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03/14/2006
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1) Aghbalian Student Union Denounces Treaties of Moscow and Kars
2) Turks to Demonstrate against Genocide in Berlin
3) KOCE-TV to Air Highly-Publicized Genocide Documentary
4) Kocharian Meets CSTO Secretary General
5) Obituary
1) Aghbalian Student Union Denounces Treaties of Moscow and Kars
YEREVAN (Yerkir)–The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Nigol Aghbalian
Student Union (NASU) adopted a resolution Tuesday denouncing the Moscow and
Kars Treaties of 1921.
In his opening remarks at the preceding conference, Ishkhan Zakarian, NASU
president, said the Moscow Treaty signed between the Soviet Union and Turkey
goes against international law and was signed without the participation of the
Armenian people.
He reminded participants about the rally staged by NASU outside the Armenian
Supreme Council in 1991 during which they demanded that the 1921 Moscow Treaty
be renounced.
“We the student unions should study the issue and establish that the
treaty is
not fair and state that it is not acceptable to us, especially now that
Azerbaijan is talking about territorial integrity and deeming Nakhichevan as a
part of it,” Zakarian said. “We should remind our neighbor that Nakhichevan
was
never a part of Azerbaijan and was put under its control only because of the
Moscow and Kars Treaties.”
Speaking at the conference, historian Ghazakhetsian said that the minutes of
the talks preceding the signing of the treaties indicate that there actually
were no negotiations. He said the it was like a political bazaar where
everything was already decided by the Politburo led by Lenin and Stalin.
S. Aslanian, a lawyer, said that under the international law the treaties had
no legal standing from the first day and that they go against international
norms.
At the end of the conference, the participants adopted a resolution
calling on
the Armenian Foreign Ministry to make a statement that those treaties are
unacceptable to Armenia. A copy of the resolution was also sent to the
Armenian
Parliament. The conference participants expressed hope that the issue will be
included in the Parliament’s agenda and the treaties will be denounced soon.
2) Turks to Demonstrate against Genocide in Berlin
–Judge overrules Police Department’s decision to ban demonstration
BERLIN (DPA/Armenpress)A German court overruled Tuesday a decision by the
Berlin Police Department to ban two Turkish demonstrations, March 15 and 18,
against the recognition of the Armenian genocide and commemorating the 85th
anniversary of Talaat Pasha’s death.
Political leaders and human rights groups had supported this decision by the
police, but organizers appealed to the court and got the ban overturned.
Organizers of one of the protests warned that Europe’s cities would “go up in
flames like Paris” unless Europeans stopped blaming Turkey for the Armenian
genocide.
The ban was justified by police who said they feared violence and because
they
suspected demonstrators would try to both deny and glorify the Armenian
genocide.
“It is unacceptable when planned demonstrations seek to deny the genocide of
Armenians during the First World War and make veiled calls for violence in
Germany,” said Frank Henkel, the opposition Christian Democratic Union
interior
affairs spokesman in the city government.
The statement disseminated by the Berlin Police Department said that Talaat
Pasha bears the responsibility for the genocide of Armenians in 1915 and makes
note of the resolution adopted by the German Bundestag about the Armenian
genocide.
A human rights group, the Society for Threatened Peoples, also welcomed the
ban and called for legislation to prevent all public events denying or
glorifying genocide or war crimes.
Germany has about 1.8 million Turkish nationals out of a total population of
82 million.
Mainstream Turkish-German groups withdrew their support for the controversial
demonstrations over the weekend.
3) KOCE-TV to Air Highly-Publicized Genocide Documentary
(HUNTINGTON BEACH)–KOCE-TV, Orange County’s PBS station, is taking a moral
stand as the only station in the Southland, including Los Angeles, to air the
highly-publicized documentary, [The Armenian Genocide.] The acclaimed program,
which is about the Ottoman Turks’ brutal genocide of one and a half million
Armenians, will premiere on KOCE-TV Wednesday, April 26, at 9:00 PM.
“KOCE-TV is proud to be recognized as the only station in the Southland,
including Los Angeles to air ‘The Armenian Genocide,'” said Mel Rogers,
president and general manager of KOCE-TV. “This film and its topic are
significant, and KOCE-TV feels it is important that the genocide suffered by
the Armenians not be forgotten, denied, or glossed over. It is part of the
mission of public television to stimulate responsible discussion and
illuminate
complex issues. Since most Americans do not fully understand the issue in all
its complexity, we are committed to offering the program which we sincerely
hope will help viewers better understand this chapter in world history.”
[The Armenian Genocide] is the unprecedented and powerful complete story of
the first genocide of the 20th century. The one-hour documentary, which
features extensive never-before-seen historical footage, explores the ongoing
controversy of the Armenian genocide and explains why the Turkish government
denies the events ever took place. The documentary, written, directed and
produced by Emmy Award-winning producer Andrew Goldberg is narrated by
Julianna
Margulies, Ed Harris, Natalie Portman, Laura Linney and Orlando Bloom.
Filmed in the United States, France, Germany, Belgium, Turkey, and Syria, the
program features discussions with leading experts in the field including
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Samantha Power, and New York Times best-selling
author Peter Balakian, and Kurdish and Turkish citizens in modern-day Turkey
who speak openly about the stories told to them by their parents and
grandparents.
“As Turkey seeks to join the European Union, 90 years later, this film can
give people a much better understanding of why this issue is such an important
and current part of the international conversation about Turkey’s role in the
world today,” said Goldberg.
Andrew Goldberg’s television credits include PBS, ABC News, E!, CNN, and
countless others. In addition to documentaries, he has also written and
produced commercials for such companies as Bell South, Sephora/Louis Vuitton,
AT&T and PetSmart. Goldberg’s recent documentary productions include, [A
Yiddish World Remembered] for PBS, which won an Emmy in 2002, and [The
Armenians, A Story of Survival], which aired on PBS stations nationally in
2002
and was awarded the CINE Golden Eagle.
KOCE-TV, one of the most watched PBS stations in America, has an estimated
4.5
million viewers each month, and offers a mix of both local and national
programs. In addition, KOCE Classroom serves more than half-a-million K-14
students. The winner of hundreds of awards including Emmys and Community
Service Awards, KOCE continues to be a leading resource for education, culture
and local issues in Southern California. For more information, please visit
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4 ) Kocharian Meets CSTO Secretary General
YEREVAN (Armenpress/PanArmenian.Net)–Armenian President Robert Kocharian met
Tuesday with Nikolay Bordyuzha, secretary general of the Collective Security
Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Yerevan and discussed a set of issues facing the
six ex-Soviet member states and ways to resolve them.
The two men also spoke about enhancing CSTO efficiency and preparing for the
next CSTO meeting in Minsk in June.
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian and Defense Secretary Serge Sargsian also
met
with Bordyuzha and discussed a set of issues pertaining to CSTO’s activities.
5) Obituary
We are saddened to report the death of Haroutiun Kazanjian (Keghart) on
Tuesday, March 14, 2006 in France. Kazanjian was one of the first graduates of
Hamazkayin Jemaran and served as Editor of Agos, Pjishg, and Pakin newspapers.
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