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03/09/2005
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1) System Of A Down ~QSouls 2005~R Benefit Concert
2) Sen. Allen Calls for US Recognition of Armenian Genocide
3) Erdogan Calls for a Study about Armenian Genocide ~QInsinuations~R
4) Skirmish Reported in Karabagh
1) System Of A Down ~QSouls 2005~R Benefit Concert
“We call this ‘Souls’ because there are all these souls that aren’t at rest.
Their deaths have been overlooked.”
LOS ANGELES–Multi-Platinum-selling group System Of A Down will headline
“Souls 2005,” a benefit concert presented by Los Angeles radio powerhouse,
KROQ-FM, and held in Los Angeles on Sunday, April 24 at the Universal
Amphitheatre. All tickets for the concert will be priced at $45.00 and will go
on sale at 10:00 AM on Saturday, March 12 at the Universal Amphitheatre box
office, all Ticketmaster outlets including Tower Records, Robinsons-May,
Wherehouse, Ritmo Latino, <;,
and <; Doors are at 7:00 PM and the show will
begin at 8:15 PM; support acts and other details will be announced shortly.
This is the third “Souls” benefit concert that System Of A Down has organized
and headlined, and as before, the four band members–Serj Tankian, Daron
Malakian, Shavo Odadjian, and John Dolmayan–have earmarked the proceeds from
“Souls 2005” to benefit organizations that work to eradicate genocides across
the globe. This includes the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), an
organization that supports legislation in US Congress to recognize the
Armenian
genocide that was perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire during World War 1. During
this first genocide of the 20th century, 1.5 million Armenians were
annihilated
and hundreds of thousands deported from their ancient homeland. April 24 was
chosen as the date for the concert as this year it commemorates the 90th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
The members of System of a Down, who are of Armenian descent, all lost family
members and family history to the Armenian genocide. “Because so much of my
family history was lost in the Armenian Genocide,” said Malakian, “my
grandfather, who was very young at the time, doesn’t know his true age. How
many people can say they don’t know how old they are?” Tankian, Dolmayan and
Odadjian all identify their grandparents’ memories as the only links they have
to their respective family heritages, as most of their families were
obliterated during the Armenian genocide.
Why should System Of A Down fans be concerned about the Armenian genocide,
something that happened nearly one-hundred years ago and far away from the
United States?
“It’s important for people to be aware of the Armenian Genocide,” explained
Tankian, “and that those actions continue to be covered up by the Turkish
government, the US State Department, Turkey’s allies in the defense and oil
industries, and by our present US Administration. Had the Armenian Genocide
been acknowledged as a Crime Against Humanity as it was, Hitler might not have
thought he could get away with the Jewish Holocaust. History does and will
repeat itself, unless we stop that cycle.”
2) Sen. Allen Calls for US Recognition of Armenian Genocide
–Virginia Legislator: US “Not Willing to Sweep History under the Rug”
WASHINGTON, DC–In a principled stand for US recognition of the Armenian
genocide, Senator George Allen (R-VA), in his capacity as the presiding
officer
of a Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee hearing on the Black Sea region,
noted that the United States “wants to have good relations with Turkey but we
are not willing to sweep history under the rug,” reported the Armenian
National
Committee of America (ANCA).
The hearing, on “The Future of Democracy in the Black Sea Area,” was held
before the Subcommittee on European Affairs and featured testimony by John F.
Tefft, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, European and Eurasian Affairs;
Bruce P. Jackson, President of the Project on Transitional Democracies;
Vladimir Socor, a Senior Fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, and; Zeyno Baran,
Director of International Security and Energy Programs for the Nixon Center.
Senator Allen, during his remarks, also noted the chilling nature of Adolf
Hitler’s remarks to quiet the reservations of his military staff on the eve of
invading Poland–“Who, after all, remembers the Armenians?”
“As he has done so often in the past–as a member of the Virginia
legislature,
a US Representative, Governor of the Commonwealth, and now as Senator–George
Allen has spoken with moral clarity on the need to end any association with
Turkey’s shameful policy of genocide denial,” said ANCA Executive Director
Aram
Hamparian. “Armenians throughout the Old Dominion and around the nation
appreciate the Senator’s strong leadership on the issue of the Armenian
Genocide and the full range of legislative issues dealing with Armenia and the
surrounding region.”
Early in her testimony, Baran of the Nixon Center cited the “deterioration in
the US-Turkey bilateral relationship.” She went on to voice her opposition to
the Armenian Genocide Resolution, noting that its passage would harm US-Turkey
relations. “Given the prevalent Turkish view that the US is running a campaign
against Turkey, it would be very damaging if the “Armenian Genocide”
resolution
passed Congress this year,” stated Baran. “This year is the 90th
anniversary of
the tragic 1915 massacre and certainly Armenian diaspora groups would like to
get recognition. However, such a resolution would play right into the hands of
the growing set of anti-Americans and ultra-nationalists in Turkey.”
“We are profoundly troubled that there remain voices whose recipe for reining
in the Turkish government’s increasing anti-American policies is to reward
Turkey by compromising our nation’s principles stand against genocide,” said
Hamparian. “American leadership requires that we stand up for our values, not
run away from them.”
3) Erdogan Calls for a Study about Armenian Genocide ~QInsinuations~R
ANKARA (Reuters)–Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan called Tuesday for an
impartial study by historians of ~SArmenian claims that their people suffered
genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turkish troops during and after World War
I.~T
Turkey always denied the Armenian genocide but has been irked by growing
calls, especially from within the European Union, which it aspires to join,
that it recognize a genocide occurred as an historic fact.
Some EU politicians have even suggested that Turkey should not be allowed to
start entry talks to join the bloc on Oct. 3 unless it accepts the genocide
claims.
“We have opened our archives to those people who claim there was genocide. If
they are sincere, they should also open their archives,” Erdogan told a news
conference.
“Teams of historians from both sides should conduct studies in these
archives.
We are ready to take steps on this issue.
“We do not want future generations to have a difficult life because of hatred
and resentment,” he added.
In an unusual gesture that underlined the sensitivity of the issue in Turkey,
opposition leader Deniz Baykal joined Erdogan at the news conference to stress
his party’s full backing for an independent inquiry into the claims.
“We are facing a political campaign (against Turkey),” said Baykal, leader of
the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
In his statement to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Baykal said,
~SIt is
time to put an end to the insinuations on the Armenian ~Qgenocide,~R” describing
it as a product of a morbid imagination.
He announced that his party will host a symposium, under the auspices of
UNESCO, with the participation of the world’s most famous scholars.
“If the Armenian scholars really have serious arguments and facts on the
~Qgenocide,~R they should display them here. Those who talk about the Armenian
~Qgenocide~R by the Ottoman government must present documentary proofs. If the
events are nothing but the insinuations, however, the international community
must be aware of that,” he said.
Several foreign parliaments, including those of Canada, France, and
Switzerland, have approved resolutions recognizing an Armenian genocide as
fact, much to Turkey’s irritation.
4) Skirmish Reported in Karabagh
STEPANAKERT (Combined Sources)–Mountainous Karabagh Republic~Rs (MKR) Defense
Ministry reported late Tuesday that a group of Azeri soldiers attempted to
cross the frontline near the Armenian-controlled village of Seysulan on a
~Sreconnaissance and sabotage~T mission before being repelled by Armenian
forces.
~SThe enemy had to retreat as a result of a gunfight,~T said a ministry
statement. ~SThe Karabagh side suffered no losses.~T
The MKR military charged that the skirmish was part of Azerbaijan~Rs
efforts to
~Sdestabilize the situation~T along the line of contact north and east of
Karabagh and move its troops closer to Armenian positions. ~SAny action by the
Azerbaijani side threatening the security of Mountainous Karabagh and aimed at
destabilizing the situation in the Azerbaijani-Karabagh conflict zone will be
resolutely thwarted,~T it warned. Karabagh troops suffered no casualties.
The Azeri side confirmed the firefight but said it was the Karabagh Armenians
who provoked it by firing on Azeri positions.
~SThe enemy was silenced by Azerbaijani gunfire,~T the Azerbaijani ANS
television said, according to BBC. ~SSeveral enemy soldiers were killed in the
attack. Four wounded Azerbaijani soldiers have been hospitalized.~T
An ANS correspondent at the scene reported that sporadic gunfire could still
be heard in the area on Tuesday.
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