Month: April 2007

ARMENIAN DIASPORA ASSEMBLY TO BE HELD ON MAY 31 IN ABKHAZIA

Daily Georgian Times, Georgia
April 26 2007

The Armenian Diaspora of Abkhazia is getting ready to hold its
assembly. According to the information disseminated by the Armenian
Diaspora, the Assembly will be held on May 31. They also informed
that Head of the Armenian Diaspora in Abkhazia would be elected at
the Assembly.

Marietta Topchiani, Co-Chairperson of the Armenian Diaspora in
Abkhazia informs that 155 delegates will take part in the Armenian
Diaspora Assembly.

As to the election of the Head of the Armenian Diaspora in Abkhazia,
Topchiani declared: "The Assembly will elect for the first time
a head of the Armenian Diaspora. On April 15 three years since the
foundation of the first organization for protecting the rights of the
Armenian Diaspora in Abkhazia was marked. In 2004 three Abkhazia-based
organizations Krunk, Mashtots and the Armenian Culture Center jointly
founded the mentioned organization".

The source also reports that the creation of the joint structures is
aimed at consolidating the Armenian Diaspora in Abkhazia.

Prior to holding the Assembly, regional-importance conferences will be
organized all over Abkhazia, basically on the territories predominantly
populated by Armenian nationals to elect the Assembly delegates.

The only candidacy for the Chairmanship of the Armenian Diaspora in
Abkhazia is named at this stage. This is Galust Trapizonian, who was
members of the De-facto Abkhaz Parliament earlier.

The source reports that the Assembly will discuss other significant
issues too. "The Assembly participants will elaborate a joint approach
towards Georgia that is trying to make split between the Abkhaz and
Armenian communities and accusing the Armenian residing in Abkhazia
of the felony against humanity", the Source informs.

TELEGRAMS OF CONDOLENCE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA

National Assembly of RA, Armenia
April 26 2007

Mr. Tigran Torosyan, President of the National Assembly of the Republic
of Armenia sent telegrams of condolence to Mr. Boris Gryzlov, Chairman
of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation
and Mr. Sergey Mironov, Chairman of the Council of Federation of the
Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on the occasion of the death
of the first President of the Russian Federation Mr. Boris Yeltsin.

"With deep grief I learned about the death of the distinguished
political figure, the first President of the Russian Federation Mr.
Boris Yeltsin. Great was the contribution of Mr. Boris Nikolayevich
in the development and strengthening of ties between independent
Armenia and Russia, as well as for the establishment of democracy
in Russia. I express my sorrow to you, Russian people, Mr. Boris
Nikolayevich’s relatives and close friends."

ARMENIAN CULTURE, HISTORY COME TO LIFE IN CLASSROOM

Hagerstown Morning Herald, MD
April 26 2007

MONT ALTO, Pa. – Armenian history and culture came alive in full
color with sights and sounds for the students of Instructor Lucineh
Mueller as part of their Women’s Studies course Penn State Mount Alto.

Guest speakers Sevan (Moumjian) Birky and Ann Hall shared their
grandmothers’ survival stories during the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

"I’ve always been a ‘hyphenated’ person," emphatically stated Birky.

"I have always known I am 100 percent Armenian, but I always had to
quailify that fact and say, Armenian-Lebanese or Armenian-American."

She then added, "As a matter of fact, I was born in Aleppo, Syria,
and my passport will always state that fact, even though I never had
Syrian citizenship!"

"My maternal grandmother Hermineh was a toddler in Dikranagert when
the Turks took away and killed both her father and older brother,"
she said. "Quickly, the news went from bad to worse as the nightmare
of the genocide spread like wildfire from one town to the next.

Hermineh, along with her mother, a younger brother and older sister
managed to escape to Italy, where her older sister was sent to Canada
as a servant girl. Hermineh later ended up marrying and living in
Syria, where my Mom was born."

"My paternal grandmother Armenouhi was also a baby, about six months
old in 1915," Birky said. "She survived because she was left behind
with her aunt who was a talented seamstress and the Turkish family
she worked for protected them. At the age of 14, Armenouhi escaped
secretly under the cover of night to avoid marriage to a Turkish young
man. In Syria, Armenouhi was actually reunited with her biological
mother, but sadly too late, as her mom was allocated to relocate to
Armenia. As a young lady, Armenouhi married and raised a family of
five children. That’s where my Dad was born."

"The seven-day war between Israel and Syria in 1967 caused our family
to relocate to Lebanon," Birky continued. "Thankfully, we already
had Lebanese citizenship since a decade earlier my grandfather,
a long distance truck driver between Syria and Lebanon had acquired
Lebanese citizenship upon Lebanon’s independence."

"I consider myself blessed having grown up in Lebanon. Lebanon was a
piece of heaven on Earth. A Christian country and a ‘little Armenia’
for me. I went to private Armenian schools with all its richness
of three languages – Armenian, Arabic and English, along with the
Armenian history, culture and faith," said Birky, who shared her
school report cards, pictures and embroidery items with the class.

"I love to dance and that’s why you see me in one of my traditional
Armenian dance costumes," she said. If we had more time, we’d all be
dancing a "shourchbar" right now. Armenians have always been small
in numbers and survived many persecutions, that’s why we love to
celebrate life! Life is precious and dancing is one way to embrace
our loved ones and celebrate life."

As a final note, Birky shared the classic Armenian story of "Anahid."

Holding up the large colorful picture book, she enthusiastically
proclaimed, "This is my most favorite Armenian story because it
shows the wisdom and courage of Armenian women. Anahid, the heroine,
insists that the prince who wants to marry her must first learn a
craft, stating, ‘Riches, power and title can be taken away from you.

But never your craft!’ Sure enough, one day the prince is kidnapped
and thanks to his weaving abilities he inscribes a message within
the carpet and is rescued by her own wife, Queen Anahid."

Hall of Chambersburg, Pa., talked about her recent trip to Izmir,
Turkey, the hometown of her maternal roots. "I really felt like I
was home. The connection was so strong. I knew I belonged here,"
she said with conviction.

Hall, who is Armenian on her mother’s side, explained how it is only
recently that she was able to reconstruct and learn of her heritage,
her family’s history and journey of survival thanks to the acquisition
of a family trunk.

Her grandmother brought the trunk from Armenia to England. "In
the trunk were the stories of my grandmother and grandfather, as
told through documents, passports, pictures, letters, newspaper
articles and other treasures, including a book of letters, written
in a Turkish/English dialect, that covers the period of over 20 years
that my great-grandmother spent in Turkey after she had gotten her son
(my grandfather) out of the country," she explained. "I’m afraid that
the content of those letters is lost to history, as it seems there
is no one alive that can read them."

In addition to the guest speakers, Instructor Lucineh Mueller shared
PowerPoint slide pictures of traditional Armenian costumes, along
with Armenian artifacts and music.

The full class of 24 students in Mueller’s class had already viewed
"The Armenian Genocide" film by Andrew Goldberg, watched the files
provided by GenocideEvents.com Web site and BBC Front Page. In
addition, they have read and discussed works by Armenian female poets
including, "Der Zor" by Alicia Ghiragossian and "By Now" by Diana Der
Hovanessian. They are reading "Vergeen: A Survivor of the Armenian
Genocide" by Mae Derdarian.

The Women’s Studies course at Penn State Mont Alto encompasses 24
weeks, six weeks each focusing on Eurasian, African, Oriental and
Hispanic women. The Armenian-Eurasian segment is the premier offering
at Penn State, due to the talents of Mueller.

aystory&story_id=164104&format=html

OSCE MG’S CO-CHAIRS PREPARE NEXT MEETING OF FOREIGN MINISTERS OF AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
April 25 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend E.Huseynov / The Russian Co-chair of
the OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, Yuri
Merzlyakov, informed Trend that the co-chairs of the Minsk Group
prepare the next meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan
and Armenia.

He remembered that the recent meeting of the Foreign Ministers
of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov and Armenia, Vardan Oskanyan was
organized on 18-19 April. "Presently we are seeking possibilities
to organize the next meeting of the Foreign Ministers," Merzlyakov
said, adding that it is very difficult to bring them together. He did
not exclude that the next meeting of the Foreign Ministers may take
place in May or later. The Russian diplomat said that the co-chairs
plan to make a visit to Madrid on 10 May to meet with the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office, Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos.

Thereafter, the co-chairs will make a visit to the conflict region
at the end of May.

The conflict between the two countries of South Caucasus began in
1988 due to then territorial claims of Armenia against Azerbaijan.

Armenia has occupied 20% of the Azerbaijani lands including
Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven Districts of the country surrounding
it. Since 1992 to the present time, these territories have been under
the occupation of the Armenian Forces. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia
signed a cease-fire agreement at which time the active hostilities
ended. The OSCE Minsk Group holds peaceful negotiations.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GEORGE BUSH AGAIN FAILED TO SAY "GENOCIDE"

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
April 25 2007

In his annual April 24th statement commemorating the Armenian Genocide,
U.S. President Bush characterized the events that had began on this
date in 1915 as "one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century"
and honored the memory of the 1.5 million "victims of mass killings
and forced exile," but failed to properly acknowledge the incontestable
fact of the Armenian Genocide.

"President Bush’s statement fails to take into account the shameless
campaign of denial and distortion," said Armenian Assembly of America
Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair Hovnanian. "In the memory of our
parents and grandparents, who perished during that time, we will make
sure that the Armenian Genocide is universally affirmed. Despite the
attempts of the deniers of the Genocide, the truth will prevail,"
he continued.

The statement also ignores the political assassination of Hrant Dink,
who was prosecuted under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code for
"insulting Turkishness" by speaking the truth. Sadly, Hrant Dink
was murdered in broad daylight and became the latest victim of the
Armenian Genocide and the consequence of its denial.

Prior to the issuance of President Bush’s statement, Congressional
leaders urged him to use the opportunity to reaffirm the United States’
record on the Armenian Genocide. "As U.S. efforts to aid victims
of genocide continue, it is imperative that we pay tribute to the
memory of others, who have suffered, and to never forget the past. By
commemorating the Armenian Genocide, we renew our commitment to prevent
future atrocities and therefore negate the dictum that history is
condemned to repeat itself," wrote Reps. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and
Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), co-chairs of the bipartisan Armenian Caucus.

Bush’s statement comes as the deniers continue to use every tactic
imaginable, including the pretext of a "joint commission of historians"
to further delay U.S. recognition. The International Association
of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), whose purpose is to study genocide,
unequivocally affirms the fact of the Armenian Genocide. In
a letter to Congress, the IAGS urges support for H. Res. 106,
the Armenian Genocide Resolution. Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA),
the lead sponsor of the Armenian Genocide legislation in the House,
told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last month with respect to
a conference of historians – "I don’t think we want to get in the
business of encouraging conferences of historians on the undeniable
facts of the Armenian Genocide." Congressman Schiff also stated that
"rather than urging the Congress to ignore the Armenian Genocide or
urging us in effect to abide by Turkish Section 301 not to offend or
insult Turkishness, I think it’s more productive to be urging Turkey
to recognize the Genocide and work on the relationship between the
U.S. and Turkey so it can survive a clear statement of the truth."

GENOCIDE RECOGNITION SOUGHT EX-U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA URGES CONGRESS TO ACT ON LEGISLATION
By Lisa Friedman, Washington Bureau

Los Angeles Daily News, CA
April 25 2007

WASHINGTON – The former U.S. ambassador to Armenia called on Congress
Tuesday to pass legislation officially recognizing the post-World
War I slaughter of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey as a genocide.

John Evans, who resigned his post after coming under fire from the
State Department for calling the 1915 massacres "genocide" during
a 2005 speech at the University of California at Berkeley, called
congressional recognition the key to moving forward.

"I do believe this Congress should pass this resolution," Evans told
a gathering at the National Press Club. "The current state of affairs
is not good for Turkey, is not good for Armenia … and it’s not good
for America."

Evans’ speech marked the anniversary of the start of the massacres.

President George W. Bush issued a statement of remembrance, but
stopped short of calling the killings a genocide.

"I join my fellow Americans and Armenian people around the world in
commemorating this tragedy," Bush said. "The world must never forget
this painful chapter of its history."

A resolution on the issue – introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena,
and others – has been stalled for years. But with Democrats now in
charge of Congress, some believe it’s chance of passage is close than
ever before.

The administration continues to oppose the bill, citing a likely and
dangerous rift between the United States and Turkey if it passes.

Evans, who is writing a book due out in the spring about his tenure
in Armenia and his subsequent departure from foreign service, said
the State Department does not to his knowledge have a written policy
against using the word genocide to describe the massacre of as many
as 1.5 million Armenians.

But, he said, the word is "taboo" in Washington and State Department
officials refer to it internally as "the g-word."

Nearly two-dozen countries recognize the Armenian Genocide. Turkey,
however, strenuously objects to the label.

While Turkish officials widely acknowledge Armenians were killed,
they place the number at about 300,000. They also note that Armenians
joined forces with the French and Russians in the chaotic aftermath of
World War I, and point out that thousands of Turks were killed as well.

Evans on Tuesday said he believes all historical archives on the topic
should become public and acknowledged there are unanswered questions
on both sides.

"Probably it is not possible to get agreement on all of the history,
but if we could get agreement on some of the history, that would be
progress," he said.

"You cannot have reconciliation without that important stage of
recognizing the truth."

NKR PRESIDENT: "THE WHOLE WORLD NEEDS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TO BE RECOGNIZED"

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
April 25 2007

"It is very important for Turkey to recognize the Genocide. The
recognition is necessary not only for the Armenian nation, but for
the whole world. Evil must be punished, otherwise it can recur",
the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic President Arkady Ghoukassian stated
in Stepanakert, in the course of the measures devoted to the 92nd
Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide committed in the Osmanian Turkey.

At the same time the Karabagh state’s head voiced confidence in
course of time the number of the countries that had recognized the
Armenian Genocide would grow. Arkady Ghoukassian noted the Armenian
nation must always be united and strong not to let the tragedy of
1915 happen again, the NKR MFA Press Center reports.

IRANIAN DANGER EXAMINED AT HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL EVENT
By Paul Lungen – Staff Reporter

Canadian Jewish News, Canada
April 25 2007

TORONTO – The Holocaust Memorial Day event was billed as a panel
discussion examining how the legacy of Nuremberg could be used to
prevent future genocide, so the discussion naturally turned to Iran.

None of the speakers dissented from the premise that the Islamic
Republic poses a danger to Israel and its Jewish inhabitants. As
human right lawyer David Matas noted, Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad is an "active and aggressive" Holocaust denier, he has
employed anti-Semitic rhetoric, threatened Israel with annihilation
and embarked on a program to develop nuclear weapons while embracing
an apocalyptic world view in which confrontation with enemies is cast
in religious terms.

Taken together with the attack on the Jewish community centre in
Argentina, the conclusion that Iran intends to inflict genocide on
the Jewish people follows. As a result, as senior lawyer for B’nai
Brith Canada, he has drawn up an indictment of Ahmadinejad charging
him with incitement to genocide and has called on the government of
Canada to implement it.

The document was available on a table outside the Donald Lamont
Learning Centre at the Law Society of Upper Canada. The Law Society
co-sponsored the discussion along with the League for Human Rights
of B’nai Brith Canada.

Joining Matas as panelists were Payam Akhavan, associate professor
in the Faculty of Law at McGill University and Jillian Siskind,
senior policy advisor to the Ontario Minister of Community Safety and
Correctional Services. The event was moderated by Adam Dodek, former
chief of staff of the Attorney General of Ontario, and Holocaust
survivor Faige Liebman presented closing remarks.

Akhavan noted several failures to prevent mass killings since
the Holocaust and suggested that since genocide was a deliberate
state-sponsored policy and an instrument of power, it would be
more effective to develop a "culture of prevention" than calling
for intervention to stop it. The killings in both Bosnia and Rwanda
were preceded by incitement and "the Holocaust did not begin in gas
chambers, but with the spreading of hatred against people," he said.

A Baha’i exile from Iran, Akhavan said "we are all part of the
equation. We can’t give responsibility only to our leaders. We must
make this a political issue." He asked why people were more interested
in reading about Monica Lewinsky’s capers with former U.S.

president Bill Clinton than in events unfolding in Rwanda. He also
criticized Clinton for intoning "never again" while doing nothing to
prevent the Rwanda slaughter.

Akhavan said the mass killings in Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur "reflect
the failure for what we stand for even while affirming our liberal
virtues by paying lip service to human rights."

Turning to his homeland, he said Iran presents a central challenge
to the rest of the world. Ahmadinejad is a danger not only to
Israel, but to his own people. He suggested Ahmadinejad is promoting
hatred of Israel to divert Iranians’ attention from their own dire
circumstances. His remarks "are a dying gasp of a regime that has
lost all legitimacy with its people."

The average Iranian is not interested in confronting Tel Aviv or
in funding Hezbollah, he said. "They want to be part of the world
and all the government has on offer is anti-Israel and [anti-]
U.S. propaganda."

He suggested Ahamdinejad should invite more ridicule than condemnation
as condemnation cements his reputation as an Islamic warrior.

Instead of confronting Iran, or appeasing it as European states
have done even while 300 Iranian dissidents were killed on their
soil by Iranian agents, he called for a "third way." He suggested
economic sanctions, travel bans, prosecution of Iranian killers
and for Canada to champion individual freedom in Iran. He argued in
favour of aligning with the many Iranian opponents of the regime,
for indicting the Iranian prosecutor responsible for the murder of
Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, and for supporting women’s
and labour groups.

Matas said the indictment of Ahmadinejad was prepared because, "in
my view, he has committed incitement to genocide against the Jewish
people and we should do something about it."

Not only is the Iranian president guilty, but his discourse is likely
to convince others to commit genocide, he asserted.

He dismissed critiques of the indictment – that it would be impossible
to enforce, that Ahmadinejad’s incitement is directed at Israel and
not the Jewish people and that it would complicate negotiations to
end the country’s nuclear program – saying, "It would be a form of
pressure on Iran."

Genocide has to be stopped at the incitement stage, so if the
indictment influences Ahamdinejad to change his discourse, that in
itself would be an accomplishment, he said.

Jillian Siskind opened the discussion with a review of the evolution
of international law on genocide. She noted that the earliest example
of genocide occurred during World War I when Turkey decimated its
Armenian population and U.S. diplomat Henry Morgenthau’s pleas to
his government to intervene "fell on deaf ears."

Later, a Polish-Jewish lawyer, Raphael Lemkin, noticed that a
gap in international law existed in situations where a government
committed mass killings of its own citizens. He pioneered the concept
of universal jurisdiction that would permit states to try crimes
committed outside their borders, and he coined the term genocide.

Nuremberg prosecutors limited their charges to events that included
a cross-border element and it was not until December 1948 that the
Genocide Convention was adopted. It came into effect in 1951 and
marked a"step away from the shield of state sovereignty," Siskind said.

BULGARIA’S TURKISH PARTY WON’T RECOGNIZE GENOCIDE IN ARMENIA

Sofia News Agency, Bulgaria
April 25 2007

Bulgaria’s ethnic Turkish party Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF)
sparked controversy in Parliament, when they refused to accept the
term "genocide" when it comes to the slaughtering of over a million
Armenians in 1915.

MP Rupen Kirkoryan, who is on the ticket of Simeon II National Movement
(SIINM), suggested that the memory of the killed Armenian citizens
be honoured with a minute of silence.

When the Parliament fell silent, all MRF representatives
demonstratively left the room. Their act enraged the opposition and
Boyko Vatev from the Bulgarian National Union said that it was about
time the Bulgarian Parliament adopted a declaration reproaching the
genocide. He added that the genocide over the Bulgarian citizens
during the April and Ilinden Uprising should also be recognized.

Vatev believes that the adoption of such a declaration and Turkey’s
possible decision to reread the events of the 19th and 20th century
would introduce a European climate in the bilateral relationships
between Bulgaria and Turkey. It would also help Turkey advance in
its EU accession plans.

The leader of nationalists Ataka (Attack) urged the parliament
to officially recognize the events in Armenia as Genocide just as
9 European countries have already done. "This genocide has to be
accepted by the Bulgarian Parliament, but I doubt that the majority
would do so," Siderov said. "There is a party in the ruling majority
that protects the interests of Turkey and this party is MRF," he
added. "The representatives of this party are not here and did not
honour the memory of a million and a half Armenians."

MRF deputy-head Lyutvi Mestan tried to move the subject with a
suggestion for a declaration showing "compassion with the tragedy of
all nations and groups of people that had been victims of violence."

Mestan said that Bulgaria’s Parliament had no right to assume the
powers of an institution that "gives away historical evaluations of
events that haven’t received consensus and categorical evaluation from
historians." He added that Turkey and Armenia are now in a dialogue
to find out the historical truth of the events. His words and his tone
drove all representatives of the opposition out of the plenary hall.

794

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE JUST AS REAL TODAY

Visalia Times-Delta, CA
April 25 2007

Tuesday commemorated a historical event that the U.S. government
claims never occurred.

But the 92nd anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian genocide
is very real for thousands of people in the San Joaquin Valley whose
families were devastated by the systematic extermination of a people.

Commemorating and remembering the Armenian genocide is a act of
respect for them, as well as the historic truth. It also acknowledges
the diversity of our area and the history of individual groups that
helps us all appreciate different cultures.

The event known as the Armenian genocide began on April 24, 1915, at
the height of World War I. The Ottoman Empire, now modern-day Turkey,
was allied with Austria and Germany against the Western Allies. Part
of the empire was the nation of Armenia, and thousands of Armenians
lived within Turkey’s borders.

Armenians and Turks were antagonists, and Armenia had long chafed
under the rule of the Ottomans.

On April 24, the group known as the Young Turks, which was seeking
reform of the empire, rounded up Armenian leaders in Constantinople,
the capital of Turkey and the empire.

Between the years 1915 and 1918, the Armenians were massacred, tortured
and deported. Some were sent into the desert to die of hunger and
thirst. Their property and possessions were appropriated.

After a couple of years respite after WWI, the genocide continued.

At the beginning of World War I, about 2 million Armenians live in
the Ottoman Empire. By 1925, virtually none lived there. Estimates are
that as many as 1.5 million were killed. The rest had been scattered.

Many Armenians in the San Joaquin Valley started their lives here as
refugees from the genocide.

It is hard to imagine how such a thing could have occurred, but the
Turks used the same tactics the Nazis later used to exterminate 6
million Jews in Europe: They started by disarming Armenians, forcing
them to register and then rounding them up into ghettos. The began the
genocide under cover of a national news blackout under the pretense
of the need for security in wartime.

The present-day Republic of Turkey flatly denies that the genocide
occurred. Indeed it is not well known as a historical event, even
among people in our Valley.

The U.S. government has refused to acknowledge that the Armenian
people were the victims of genocide, which is defined as the organized
killing of a people with the express intent of putting an end to
their collective existence. The United States dares not antagonize the
government of Turkey, which occupies strategic military importance in
the Middle East, western Asia and the Mediterranean and borders Iran,
Syria and Russia.

Many politicians have appealed to the State Department, to a
succession of presidents and to Congress insisting that the United
States government acknowledge the Armenian genocide. It has become
an annual exercise in frustration for U.S. Rep. George Radanovich,
R-Mariposa. Apparently the good graces of the Turkish government are
more important than the truth.

Remembering the Armenian genocide is just as relevant to our time as
awareness of the Holocaust, of slavery of African-Americans and of
atrocities against Native Americans. Keeping those events fresh in
our consciousness is important so that we don’t repeat those awful
stains upon history.

It’s also important because of the diversity of our Valley, which
includes many thousands of people of Armenian descent. To help us
live together in a diverse community, we need to appreciate each
other’s history and culture, including refugees from war and genocide,
such as the Southeast Asians and Armenians, immigration to escape
deprivation, such as immigrants from Latin America and Asia, and the
struggle against racism and bigotry in our own country, such as that
suffered by African Americans.

In commemorating the Armenian genocide, we not only acknowledge this
injury against the Armenian people, we repeat the refrain that we
hope will one day also be common whenever anyone remembers the tragic
events 92 years ago: Never again.

.dll/article?AID=/20070425/OPINION01/704250329