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09/26/2005
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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) In Turkey, a First-ever Debate about Armenian Genocide 2) Groups in Javakhk Advocate Autonomy 3) System of A Down to Rally for Vote on Armenian Genocide Legislation 4) Conference Produces New Level of Cooperation among Europe's Armenians 5) Balakian's 'The Burning Tigris' Wins Raphael Lemkin Prize 1) In Turkey, a First-ever Debate about Armenian Genocide On eve of EU accession talks, conference discussing Armenians in the declining years of the Ottoman Empire found there was strong evidence that massacres and widespread deportations had been carried out, but stopped short of describing the acts as genocide. ISTANBUL (Christian Science Monitor/Guncel)--Opposition to a conference about the genocide of Armenians moved from Turkish courtrooms to the street over the weekend as scholars discussed the issue publicly for the first time on Turkish soil. Turkish nationalists, who back the official line that there was no Armenian genocide, sought to make their views embarrassingly plain by hurling eggs and tomatoes outside Istanbul Bilgi University, a back-up venue used to skirt a court order Thursday that sought to shut down the conference at another location. But participants cast the event as `a breakthrough for expanding civil society'--a key issue as Turkey prepares to open talks Oct. 3 over accession to the European Union. "The most important thing is that this [conference] is happening at all," said Cengiz Candar, a prominent columnist for Bugun newspaper, who was hit by an egg as he spoke outside the conference. "It will help to recoup some of Turkey's negative image and, more fundamentally, its commitment to the EU and democracy." Aspirations for EU membership have prompted certain democratic changes (at least on paper) in recent years. EU officials say they view the conference as a benchmark for tolerance, warning after the court ruling of a "provocation" that could hurt Turkey's case. Last May, the justice minister said the conference was a "stab in the Turkish nation's back," prompting it to be postponed, and tapping into hard-line elements. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, keenly aware of the challenges ahead in EU talks, spoke forcefully in favor of the conference after the Thursday court decision. Erdogan said he wants a Turkey "where liberties are practiced to the full." Halil Berktay, coordinator of the history department at Sabanci University, says the opposition was not surprising. "This is a country of more than 70 million, with a strong nationalist past; there are strong forces opposed to the European Union, to democracy and opening up," he says. But, he adds, "the question of what happened in 1915-1916 is not a mystery, it's not like we know just 5 percent. We know 85 percent, so the question is not finding more evidence. The question is liberating scholarship from the nationalist taboos..." "Turkey has to confront its history, and the fact of the violence of 1915 and 1916, and lack of accountability, sanctioned more [state] violence," says Fatma Muge Gocek, a sociologist at the University of Michigan and a conference adviser. "The discourse is not new; the fact that it is said in Turkey is what matters," says Gocek. "They are great developments." Candar shares the optimism. "The judiciary is one of the most reactionary and backward institutions in Turkey, and the illegal [court] verdict reflects the inherent problems," he charges. "But the fact that we are discussing this is ample evidence to be optimistic." A surprise speaker in the conference was Cevdet Aykan, formerly a minister from the long defunct right wing Justice Party (AP), who spoke on the Armenian community in the Tokat region in eastern Turkey, which he had covered in his published memoirs. According to Aykan, out of Tokat's population of 28,000 in the early years of the 20th century, 8,800 were Armenian. He said that in the census of 1924 the Armenian population was down to about 700. `It was not a good thing,' he said `Thousands of Armenians lost their houses, country, homeland and some cases their lives,' he said. Aykan said he had chosen to take part in the conference to repay debt of conscience. The events of 1915 were interpreted differently by different parliaments and that Turkey should not see the civilized world and those that run it as enemies, he said. Another delegate at the two day conference, Professor Dr. Ilhan Cuhadaroglu, said that he felt a feeling of mourning at the conference that almost moved him to tears. `I feel like asking was I in Bulgaria or Greece,' he said Candar shares the optimism. "The judiciary is one of the most reactionary and backward institutions in Turkey, and the illegal [court] verdict reflects the inherent problems," he charges. "But the fact that we are discussing this is ample evidence to be optimistic." 2) Groups in Javakhk Advocate Autonomy TBILISI (Civil Georgia)--A group of non-governmental organizations based in Georgia's southern region of Javakhk, predominately populated by ethnic Armenians, held a conference on September 23-24 to discuss current problems in the region. In a resolution adopted at the conference, the Council of Armenian non-governmental organizations in Javakhk called on the Georgian leadership to consider granting autonomy to the region with `broad authority for self-governance, including the right to hold elections for all bodies of governance.' The resolution also says that by offering the broadest form of autonomy to South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the Georgian authorities are `discriminating against other ethnicities living in Georgia--the rights of [other ethnicities] who have demonstrated civil loyalty are being ignored,' it reads. Participants of the conference stated that a federal arrangement of Georgia could be the best solution to the problem and called on the Georgian leadership to consider creating a `Samtskhe-Javakheti Parliament through free and direct elections, which would be authorized to carry out cultural, education social and economic policies, as well as [will be authorized] to protect public order.' 3) System of A Down to Rally for Vote on Armenian Genocide Legislation BAND RALLIES FANS, ALONG WITH ARMENIAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF AMERICA (ANCA) IN FRONT OF SPEAKER HASTERT'S BATAVIA, IL OFFICE TUESDAY, SEPT 27 AT NOON LOS ANGELES--System Of A Down, one of rock's most daring and innovative bands, have just announced that they--along with their fans, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA; ), Axis of Justice (<;) and the Armenian Youth Federation--will visit the Batavia office of Rep. Dennis Hastert on Tuesday, September 27 (Noon) to ask Speaker Hastert to `do the right thing' and keep his commitment to hold a vote on the pending Armenian Genocide legislation. If passed, the legislation will officially recognize Turkey's destruction of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923. The band have invited their fans to join with them in this effort by attending the rally and have set up a system by which fans can directly email Speaker Hastert on the issue.* System Of A Down's four band members--Serj Tankian, Daron Malakian, Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan--are of Armenian descent and have made awareness of the genocide, and genocide around the world, a central message of the band. All have lost family members to the Armenian genocide. `Dennis do the right thing' stated Serj Tankian, `I just visited my 97 year old grandfather, my only link to the far past, and promised him that I would go and try to talk to Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House, and make sure that he takes this opportunity to bring up the Armenian Genocide Resolution to the floor of the House of Representatives. This is a personal issue to me and System.' The System Of A Down/ANCA rally will take place at the offices of Rep. Dennis Hastert - 27 North River Street, Batavia, Illinois (about an hour from downtown Chicago). The rally is scheduled for 12Noon-2:00 PM on Tuesday, September 27. The Armenian community, activists, and the band's fans from across the greater Chicago area are expected to attend the rally. Members of System Of A Down and Aram Suren Hamparian, Executive Director of ANCA, are available to discuss the rally and pending legislation on Tuesday, September 27 and Friday, September 30, the day of their concert at Chicago's Allstate Arena. On September 15, the House International Relations Committee overwhelmingly approved legislation recognizing the Armenian Genocide, despite objections from both Turkey and the Bush Administration. Despite his previous public support for the measure in 2000, Speaker Hastert has twice prevented the Armenian Genocide legislation from coming to a full vote in the House. Today the fate of this human rights issue rests in the Speaker's hands. He has two choices: either allow a vote on the Armenian Genocide Resolution, giving the 435 Members of the U.S. House a chance to cast their ballots on this human rights measure or, delay, defer, and ultimately defeat the Armenian Genocide Resolution by refusing to bring the measure to a vote of the full U.S. House. The rally is in support of a fair and full vote in the House of Representatives, ending U.S. denial of this crime and opening the doors to justice - to the restoration, reparation, and restitution owed to the victims of genocide. * System Of A Down have asked their fans to take action and send a free WebFax urging Hastert to hold a vote on the Armenian Genocide Resolution: <;u=c9oct>
gemail.com/arch/Hit?m=zjomj33qc&u=c9oct
<; z.com/anca/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=8041966 The Speaker has, in the past, taken positive actions on the Armenian Genocide issue: 1) Remarks on the House floor, on April 19, 1994, marking the 79th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide: `Over a million Armenians were exiled and eventually murdered by the Ottoman Turks beginning on April 24, 1915. As a result of this genocide, the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire was effectively eliminated through a carefully executed government plan.' 2) His vote, on June 5th of 1996, for the Radanovich Amendment, to cut U.S. aid to Turkey until it ceases denying the Armenian Genocide. This measure was adopted on the House floor by a bipartisan majority of 268 to 153. 4) Conference Produces New Level of Cooperation among Europe's Armenians BRUSSELS--A meeting aimed to raise awareness of current challenges for Europe's Armenians was held on September 23 in Brussels, just one day after a conference on Turkey was held in the European Parliament. Both events were organized by the European Armenian Federation. Topics included the Euorpean Union's (EU) New Neighborhood Policy toward Armenia, Turkey's aspirations to join the EU, and the role and development of Europe's Armenian diaspora. Many ongoing issues were tackled by experts and political leaders, notably Turkey's stepped-up policy of denial in Europe through local media (Time Magazine and Quid cases), as well as the destruction of Armenian monasteries and monuments in Turkey and in occupied Northern Cyprus. `We received only positive feedback from the participants,' said European Armenian Federation chair Hilda Tchoboian. `We wanted to initiate a diaspora-wide dialogue. I think we succeeded. We brought together representatives of distant communities who will work together after this point,' added Tchoboian. Though most of the delegates were from major Armenian communities such as Belgium, Cyprus, France, Greece, and Italy, great attention was paid to those just developing in Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Hungary. `This is the new stage in shaping a proactive and collaborative diaspora. This is our contribution to the building of Europe,' stressed Tchoboian. 5) Balakian's 'The Burning Tigris' Wins Raphael Lemkin Prize (Colgate University)--Peter Balakian's The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response has been awarded the 2005 Raphael Lemkin Prize for best scholarly book in the preceding two years on the subject of genocide, mass killings, gross human rights violations, and the prevention of such crimes. The award is given by the Institute for the Study of Genocide at John Jay College of Criminal Justice/CUNY Graduate Center in New York City. The prize, which comes with a cash award, commemorates Raphael Lemkin, the legal scholar who pioneered the international legal concept of genocide. Helen Fein, chair of the prize committee, called The Burning Tigris `a book of enduring scholarly value and of important contemporary meaning.' Previous winners include Samantha Power's A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide (winner of the Pulitzer Prize), and Alison Des Forges's Leave None To Tell The Story: Genocide In Rwanda. The Burning Tigris was a New York Times bestseller and a Times notable book of 2003. Balakian is the author of seven other books, including Black Dog of Fate, which won the 1998 PEN/Albrand Prize for memoir, and June-tree: New and Selected Poems. Balakian is the recipient of honors and awards including a Guggenheim fellowship, a National Endowment for the Art, the Anahit Literary Prize, and an Ellis Island Medal of Honor. He has appeared widely on national television and radio. Translations of his work have been published throughout Europe. He is the Donald M. and Constance H. Rebar Professor of the humanities and professor of English at Colgate, where he was the first director of Colgate's Center For Ethics and World Societies. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets.