Month: April 2007

DEMONSTRATORS COMMEMORATE 92ND ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
By Michael Muskal, Times Staff Writer

Los Angeles Times, CA
April 25 2007

Armenian genocideArmenians and their supporters gathered on the streets
of Hollywood today to commemorate the 92nd anniversary of one of the
first acts of genocide in the 20th century.

"We are recalling the attack on the night of April 24, 1915, when,
in Istanbul, the leaders of the Armenian community were executed,"
Haig Hovsepian, community relations director for Armenian National
Committee of America Western Region, said this afternoon.

Hovsepian described the act as the beginning of years of violence
against the Armenian community by Turks. An estimated 1.2 million
were killed between 1915 and 1918, the last days of the Ottoman
Empire during World War I. Turkey maintains that the deaths were not
sanctioned by the government and disputes that a genocide took place.

Even though the violence took place early in the past century, its
commemoration has continued to be laden with political overtones.

Los Angeles police estimated that the crowd along Fairfax Avenue at
about 1,000 protesters, but Hovsepian said he thought it was double
or triple that number this afternoon and growing as the demonstration
neared the Turkish Consulate in Hollywood. Thousands also marched
earlier in the day.

The demonstrations were peaceful with no arrests or traffic disruption,
said LAPD spokeswoman Officer Karen Smith.

ARMENIANS STAGE DEMONSTRATIONS ON APRIL 24 ANNIVERSARY

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 25 2007

Tens of thousands of Armenians on Tuesday marked the 92nd anniversary
of killings of Anatolian Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, an event
they label as genocide, reiterating their call on Ankara as well as
the world to recognize the killings as genocide.

"We came here to pay tribute to the victims so that our neighbors
wouldn’t for a minute think that we could forget about this, so that
this won’t happen in the future," said acting Defense Minister Michael
Arutyunian. Top officials, including President Robert Kocharian,
were among those paying tribute.

While Armenian television stations in the past used images from Mt.
Ararat in Turkey during anniversary broadcasts, this year they used
images of an Armenian church on Akdamar Island in Lake Van that was
reopened earlier this year as a museum. Banners reading "1,500,000+1,"
were also shown in images in an apparent reference to the murder
of prominent Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink. Dink was killed
by a Turkish nationalist gunman outside the Ýstanbul office of his
bilingual newspaper, Agos, in late January. His funeral drew 100,000
mourners including government officials who condemned the killing.

In neighboring Iran, authorities blocked a traditional march by
ethnic Armenians on the anniversary of the alleged genocide. A group
of Iranian Armenians gathered in the garden of an Armenian church in
Tehran, first attending a service there, and then laid flowers at a
genocide monument in the garden of the church. The group dispersed
without a march to a historic church located near the Turkish Embassy
in Tehran. It was not clear why Iran refused to allow the march, which
has previously been a traditional part of the April 24 demonstrations
in Tehran.

In Moscow, a group of 200 ethnic Armenians threw Molotov cocktails
in the garden of the Turkish Embassy building. The group also tore up
Turkish flags and posters of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the
modern Turkish Republic. Russian police officers avoided interfering
in the protest while some demonstrators waved flags of the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and held aloft posters of now-jailed
PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. Some protestors also waved Greek Cypriot
flags, an administration that is not officially recognized by Ankara.

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ARMENIANS MARCH ON TURKISH CONSULATE PROTESTS PEACEFUL; NO ARRESTS MADE

abc7.com, CA
April 25 2007

LOS ANGELES, Apr. 24, 2007 – (CNS) – Thousands of people denouncing
the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians beginning in 1915 marched in
Hollywood and rallied at the Turkish Consulate Tuesday, blocking some
streets but remaining generally peaceful, officials said.

One group of protesters marched through Hollywood along Sunset
Boulevard between Western and Normandie avenues around noon, and
another group gathered at the Turkish Consulate at 6300 Wilshire
Blvd. in the Miracle Mile area about 4 p.m.

Both protests were peaceful and no arrests were made, said Officer
Karen Smith of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Police estimated the crowds at about 1,500, but organizers said the
numbers were closer to 7,000 people.

Both rallies lasted about two hours.

Numerous people spoke in front of the consulate, and some tried to
deliver a letter to the staff of the Turkish consulate, calling on
the Turkish government to admit responsibility for the slaughter of
about 1.5 million people, said Ani Gharibyan of the Armenian Youth
Federation.

"No one was there to accept our letters," she said. "They created
some other holiday, something about saving the children, designed to
avoid accepting our letter. They have done this every year."

More Armenians live in the Hollywood and Glendale areas than in
Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.

April 24 is a solemn day for Armenians, marking the 92nd anniversary
of the day orders were given to begin the first genocide of the 20th
Century, Gharibyan said.

"Despite overwhelming evidence, the Republic of Turkey to this day
wages a multimillion-dollar campaign to deny the Armenian Genocide,"
she said.

Some speakers during the rally said the United States and other
countries have not wanted to recognize the genocide because of Turkey’s
geopolitical importance. Many other countries, however, have urged
Turkey to admit the guilt of the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor to
the current Turkish Republic, in the genocide.

In a statement, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said "the people of
Los Angeles stand in solidarity with Armenians around the world
in remembering the 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children
barbarically killed by the Ottoman Empire."

"Almost a century of history has removed the horrors of the genocide
from our immediate collective consciousness," Villaraigosa said. "And
yet as the assassination of Turkish-American journalist Hrant Dink
reminded us in January, the pernicious threat of genocide denial
still openly thrives around the world.

"As mayor of America’s preeminent Armenian community, I urge all
Angelenos to reflect not only on the vast scale and ruthlessness of
the genocide, but on the horror of the global silence under which it
took place. Today, I urge Angelenos to simply never forget."

NO CLEAR CHOICE FOR FRENCH TURKS FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Emre DemÝr Strasbourg

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 25 2007

With France’s first round of presidential elections having coming to a
close, leaving UMP candidate Nikolas Sarkozy up against Socialist Party
candidate Segolene Royal, Turks residing in France find themselves
facing a tough election choice May 6.

Sarkozy’s stance against immigrants and his opposition to Turkish EU
membership combined with Royal’s Socialist Party’s promise to bring
the so-called Armenian genocide bill to life have put French Turks
in a position of indecision.

Most ethnically Turkish politicians and civil society leaders who spoke
with Today’s Zaman on the topic of France’s presidential elections do,
however, underline their belief that support in the second round of
the French elections, scheduled to take place May 6, should go to
Socialist Party candidate Royal.

Deputy Mayor and UMP member Elise Apaydýn Sapci, however, is somewhat
optimistic about the UMP candidate.

"Sarkozy is pragmatic; he will soften his stance against Turkey. If
we think like a French citizen, we can see that Sarkozy’s policies
of reform in the economic arena deserve support. But Sarkozy is also
known for his tough stance toward foreigners in France. If we look
from the perspective of our ethnically Turkish voters, it appears,
for example, that marriages from Turkey will become more difficult
in France. It appears that Turks will favor Socialist Party candidate
Royal, who has softer attitudes toward immigrants. But let’s not forget
that Sarkozy is a pragmatic politician. After being elected president,
I believe he will soften his stance on the immigrant problem and to
his general stance on Turkey. If Sarkozy were to perceive possible
damage to Turkish-French economic relations, he would, keeping France’s
interests in mind, take another look at his stance toward Turkey."

Erdoðan Eser, president of the French Industrialists and Entrepreneurs
Movement (MEDIF), was less optimistic. "In terms of the choices facing
French Turks, these are the most difficult presidential elections. I
wish that Francois Bayrou, the UDF leader favored by many in the
Turkish community here, had been able to remain in the race. Now
we are damned if we do, and damned if we don’t. The right-wing
UMP Party is using anti-immigrant politics to get the vote of the
extreme right, while the left-wing Socialist Party has invested in the
so-called Armenian genocide bill to gain votes. The choice for us is
difficult. In any case, I am seeing now that it will most likely be
Sarkozy who is elected president in the second round. But Turks need
to give particular support in the coming months to the left during
elections for MPs. If the Socialist Party gains enough of a majority
to form a government, there will be steps taken to soften Sarkozy’s
anti-immigrant stance."

Erdem Taþpýnar, director of the Turkish association ASTTU, however,
said that despite opinion trends French Turks must not give their
votes to Sarkozy.

"Actually, it is very clear who the Turks must vote for in the second
round. To be more specific, it is completely obvious that votes must
not be given to Sarkozy. We think that all Turks and all immigrants
need to vote for Royal in the second round. Sarkozy’s stance against
foreigners in France and his policies, which would limit immigrant
rights, are worrisome. We, as ASTTU, carried out research on Sarkozy’s
immigrant policies. In particular, we believe that the 2005 immigrant
bill, which made family unifications from Turkey to France even more
difficult, will only become tougher."

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SARKOZY ANNOUNCES BACKING FOR ‘GENOCIDE’ BILL

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 25 2007

French presidential frontrunner Nicolas Sarkozy followed in the
footsteps of his main contender, Socialist candidate Segolene Royal,
and announced that he backed a controversial bill that criminalizes
denial of an alleged genocide of Armenians at the hands of the late
Ottoman Empire.

Greek riot police clash with Armenian demonstrators outside the
Turkish Consulate during a protest in Thessaloniki on Tuesday.

Sarkozy said, in a message sent to the Coordination Council of
Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF), that he supported penalties
against denial of the alleged genocide, the Anatolia news agency
reported. Sarkozy sent the message on the occasion of the anniversary
of what Armenians claim is the beginning of a systematic genocide
campaign in eastern Anatolia some 92 years ago.

The lower house of the French Parliament already approved the bill
last year, which seeks up to three years in jail for those who dispute
claims that Armenians were subject to genocide during the World War
I. The bill has angered Turkey, which categorically refutes genocide
charges and says the killings came when the Armenians revolted against
the Ottoman Empire in collaboration with the invading Russian army.

Royal has recently pledged that the bill would be passed in the
Senate in autumn if her party emerges as victor of the presidential
election. Contrary to Royal, Sarkozy declined to say when the bill
would be passed in the event of his victory in the polls.

Sarkozy said in his message to the CCAF that he was loyal to free
academic research and freedom of expression and added that he believed
the bill should not be used to prosecute those who express personal
opinions on the issue.

But he added: "France cannot accept propaganda by a ‘negationist
state,’ apparently referring to Turkey. Sarkozy said he favored the
use of bill to ban demonstrations and conferences to deny the alleged
Armenian genocide.

Sarkozy is an opponent of Turkey’s EU membership. Armenian groups
say Turkey should be forced to recognize the alleged genocide before
being able to join the 27-nation bloc.

OPENING OF MASS GRAVE FAILS TO SATISFY HISTORIAN

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 25 2007

Yusuf Halacoðlu of the Turkish Historical Society (TTK) and
historian David Gaunt of Sodertorns University College in Sweden in a
collaborative effort opened a mass grave on Monday in the southeastern
town of Nusaybin, which Armenian historians say may contain the remains
of victims of the alleged 1915 genocide of Armenians at the hands of
the Ottoman Empire.

Nevertheless the endeavor didn’t seem to be satisfactory for Gaunt,
who refused to collect earth or bone samples from the grave.

Speaking to reporters following an examination of the site, Halacoðlu
said Gaunt told him that the grave they had exposed was not the one
he had planned to analyze, causing Gaunt to refuse to collect any
samples. Halacoðlu, who argues that the remains are from Roman times,
however, said he had collected samples, which would be scientifically
analyzed.

The mass grave in Nusaybin was discovered by villagers in August
2006. The area where the mass grave lies is on an ancient line of
defense works and underground storage rooms dating back to Roman times.

Gaunt expressed disappointment at a joint press conference following
the grave opening. "My impression is that this grave is one in which
no scientific research can be carried out. The grave has undergone
numerous changes so it is not recognizable. Consequently, I have to say
that this grave is not suitable for scientific research. As a result,
we can say nothing but that this grave is not the one we intended to
research." However, Gaunt added that this could be a start for joint
research with Halacoðlu in the future.

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TURKEY CHALLENGES CLAIMS IN US NEWSPAPER ADS

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 25 2007

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry is using the tools of public diplomacy to
find a way out of the Armenian "genocide" issue, which has become a
stumbling block in parts of its foreign affairs, putting full-page
advertisements in leading US dailies.

The ads reiterated an earlier call by Ankara to Yerevan for the
establishing of a joint commission of Turkish and Armenian historians
and experts to study on Armenian allegations of genocide.

The advertisements were published in The New York Times, The Washington
Times, the Los Angeles Times, the International Herald Tribune
and Roll Call newspaper — which is widely regarded as the leading
publication for US Congressional news and information — on Monday,
only a day before April 24, when Armenians mark the anniversary of
what they claim was the beginning of a systematic genocide campaign
at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

Under an assertive title saying, "Let’s unearth the truth about
what happened in 1915 together," the advertisements released by the
Turkish Embassy in Washington recalled Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdoðan in 2005 sending a letter to Armenian President Robert
Kocharian in which he invited him to establish a joint commission
of historians and experts from both Turkey and Armenia to study the
events of 1915 in the archives of Turkey, Armenia and other relevant
countries around the world.

"Turkey will ensure full access to all its archives," the advertisement
said.

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POLS SIDESTEP DEBATE OVER ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
By: Ryan Grim

Politico, DC
April 25 2007

By regional standards, the Armenian genocide happened yesterday. Or,
if you’re the government of Turkey or the United States, there was
no genocide.

Now Congress is weighing in, and the diplomatic foray has gotten messy.

The Bush administration, like others before it, refuses to use the
word "genocide." Beginning in 1915, more than 1.5 million Armenians
died when the Ottoman government forced the relocation of the
population. President Bush has a reason not to call it genocide: That
would anger the Turkish government, an ally and a Muslim democracy
which has threatened to revoke permission for the U.S. to use an
important air base over the issue, among other repercussions.

Resolutions recognizing and condemning the genocide have been
introduced in both the House and the Senate, and the administration
is vigorously opposing them. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
and Defense Secretary Robert Gates told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
(D-Calif.) in a joint letter that the resolution could "harm American
troops in the field."

And Turkey’s lobbying prowess has already forced four co-sponsors to
back off the bill.

Nonetheless, backers of the nonbinding resolutions in Congress feel
this could be the year it happens and have gained momentum from a
Los Angeles Times editorial last weekend in support of the measure,
which now has 190 co-sponsors in the House and 29 in the Senate
version sponsored by Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.).

The International Association of Genocide Scholars, among numerous
other reputable historical groups, has described the event as
genocide, explaining in a 2005 letter to the Turkish government that,
beginning in April 1915, "…under cover of World War I, the Young Turk
government of the Ottoman Empire began a systematic genocide of its
Armenian citizens — an unarmed Christian minority population. More
than a million Armenians were exterminated through direct killing,
starvation, torture and forced death marches…"

The Turkish government, which replaced the Ottomans, disputes the
account and is fighting to prevent debate on the resolution. A Turkish
Embassy spokesman said that the Armenian deaths — they place the toll
at 200,000 — occurred during an armed revolt by Armenian rebels who
opposed being relocated by the Ottoman government.

"We don’t believe the term ‘genocide’ has anything to do with what
happened in 1915 in the Ottoman Empire. It’s a very incriminating
and serious claim," the spokesman said.

Turkey has long threatened repercussions in trade and diplomatic
relations if the U.S. recognizes the genocide. "It’s going to affect
our cooperation," the embassy spokesman said. "We don’t see what
the advantages are for the United States in passing this. Only the
enemies of the United States and Turkey would be happy."

The Turkish government is backing up its talk with serious lobbying
power. The Livingston Group — the powerful firm of former Louisiana
Republican congressman Bob Livingston — represents Turkey and
is fighting the resolution. According to the watchdog group Public
Citizen, Turkey paid the Livingston Group $9 million between 2000 and
2004, and Turkey recently hired DLA Piper, the firm of former House
minority leader Dick Gephardt, to provide access to Democrats.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill feel the pressure. So far, four House
members who initially co-sponsored the resolution, including Rep.

David Scott (D-Ga.), have withdrawn their support.

"I initially did it as a favor to Schiff," Scott said, referring to
one of the bill’s lead sponsors, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). "If
I had known it would be this kind of a mess, I’d never have gotten
into it. I wasn’t there. I don’t know what happened. Out of fairness,
let them settle it."

Scott said he withdrew as a co-sponsor after meeting with a number of
his Turkish-American constituents. (His district includes a sizable
Turkish-American population.)

Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.) also supported the resolution before he
withdrew as a co-sponsor. His office said he had "no official comment"
on the flip-flop.

Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.) also pulled his name, saying in a statement
to The Politico, "…although I sympathize with the Armenian claims for
justice, the timing of this resolution is unfortunate, given everything
in the Middle East and our need to maintain a close engagement with our
friends in Turkey. As we continue to work together to promote peace in
the Middle East and Iraq, nothing should come between U.S. engagement
with Turkey."

Republicans also see the resolution as an opportunity to paint
Democrats as novices in international diplomacy. "It’s another
irresponsible foreign policy flap on the part of the majority on
the heels of their trip to Syria," said Florida Rep. Adam Putnam,
the third-ranking member in the Republican caucus.

The Bush administration "does not use the word ‘genocide’ to describe
these events," the U.S. Embassy said in a March 13, 2007, statement.

The administration, it clarified, "has never denied the mass murders
and forced exile of up to 1.5 million Armenians" — it just doesn’t
call it genocide.

"Unfortunately, the administration, rather than viewing it as a moral
issue, puts it into U.S.-Turkish relations," said Aram Hambarian,
executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America.

Schiff agrees, contending that the administration’s opposition is "not
a principled position to take." Refusing to acknowledge a 90-year-old
genocide undercuts U.S. moral authority to end the genocide currently
going on in Darfur, he added.

Hambarian said that Turkey’s threats are bluffs, noting that it trades
briskly with European nations that have condemned the genocide. He
added that when the U.S. has previously bucked Turkey by mentioning the
genocide, in several earlier House resolutions and a 1981 presidential
proclamation by Ronald Reagan, the threats did not materialize.

"Every year the argument is made that this is not a good time," Schiff
said. "It’s been 90 years. If now is not the right time, when is?"

07/3666.html

"PROSPEROUS ARMENIA" PARTY HOPES FOR RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Arka News Agency, Armenia
April 25 2007

YEREVAN, April 25. /ARKA/. The "Prosperous Armenia" party hopes that
the triumph of humanitarian ideas in the international arena will lead
to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and its denunciation on
the part of Turkey.

In its statement, the party’s Political Council says that, together
with the entire Armenian people, the party reveres the innocent
victims’ memory and expresses its support to all the successors of
the survivors of the first genocide in the 20th century.

"We are sure that the international community must denounce the crime
against humanity. International recognition and denunciation of the
Armenian Genocide is the best guarantee of preventing similar crimes
against Armenians and any other people," says the party’s statement.

The "Prosperous Armenia" party is ready for cooperation with all the
states, parties, public organizations and individuals pronouncing
for the recognition and denunciation of the Armenian Genocide.

The party’s Political Council points out that the party is for the
improvement of Armenian-Turkish relations and re-opening of the
Armenian-Turkish border without any preconditions.
From: Baghdasarian

ROBERT KOCHARYAN: STRONG, DEMOCRATIC ARMENIA MUST BE RESPONSE TO ORGANIZERS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Arka News Agency, Armenia
April 25 2007

YEREVAN, April 25. /ARKA/. Strong and democratic Armenia must become
the Armenian people’s response to the organizers and perpetrators
of the Armenian Genocide, RA President Robert Kocharyan stated on
the occasion of the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in the
Ottoman Empire.

"Every year we revere the memory of the innocent victims of the
Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey. However, the memory of that
heinous crime has always been in our hearts," says the President’s
message.

Together with the Armenian people, this day is commemorated in many
countries of the world.

"The international community has come to realize that the Genocide
is a crime not only against one people, but also against the entire
humankind. Denial and concealment of this crime are as dangerous as
organization and perpetration," Kocharyan said.

According to the Armenian President, hardships and the sense
of injustice are uniting. "The Genocide made Armenians unite,
strengthened their feeling of identity and aspiration for independent
statehood. The Republic of Armenia, as a realization of all the
Armenians’ centuries-old dream, must develop as homeland for all
Armenians," Kocharyan said.

The RA President, accompanied by his wife Bella Kocharyan, laid a
wreath to the Memorial to the victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide in the 20th century
organized by the Government of Young Turks in 1915-1923. The
recognition of the Armenian Genocide is of principal importance for
the entire Armenian people, for the Genocide was aimed at doing away
with the Armenian Cause.

The Armenian Genocide has been officially recognized by a number of
countries, 40 US states, as well as a number of foreign Parliaments.

The best representatives of the world’s intelligentsia raised their
voice in support of the Armenian people.

The international community is now more active is expressing its
indignation over the crime against the Armenian people. Politicians
and intellectuals state that timely denouncement of the Armenian
Genocide would have prevented such tragedies as the Jewish Holocaust,
genocides in Cambodia, Sudan and Rwanda.