy Karabakh people in the peace talks. The
commission also said that the still-undefined status of Nagornyy
Karabakh must not become an obstacle to the international community’s
respect for fundamental rights and freedoms of the people living in
the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic. The commission condemns the use of
force or such a threat in resolving the Karabakh problem.

The document also spoke about another neighbour of Armenia, Turkey.
In particular, the commission called on Ankara to fully comply with
its status of a European Union candidate, to take the necessary steps
towards establishing good-neighbourly and diplomatic relations with
Armenia and to open the land border as soon as possible.

“The commission refers to all the European Parliament resolutions
on the genocide of Armenians and on the eve of the 90th anniversary
of the genocide calls on the Turkish authorities to engage in a
fully-fledged and sincere international and domestic process of
reconciliation in connection with this issue,” said the document
adopted by the commission.

BAKU’S YOUTH SPEAKS AGAINST ARMENIAN TEXT-BOOKS OF IRAN

BAKU, APRIL 18. ARMINFO. Active members of the youth movement “Integral
Azerbaijan” intend to hold an action of protest in front of Iran’s
Embassy in Baku because of Iran’s support to Armenia.

The information on that Ministry of Education of Armenia through the
assistance of Iranian government prepares text-books for the Armenians
living in Iran served as an occasion to hold the action. The history
of Azerbaijan is supposedly misrepresented in the books written by
Armenian authors, and the Azerbaijani lands, including Karabakh,
are marked as a territory of Armenia, reports.

MEETING NEAR THE MUNICIPALITY; FOREIGNERS RECEIVE US, OURS DO NOT

A1plus
| 13:16:04 | 18-04-2005 | Social |

Today the residents of the Yerevan Main and North Avenues organized
a meeting opposite the municipality building. In difference to other
meetings when they demanded meeting with the mayor or another official,
the demonstrants organized this one “just for itself”.

“We do not want to meet Yervand Zakharyan. We just want them to know
how indignant we are. We are sick and tired. We just want to remind
that we exist and we are offended by their ignorance”, says Sedrak
Baghdasaryan, resident of the Buzand street.

He is greatly surprised by the fact that while turning to Embassies
the foreign officials have received them, and our officials either
refuse to receive them or receive with offensive remarks.

Montreal Gazette, Canada
April 18 2005

Armenians mark painful anniversary
1.5 million victims. Disputed genocide began 90 years ago

DAVE WEATHERALL
The Gazette

For many of the 60,000 Armenians living in Canada, this week means
dredging up painful memories and enduring a familiar response from
the Turkish government – it wasn’t genocide.

Next Sunday marks the 90th anniversary of what Armenians and many
historians agree was the beginning of the genocide during which 1.5
million Armenians were either killed or disappeared.

Turkey continues to deny any role in the alleged genocide that started
in 1915 and continued until about 1922.

For 59-year-old Taro Alepian, president of the Congress of Canadian
Armenians, it’s a frustrating situation he would like to see come to
and end.

“Turkey’s denial of their role in the Armenian genocide is a
negative thing for every Armenian to grow up with,” said Alepian,
as he watched his 5-year-old grandson Marc Dikranian play next to
the monument dedicated to the victims of all genocide in Ahuntsic’s
Marcelin Wilson Park.

“I hope my grandson will not have to grow up with Turkey still denying
what took place 90 years ago.”

Alepian said that after more than three generations of Turkish denial,
Armenians deserve closure.

“Only official recognition by the Turkish government will bring
closure,” said Alepian.

Alepian says he will pray for it Saturday night during the interfaith
service at St. Joseph Oratory to mark the anniversary.

“We owe it to our ancestors, but most importantly, to our future
generations to provide them with an end to this unpleasant story.”

Seventeen countries have passed legislation recognizing the genocide,
including Russia, France, the Netherlands and, recently, Canada. Last
year, the House of Commons passed a non-binding motion denouncing it
as a crime against humanity.

As about 8 million Armenians around the world gather to commemorate
this week, 28-year-old Montreal resident Edward Agopian echoed
Alepian’s desire for the next generation of Armenians not to be
burdened by Turkey’s denial.

“When I have children and they start school, I want them to read
about a genocide that is acknowledged by the country who perpetrated
it, not continually denied,” said Agopian, a member of the Armenian
National Committee of Quebec.

Agopian said he lost three grandparents during the genocide and that
Turkey’s refusal to acknowledge it hurts every Armenian generation.

“You can see it when children talk to their grandparents about it,
there is pain because Turkey has not recognized it,” he said.

“What I need as an Armenian is for the current Turkish government to
acknowledge what the past Turkish government was responsible for,”
he said.

“Not for vengeance, but so that all Armenians can be at peace.”

Agopian said the Canadian government’s recognition is encouraging and
said the ANCQ is planning two events in Ottawa this week as part of
its commemoration activities.

“We will hold a vigil on Saturday at the human rights monument and
on Sunday we will be demonstrating outside the Turkish embassy.”

NRC HANDELSBLAD
14 April 2005

Turkey: research together with Armenia

By our correspondent

NICOSIA, 14 APRIL. Turkey wants an official Turkish Armenian commission to
tackle the massacres of Armenians at the end of the Ottoman Empire,
according to Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Abdullah Gül, yesterday
in the parliament in Ankara. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sent a
letter on this matter to the Armenian president Robert Kocharian.

With this letter Turkey undertakes another attempt to remove the Armenian
file from the agenda. During the massacres, which started in full violence
in 1915, according to historians possibly more than one million Armenians
were killed. Turkey does not deny that a large number of Armenians died, but
objects that it is out of the question that there was a planned genocide.
³Turkey has peace with her history and is proud of it”, minister Gül said
yesterday.

It is still unclear if Armenia will comply with the request. Some time ago
Yerevan disregarded a call by prime minister Erdogan to leave the question
to a history research. According to the Armenian government such a research
has already been done a long time ago and it is indisputably certain that
there was a genocide.

The Turkish proposal comes some weeks for the commemoration of the genocide,
on April 24. Ankara is more and more worried that the American Congress will
adopt a resolution on the genocide. Moreover a large number of European
politicians puts pressure on Ankara to straighten out the Ottoman past. In
October the process of negotiations between Ankara and Brussels will start
on the Turkish membership of the European Union. Gül explained yesterday in
the parliament that Turkey had never adequately reacted to the Armenian
accusations. ³And this has leaded to the false picture that Turkey is hiding
something.¹¹

A1plus

| 19:18:29 | 13-04-2005 | Politics |

WE NEED SUPPORT FROM ABROAD

«The authorities are like an empty tree – it will collapse if you push it»,
said Hovhannes Hovhannisyan, head of the Armenian Liberal Progressive Party.
The latter asked a question the answer if which was not given – why was the
bloc gathered in the hall? Then referring to the interference from abroad,
Mr. Hovhannisyan announced, `Yes, the international community must support
us’.

He clearly saw the wave of revolutions coming to Armenia from the CIS
countries. `But are we ready to take the power?’ he asked. This question was
not answered either. After several speeches the meeting ended.

By the way, the leaders of the Republican party with Aram Sargsyan and
Albert Bazeyan were present at the meeting. But they did not make speech.

U.S. Department of State
12 April 2005

Jazz, Originally American, Now Celebrated Around the World
Voice of America’s “Music Man,” Leo Sarkisian, opens Jazz Appreciation Month
By Helen I. Rouce
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington — “The sound of surprise,” as a famous critic once called jazz,
is being celebrated around the world during the month of April, with a wide
variety of events that keynote the significance of this music in the global
culture.
To help kick off the celebration, longtime Voice of America broadcaster and
noted musicologist Leo Sarkisian recounted the story of his love affair with
jazz and gave his perspective on the music in an interview in March with Al
Murphy at the State Department.
“Jazz has been recognized around the world as our cultural heritage,”
Sarkisian said. “It’s a reflection of American culture,” and its
contributions have enriched music around the globe.
In August 2003, President Bush signed U.S. Public Law 108-72, which
acknowledged jazz as “a rare and valuable national American treasure” that
“has inspired some of the nation’s leading creative artists and ranks as one
of the greatest cultural exports of the United States,” Sarkisian said. “It
has inspired dancers, choreographers, poets, novelists, filmmakers,
classical composers and musicians in every kind of music,” he added.
Sarkisian said that the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, which
initiated the celebration of jazz during the month of April, is sponsoring a
host of programs and performances throughout the month, and is encouraging
other groups and institutions all over the United States to have their own
activities.
A number of other countries as well, he said, are paying tribute to jazz
during the month of April, including Sweden, Germany, Argentina, the United
Kingdom, Japan and Canada. Even music lovers on the Pacific island of Guam
are joining in the worldwide jazz party.
One interesting fact Sarkisian revealed was that in 1964 Dr. Martin Luther
King Junior opened the Berlin Jazz Festival in Germany. He quoted King as
saying: “God has brought many things out of oppression. He has endowed the
creatures with the capacity to create, and from this capacity has flowed the
sweet songs of sorrow and joy that have allowed man to cope with his
environment and many, many different situations.”
“Jazz speaks for life,” Sarkisian said King told those at the festival.
“It’s a wonderful way to describe how important jazz is in our life and how
it is also for the whole world,” Sarkisian said.
He said that King, in his Berlin remarks, made the connection between jazz
and another musical form that originated in America: the blues. King told
the Germans, Sarkisian said, that “the blues tell the story of life’s
difficulties. And if you think for a moment, you will realize that they
take the hardest realities of life and put them into music.” The same could
be said for some jazz compositions.
Sarkisian traced the origins of jazz back to the time of slavery in America,
adding that most writers on the music’s history “always mention Congo
Square” in New Orleans, where the African-Americans who came to the United
States as slaves would perform music in the evenings on instruments brought
from Africa.
“And that’s why we say that jazz is an original American art form,” he said,
“but look at the heavy influence of African music,” with the elements of
improvisation, rhythm, and vocals set to rhythms that have been very
important in the development of jazz.
“And another wonderful thing about jazz,” he said, “is that it changes all
the time . the way the musicians are expressing jazz with their own
imagination.”
Along with affection for his native Armenian music and a well-known love for
African music, Sarkisian has been a jazz enthusiast since his youth.
As a clarinet player in his high-school orchestra, he admired Benny Goodman
and Artie Shaw, both leading jazz clarinetists and bandleaders. When he
later went to live in New York City, he went to jazz clubs almost every
night and heard some of the best talent in jazz: trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie,
vibraphonist Lionel Hampton, and tenor saxophonist Vito Musso.
Later, after he joined the U.S. government, Sarkisian served as an escort
officer on State Department tours for Louis Armstrong and his band when they
visited Tunisia and for Duke Ellington and his band when they went to the
first festival of Negro arts in Dakar, Senegal, in 1965.
Reflecting on jazz music’s international reach, Sarkisian recalled that many
20th century African-American jazz musicians went to live in Paris. He also
noted “the famous Marseilles Hot Club de Jazz in Marseilles — it’s been
there for many years,” and commented that he had lectured on jazz in
Marseilles.
“Britain, of course, has had jazz musicians for a long time,” Sarkisian
observed.
He also recalled “the famous Willis Conover, the great ‘Jazz USA’ man that
was with the Voice of America, and probably one of the most influential
American jazz broadcasters … especially during the Cold War. Everybody in
the Soviet Union knew Willis Conover, and he was greeted everyplace he went
in the various countries in the Soviet Union.”
Sarkisian is known throughout Africa as the host of the radio show “Music
Time in Africa,” which, now in its 40th year, is possibly the
longest-running music program on the Voice of America. He and co-host Rita
Rochelle were recently received in Lagos, Nigeria, by PMAN, the Performing
Musicians’ Association of Nigeria. “The organization now has 30,000
musicians, and at least half of those musicians are all good jazz musicians,
very, very talented musicians,” he said.
He also cited South Africa’s interest in jazz. “Their interest in jazz goes
way back to the early 1900s,” he said, adding that there are “many, many
jazz orchestras and jazz organizations in South Africa.”
In honor of Jazz Appreciation Month, Sarkisian will share his views on jazz
on a U.S. Department of State Web cast/digital video-conference on Monday,
April 18, at 11:30 a.m. GMT.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information
Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: )

RIA Novosti, Russia
April 12 2005

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT: NO REVOLUTION HERE

YEREVAN, April 12 (RIA Novosti, Gamlet Matevosyan) – There are no
prerequisites for a revolution in Armenia, regardless of what its
color is, President Robert Kocharyan told Yerevan State University
students yesterday.

According to Kocharyan, in order for a state to go through a
revolution, certain conditions like those in Georgia, Ukraine and
Kyrgyzstan must exist.

“First, all of them took place during election periods, which implies
a certain ‘electrifying’ of society. Second, in all the three
countries the weak authorities could not decide the current issues.
For instance, in Georgia there were delays in the payment of pensions
and wages and salaries and problems in energy supply, in Kyrgyzstan
the budget for 2004 amounted to $300 million with the republic’s
inhabitants numbering 5 million, while Armenia with its
3-million-strong population has a budget of about $800 million. The
situation in Ukraine is somewhat different. In spite of the economic
growth, the country was divided in its east and west,” Kocharyan
said.

He called the change of generations, which took place in the course
of the revolutions, the third factor. As a result, younger and more
dynamic leaders replaced the old, former Soviet officials in power.

This occurred in Armenia in 1991 with the advent of Levon
Ter-Petrosyan, and in 1998 with Kocharyan’s own ascent to power, he
said.

Kocharyan said that oppositionists, who earlier held high posts in
their governments, came to power in all three of the republics.

“All the above-said factors have nothing in common with the situation
in Armenia where no one doubts the authorities’ resolve, the change
of generations has already taken place, there have been no
oppositionists dismissed from their posts and the next elections will
be held in Armenia in two years,” Kocharyan assured the students.

The president also noted that the Armenian opposition must not allow
itself to feel inadequate by the fact that the attempt at changing
power in Armenia, as distinct from the above-said countries, was
unsuccessful.

“This is not because of the fact that our opposition is too bad but
because the situation in Armenia is better, and state authorities are
more effective,” Kocharyan said.