Author: Varazdat Torgomian

Photo: Reuters

In its decision of 26 January 2017, the Constitutional Council censured various provisions of the Equality and Citizenship Act, which the National Assembly had finally adopted on 22 December 2016, on a proposal from the Government, Nouvelles d’Armenie reports.

The Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF) has said “the Constitutional Council has the moral and political responsibility for exposing many French citizens, and especially those of Armenian origin, to the aggression with complete impunity of Turkey’s state denial.”

The CCAF will never accept such a submission and will continue to denounce and combat negationism which has no connection with any historical debate but instead participates in the elaboration and justification of the crime of genocide, the supreme stage of racism.

European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) also known as ANC-Europe Chair Kaspar Karampetian and EU Affairs Officer Heghine Evinyan visited Berlin to personally deliver the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) 2016 Freedom Award to German Parliament Member Cem Ozdemir and the entire German Bundestag. Also delivered were congratulatory certificates of support and solidarity from various American federal, state and local elected officials and bodies, including the California State Legislature, and the County and City of Los Angeles.  Ozdemir and the Bundestag were honored during the 2016 ANCA-WR Annual Gala back in October for their courage in resisting pressure from the government of Turkey to introduce and pass a resolution formally recognizing the Armenian Genocide as well as Germany’s complicity in this crime against humanity.

In her remarks introducing the award in front of a crowd of over 1,000 elected officials, supporters and activists at the Gala, ANCA-WR Board Member Souzi Zerounian-Khanzadian stated, “630. That’s the number of members of the German Bundestag. Mr. Ozdemir attained a majority of votes out of 630 members of Parliament, standing up against threats both to his government and himself, and relieving his government of the gag rule Turkey had imposed on them. The U.S. Congress is comprised of 435 members, 195 less than the Bundestag, yet the Speaker of our House of Representatives and speakers before him have cowered at the idea of bringing the Armenian Genocide to a floor vote. Our Presidents have cowered behind cheap excuses, refusing to address the issue of the Armenian Genocide.

“When the coup took place and President Erdogan used excessive force, the White House did not reprimand or comment. When Turkey provided assistance to ISIS, the U.S. still stood by Turkey. For fear of what? That the Ambassador to Turkey will be recalled? It only took 127 days before the German ambassador was returned; France and other countries have gone through the same routine,” continued Zerounian-Khanzadian.

Ozdemir, who was unable to attend the Gala due to election season back home, accepted the award and expressed appreciation for the recognition with a video message.

In his remarks, Ozdemir noted, “The fight for minority rights has been a cornerstone of my career in the past. …Since then we have seen commemorations of the Genocide and academic conferences on the subject in Turkey. What we have not seen, unfortunately, is any movement on the political level. Instead, the Turkish government is putting more and more pressure on the Turkish civil society that so bravely started the debate about the genocide. This is why we, as members of the German Bundestag, wanted no longer to wait for movement in Turkey.  However, the most important motivation for us to act now was the fact that Germany was guilty too. The German Kaiserreich was the closest military ally of the Ottomans at that time. Through diplomats, through missionaries they were well informed about what was going in Turkey at that time. Yet they decided not to intervene and let over one million innocent people die.

“The resolution clearly recognizes co-responsibility of Germany, even speaking of guilt. The fact that the Bundestag almost as a whole embraced the Armenian Genocide resolution shows that Germany is ready to accept this dark chapter of its history. The award you are giving me means a lot to me. It will serve as a reminder that we need to learn from the past in order to do what’s right in the present. Unfortunately, we still live in a world full of conflicts and violence. When I think of Syria, I also think of how places like Aleppo and Deir el-Zor — one hundred years ago these were the destinations of those Armenians who survived the death marches. Now Christians and countless more people in the Middle East have to flee again. So we still have a lot of work to do to make this world a better place for all of us,” concluded Ozdemir.

The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.

Today (Jan. 19, 2017) marks the 10th anniversary of the murder of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink. Dink was shot dead by a young Turkish ultranationalist outside the office of the Agos newspaper, where he was editor-in-chief.

Ten years have passed and the investigation into the killing drags slowly on, but Dink’s shining legacy remains undimmed despite seismic shocks in Turkey in the years since.

Born in the Anatolian city of Malatya – which once had a large Armenian population but now almost none – Dink moved to Istanbul and in 1996 sprung to prominence by founding Agos. Agos was not the first or only Armenian newspaper in Turkey but it was the first to be published in Turkish as well as Armenian, allowing a debate of issues that had long remained taboo.

Dink’s death became a symbol of the peril of such moves. The photograph of his corpse covered by a sheet, with just the soles of his shoes complete with a hole showing, underlined the tragedy. And although his assassin, just 17 at the time, was rapidly arrested and sentenced, the trial into the killing still grinds on with Dink’s supporters losing confidence on its ability to shed light on the plot.

Dink’s assassin, Ogun Samast, is still behind bars but the trial into dozens of police accused of covering up the plot rumbles on.

PHOTO: BLAINE ALAN GIBSON

The search for the Malaysian airliner that disappeared three years ago with 239 on board has been suspended, the BBC reports.

In a statement, Australia, Malaysia and China said the decision was taken with “sadness” after a fruitless search in more than 120,000 sq km (46,300 miles) of the Indian Ocean.

Families of the victims called it an “irresponsible” move that must be reconsidered.

Flight MH370 vanished en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur in 2014.

So far only seven of the 20 pieces of recovered debris have been identified as definitely or highly likely to be from the Boeing 777.

10th round of hearings of Dink murder case will continue today in Istanbul. Friends of Hrant was in front of the court house, Agos reports. 

The case on the murder of Agos’ editor-in-chief Hrant Dink will continue today (January 16) in Istanbul.

Hearings will continue until Friday and Ali Fuat Yılmazer will present his defence.

Before the hearing, Friends of Hrant was in front of the court house, demanding justice again.

Speaking on behalf of Friends of Hrant, Bülent Aydın reminded that hearing of defences will be completed soon and now, it is Ali Fuat Yılmazer’s turn.

Saying that “For 10 years, Hrant is not here and there is no justice,” Aydın announced that they will gather  in front of the old Agos building, where Dink was shot, on January 19 at 2.30 pm.

PHOTO: CHEFFINS

– Prince Harry was “constantly in trouble at school”, candid letters written by Princess Diana reveal.

The notes, sent to ex-Buckingham Palace steward Cyril Dickman, also describe how a young Prince William “swamped” his new baby brother with “an endless supply of hugs and kisses”.

The handwritten correspondence is to be sold at auction later.

Photos, Christmas cards and cake from the Queen’s wedding will also go under the hammer.

The letters form part of about 40 lots from Mr Dickman’s former estate, which is due to be sold.

The lots are each expected to fetch £80-£900.

Cheffins, a Cambridgeshire auction house, said the letters formed part of “a unique collection of Royal memorabilia”.

The Russian State Duma delegation led by Leonid Kalashnikov, Chairman of the Committee on for CIS, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial today.

On behalf of the State Duma, the Russian lawmakers laid a wreath at the memorial to the Armenian Genocide victims and paid tribute to their memory with a minute of silence.

The guests visited the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute and familiarized with the documents and testimonies of the Armenian Genocide.

“Innocent people keep dying today. It is necessary to combine efforts to prevent new universal tragedies,” Leonid Kalashnikov said.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will leave Tehran on Wednesday for a three-day tour to three Caucasian and central Asian states, Iranian president’s deputy chief of staff for communications and information, Parviz Esmaeili, said on Sunday, according to Iranian media reports.

Heading a high-ranking politico-economic delegation, Iranian Rouhani will visit Armenia and Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to discuss ways of improving mutual relations, state TV reported.

The trip will take place at the invitation of Rouhani’s counterparts and in line with the Islamic republic’s policy to improve relations with neighboring and regional countries, said Esmaeili.

During his day-long visit to Armenia’s capital Yerevan on Wednesday, Rouhani will hold talks with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on the expansion of cooperation, Esmaeili said, adding that senior Iranian and Armenian officials will also sign several trade and economic cooperation documents.

Rouhani will then leave Yerevan to the Kazakh capital, Astana and Bishkek.

The European Union Delegation to Armenia and the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) have signed a Contract to the EUR 2 million grant that marks the beginning of a three-year project aimed at facilitating development of the civil society sector in Armenia.

AGBU Armenia is actively undertaking a new strategic direction to engage more closely with civil society in the country and through this grant will take its first steps forward.

The Civil Society Facilitation project will be implemented by AGBU Armenia together with the Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF). The project will build the capacity of local CSOs and harness their networks. A special focus will be put on establishing direct ties between experts from Diaspora and local CSOs and facilitating skills and knowledge exchange as well as more active involvement of Diaspora in a day-to-day life of the Armenian civil society.

The project will complement the currently run EU-funded capacity building project which focuses on internal and external capacity building of around 100 CSOs in Armenia (STRONG Civil Society Organisations for Stronger Armenia) and other ongoing actions supported by the European Union (e.g. Community Development through Social Entrepreneurship – CODE-SE project- Social Response to Labour Migration in Armenia (Together4Armenia.am)). The action is completely in line with the priorities identified in the EU Country Roadmap for Engagement with Civil Society (2014-2017) and Annual Action Programme 2015 in favour of the Republic of Armenia.