Author: Toneyan Mark

Armenpress

ARMENIAN TRAVEL AGENCIES TO SHOWCASE AT FRANCE EXHIBITION

YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian Tourism Development Agency
plans to showcase Armenian travel agencies at an annual international
exhibition in France’s Dauville in 2006. Suzan Azoyan, marketing director of
the Agency, said Europe remains the biggest market for Armenian travel
agencies, prompting the Tourism Development Agency to launch a vigorous
advertising campaign in some European countries.
Armenian tourism industry was presented earlier this year at an annual
international exhibition in Berlin and for the first time at another
international exhibition in Italy.
Azoyan said Armenian travel agencies will also demonstrate their services
this year at two other international exhibitions in Tokyo and London.

PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Cultural Organization of Minnesota
203 North Howell St.
St. Paul, MN 55104
Contact: Lou Ann Matossian,
Director of Cultural and External Affairs
(612) 359-8991

MINNESOTA OBSERVES 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

o Governor, Mayors Proclaim Day of Remembrance
o Twin Cities Public Television Will Air New Documentary April 24
o Ohanessian Chair Eric Weitz to Keynote April 29 in St. Paul

St. Paul, MN
April 22, 2005

In memory of the 1.5 million Armenian victims of genocide during
World War I, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and the mayors of Duluth,
Minneapolis, Rochester, and Saint Paul have proclaimed April 24 as
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE DAY, the Armenian Cultural Organization of
Minnesota has announced.

The proclamations coincide with Twin Cities Public Television’s April
24 premiere of “The Armenian Genocide: 90 Years Later” at 7 p.m. on
Channel 17. Produced in partnership with the University of Minnesota’s
Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, with funding from the
Cafesjian Family Foundation, the hour-long program includes interviews
with University faculty and members of the Minnesota Armenian community.
Sociologist Taner Akçam, CHGS director Stephen Feinstein, and historian
Eric Weitz are featured.

On April 29 at 6 p.m, Minnesota’s annual commemoration of the
Armenian Genocide takes place at St. Sahag Armenian Church, 203 N.
Howell St., Saint Paul. Prof. Weitz, who holds the Arsham and Charlotte
Ohanessian Chair in the College of Liberal Arts, will keynote. Free and
open to the public, this event is presented by the Armenian Cultural
Organization of Minnesota and the following cosponsors: Armenian
American Action Committee of Minnesota (ARAMAC-MN), Armenian Dance
Ensemble of Minnesota, Armenian Ensemble, Armenian Youth Initiative,
Cafesjian Family Foundation, St. Cloud State University Center for
Holocaust and Genocide Education, St. Sahag Church and Community Center,
and the University of Minnesota Center for Holocaust and Genocide
Studies.

Earlier this month, Minneapolis-based Minnesota Film Arts screened
the post-Genocide documentary “My Son Shall Be Armenian”
(Canada/Armenia, 2004) as part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International
Film Festival.

ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
04/26/2005
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1) President Bush Fails to Recognize Armenian Genocide Once More
2) Thousands Mark 90th Anniversary of Armenian Genocide in Yerevan
3) California Commemorates 90th Anniversary of Armenian Genocide
4) The Walk May End, but the March Continues
5) Turkish Group Protests Schwarzenegger over Armenian Genocide Statement

1) President Bush Fails to Recognize Armenian Genocide Once More

WASHINGTON, DC (ANCA)–Ignoring calls from a record two hundred and ten US
legislators, President Bush failed, once again, to honor his pledge to
properly
characterize the Armenian genocide as a “genocide” in his annual April 24
remarks.
In a statement issued on April 24, the President again resorted to the use of
evasive and euphemistic terminology to obscure the reality of Turkey’s
genocide
against the Armenian people between 1915-1923. In retreating from his promise,
the President ignored the counsel of the one hundred and seventy-eight
Representatives and thirty-two Senators who had written letters urging him to
properly characterize the Armenian genocide.
“While we appreciate the President’s willingness to join with Armenians
around
the world by issuing a statement on this occasion, we remain deeply
troubled by
his continued use of evasive and euphemistic terminology to obscure the moral,
historical, and legal meaning of Turkey’s genocide against the Armenian
people,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. “This statement,
sadly, once again, represents a form of complicity in the Turkish government’s
shameful campaign to deny a crime against humanity.”
The ANCA also expressed concern that the Administration’s refusal to
recognize
the Armenian genocide reflects a broader unwillingness to confront
genocide–as
evidenced by the White House’s failure to take decisive steps to bring an end
to the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. The ANCA is working with a
broad
coalition of organizations to pressure the Administration to respond in a
timely and meaningful way to the worsening crisis in Darfur. “If we are to end
the cycle of genocide, we must, as a nation, generate the resolve to
forcefully
intervene to stop genocide when it takes place, to unequivocally reject its
denial, to hold the guilty accountable, and to secure for the victims the
justice they deserve,” added Hamparian.
In February of 2000, then presidential candidate George W. Bush, campaigning
for votes among Armenian voters in the Michigan Republican primary, pledged to
properly characterize the genocidal campaign against the Armenian people. In
his statements as President, he has consistently avoided any clear
reference to
the Armenian genocide, and his Administration has consistently opposed
legislation marking this crime against humanity.
The text of the President’s remarks is provided below.

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

On Armenian Remembrance Day, we remember the forced exile and mass
killings of
as many as 1.5 million Armenians during the last days of the Ottoman Empire.
This terrible event is what many Armenian people have come to call the “Great
Calamity.” I join my fellow Americans and Armenian people around the world in
expressing my deepest condolences for this horrible loss of life. Today,
as we
commemorate the 90th anniversary of this human tragedy and reflect on the
suffering of the Armenian people, we also look toward a promising future
for an
independent Armenian state.
The United States is grateful for Armenia’s contributions to the war on
terror
and to efforts to build a democratic and peaceful Iraq. We remain committed to
supporting the historic reforms Armenia has pursued for over a decade. We call
on the Government of Armenia to advance democratic freedoms that will further
advance the aspirations of the Armenian people. We remain committed to a
lasting and peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We also seek
a deeper partnership with Armenia that includes security cooperation and is
rooted in the shared values of democratic and market economic freedoms.
I applaud individuals in Armenia and Turkey who have sought to examine the
historical events of the early 20th century with honesty and sensitivity. The
recent analysis by the International Center for Transitional Justice did not
provide the final word, yet marked a significant step toward reconciliation
and
restoration of the spirit of tolerance and cultural richness that has
connected
the people of the Caucasus and Anatolia for centuries. We look to a future of
freedom, peace, and prosperity in Armenia and Turkey and hope that Prime
Minister Erdogan’s recent proposal for a joint Turkish-Armenian commission can
help advance these processes.
Millions of Americans proudly trace their ancestry to Armenia. Their faith,
traditions, and patriotism enrich the cultural, political, and economic
life of
the United States. I appreciate all individuals who work to promote peace,
tolerance, and reconciliation. On this solemn day of remembrance, I send my
best wishes and expressions of solidarity to Armenian people around the world.

2) Thousands Mark 90th Anniversary of Armenian Genocide in Yerevan

YEREVAN (Armenpress)–Thousands of Armenians marched a steep road on April 24,
leading to the Genocide Memorial of Dzidzernagapert in Yerevan to pay respect
to the memory of 1.5 million victims killed by the Ottoman Empire during the
Armenian genocide of 1915.
President Robert Kocharian, Prime Minister Andranik Margarian, parliament
speaker Arthur Baghdasarian, along with other Armenian leaders, visited the
Memorial in the morning as they laid flowers in remembrance. His Holiness
Catholicos Karekin II conducted a prayer service in memory of the dead.
In his message to the Armenian people, President Kocharian said, “The year of
1915 became a dividing line in the fate of all parts of our nation. It changed
their lives drastically and disrupted the path of its normal development. Its
heavy consequences are felt today in the lives of Armenians living both in the
Republic of Armenia and Diaspora.”
Stating the necessity of international recognition and condemnation of the
Armenian genocide in the context of regional and international politics,
Kocharian said, “We have made our position heard many a time. We are not
motivated by the feelings of revenge and once again repeat today our
willingness to build normal relations with Turkey, but its continued denial of
that crime, causes the perplexity of not only Armenians, but also of the
international community.”
Foreign diplomats from more than 15 countries were also present to pay their
respects to the 1.5 million innocent Armenian lives taken away brutally by the
Ottoman Empire. Among them were delegations from France, Russia, Italy,
Ukraine, Canada, Spain, Belgium, Luxemburg, Holland, Norway, Sweden, and
Georgia.
French ambassador to Armenia Henry Cuny told journalists, “France was one of
the first nations to give shelter to thousands of Armenians who escaped
massacres in Turkey. France has also officially recognized the Armenian
genocide and I am happy that the Armenian community in my country is
flourishing and prospering. France was and is Armenia’s friend.”
“We have come here to remember the Armenian victims of the first genocide of
the 20th century. Armenians sustained the greatest damages during World War I.
At this hour of sad remembrance, Georgians are with their Armenian brothers
and
sisters,” Georgian ambassador to Armenia Revaz Gachechiladze said.
Former president of Poland and Nobel laureate Lech Walesa, Israeli Knesset’s
member Yosi Sarid, and other dignitaries paid their respects earlier this
week.
Walesa said during his visit to Yerevan that Armenians have the right to
demand
that the European Union bar Turkey from joining the bloc unless it admitted to
genocide. “It is a just claim of the Armenians,” he said.
Thousands of young Armenians, joined by Armenians from the US and Europe,
marched through the streets of Yerevan on Saturday night, singing the national
anthem as the torch lit procession marched towards Dzidzernagapert.
Addressing an international conference dedicated to the 90th anniversary of
the Armenian genocide in Yerevan earlier this week, President Kocharian urged
Turkey to recognize the crime, saying such recognition is essential for the
reconciliation of the Armenian and Turkish people.
“Recognition is important for Turkish-Armenian relations as it would provide
answers to numerous questions dividing our two peoples and enable them to look
to the future,” he said. “We remember the past with pain but not with hatred.
It is difficult for us to understand the reaction of the Turkish side which
manifests itself not only through the denial of the past but also the blockade
of present Armenia,” he said.
In an interview to a Russian RTR TV channel on April 23, Kocharian said it
was
strange that “malice has been preserved by the side responsible for the crime
and not by the victim of that crime.”
It was on the night of April 24, 1915, when the Turkish government placed
under arrest more than 200 Armenian community leaders in Constantinople.
Hundreds more were apprehended soon after and sent to prison in Anatolia,
where
most were executed. In a single year, 1915, the Armenians were robbed of their
millennia-old heritage. The desecration of churches, the burning of libraries,
the ruination of towns and villages–all erased an ancient civilization.
With the disappearance of the Armenians from their homeland, most of the
symbols of their culture–schools, monasteries, artistic monuments, and
historical sites–were destroyed by the Ottoman government.
The latest nation to recognize the genocide was Poland when its parliament
passed a resolution condemning the Armenian massacres. in Germany, members of
parliament from across the political spectrum appealed to Turkey to accept the
massacre of Armenians as part of its history, saying this would help its EU
aspirations.

3) California Commemorates 90th Anniversary of Armenian Genocide

LOS ANGELES–“With all due respect to our presidents, past and present, there
is a word for what you describe [as the events of 1915] and the word is
genocide,” US Congressman Adam Schiff told the crowd gathered at the athletic
field of Glendale High school on April 24 to commemorate the 90th anniversary
of the Armenian genocide.
The event was organized by the Armenian Genocide 90th Anniversary
Commemorative Committee of California.
Elected officials joined Armenian religious leaders and representatives of
various political organizations to honor the victims of the Genocide and
demand
proper recognition of the events. They included, among others: US Congressman
Adam Schiff, California Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante, State Senators Jack
Scott, Jackie Speier, Richard Alarcon, State Assembly Majority Leader Dario
Frommer, State Assemblymembers Carol Liu, Cindy Montanez, Paul Koretz, Jerome
Horton, Glendale Mayor Rafi Manoukian, Glendale City Council members Ara
Najarian, Frank Quintero and Bob Yousefian, Rolling Hills Councilman Frank
Zerunyan, California Supreme Court judge Zaven Sinanian, Burbank Board of
Education member Paul Kerkorian, and Glendale Board of Education member Greg
Krikorian.
Congressman Schiff, one of the keynote speakers, along with California State
Senator Jackie Speier, explained that in commemorating the Armenian genocide,
he, for a long time took to the house floor to read the names of individual
victims of the genocide. “Sometimes talking too large a number is simply
beyond
the power of our comprehension, but talking about several people, hundred
people, reading their names, letting my colleagues know these were real
people,
they were brothers and sisters, they were mothers, they were fathers,
grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers and scientists and scholars,
musicians… so that we would all know the sound of suffering.”
He expressed his happiness at the rebirth of a new Armenian nation. “In that
nation of Armenia, we see how the Ottoman Turks have failed.”
Speaking about the need to maintain US support for Armenia strong in order to
keep the country vibrant and growing, Congressman Schiff insisted that the
success of the Armenian nation and its diaspora is the final proof of Ottoman
Turkey’s failure.
Senator Jackie Speier began by proclaiming “never again,” to describe the
massacre of Armenians by Turk beginning in 1898. A third generation Armenian
American, Senator Spier pointed to the 37,000 pages in the archives of the US
government, recorded by diplomats, on the genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman
Turks–and called on President Bush to properly characterize the Armenian
genocide.
Sen. Speier’s resolution SJR 2, which marks April 24, 2005 as California’s
day
of remembrance, unanimously passed the Senate floor last Thursday.
Other elected officials who addressed the gathering called on President Bush
to properly characterize the first Genocide of the twentieth century in order
to prevent future genocides. Many alluded to the event as one of the “darkest
pages in history,” and pledged their unwavering support to Armenian Americans
in demanding the US and Turkey officially recognize the Armenian genocide.
In another victory last Thursday in Sacramento, the California State Assembly
passed (70-0) SB 424, authored by Sen. Poochigian–that permanently designates
the week of April 24 California’s week of remembrance of the Armenian
genocide.
Other events marking the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide included
the unprecedented March for Humanity that began on April 2 and ended at the
State Capitol in Sacramento last Thursday to end a 19-day 215 mile journey
that
Began in Fresno and ended with over 500 members of the California Armenian
American community–along with Senator Jackie Speier and State Assembly
Majority Leader Dario Frommer–joining the marchers. The procession was met at
the Capitol steps by legislators, including Sen. Poochigian.
On April 23, the yearly protest in front of the Turkish Consulate in Los
Angeles once again gathered young and old alike to demand justice from
Turkey–including reparations for their Genocide of Armenians at the turn of
the 20th century.
That event was followed by a requiem service in Montebello, California at the
site of the Genocide monument dedicated to all the victims of the Armenian
genocide.
On April 24, System Of A Down held their annual benefit Souls concert,
performing for their fans at the sold-out Gibson Amphitheatre.
As with last year’s Souls concert, the group fittingly ended the show with
“P.L.U.C.K. (Politically Lying, Unholy, Cowardly Killers),” which includes the
verse, “A whole race genocide/ Taken away all of our pride/ Revolution, the
only solution/ We’ve taken all your sh–/ Now it’s time for restitution.”
Proceeds from Sunday’s show benefited several organizations, including the
ANCA, Amnesty International, Center for the Prevention of Genocide, and
Axis of
Justice.

4) The Walk May End, but the March Continues

LOS ANGELES–As the March For Humanity reached its final destination in
Sacramento, organizers of the 215-mile and 19-day walk slogan promised that
“The walk may end, but the march continues.”
“Similar to what our slogan suggests, we and the Armenian youth as a
collective must create new and more powerful ways of securing justice for the
Armenian Genocide,” said Vicken Sosikian, director of the March For Humanity.
“We are currently discussing ways to not only continue the march [for
justice],
but also to expand it.”
The March For Humanity marked an unprecedented Armenian genocide event. In
conjunction with the last two days of the walk, organizers of the March For
Humanity launched a nationwide ad campaign on April 19 and 20 on CNN Networks.
Reaching an audience of up to 8 million Americans, the March For Humanity
marked the first recorded instance of a nationwide Armenian genocide ad
campaign. The commercials informed viewers about the Armenian genocide, as
well
as the March For Humanity.
The March also received media coverage from outlets in geographical locations
that normally do not offer much news about the Armenian genocide. Newspapers
and television news programs in Visalia, Fresno, Madera, Merced, Turlock,
Modesto, Lodi, Stockton, Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Glendale,
Burbank, and other California cities all echoed news of the March For
Humanity.
Preliminary media monitoring shows that the following media outlets covered
the
March For Humanity: Lodi News Sentinel, Modesto Bee, Fresno Bee, Los Angeles
Times, Daily News, Sacramento Bee, Stockton Record, Contra Costa Times, San
Jose Mercury News, San Diego Union Tribune, San Luis Obispo Tribune, Merced
Sun
Star, USA Today, Burbank Leader, Glendale News Press, Monterey County Herald,
Voice of America, Democracy Now, ABC, CBS, NBC, UPN, and more than 100 other
internet news sources.
“An estimated 10 million Americans have been educated about the Armenian
Genocide as a result of the news coverage generated by the March For
Humanity,”
said Sosikian. “More detailed research is likely to show that this number is
even greater when our nationwide CNN ad campaign is included. Now we must
search for ways to educate not ten but 100 million about the Genocide.”
The March For Humanity was made possible by the flood of financial and moral
support it received starting in late January by Armenians and non-Armenians
alike. More than 500 organizations, businesses, and individuals invested in
the
idea. Some people mailed in their checks, others made their donations at the
March For Humanity website, others sponsored walkers, others delivered their
donation personally, some donated food, others water, others their cars, some
gave clothes. Some, who lived in cities the marchers walked through, opened
their doors to the young group of devoted youth.
“The amount of support we received to organize the march was unseen, at least
by me,” said Serouj Aprahamian, coordinator of the March For Humanity.
“Although support is still needed, the amount we received prior to its
beginning was a large encouragement for the walkers.”
More than 11,500 different people from 84 different countries visited the
March For Humanity website– February 24 and
April 24. More than 500 action alerts, calling on President Bush to officially
recognize the Armenian genocide, were completed by many non-Armenians.
“Hundreds helped make the March For Humanity a reality. We are thankful to
each and every individual, business, and organization who contributed in
anyway
to the March For Humanity,” Sosikian. “A few such donors we would like to
thank
in particular include the Armenian Relief Society, Armenian National Committee
of America, AA Cater Truck Manufacturing Company, GBH, Homenetmen, Horizon
Armenian Television, Asbarez Armenian Daily Newspaper, Kerovision, Adin of
California, Sunworks Tanning, New Armenia Daily, Armenian Life Magazine, Axis
of Justice, and all the churches who made our marchers feel like home every
night. We would also like to thank Mr. Kevork Aslanian, Mr. Sarkis Sarkissian,
and Mrs. Vergine Sarkissian.”

5) Turkish Group Protests Schwarzenegger over Armenian Genocide Statement

(AP, AFP)–A Turkish group uniting hundreds of businesses and organizations
demanded Tuesday that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movies be banned from Turkish
television to protest the California governor’s use of the term genocide to
describe the massacre of Armenians by Turks during World War I.
Schwarzenegger, a former actor best known for his role in “The Terminator,”
declared April 24 a “Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.” California
has one of the largest populations of diaspora Armenians.
An umbrella organization grouping some 300 Ankara-based associations, unions
and businesses and led by the Ankara Chamber of Commerce said it launched a
petition to have the governor’s films banned in Turkey.
“We condemn and protest movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger, who declared April
24 a day to commemorate the Armenian genocide and accused Turks of genocide by
acting under the influence of the Armenian lobby, and without researching
historical truths,” read a statement from Sinan Aygun, head of Ankara Chamber
of Commerce. “We don’t want his films shown in Turkey,” said the statement.
In a related move, Turkey said on Monday it would fight mounting
international
pressure to recognize as genocide the mass killings of Armenians under the
Ottoman Empire, urging public agencies and civic groups to launch an “all-out
effort” against the damaging allegations.
“It has become inevitable for all state institutions and NGOs, for everybody
to (work to) disprove those baseless allegations all over the world,” the
government spokesman, Justice Minister Cemil Cicek, said after a cabinet
meeting. “There was no genocide. An all-out effort is needed to expose the
lies
of those who say it happened,” he said.
The cabinet discussed what strategy Turkey should pursue to counter the
Armenian genocide and decided to set up, if necessary, a special agency to
coordinate such efforts, Cicek said.

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United Press International / Washington Times
April 26 2005

UPI hears …

Political fissure b/w Schwarzenegger and Bush

An event in the Caucasus 90 years ago reveals a political fissure
between California’s “Governator” Arnold Schwarzenegger and President
George W. Bush. The issue? The deaths of large numbers of Armenians
during World War I in the Ottoman Empire. The Armenians maintain that
up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed in what they label the 20th
century’s first instance of genocide; the Turks contend that it was
not official state policy and that the number of deaths was about
300,000, counter-claiming that great numbers of Turks also died.
While 16 nations and the Vatican officially recognize the “Armenian
Genocide,” no formal resolution recognizing the massacre as genocide
has been passed by the U.S. government. Two days ago Schwarzenegger
released a statement proclaiming April 24, 2005, “a ‘Day of
Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.'” Bush has avoided using the
epithet, leading to criticism by the Armenian Assembly of America,
publicizing a letter the candidate wrote to them in 2000 commenting,
“Armenians were subjected to a genocidal campaign that defies
comprehension” which added, “If elected president I would ensure that
our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the Armenian
people.” Perhaps influencing the “Terminator’s” proclamation is the
fact that the Armenian Embassy in Canada estimates that 1 million
ethnic Armenians in the United States, more than half of whom live in
California, according to media accounts.

Glendale News Press
April 23, 2005
Only the truth can set us free
PATRICK AZADIAN

Years ago, one of my dear friends, Valerie, called me up and asked me to
write down a number. As she is also my client, I did not question her and
obliged. After giving me the number, she said: “Her name is Afsan, she is
beautiful, she’s got two PhDs, and she is very, very nice. Call her!”
I could not help but wonder what type of a name Afsan was. I asked Valerie
where she was from.
advertisement
She had not anticipated any further questions after giving me such a
glorious description of Afsan. But she responded that Afsan was from the
same place both our grandparents were from. Valerie is of Greek ancestry,
and like my paternal grandparents, they were forced to flee their homes in
Asia Minor during World War I.
My suspicions were true. Afsan was Turkish. A few days later, Valerie called
me up again and insisted I contact the girl. Afsan was at Valerie’s studio
in Beverly Hills, getting a makeover.
I was hesitant. After all, dating a Turkish girl would not be too different
from Margaret Thatcher meeting Che Guevara at the local Irish pub, or
Chairman Mao taking Mother Teresa out to a romantic, candlelight dinner. I
could not visualize a common ground, and if she had been brought up with the
Turkish government’s policy of denial, then there was probably a basic
difference in our core values.
Somehow, I was persuaded to call Afsan. I figured, if two human beings
cannot meet and have a civilized conversation in good faith, then we live in
a nasty world. I decided, for one day, I could be a world citizen, or better
yet, a person with no roots whatsoever.
I picked up Afsan at Valerie’s studio. Before any part of her anatomy had
actually touched the passenger seat, she said: “You look Turkish.”
I was tongue-tied for more reasons than one. Valerie had not been
exaggerating.
It was now official: I was going to be a world citizen for the next few
hours. Turkish-Armenian dialogue had been on ice for more than eight
decades; it could wait one more day.
As we sat on the rooftop of the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, sipping
afternoon tea and munching on biscuits, we covered all the basics in the
first 10 minutes. My membership to the world citizenship did not last long.
Afsan asked me what I had tried to avoid as we first met: “What happened to
your people?”
I had taken a bite off the biscuit, and it had reached the halfway point in
my throat. Her question caught me off guard, and I started coughing and
choking on the biscuit. Tears started flowing down my cheeks. Afsan was
concerned, she put her hand on my back, leaned forward and said: “You are
crying. I am so sorry if I asked the wrong question.”
“No, no,” I answered. “I have biscuit stuck in my throat.”
“Oh!” she said and handed me the teacup; I was back to normal after a few
minutes.
Afsan insisted: “We don’t learn about this part of ‘our’ history in Turkey.
I want to know.”
I looked at her deep blue eyes and responded defensively: “If you want me to
say my great-grandmother and grandparents were not forced to flee their
homes in Van (southeast Asia Minor), and in the process lost at least eight
members of their family, I cannot.”
I was going to get this off my chest now and see if our friendship could
flourish.
I encouraged Afsan to do her own research if she really was interested in
the truth. With her academic background, it should not have been very
difficult for her to decipher between historical revisionism and reliable
historical records.
I left her with a few thoughts, before we went back to lighter topics.
“Ask yourself, as you already have, what happened to those people? How could
over 2,000 years of presence on those lands be terminated in a few years
without a systematic plan of action?
“But most importantly, ask yourself, what kind of a world would we have if
parents could abuse their children without any consequences and later blame
it on unruliness? What type of society would we nourish if every time when a
woman is raped, we claim there are two sides to a story? What sort of family
structures would we build if husbands could murder their wives and then
blame it on the fact that she was chatting with the grocer? And what are the
consequences of rewarding state genocidal policies by blaming the victims
and revising the past?”
To her credit, Afsan listened carefully. Last I heard, she had gone back to
help her homeland recover from a disastrous earthquake. I hope we were able
to agree on some core values as human beings. As cliché as it may sound,
truth can set us free, and that applies to all of us.
* PATRICK AZADIAN works and lives in Glendale. He may be reached at
[email protected]

Keralanext, India
April 24 2005

Armenians Mark 90th Anniversary of Mass Killings in Turkey

[World News] YEREVAN, Armenia – Armenians on Sunday marked the 90th
anniversary of the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire,
vowing to press their case to have the killings recognized by Turkey
and the world as a genocide. Tens of thousands of people, waving
flags and carrying flowers, streamed through the Armenian capital and
marched up to a massive hilltop granite memorial to hear speeches and
prayers.

Weeping mourners filed into the circular block memorial, laying
carnations on a flat surface surrounding a flame. A choir in black
sang hymns as the crowd filed past, some carrying umbrellas against
the sun.

The country will observe a minute of silence at 7 p.m. and Yerevan
residents will place candles on window sills in memory of the
victims.

Ottoman authorities began rounding up intellectuals, diplomats and
other influential Armenians in Istanbul on April 24, 1915, as
violence and unrest grew, particularly in the eastern parts of the
country.

Armenia says up to 1.5 million Armenians ultimately died or were
killed over several years as part of a genocidal campaign to force
them out of eastern Turkey. Turkey acknowledges that large numbers of
Armenians died, but says the overall figure is inflated and that the
deaths occurred in the civil unrest during the collapse of the
Ottoman Empire.

France, Russia and many other countries have already declared the
killings were genocide; the United States, which has a large Armenian
diaspora, has not.

Turkey, which has no diplomatic ties with Armenia, is facing
increasing pressure to fully acknowledge the event, particularly as
it seeks membership in the European Union. The issue is extremely
sensitive in Turkey and Turks have faced prosecution for saying the
killings were genocide.

Ankara earlier this month called for the two countries to jointly
research the killings.

Kavkazcenter.com
Sun, 04 24 2005, 17:51 Djokhar Time

The Doomed Empire

Any empire arises on a messianic idea. It is a rule without exception. The
messianic idea is always aggressive, as the carriers of this idea a priori
consider it to be “sacred”, “fair”. Therefore imposing of this idea to
neighbor peoples, whole continents, and even the whole world in opinion of
adherents of the empire becomes “service to good”, “duty”, etc.

The USA believe that they have the mission to distribute values of democracy
and market liberalism for the whole world. The Great Britain , capturing
colonies worldwide, in opinion of ideologists of an empire, such as R.
Kipling, had a civilization mission, “the burden of a white person”. The
French empire justified the expansion by the slogan of Napoleon III: “The
Empire is the world”. The Austro-Hungarian Empire developed as an advanced
post against Osmanli Turks, as a stronghold of “the Christian world”.
Ottoman Empire arose under the motto of restoration of Halifat that is one
state for all Moslems.

If to go further deep into history it will be found out, that Romans
considered their laws to be the most fair and consequently worthy to be
imposed to the whole world with force of the weapon, so that the whole world
would become Pax Romana. The empire of Alexander the Great was created in
the atmosphere of the Sun as the Macedonian tsar considered himself to be a
descendant of solar deities and he perceived as his lawful property the
whole world shined by the Sun. Kir the Great, the founder of the Persian
empire, was an admirer of doctrine of Zaratushtra, according to whom
Ahuramazda (the center of light) by means of his true attendants should win
and subdue the lands of Ariman (elements of a gloom). Assyrian tsars, who
created the most ancient empire, left numerous inscriptions, in which the
gain and enthrallment of other people was declared to be “the will of
Ashur”, the most high deity.

Russia stepped onto imperial path in the XV century at Ivan III, who married
the niece of the last Byzantium emperor Sofia Paleolog. Sofia arrived to
Moscow accompanied by Greek court, which soon became the closest surrounding
of the Great duke. Then for the first time they began talking about Moscow
as about “the third Rome ” (“the second Rome ” was Constantinople , won by
Osmanli Turks, the old center of orthodox Christianity). The doctrine of
“the third Rome ” connected the idea of an empire to the idea of orthodox
sacral mission together. In other words, exile of Turks from Constantinople
and ruthless struggle against Islamic people became that “messianic idea”,
on the basis of which the Russian empire began to be built (first,
theoretically). Marriage of the Great duke with the Byzantine princess gave
necessary political legitimacy to this messianic idea.

Since then crosses on domes of Russian orthodox temples began to trample on
a Muslim half moon. And since then (instead of since the church split in
1666 or even later, since Peter’s I reforms) the orthodox religion turned to
an ideological instrument of the empire. We shall note, that the struggle of
adherents of “primordially Russian Orthodoxy” with supporters of “the Greek
innovations” is, as a matter of fact, a struggle of supporters of Russia as
a national state with newly appeared adherents of Russia as an empire.
Naturally, the imperial authority in every possible way supported the latter
and subjected the firsts to the most severe reprisals.

During subsequent centuries the doctrine of an empire was corrected,
modernized, acquired political and geopolitical (“expansion up to natural
borders”) terminology. But the initial anti-Turkish and, more widely,
anti-Islamic impulse incorporated in the messianic idea of “the third Rome”,
once and for ever defined the main vector of the Russian expansion – to the
south and southeast. And the cross, according to this idea, should have
trampled on a half moon not only symbolically on domes of churches, but also
in reality, with a gain of Muslim lands.

Peter I, dying, left his well-known Will to the future Russian emperors, in
which he designated a gain of Constantinople as the maximum sense of
existence of the Empire. Ekaterina II, according to her own recognition,
named one of her grandsons Constantine for the reason, that even at her life
she expected to give him the throne of Constantinople , revived as an
orthodox city. The whole history of imperial Russia is an infinite list of
Russo-Turkish wars. The Caucasus and the Balkans were the nearest approaches
to Turkey . These regions till now remain “powder kegs” of the planet owing
to that continuous waves of Russian expansion to the south was carried out
through these thresholds for centuries, sometimes rolling through them.

It will take a lot of time to tell this story. Therefore we shall be limited
with theses. Turkey was rescued by jealousy of other imperial “predators” –
England and France , which were not going to suppose that only Russia would
get the “Turkish inheritance”. Struggle for “the Turkish inheritance” or the
inheritance of “a sick person” (this expression is a publicist stamp of that
time) underlay the extremely confused “east problem”, in the atmosphere of
solving of which the majority of wars were waged in Europe of the XIX
century.

The Caucasian war is one of the “sectors” of this fierce struggle for “the
Turkish inheritance”. Then the West ( England and France) was extremely
interested in successes of the army of Chechen and Avarian myurids battling
against Russia , but the whole support of this struggle was reduced, as well
as today, to creation of “Chechen committees” in European capitals. Turkey
also stayed idle, causing fury of imam Shamil, and though they perfectly
realized in Istanbul , that a long war of Russia in the Chechen Republic and
Dagestan was, basically, a fight for destruction of the last barrier in the
way of intrusion to Turkey .

The revolution in Russia . Lenin’s union with Ataturk. Then – Stalin’s
accession. Overcoming of distempers. And again Turkey , as a delusion,
emerges in geopolitical plans of the USSR . Today it is precisely known,
that Stalin had plans of occupation of Turkey , the lands of which ground,
as it follows from memoirs of the son of Beria, were decided to attach
partially to Armenia and Georgia . It was not realized, for the Second World
War though began according to Stalin’s plans, but was waged according to
Hitler’s plans, and came to the end according to plans of the Anglo-American
alliance. The moment of revival by Stalin of an orthodox patriarchy and
imperial military attributes of old Russia is also interesting here. Again,
already during the war, churches with crosses placed on a half moon began to
operate, and officers and generals of the Soviet army received grades, gold
shoulder-strips and lampas of period of the Empire. And a gain of Turkey
again was in plans.

The communistic idea of an empire also, certainly, was messianic, and,
accordingly, aggressive. “World revolution”, “releasing of the oppressed
mankind”, “the great emancipating campaign of the Red army” was the slogans
coding of global plans to capture the whole world. But the Soviet Union was
ruined.

What is now? Now the successor of the USSR – the Russian Federation – has
remained. The Russian Federation is an empire by definition, as an empire is
when one people (according to the Russian terminology – the “title” one)
subordinate to themselves one or several other peoples. Certainly,
submission of the people is carried out not by the Russian people
themselves. It is carried out by the president of the Russian Federation ,
the government, the army, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB and so
on. Russian people finance these structures by taxes and provide them with
their support. If Russians and even representatives of other people vote
against separation of any national formation from the Russian Federation ,
for example, the Chechen Republic , they vote for preservation of an empire.
And on the contrary. But we are speaking not about it.

For the first time in its history the Russian empire has remained without
messianic idea. Certainly, there are Russian geo-politicians, who realize
how much it is dangerous to an empire to remain without a sacral, offensive,
aggressive idea. Without such an idea the empire is doomed to fail, for its
political form (enthrallment of other people) is deprived of the
corresponding ideological content (“the sacred idea”, which would motivate
this submission in opinion of Russians). But these “realizing” geopolitics
remain a small group of intellectuals, who do not have much influence on the
Kremlin.

If the Russian empire is kept, we shall say so, in a political formation,
but is deprived of “the offensive messianic idea”; “the pragmatic defensive
idea” will inevitably be used instead of it. And this idea is already used –
“preservation of integrity of the Russian Federation “. The words said by
Putin after Beslan are remarkable, “There is an intervention of the
international forces against Russia “. These words and the policy of
preservation of the “integrity of the Russian Federation ” prove that the
empire has finally passed to defense. That is, it has passed to the idea,
opposite to that on the basis of which it was built, developed, extended and
became stronger.

The popular today nationalist idea in Russia can not rescue the empire, as
the nationalism of one people pushes away from them other people and does
disintegration of an empire faster and more catastrophic. Nationalism is a
centrifugal idea, as the centripetal idea is necessary for stable existence
of an empire. The nationalism can sometimes be a constructive idea for a
mono-national state; however this ideology is always destructive for
multinational empires. But there are no other ideologies in modern Russia .
The sub-national communistic idea is compromised by shattering defeat of the
USSR in the cold war, and the religion in Russian people is eradicated by
communism (Stalin advances with Orthodoxy came to an end with Khrushchev’s
coming to power).

The defending empire perishes, breaks up, and ceases to exist. It is the
same insuperable law of life, as sea inflow and ebbs. It is a question not
of a defensive war, but about “ideological defense”. The USA has a
messianic, offensive idea: export of democracy and consequently the USA can
become an empire (or if someone likes another term, “the center of
globalism”). Russia does not have such an idea any more. And an empire
becomes senseless without such an idea, people will not be at war for its
safety with sincere belief in sanctity of the mission, believing, that they
bear “happiness for the mankind”.

However there is a variant of shattering falling of the empire, and there is
a variant of its peace dismantle. The Kremlin has chosen the first variant.
Therefore we shall see the Apocalypses show in the nearest future.

Idris Maigov ,
Chechenpress

BY NOW

By Diana Der-Hovanessian
for the 90th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide by the Turks

By now we should have finished grieving.
By now we should have found some peace.

By now there should have been atonement
and the pain slightly eased.

By now witnesses are almost gone.
And the lies about our bones believed.

By now they thought we would be forgotten.
and our blood dried to dust and blown.

By now they thought the smoke and fire
would be either greened or stone.

By now they thought our stolen children
would have all turned into Turks.

By now they thought the aid money
sent back to America would do its work

in changing truth to lies:
that we were never here alive.

By now they thought the last survivors
and their children would be in graves.

They didn’t count on our children’s children
even angrier, and more outraged.

—
Diana Der Hovanessian is a Fulbright professor of American literature
at Yerevan State University in 1994 and 1999, she is author of 17
books and has published in American Scholar, Poetry, Harvard Review,
Nation, Paris Review, New Republic, and her poetry is regularly
published in the Christian Science Monitor. She has awards from the
Columbia Translation Center, P.E.N., Writers Union of America, and the
Writers Union of Armenia.

Armenian president wants “normal relations” with Turkey

RTR Russia TV, Moscow
23 Apr 05

Armenian President Robert Kocharyan has said there are no relations
between Armenia and Turkey at the moment and blamed Turkey for
this. He added, however, that Armenia intended to build normal
relations with its neighbours, including Turkey.

In an interview on Russia TV channel on the eve of the 90th
anniversary of the genocide against Armenians in the Ottoman Empire,
Kocharyan said: “Armenia simply does not have any relations with
Turkey at the moment and that is not our fault.”

Kocharyan told the presenter of the Zerkalo current affairs programme,
Nikolay Svanidze, that it was strange that “malice has been preserved
by the side responsible for the crime and not by the victim of that
crime”. The president went on to say that the Armenians viewed the
history of relations with Turkey “with bitterness but without hatred”
and that they could not quite understand Turkey which is not simply
denying its own past, but which is blockading modern Armenia.

Kocharyan said this situation could be explained by “the state of the
modern Turkish society and evaluation by the society of that difficult
period of its own history: the fall of the Ottoman Empire and very
many processes that occurred there because of that fall”. Kocharyan
confirmed that he had recently received a letter from the Turkish
prime minister, but added that the letter did not contain much that
would help tackle the problem of relations between the two countries.

Answering a question as to what the recognition of the genocide would
mean for the Armenians, Kocharyan said that his nation wanted justice
and not in the sense of some compensation, but first of all, in moral
sense. He added that there probably were legal grounds for seeking
compensation, but the world had moved on and that it was necessary to
look into the future and not into the past.

[Congressional Record: April 22, 2005 (Senate)]
[Page S4148-S4149]
>From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr22ap05-88]

90TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, today, as in previous years, I would like
to honor the memory of the victims of the Armenian genocide. This year
marks the 90th anniversary of the brutal campaign to eliminate
Armenians from the Turkish Ottoman Empire.
April 24 was chosen as the day of remembrance because on that date in
1915, more than 5,000 Armenians including civic leaders, intellectuals,
writers, priests, scientists, and doctors were systematically rounded
up and murdered. The systematic and intentional killing continued until
1923, leaving nearly 1.5 million Armenians dead.
There are those who attempt to deny that this atrocity ever occurred.
But there is no denying the overwhelming historical record and
eyewitness accounts that documented the appalling events of 1915-23,
which occurred during the time of the Ottoman Empire. The United States
Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morgenthau, stated at the time
that “When the Turkish authorities gave the orders for these
deportations, they were merely giving the death warrant to a whole
race; they understood this well, and, in their conversations with me,
they made no particular attempt to conceal the fact . . . I am
confident that the whole history of the human race contains no such
horrible episode as this.”
The annual remembrance of the Armenian genocide is not a condemnation
of our ally, the present day Republic of Turkey. But, our mutual
interest with our NATO partner and our friendship with, and respect
for, the Turkish people are not reasons to ignore historical fact.
Nobel Laureate writer Elie Wiesel has said that the denial of genocide
constitutes a “double killing” for it seeks to rewrite history by
absolving the perpetrators of violence while ignoring the suffering of
the victims.
During my time in the Senate, I have spoken about the Armenian
Genocide many times. It is important that we take time to remember and
honor the victims, and pay respect to the survivors who are still with
us. In addition, we must reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that
history is not repeated. This is the highest tribute we can pay to the
victims of any genocide.
Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to honor the memory of the 1.5
million Armenian genocide victims by recognizing that there are still
those in the world who will stop at nothing to perpetuate campaigns of
hate, intolerance, and unthinkable violence. We must do all we can to
stop atrocities, like those in the Darfur region of Sudan, from
occurring as well as continue to provide adequate recovery aid to
survivors. In doing so, we will truly honor the memory of genocide
victims and fulfill our responsibilities as a world leader.
Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I rise to commemorate the 90th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide, the first genocide of the 20th
century. One and a half million men, women, and children lost their
lives as a result of the violent massacres and extensive deportation
carried out by the Ottoman Turkish rulers against their Armenian
citizens. Today, as we remember the bravery and sacrifice of the
Armenian people in the face of great suffering, we renew our commitment
to protecting the fundamental rights and freedoms of all humanity.
Nine decades have passed since the terrible blows that befell the
Armenian people in 1915. On April 24 of that year, more than 250
Armenian intellectuals and civic leaders in Constantinople were rounded
up and killed, in what was the first step in a systematic plan to
exterminate the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire. After the
round-up, Armenian soldiers serving in the Ottoman army were segregated
into labor battalions and brutally murdered. In towns and villages
across Anatolia, Armenian leaders were arrested and killed. Finally,
the remaining Armenian population, women, children, and the elderly,
were driven from their homes and deported to the Syrian Desert.
In reality, “deportation” was merely a euphemism for death marches.
Ottoman Turkish soldiers allowed brigands and released convicts to kill
and rape the deportees at will; often the soldiers themselves
participated in the attacks. Driven into the desert without food and
water, weakened by the long march, hundreds of thousands of Armenians
succumbed to starvation. In areas of Anatolia where deportation was not
deemed practicable, other vicious actions were undertaken. In the towns
along the Black Sea coast, for example, thousands of Armenians were
packed on boats and drowned.
The efforts to annihilate the Armenian population were well
documented in first-hand accounts, press reports, and other testimony.
Henry Morgenthau, the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey at the time, personally
made vigorous appeals to stop the genocide, calling it “a campaign of
race extermination” and “the greatest horror in history”. Leslie
Davis, a U.S. diplomat stationed in eastern Anatolia, had a similar
account, writing once to the State Department, “it has been no secret
that the plan was to destroy the Armenian race as a race, but the
methods used have been more cold-blooded and barbarous, if not more
effective, than I had at first supposed.” Even Germany, Ottoman
Turkey’s own ally, condemned the Turkish “acts of horror.”
Despite the testimony from U.S. diplomats who were witness to the
events and the abundance of credible, international evidence
documenting the Armenian genocide, there are still those who refuse to
acknowledge its occurrence. To anyone who doubts this brutal history, I
would recommend a visit to the National Archives, where much of the
evidence collected by our diplomats, along with survivors’ accounts,
are stored.
I do not deny that coming to terms with history is a difficult and
painful process, as those who lived in South Africa and the countries
of the former Soviet bloc can tell us. But the challenge of acceptance
does not justify the distortion of truth. Falsifying history insults
the memory of those who suffered and threatens our very understanding
of justice and humanity.
We have a national interest in seeking that our foreign policy is
grounded in the same principles on which this Nation was founded, a
respect for the truth, the rule of law, and democratic institutions.
Clearly, this was in part the administration’s motivation for its
recognition last fall of the genocide in Darfur. In his testimony
before the

[[Page S4149]]

Foreign Relations Committee on September 9, Secretary Powell declared
that “the evidence corroborates the specific intent of the
perpetrators to destroy ‘a group in whole or in part’.” This begs the
question: if Darfur, why not Armenia? Did the Ottomans not seek to
destroy the Armenians to this same extent?
Although Americans of Armenian origin, many of whom came to this
country fleeing persecution and looking to rebuild, make up a
relatively small community among the multitudes that comprise our
Nation, they have enriched our national life beyond proportion to their
numbers, in the arts and sciences, in medicine, in business, and in the
daily life of communities across the Nation. I support Americans of
Armenian origin in calling for recognition of the genocide committed
against their relatives 90 years and just a few generations ago. In
recognizing this tragedy, we reinforce our commitment to building a
world in which history will not repeat itself.