Ottawa Citizen, Ontario, Canada
April 27, 2005 Wednesday
Final Edition
Armenians remember atrocities of 1915
by Jennifer Campbell, The Ottawa Citizen
Last weekend marked the end of several days of commemoration of the
Armenian genocide for Armenians across Canada, many of whom came to
Ottawa to remember the atrocities of 1915 that resulted in the deaths
of more than a million Armenians.
An ecumenical prayer service at Notre Dame Cathedral April 15
attracted 28 religious leaders from the Christian, Buddhist and Hindu
faiths.
Rabbi Reuven Bulka and Imam Gamal Suleiman could not attend the
Friday service because they were observing their Sabbath, but they
sent messages. Armenian Ambassador Ara Papian attended the service
with representatives from other embassies and high commissions
including Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bolivia, Bulgaria,
Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Gabon, Greece, Holy See (Vatican), Ivory Coast,
Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Macedonia, Netherlands, Poland, Russia,
Rwanda, Slovenia, South Africa, Syria and Uruguay.
Ottawa-Centre MP Ed Broadbent, who spoke at the service, called the
events of 1915 “a clear, undisputed act of genocide,” adding, “While
it is hard to imagine anything worse than war, genocide is, because
people are selected for systematic murder, not for what they have
done or for the territory they occupy but simply for who they are.”
A vigil, organized and attended by Canadian Armenians aged 16-26,
took place Saturday evening at the Human Rights Monument. Besides
speeches, the event featured an outdoor presentation of a
documentary.
This year’s commemoration ceremonies also involved a peaceful protest
Sunday outside the Turkish embassy. The Armenians want Turkey to
acknowledge the crimes, but that country continues to deny what the
Canadian Parliament now recognizes as a genocide. Last year,
Parliament passed a private member’s bill acknowledging the events as
a genocide while the Senate had done the same thing two years
earlier. The Armenian community had protested the lack of recognition
in previous years but abandoned that battle after recognition came
last April. Survivors and their children still want cabinet to
recognize the events, but it has not done so.
Germany’s Pope
Although the appointment of Pope Benedict XVI represents the first
time in almost 500 years that a German has risen to the top job at
the Vatican, German Ambassador Christian Pauls doesn’t think the new
Pope’s country of origin is significant for Germany.
“He is the Pope, and he happens to be of German background,” said Mr.
Pauls. The Pope, he said, would be an important figure in Germany
regardless of his background, as more than a third of Germans are
Roman Catholic.
“For them, he’s a central figure,” Mr. Pauls said. That said, Mr.
Pauls said his government is pleased Joseph Ratzinger was named. He
also noted that it’s “rather surprising” to see a German elected Pope
only 60 years after the end of the Second World War.
France Honours Ottawan
French Ambassador Daniel Jouanneau gave a prestigious French award to
Louis Perret, professor and the University of Ottawa’s former dean of
civil law, last Wednesday. By decorating Mr. Perret with the
Chevalier de la legion d’honneur medal, the embassy hoped to
recognize him as “an unrelenting defender of the civil law tradition
and of the dialogue between legal cultures.” Mr. Perret has taught
civil law at the University of Ottawa since 1974 and was dean for the
past decade. The embassy noted that he made an important contribution
to civil law through the works he’s published and directed over his
long career.
IPS Wins Ceo Praise
The Martin government’s International Policy Statement, unveiled last
week, was welcomed by business leaders in the country who praised it
while urging the government to act quickly on the vision it outlined.
“The global challenges are clear,” said Thomas d’Aquino, chief
executive and president of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives.
“The strategic priorities the government has laid out are promising.
But if Canada is to live up to the policy statement’s goal of truly
making a difference in the world, plenty of hard work and hard
choices lie ahead.” His organization praised the strategy toward
North America. It further supported the plan to aggressively pursue
multilateral trade and investment, specifically with economic engines
such as China, India, Brazil and Korea while seeking bilateral
agreements with Japan and the European Union. It lauded a plan to
allow more skilled immigrants into Canada while recognizing their
credentials and approved of Canadian aid going to a list of 25 key
recipient countries and doubling the overall aid budget.
Vaccines Going to Yemen
Yemeni Ambassador Abdulla Nasher has been named to an international
advisory group that will educate developing countries about the
importance of the Hib (Haemophilus Influenza type B) vaccine, on
behalf of an organization created by Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization is planning a
$37-million U.S. program to explain its efforts to provide the Hib
vaccine to 63 countries, including Yemen. The governments are
hesitant about accepting the vaccine over concerns about the impact
and benefits of it, as well as the cost associated. Dr. Nasher will
serve as senior adviser for health care development and reform on the
group, which includes experts from South East Asia, Oslo, Stockholm
and Kenya.
27 Female Success Stories
Two international development trailblazers were here yesterday to
launch their book, Developing Power: How Women Transformed
International Development, which features the stories of 27 women who
fought to establish a global women’s movement.
Dorienne Rowan-Campbell, the first director of the Women and
Development Program of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, is the
only Canadian contributor. She remembers developing a network of
women, all in clerical positions, who would inform her of important
meetings. “That way I didn’t get left out,” she said. She also
remembers when her boss cut funding for studies she’d initiated. When
New Zealand’s justice minister, Ann Hercus, visited her in her
office, Ms. Rowan-Campbell told her about the cuts. Ms. Hercus, later
New Zealand’s prime minister, told her she’d reverse that. And she
did.
Ms. Scott was the World Bank’s first adviser on women and development
and before that she was a pioneer in social planning at the United
Nations.
The International Development Research Centre was host of the launch.
Jennifer Campbell is editor of Diplomat and International Canada
magazine. Reach her at [email protected]
– – –
Tres Bien!
French Ambassador Daniel Jouanneau gave the Chevalier de la legion
d’honneur medal to University of Ottawa law professor Louis Perret at
the embassy Wednesday.
Solemn Ceremony
Ottawa-Centre MP Ed Broadbent was one of the speakers at an
ecumenical church service at Notre Dame Cathedral on April 15 to
commemorate the Armenian genocide in 1915. The service attracted 28
religious leaders from the Christian, Buddhist and Hindu faiths.
Music Men
Austrian Ambassador Otto Ditz was host of a concert in his Rockcliffe
home Friday. The embassy’s cultural attache, Matthias Radosztics,
played clarinet.
Warm Welcome
Bangladeshi High Commissioner Rafiq Khan hosted a dinner last night
in honour of the three new heads of mission in Ottawa.
Stepping Aside
Slovenian Ambassador Veronika Stabej is stepping down after two years
as head of the Ottawa Diplomatic Association.
New Stamp
Irish Ambassador Martin Burke unveiled a postage stamp showcasing
UNESCO biospheres from Canada and Ireland.
Remembering Bravery and Sacrifice
The high commissioners for New Zealand and Australia attended a
ceremony on Sussex Drive Monday to mark ANZAC Day, a national
remembrance day to honour the bravery and sacrifice of the members of
the Australian and New Zealand army corps.
GRAPHIC:
Photo: Embassy of France; (1. Mr. Perret, left, with his medal and
Mr. Jouanneau.);
Photo: Martin Lipman, Lipman Still Pictures; (2. Mr. Broadbent
delivers his speech.);
Photo: Martin Lipman, Lipman Still Pictures; (3. Armenian Ambassador
Ara Papian attends the memorial service.);
Photo: Chris Mikula, The Ottawa Citizen; (4. Mr. Ditz, left, and his
wife, Maureen Evoy Ditz, with clarinet player Matthias Radosztics,
right, and piano player Walter Delehunt.);
Photo: Nicki Corrigall, The Ottawa Citizen; (5. Kuwaiti Ambassador
Musaed Al-Haroun, Japanese Ambassador Sadaaki Numata, Bangladeshi
High Commissioner Rafiq Khan and Chinese Ambassador Shumin Lu last
night at Mr. Khan’s home.);
Photo: Bruno Schlumberger, The Ottawa Citizen; (6. Ms. Stabej with
Bolivian Ambassador Carlos Antonio Carrasco, the new head of the
Ottawa Diplomatic Association, at the National Press Club last
night.);
Photo: Pat McGrath, The Ottawa Citizen; (7. Mr. Burke, left, with
John McCallum, minister responsible for Canada Post.);
Photo: Rod MacIvor, The Ottawa Citizen; (8. Australian High
Commissioner William Fisher, left, and New Zealand High Commissioner
Graham Kelley lay wreaths at the ceremony.)