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PRESS RELEASE
Thursday, January 14, 2010
AGBU Asbeds of Los Angeles Host Annual "Evening with Intellectuals"
Program at Manoogian-Demirdjian School
On June 18, 2009, the AGBU Asbeds of Los Angeles invited the Turkish
historian Dr. Cengiz Aktar, from Bahcesehir University in Istanbul, and
Professor Kevork Bardakjian, from the University of Michigan, to speak
at their fifth annual "An Evening with Intellectuals" event.
A crowd of 350 guests packed the Agajanian Auditorium of the AGBU
Manoogian-Demirdjian School, showing great interest in the developing
juncture in Armenian-Turkish relations, the topic of Aktar’s and
Bardakjian’s discussions.
Asbed Executive Committee member Dr. Gabriel Aslanian served as emcee
for the evening and was joined by Berj Shahbazian, Chairman of the
Southern California District Committee, to welcome guests, including
members of the AGBU Central Board of Directors, Manoogian-Demirdjian
School faculty and board of trustees, former Asbed chairmen and
executive committees, reverend clergy and young professionals.
According to AGBU Asbed Chairman Kurken Berksanlar, the goal of their
organization is to keep the public informed on issues related to
Armenian national identity, history, culture, politics and current
affairs from various viewpoints. As he took the stage, he discussed how
Hrant Dink pursued Genocide recognition and how other like-minded
individuals are also opening the eyes of today’s Turkish citizens to
that reality.
Cengiz Aktar, a Turkish citizen, is one of the figures behind the
"Forgiveness Campaign," an effort to gain acceptance of the Genocide and
request pardon from the Armenian community. He is continuing in Dink’s
path of progressive Turkish intellectuals accepting the Genocide. Later,
he discussed ways to ask for forgiveness from "our Armenian brothers and
sisters."
His campaign, led by over 300 intellectuals, scientists and businessmen,
was written by Ali Bayramoglu and spread over the Internet for months,
giving Turks the opportunity to raise a different voice with over 30,000
signatures of support. Compared to the Turkish population of 72 million,
this is only a small percentage, but still a big step in
Armenian-Turkish relations on a broader level.
Aktar stressed the importance of the Internet in increasing the
availability of widespread information and opinions about the Genocide
to a diverse audience. As the press slowly becomes freer in Turkey,
expressing the unfortunate history of the Armenians is more apparent and
is gradually starting to change present relations in the country.
After Aktar, Professor Kevork Bardakjian took the stage and not only
condemned the Turkish government’s policy of Genocide denial, but also
spoke out against the creation of a new commission of historians in
Turkey that will let the past stay forgotten. According to Bardakjian,
today only a few Turkish individuals are starting to reveal their
Armenian identity and the roots of their family members. He also
discouraged Turkey’s potential entry into the European Union.
A reception followed the program where guests and participants continued
to discuss the issue of evolving Armenian-Turkish relations.
Established in 1906, AGBU () is the world’s largest
non-profit Armenian organization. Headquartered in New York City, AGBU
preserves and promotes the Armenian identity and heritage through
educational, cultural and humanitarian program, annually serving some
400,000 Armenians around the world.