Month: April 2007

Congressional Record: April 23, 2007 (House)
>From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

NINETY-SECOND COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ellison). Under a previous order of the
House, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues on the
Republican side for agreeing to let me reclaim the time. I will try to
limit my time to less than 5 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to commemorate the 92nd anniversary
of the Armenian genocide. As the first genocide of the 20th century, it
is morally imperative that we remember this atrocity and collectively
demand reaffirmation of this crime against humanity.
On April 24, 1915, 92 years ago tomorrow, that day marked the
beginning of the systematic and deliberate campaign of genocide
perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire. Over the following 8 years, 11/2
million Armenians were tortured and murdered, and more than one-half
million were forced from their homeland into exile. These facts are
indisputable, but to this day the U.S. Congress has never properly
recognized the Armenian genocide.
The historical record, Mr. Speaker, on the Armenian genocide is
unambiguous and well-documented with overwhelming evidence. The U.S.
Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at the time, Henry Morgenthau,
protested the slaughter of the Armenians to the Ottoman leaders. In a
cable to the U.S. State Department on July 16, 1915, Ambassador
Morgenthau stated that, “A campaign of race extermination is in
progress.”
Mr. Speaker, if America is going to live up to the standards we set
for ourselves, and continue to lead the world in affirming human rights
everywhere, we need to finally stand up and recognize the tragic events
that began in 1915 for what they were: the systematic elimination of a
people.
Despite pleas by Members of Congress and the Armenian-American
community and recognition by much of the international community,
President Bush continues to avoid any clear references to the Armenian
genocide, while consistently opposing legislation marking this crime
against humanity. Instead, he has chosen to succumb to shameless
threats by the Government of Turkey. I strongly believe that Turkey’s
policy of denying the Armenian genocide gives warrant to those who
perpetrate genocide everywhere, because denial is the last stage of
genocide. If the cycle is to end, there must be accountability. And
just as we would not permit denying the Holocaust, we cannot accept
Turkey’s falsification of the facts of 1915.
Mr. Speaker, I must say that in the last few months the Turkish
Government has made every effort to try to prevent the Armenian
genocide resolution from coming to the floor of the House of
Representatives. But I just want to show why denial is such a bad thing
in a sense. Last week, I came to the floor and I pointed out that when
the U.N. wanted to do a project or an exhibit at the United Nations
headquarters talking about the genocide in Rwanda, because the Turkish
Government protested the inclusion of the Armenian genocide, the
Rwandan genocide never took place. There again, if you deny one
genocide, you end up denying or impacting the other.
And the fact of the matter is that when some of my colleagues say to
me, “Well, why do you need to bring up something that occurred 92
years ago,” I say, “Because by denying this, the Turkish Government
continues to perpetrate genocide or oppression of its minorities.
Just a few weeks ago, there was something in the New York Times about
how the Turkish Government continues to persecute the Kurdish minority.
Many Kurds have been killed, driven from their homelands in the same
way Armenians were. The Kurds happen to be a Muslim people, not a
Christian people. That doesn’t matter. The Turkish Government
consistently oppresses minorities. They refuse also to open their
borders with Armenia. They have actually had a blockade of Armenia in
placed for several years, which contributes to the economic instability
of Armenia.
So this is something that must be done. It must be accomplished, that
we recognize this genocide if it continues in various ways in Turkey
today.
The second thing I would point out is that the Turkish Government has
been basically hiring lobbyists for millions of dollars to go around
and tell Members of Congress that if they pass the genocide resolution,
there will be dire consequences: Turkey will not allow supplies to go
to U.S. troops in Iraq.
They have actually taken to having Members of Congress called and
told that their own soldiers in Iraq might be threatened if they pass
the genocide resolution.
Well, again, this is the type of bullying that we, as a free
government, should not allow because bullying is essentially the same
thing that takes place when genocide takes place. Why should we give in
to the threats of a country that tries to bully our country over such
an important issue as the genocide?
Now, let me just mention, Mr. Speaker, to wrap up, that tomorrow
evening at 6:30 the Armenian Caucus, which I cochair, will host an
Armenian genocide commemoration event with the Armenian embassy, and I
hope that many of the Members will attend this.

Congressional Record: April 23, 2007 (Extensions)
>From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

COMMEMORATING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

HON. MICHAEL E. CAPUANO

of massachusetts

in the house of representatives

Monday, April 23, 2007

Mr. CAPUANO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate a people who
despite murder, hardship, and betrayal have persevered. April 24, 2007,
marks the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Throughout three decades in the late 19th and early 20th centuries,
millions of Armenians were systematically uprooted from their homeland
of 3,000 years and deported or massacred. From 1894 through 1896, three
hundred thousand Armenians were ruthlessly murdered. Again in 1909,
thirty thousand Armenians were massacred in Cilicia, and their villages
were destroyed.
On April 24, 1915, two hundred Armenian religious, political, and
intellectual leaders were arbitrarily arrested, taken to Turkey and
murdered. This incident marks a dark and solemn period in the history
of the Armenian people. From 1915 to 1923, the Ottoman Empire launched
a systematic campaign to exterminate Armenians. In 8 short years, more
than 1.5 million Armenians suffered through atrocities such as
deportation, forced slavery and torture. Most were ultimately murdered.
Many of our companions in the international community have already
taken this final step.The European Parliament and the United Nations have
recognized and
reaffirmed the Armenian Genocide as historical fact, as have the
Russian and Greek parliaments, the Canadian House of Commons, the
Lebanese Chamber of Deputies and the French National Assembly. It is
time for America to join the chorus and acknowledge the Armenians who
suffered at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. And let me stress that I
am not speaking of the government of modern day Turkey, but rather its
predecessor, which many of Turkey’s present day leaders helped to
remove from power.
As I have in the past, as a member of the Congressional Armenian
Caucus, I will continue to work with my colleagues and with the
Armenian-Americans in my district to promote investment and prosperity
in Armenia. And, I sincerely hope that this year, the U.S. will have
the opportunity and courage to speak in support of the millions of
Armenians who suffered because of their heritage.

Congressional Record: April 23, 2007 (House)
>From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS REMEMBERS THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) is recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 92nd
anniversary and commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. Yesterday, I
had the privilege to join the Armenian-American community of Worcester,
Massachusetts, including survivors of the Genocide and their families,
and many dignitaries of Central Massachusetts and the Commonwealth at
an event remembering the Armenian Genocide and the role it plays in
understanding contemporary events.
I am submitting today for the Record a copy of the remarks I made at
this special commemoration and an article that appeared in the
Worcester Telegram and Gazette.

Worcester Armenian Genocide Observance

I want to thank Father Terzian and the Armenian Church of
Our Savior for inviting me to participate in this remembrance–and I’m
very pleased to
be here with Lt. Governor Tim Murray and the Mayor of
Worcester, Konstantina Lukes. But I am especially honored to
be here with the Worcester Armenian-American community,
survivors of the Armenian Genocide, and their families.
There are several reasons why I look forward to this event
each year.
First and foremost, it gives me an opportunity to reconnect
with all of you, the Worcester Armenian-American community,
and to thank you for all your fine work and contributions to
our city.
Second, it is a moment when we recommit ourselves to
pressing the United States government to officially recognize
the Armenian Genocide.
And finally, it provides me each year with a moment to
reflect on our world; and on how I as an individual, we as a
community, and we as a Nation are responding to genocide and
crimes against humanity that, sadly and unbelievably, are
carried out nearly every day in some part of the world.
I believe that this year there is a very good chance that
the U.S. House of Representatives might actually pass H. Res.
106, the Armenian Genocide Resolution.
I can tell that this is a real possibility because for the
first time in years, I’m receiving materials arguing against
the resolution and against the official recognition of the
Armenian Genocide.
I believe adopting the Armenian Genocide Resolution is the
right thing to do:
As a matter of morality–and in the name of humanity–the
United States should recognize and condemn all genocides.
In the name of historic truth–and in honor of the historic
role so many American diplomatic personnel and humanitarian
and relief workers played in saving lives and condemning the
genocide as it was taking place–the U.S. especially should
recognize the Armenian Genocide.
And in the hope of preventing future genocides–we have to
recognize and honor the truth of the past. Denial of the
Armenian Genocide–just like denial of the Holocaust–makes
future genocides more likely, not less.
No Nation, not Turkey or any other country, should be
allowed to block the official recognition or commemoration or
the teaching of historic truth about the Armenian Genocide.
It’s ironic that the current Turkish government doesn’t
seem to realize that the more it denies the Armenian
Genocide, the more people begin to think that there really is
a connection between the Turks who carried out the Armenian
Genocide at the beginning of the 20th century and today’s
21st century government.
By denying the truth, Turkey undermines its own standing
throughout the world, blocks its own acceptance into the
European family, and increases regional tensions, especially
with neighboring Armenia. Turkey’s recognition of the
Genocide, its reconciliation with the past, would widely be
viewed as the act of a mature democracy, which the world
would rush to embrace and reward.
This is why America must also officially recognize the
Armenian Genocide.
A couple of weeks ago, I was in eastern Chad. And the
reality of genocide was right before my eyes.
There are over 250,000 refugees from Darfur, Sudan living
in camps inside Chad. Thanks to the many international and
humanitarian workers who have chosen to work and help these
survivors of the violence taking place every day in Darfur,
the camps are well-organized and efficient.
But I’d like to describe for you some of what I saw–and
what the Darfur refugees told me about what they had
witnessed.
I met with individuals and families who had been forced to
flee their villages in Darfur. Each had a story about loved
ones murdered, homes destroyed, people and family left
behind. Many didn’t know if some of their family or children
were even alive.
I talked with one woman who was harvesting onions at a
small agricultural site in Camp Gaga, a Darfur refugee camp a
couple of hours from the town of Abeche in eastern Chad. She
held a tiny baby in her arms as she worked on her onion
patch. She told me the Janjaweed attacked her village so
quickly and so ferociously that she couldn’t even bury her
husband who was struck down in the attack; she barely had
time to cover him with a sheet before she escaped with her
baby and children. She feels guilty and thinks about this all
the time. And she now hopes to stay alive and return,
someday, to her village.
I met with several other men and women, refugees from
Darfur, at the Goz Amer Camp near the town of Koukou, Chad.
This is a much larger and older camp. Many of the people have
been here for 3 years or so. These people were being
interviewed for the eyewitness testimony regarding crimes
against humanity that some day may be reviewed by the
International Criminal Court.
I went to eastern Chad to meet and talk with refugees from
Darfur because the Government of Sudan wouldn’t give me a
visa to enter their country.
But sometimes things happen for a reason, I believe.
Because not only did I learn about the reality of Darfur–I
personally discovered Chad.
The war in Darfur is bleeding into Chad, as well as other
neighboring countries.
While I was in Chad, two “towns”–Tiero and Marena, which
actually consist of about 31 small villages–were attacked by
“Janjaweed” militias operating inside Chad. According to
the Chadian survivors who I talked to–they described their
attackers as a combination of Sudanese Janjaweed and Chadian
Janjaweed allies. They were armed. They were on horseback.
The attacks started at about five in the morning, and came in
about 3 distinct waves of attack. They shot randomly, at
everything and everyone. Women, children, men, livestock,
fell to the earth dead or wounded. Homes were burned to the
ground. Abandoned crockery, left charred and broken.
These Chadians–now internally displaced inside their own
country–were gathering in the thousands near Koukou–some
estimates were 8,000-9,000. Many walked, some arrived on the
backs of burros, and many others were being trucked in by
humanitarian groups. U.N. agencies and NGOs were rushing to
provide them with emergency aid and to set up an emergency
operations site where people could receive food, water,
medical aid, and some form of shelter from the relentless
heat.
These new internally displaced now join the more than
140,000 Chadian IDPs.
I had the privilege to watch UNHCR, UNICEF, Doctors without
Borders (Medicins sans Frontierres), the ICRC, Italian Aid,
and the World Food Program work together to provide emergency
relief to these traumatized people.
So this year, as we meet to remember and commemorate the
92nd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, I’m struggling to
find meaning in the words, “Never Again.”
I’m thankful to this community especially, which has worked
tirelessly for nearly a century, to keep alive the historic
memory of the Armenian Genocide and to speak out, condemn and
organize against the genocides–too many–that mark the past
nine decades of human history.
Thank you for your persistence. Thank you for your
commitment to take action. Thank you for your generosity and
compassion.
And thank you, once again, for including me in this special
program.

[From the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, Apr. 23, 2007]

`Look at Darfur,’ Armenians Say

genocide remembrance resonates

(By Mike Elfland)

Worcester.–The region’s Armenian community yesterday
recognized a genocide that for many has a meaning with an
intensifying importance.
References to Darfur and the recent slaying of a journalist
who defied the Turkish government were made throughout
yesterday’s commemoration of what is known as the Armenian
genocide. On April 24, 1915, hundreds of Armenian
intellectuals, notably political leaders, were rounded up and
eventually killed by the Turkish government. More than 1.5
million Armenians would later die at the hands of the Ottoman
Turks, with thousands forcibly removed from Armenia to Syria,
where many died in the desert of thirst and hunger.
“We say, `Look at Darfur,’ ” said Richard O. Asadoorian,
the host speaker at the commemoration, referring to the
region in Sudan where black Africans are being massacred by
militias supported by the Arab-dominated government. Mr.
Asadoorian urged Armenians not to let time lessen the
importance of what happened 92 years ago.
Many survivors of the genocide eventually settled in the
Worcester area. A significant Armenian population remains,
and their pride in their ancestry was evident yesterday at
the Armenian Church of Our Saviour Cultural Center on Boynton
Street, where more than 200 gathered for a welcome history
lesson.
Nancy Hovhanesian, Thomas Tashjian and Ara G. Asadoorian
recounted stories told to them by grandparents and other
older relatives who survived the genocide. Mrs. Hovhanesian
talked of the great-grandparents she never knew and of how
her grandparents’ pain was absorbed by her mother.
Andrea Kisiel, a sophomore at South High Community School,
shared her views of the genocide in an award-winning essay.
Andrea took top honors for her take on “The Contemporary
Relevance of the Armenian Genocide,” the subject of an essay
contest sponsored by the Greater Worcester Armenian Genocide
Commemoration Committee.
Andrea, who is not of Armenian descent, wrote of a recent
trip to Washington, where she visited the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum and had an eye-opening experience
about history.
She wrote: “Then, I saw something that astounded me,
surprised me, wrenched my heart out of my chest. There, on
the wall commemorating all of the poor souls who had been
discriminated against, snatched away from familiarity, and
tortured ruthlessly until put to death, was inscribed my
family name. My name which was not from Jewish descent. My
name which was Polish and Catholic. My name that I had not
the slightest idea could possibly be connected with a mass
genocide. My very own name, there on the wall.”
Although she has no known relatives who died in the
Holocaust, said Andrea, the experience in Washington made her
realize the importance of the Armenian genocide to its
survivors.
Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray, U.S. Rep. James McGovern, D-
Worcester, state Sen. Harriette L. Chandler, D-Worcester, and
Mayor Konstantina B. Lukes were among the speakers at the
21/2-hour commemoration. Both connected the past deaths of
Armenians to the continuing genocide in the
Darfur region of Sudan. Mr. McGovern has long pushed for
increased U.S. involvement in saving thousands of refugees.
Mr. McGovern, who was greeted enthusiastically yesterday,
backs legislation that would require the U.S. government to
officially recognize the Armenian genocide. Some say the
reluctance is tied to deference to Turkey’s importance to
America’s interests abroad. Modern Turkey strongly rejects
the characterization of what happened as genocide.
Loud applause erupted after the congressman said he would
direct naysayers to a public library where they could learn
about the deaths of Armenians. “Facts are stubborn things,”
he said.
The main speaker was filmmaker Apo Torosyan, a native of
Istanbul, Turkey, who now lives in Peabody. His documentary,
“Voices,” finished this year, is based on interviews with
three survivors of the genocide. After he began making
documentaries, Mr. Torosyan was not allowed to return to
Turkey.
A 15-minute version of “Voices” was shown yesterday.
Mr. Torosyan spoke passionately about the Jan. 19 slaying
in Turkey of Hrant Dink, a Turkish citizen of Armenian
descent who was the editor of a Turkish-Armenian newspaper.
His enemies included nationalist Turks who resented his use
of the genocide label. He was killed outside his office in
Istanbul.
The commemoration was organized by members of the Armenian
Church of Our Saviour, Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church
and the Armenian Church of the Martyrs.

News from U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Alex Swartsel

April 24, 2007
(202) 228-6293
PRESS OFFICE
[email protected]

Whitehouse: Armenian Genocide Must Never Be Repeated

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Whitehouse (D-R.I.) today released
the following statement commemorating Armenian Genocide Remembrance
Day:

`The only way to prevent crimes against humanity in the future is to
shine light on the past. I’m proud to support the Senate’s efforts to
recognize the tragedy that befell the Armenians for what it was – a
genocide that must never, ever be repeated.’

Whitehouse is a cosponsor of Senate Resolution 106, which calls on
the President to ensure that U.S. foreign policy acknowledges as
genocide the killings of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire
from 1915 to 1923.

###

Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:

PRESS RELEASE
April 24, 2007
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

PRESIDENT BUSH FAILS TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, AGAIN

WASHINGTON, DC – In his annual April 24th statement, President
George W. Bush today again resorted to the use of evasive and
euphemistic terminology to obscure the full moral, historical, and
contemporary legal implications of Turkey’s genocide against the
Armenian people between 1915-1923, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA).

"Armenian Americans appreciate President Bush’s willingness to join
with Armenians around the world by speaking out on this solemn
occasion, but remain deeply troubled that he missed yet another
opportunity to speak with moral clarity about the Armenian Genocide
and to bring America back to the right side of this key human
rights issue," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.

The President’s statement comes as Congressional support for
Armenian Genocide legislation reaches an all-time high. Over 190
House Members have cosponsored H.Res.106, introduced by Rep. Adam
Schiff (D-CA) and spearheaded by Reps. George Radanovich (R-CA),
Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), Brad Sherman (D-CA)
and Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI). The Senate Resolution (S.Res.106),
introduced by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. John Ensign (R-
NV) has 30 cosponsors including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
(D-NV).

In February of 2000, then presidential candidate George W. Bush,
campaigning for votes among Armenian voters in the Michigan
Republican primary, pledged to properly characterize the genocidal
campaign against the Armenian people. In his statements as
President, he has consistently avoided any clear reference to the
Armenian Genocide, and his Administration has consistently opposed
legislation marking this crime against humanity.

The text of the President’s remarks is provided below.

#####

The White House

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary

Presidential Message: Honoring Memory of 1.5 Million Armenian Lives
Lost During Ottoman Empire

April 24, 2007

Each year on this day, we pause to remember the victims of one of
the greatest tragedies of the 20th century, when as many as 1.5
million Armenians lost their lives in the final years of the
Ottoman Empire, many of them victims of mass killings and forced
exile. I join my fellow Americans and Armenian people around the
world in commemorating this tragedy and honoring the memory of the
innocent lives that were taken. The world must never forget this
painful chapter of its history.

All who cherish freedom and value the sanctity of human life look
back on these horrific events in sorrow and disbelief. Many of
those who survived were forced from their ancestral home and spread
across the globe. Yet, in the midst of this terrible struggle, the
world witnessed the indomitable spirit and character of the
Armenian people. Many of the brave survivors came to America, where
they have preserved a deep connection with their history and
culture. Generations of Armenians in the United States have
enriched our country and inspired us with their courage and
conviction.

Today, we remember the past and also look forward to a brighter
future. We commend the individuals in Armenia and Turkey who are
working to normalize the relationship between their two countries.
A sincere and open examination of the historic events of the late-
Ottoman period is an essential part of this process. The United
States supports and encourages those in both countries who are
working to build a shared understanding of history as a basis for a
more hopeful future.

We value the strong and vibrant ties between the United States and
Armenia. Our Nation is grateful for Armenia’s contributions to the
war on terror, particularly for its efforts to help build a
peaceful and democratic Iraq. The United States remains committed
to working with Armenia and Azerbaijan to promote a peaceful
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We are also working to
promote democratic and economic reform in Armenia that will advance
the cause of freedom and justice.

Laura and I express our deepest condolences to Armenian people
around the world on this solemn day of remembrance. We stand
together in our determination to build a more peaceful, more
prosperous, and more just world.

GEORGE W. BUSH

PRESS RELEASE
The Heritage Party
31 Moscovian Street
Yerevan, Armenia
Tel.: (+374 – 10) 53.69.13
Fax: (+374 – 10) 53.26.97
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Website:

April 24, 2007

April 24: Our Heritage

Yerevan–Raffi K. Hovannisian today joined his family, fellow Heritage
candidates and supporters, and the entire Armenian people on a commemorative
walk to Tsitsernakaberd. During this sobering, snow-laden respite from
election campaigning, Heritage remembers its forebears and resolves to
continue their sacred work.

Founded in 2002, Heritage has regional divisions throughout the land. Its
central office is located at 31 Moscovian Street, Yerevan 0002, Armenia,
with telephone contact at (374-10) 536.913, fax at (374-10) 532.697, email
at [email protected] or [email protected], and website at

Be honest — it was genocide

There is no other way to describe what happened to the Armenians.

The Fresno Bee
Editorial Section
04/24/07

When is a genocide not a genocide? When nationalist fervor trumps history.
When geopolitics trumps justice. When blindness to the truth trumps wisdom.

A genocide is not a genocide if you’re the president of the United States,
and the subject is Turkey and the mass slayings of some 1.5 million
Armenians in the period during and just after World War I. A genocide is not
a genocide when you’re the U.S. State Department and you’re worried about
ruffling the feathers of a close military and political ally — an ally so
dedicated to U.S. interests that it closed its borders to the passage of
U.S. combat troops in the invasion of Iraq.

The rest of the world has no trouble recognizing a genocide. That’s why
millions of people, Armenians and non-Armenians alike, will mark the 92nd
anniversary of the onset of the genocide today. It was on this day in 1915
that the Ottoman Turks began the systematic roundup of Armenian
intellectuals and other leaders. Around 250 were subsequently murdered.

Over the next eight years, Armenian were expelled from their ancient
homeland and driven into exile. Many perished from the hardships of that
forced expulsion. Many more were shot, hanged and otherwise butchered. It
was planned and executed with a determination and precision not seen again
until Nazi Germany refined the techniques of genocide and carried out the
even bloodier Holocaust during World War II.

But what happened in Turkey nine decades ago wasn’t genocide, according to
President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary
Robert M. Gates. The administration — like administrations of both parties
in the past — is trying to block efforts in Congress to force official U.S.
government recognition of the fact that genocide did, indeed, take place
against Armenians. They may not be able to do so; congressional support for
recognition is higher than it’s ever been.

Time is running out on those who refuse to recognize what happened to the
Armenians. Turkey and the United States are increasingly isolated in their
revisionist position. Turkey, which desperately wishes to join the European
Union, is finding its path to membership blocked by its intransigence on the
genocide issue. The world knows the facts of the Armenian genocide, and the
world demands recognition of those facts. Now is the time.

Tell us what you think.
Comment on this editorial by going to , then
click on the editorial.

86.html

RA President’s address on April 24

ArmRadio.am
24.04.2007 11:38

`Dear compatriots,

Every year on April 24 we commemorate the memory of the innocent
victims of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Turkey. But we always
keep the memory of this crime in our souls.

Many countries of the world remember and commemorate this day together
with the Armenian people. The international community has realized
that the genocide is a crime not only against a separate nation, but
the whole humanity. The denial and concealment of the genocide is a
crime not less than its preparation and perpetration.

Trials and injustice have the feature to unify. The disaster of
genocide enhanced the feeling of Armenian identity, made the Armenian
nation unite and strengthened the wish to have an independent
state. Being the expression of centuries-old dream of the Armenian
nation, the Republic of Armenia should flourish and develop as the
Motherland of all Armenians. Strong, democratic and prospering Armenia
should be the response of the Armenian people to the perpetrators and
deniers of the Armenian Genocide.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Reparation day will come

24.04.2007 12:15

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Youth and Nikol Aghbalian Student unions of the ARF
organized a torch-march on April 23. The lit torches symbolized the
strength of spirit and the determination to see the day of reparation.

Thousands of young Armenians from Armenian regions, Artsakh, Javakhk
and European countries and Istanbul joined in the traditional
torch-march held for the 8th time.

"When Turkey perpetrated a genocide 92 years ago, it wanted to
exterminate a whole nation. Today, you prove that Turkey has failed,"
ARF Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political Affairs office director Kiro
Manoyan said, addressing the crowd. He said that the struggle is more
difficult today but it will last until a victory for a freer, more
independent and united Armenia.

"Eight years ago, a few dozen youths were lighting torches in this
square, their number grew in the following years, and now, thousands
participate in the march," ARF Supreme Body of Armenia member Gegham
Manukian said to those gathered.

"We will light the fire on the hill of Tsitsernakaberd that one day
will destroy the tyranny, we will light the fire in the hearts of all
compatriots and young people like you will light that fire in Istanbul
one day," he said.

The participants burnt a Turkish flag and moved on to Tsitsernakaberd.

McClatchy Newspapers
Tuesday, Apr 24, 2007
WASHINGTON
Former U.S. envoy to Armenia tells how 1 word ended his career
By Michael Doyle

WASHINGTON – Ambassador John Evans ended one life and started another when
he uttered one remarkable word: genocide.
As the U.S. ambassador to Armenia, and a career diplomat, Evans knew the
uses of circumlocution. Some words, he understood, must be avoided. But
then, speaking in Fresno, Los Angeles and Berkeley, Calif., two years ago,
Evans violated U.S. policy by declaring that Armenians were the victims of a
genocide from 1915 to 1923.
"Clearly, I had stepped out of the box," Evans said in an interview. "But
what I didn’t know precisely was what the reaction would be."
He found out soon enough.
Evans’ State Department superiors published apologies in his name. They cut
him out of decision-making, then ended his ambassador’s posting altogether.
His Foreign Service career collapsed, while his fellow diplomats debated
whether he was heroic or foolhardy.
"I had some colleagues who managed to tell me I did the right thing," Evans
said, "and I had others who were dubious."
The fallout continues: The United States still lacks a permanent ambassador
in Yerevan because of Senate discontent with Evans’ treatment.
April 24 is the day that Armenians worldwide commemorate the start of the
1915 horrors. Members of Congress will give speeches. President Bush will
issue a traditional declaration, omitting the linchpin word "genocide."
Evans will speak freely at the National Press Club, something he couldn’t do
during his 35-year State Department career. He also has written a
manuscript, for which he’s seeking a book publisher.
"I came to what I felt was an ethical dilemma," Evans said. "I felt I could
not carry out the policy of denial of the Armenian genocide."
April 24, 1915, was when leaders of the Ottoman Empire’s Young Turk
government began rounding up Armenian leaders. What happened next is
unsettling history. Armenians say an estimated 1.5 million died.
Numerous historians and myriad state and foreign governments have concluded
that the Ottoman Empire events amounted to genocide.
Under international law adopted in 1948, genocide is the "intent to destroy,
in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group." It
covers killing and deliberately inflicting "conditions of life calculated to
bring about (the population’s) physical destruction in whole or in part."
Turkey fiercely opposes the description of the Armenian deaths as genocide,
maintaining that the Armenians were caught in a complex, multi-front war and
that considerably fewer than 1.5 million died.
The diaspora cast Armenians out to U.S. areas that include California’s San
Joaquin Valley, New Jersey and Michigan. These concentrated populations
prompted American politicians to take up the Armenian cause.
"The failure of the domestic and international authorities to punish those
responsible for the Armenian Genocide is a reason why similar genocides have
recurred and may recur in the future," says a pending House of
Representatives resolution that Rep. George Radanovich, R-Calif.,
co-authored this year.
Some 190 members co-sponsored the resolution. It hasn’t been scheduled for a
vote yet, amid intense lobbying. Last week, members of the Turkish
Parliament lobbied against it.
The Bush administration opposes the resolution, as did the Clinton
administration. Although President Reagan officially recognized "the
genocide of the Armenians" in April 1981, the standard administration
response has been resistance.
"It’s a tragedy; everybody agrees with that," Richard Hoagland, Bush’s
nominee to replace Evans, declared at his Senate confirmation hearing last
June, but "instead of getting stuck in the past and vocabulary, I would like
to see what we can do to bring different sides together."
His nomination has been frozen, caught in the Capitol Hill conflict. The
resolution’s fate turns on whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.,
kills the bill at Bush’s request, Radanovich predicted.
Now 58, Evans said that no one had warned him explicitly to watch his words
before he became ambassador to Armenia in 2004. Everyone simply knew, he
said, that "there was a taboo" against the word genocide. He eventually
decided that he needed to "help people understand" the history.
"I chose to do something which goes against the grain of every diplomat,"
Evans said, and that was "to break with the policy of the United States
government."
When his comments became widely known, the State Department issued
apologies. The statements included made-up quotes that Evans now says others
crafted and attributed to him.
"Let’s put it this way: I had no role in it," he said of the statements.
The State Department stresses that ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the
president, and officials have publicly denied that Evans was pulled from
Yerevan prematurely.
Nonetheless, he and his wife, Donna, have been living at their daughter’s
house in New York since last September. They can’t move back into their own
Washington-area home yet, because they had rented it out for the full three
years they had expected to be in Armenia.