Month: May 2021

Armenian MP Paylan: I will never give up my fight for Turkey’s democratization

Rose Khoyetsian
May 7 2021
By

 SCF

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May 7, 2021





Garo Paylan, an Armenian deputy from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) who was threatened by far-right independent member of the Turkish Parliament Ümit Özdağ with facing the same fate as his ancestors, said “he will never give up my fight for Turkey’s democratization.”

Paylan spoke to Alin Ozinian of Turkish Minute.

In an April 24 statement remembering the massacre of Armenians in their indigenous land by the Ottoman Empire, US President Joe Biden said the word “genocide,” marking a historic moment for Armenians and Turks.

Armenian communities across the globe have long been waiting for this step; however, the recognition brought a new wave of denial of the history and a renewal of the hatred of Armenians in Turkey.

Turkish far-right independent lawmaker Ümit Özdağ threatened Garo Paylan, an Armenian deputy from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), with another genocide. Özdağ, who was sacked from the nationalist far-right İYİ (Good) Party last year, said in a tweet that Paylan should have a “Talaat Pasha experience,” referring to the Ottoman politician who ordered the Armenian genocide in 1915.

The knives were out for Paylan, who told Turkish Minute he would continue to fight for the democratization of Turkey and would never give up.

 “With his tweet, Ümit Özdağ admits the Armenian genocide they denied for 106 years. We know very well that these genocidal crimes went unpunished and therefore are still happening. We Armenians have always lived under ‘Talaat Pasha oppression and fear’ in Turkey and have constantly witnessed the hate crimes that have been repeated,” said Paylan.

On April 24 Paylan criticized the naming of streets in Turkey after Talaat Pasha in a tweet.

“We are walking on streets 106 years later named after Talaat Pasha, the architect of the genocide. We send our kids to schools named Talaat Pasha,” tweeted Paylan.

“You shameless, provocative man. You can go to hell if you’re not happy [here]. Talaat Pasha exiled traitors like you, not patriotic Armenians. You’ll go through a Talaat Pasha experience when the time comes, and you should,” Özdağ tweeted on April 26 in response to Paylan’s criticism.

Turkey’s Human Rights Association and Paylan filed a complaint under the penal code articles of “incitement of enmity,” “insults and threats” and “incitement to commit a crime” against independent lawmaker Özdağ for his tweet amid a heated social media debate on the topic in the days after Biden recognized the Armenian genocide by saying “Each year on this day, we remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman-era Armenian genocide.”

Paylan said hate speech leads to hate crimes in Turkey and that he wants to expose this. “I filed a criminal complaint not because I had any hope from the politicized judiciary, but to make a note in history. I hope there will soon be changes in this country, and when that day comes, they will be held to account and answer for what they’ve done. That’s why I’m struggling today.”

Paylan, who is frequently the target of insults and threats, knows his struggle for the truth is very dangerous but emphasizes that he will not give up.

“We live in a climate of hate, and we are exposed to hate speech every day. This climate of hate and rhetoric causes hate crimes, but I still feel that I’m not alone. Millions of citizens who want Turkey to be a democratic country oppose the government and fight against racist Turkish policies. Regardless, I live with the awareness that this hate speech against me can lead to hate crimes, but this struggle never distracts me from my determination,” Paylan said.

Turkey’s parliament on April 27 condemned Biden’s remarks. “As the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, we regretfully and strongly condemn US President Joe Biden’s remarks in a statement dated April 24, 2021 to adopt the Armenian lobbies’ claims on the events of 1915,” said a joint declaration by political parties in the legislature.

The parliament called on Biden to correct his mistake by changing his remarks on the events of 1915 in the statement that was approved by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the IYI Party and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

Only the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) voted against it and called for justice for the Armenian genocide in the land in which it took place. “The great crime went unpunished, and discrimination and hate crimes became commonplace,” said the statement.

According to the HDP, the Armenian genocide symbolizes the “politics of massacre” toward the Greek, Syriac, Chaldean, Kurdish, Alevi and Yazidi minorities of Turkey and that confronting this genocidal tendency.is the “sine qua non of a common life together.”

Paylan thinks Armenians have been trying to continue living in Turkey since the genocide but says they always remain silent in racist environments. “We experienced a long silence that lasted for three generations, and this silence was broken only after the 1990s, with the struggle for democratization and Hrant Dink’s efforts. After this silence, we, a small number of Armenians who spoke out, introduced the 1915 Armenian genocide to the majority of Turkish society, and even though they were reluctant to use the word ‘genocide,’ they acknowledged this great catastrophe. This is progress that cannot be underestimated.”

According to Paylan, the Armenian genocide took place in Turkey, and justice should be achieved again in these lands. Therefore, the first step should be to realize the pain of the Armenians.

“We should be the narrators of our history and suffering because only a democratic Turkey can face the Armenian genocide. For this confrontation, we need to support our comrades who are struggling for democracy in Turkey. In the parliaments of the world, genocide is being recognized, but our wounds are not healing. We need to continue our struggle in Turkey where we belong.”

Paylan is convinced there is a regression in Turkey today and that the country is in great darkness, but he believes this regression will come to an end and that Turkey will emerge from the darkness.

“One thing that should not be forgotten is that millions of people in Turkey accept the Armenian genocide. In this respect the democratization movement should be kept alive in Turkey. I am fighting for democratization and paying the price; I will never give up and will continue my fight. I am not afraid, many people are standing by me. I never think of leaving Turkey. I hope I will not have to do that.”

‘Gandhi statue desecration in Armenia a result of lack of understanding of Indian history’

Vatche Chakhmakhchian
The Indian Express
May 7 2021
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Written by Neha Banka | Kolkata |

Updated: May 7, 2021 6:30:57 pm

The desecration of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Armenia is a result of a lack of understanding of Indian history and Gandhi’s socio-political contributions to India’s struggle for independence, said Karen Mkrtchyan, a member of Bright Armenia, a political party founded in 2015.

On April 29, the statue of Gandhi, installed last year on his 150th birth anniversary, was set on fire and desecrated in a park in the Armenian capital Yerevan. A 61-year old Armenian national pleaded guilty, local news reports said.

An organisation that calls itself the ‘Yerevan Alternative Municipality’ posted photos of the desecrated monument on social media, calling for the statue to be demolished, but did not claim responsibility for the vandalism.

Two days before the statue was burned and a plaque with Gandhi’s name demounted and broken, a group of protesters had also thrown eggs at the monument, with images of the broken plaque and egg shells widespread on social media platforms. Following the vandalism, Armenia’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the desecration and called it a “provocation against the centuries-old Armenian-Indian friendship, dynamically developing since the independence.”

The Indian Embassy told indianexpress.com on May 5, that the statue had been jointly installed by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and local authorities in Yerevan, with India assuming responsibility for the creation and transportation of the monument to Armenia.

In a Facebook post, the ‘Yerevan Alternative Municipality’ called the Indian freedom fighter “anti-Armenian” and said “it will fight to remove the statue of the anti-Armenian figure from our capital. We ask our compatriots to show patience, to endure the presence of the statue of this anti-Armenian figure until we remove it.” Pointing to the sensitivity of matter and strong diplomatic relations between India and Armenia, the Embassy of India declined to add further comments regarding the incident.

The objections to the statue specifically have to do with Gandhi’s support for the Ottoman Empire that was disintegrating in 1920 due to the empire having been forced to concede large parts of its territory to the Allied Powers during the First World War under the clauses of the Treaty of Sèvres.

At that time, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern-day Turkey, received moral support from Gandhi for the cause of the Turkish independence movement. The brutality of the Armenian Genocide under the Ottoman Empire that lasted between 1915 to 1917, were fresh wounds when British newspapers began highlighting Gandhi’s support for Atatürk and the Khilafat movement, a pan-Islamist political protest campaign led by Muslims of British India to restore the caliph of the Ottoman Caliphate, who was considered the leader and political authority of the Muslims, and to protest against sanctions placed on the caliph and the Ottoman Empire after the First World War by the Treaty of Sèvres.

“The major shock came by with the publication of the Treaty of Sevres on May 14, 1920, in India. This treaty announced the terms of dismembering Turkey and this particular event crossed the limits of Gandhi’s humiliation and he completely lost his confidence and faith in the British sense of justice,” writes Benazir Banu, a scholar at the Academy of International Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, in her research paper ‘Mahatma Gandhi and Turkish War of Independence’.

“Obviously the lack of understanding of Indian history comes into play here, because Gandhi’s support for the Khilafat movement and the Ottoman Empire was sorely intra-Indian, to bring Hindu-Muslim unity and to oppose the British rule,” Mkrtchyan said. Mkrtchyan lived and studied in India for close to a decade before returning to Armenia in 2016 and studied Indian history during his time in the country.

“Gandhi saw something sinister in every reason of the British and he had his own reasons for it. So someone with very little understanding of Indian history and the context at that time can easily misinterpret it. And of course the Genocide is a soft issue for every Armenian. So once you see that Gandhi supported the Turks, Atatürk and the Ottoman Empire, it brings about a lot of emotions in people who do not understand the context and people get very angry,” Mkrtchyan adds.

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This isn’t the first time that discussions surrounding Gandhi have come up in Armenia, albeit among small groups. Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has consistently claimed to advocate non-violence and has said that he draws inspiration from two of the most iconic international proponents of this philosophy—Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela; it was also what in part, helped him rise to power.

In 2018, Pashniyan attempted to replicate Gandhi’s Dandi March, also known as the Salt March, a deliberate attempt at tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly in pre-Independence India. Only in Pashniyan’s case, he was protesting former Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan’s attempt to hold onto power by having the Armenian Parliament elect him prime minister, despite promising not to seek that office.

That year, Pashinyan decided to walk some 193 kilometers across the country from Gyumri, the second-largest city, to the capital Yerevan. Back then, his opponents mocked Pashniyan’s imitation of Gandhi’s march and because he had worn a camouflage-pattern T-shirt during the walk despite not having served in the compulsory military conscription in the country. But his supporters said that these served as examples of his humility. To coincide with the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi, in May 2019, Armenia had also issued stamps in commemoration.

Following the vandalism of the statue in Yerevan last week, Mkrtchyan said that Pashniyan’s critics had added fuel to the fire. “They are blaming him for associating with Gandhi and that it was his initiative to install Gandhi’s statue in Armenia, because he equals himself with Gandhi. Whereas this is not true,” said Mkrtchyan. But Indian citizens in Armenia who spoke on the condition of anonymity and the Embassy of India in Yerevan told indianexpress.com that the vandalism has been widely condemned in local news reports as well as by other Armenians on social media, with “fringe elements” having been blamed for creating nuisance and needless provocation between two friendly nations.

“Being an Armenian, the (Armenian) Genocide is a big thing for me. But I will understand if someone who is leading the struggle for his own country is going to do something I may or may not like,” said Mkrtchyan. “Nobody puts up Gandhi’s statue because he was Gandhi. Political parties may come and go but Gandhi remains an important part of India’s foreign policy and soft power. He represents India.”

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The imperialistic policy behind Biden’s recognition of Armenian genocide: Turkish historian – Tehran Times

Garo Vardanian
Tehran Times
May 7 2021

The imperialistic policy behind Biden's recognition of Armenian genocide: Turkish historian  
By Mohammad Ali Saki
May 7, 2021 – 17:58
The imperialistic policy behind Biden's recognition of Armenian genocide: Turkish historian – Tehran Times

TEHRAN – A Turkish historian and political scientist believes Biden's decision to recognize the Armenian genocide is an imperialistic plan that lacks historical validity. 

"There are imperialist political goals behind this decision, which has no legal and historical validity," Mehmet Perincek tells the Tehran Times.

"The decision is a work of the U.S. hostile policies towards Turkey. Recognizing the alleged massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War One as genocide, Biden went further than his predecessors in the White House and departed from decades of carefully calibrated language when it comes to Turkey."

Biden's statement was greeted with praise in the Armenian capital, Yerevan — and among the country's diaspora, whose activists have long campaigned for such recognition — but met with anger in Ankara, where Turkey has denied that the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915-17 should be considered genocide.

Turkish politicians say that the U.S. administration is going to expand its hegemony through meddling in the region.

"Washington wants to establish a puppet "Kurdistan" in the north of Syria and Iraq," Perincek emphasizes.

Following is the text of the interview:

Q: What is your comment on Biden's recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide?

A: Biden's statement has no meaning in terms of international law. According to the international convention of 1948, only local courts or international criminal courts can decree genocide. Therefore, it is not possible to talk about any genocide without a court decision. Biden has no such authority.

Biden's statements are also incompatible with historical facts. I have been researching this topic in the Russian state archives for over 20 years. My books on this subject were published in Iran as well. Documents from the archive prove that the imperialist states provoked a mutual massacre in order to share Turkey, while Turkey made self-defense.

There are imperialist political goals behind this decision, which have no legal and historical validity. The decision is a work of the U.S. hostile policies towards Turkey. Washington wants to establish a puppet "Kurdistan" in the north of Syria and Iraq. Besides, it has formed a bloc against Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean. It is making stacks in Western Thrace and the Aegean and trying to surround Turkey. In this picture, Biden's statement has meaning. Allegations of the so-called Armenian genocide have been part of plans to share Turkey since time immemorial. Today, there is the same purpose. This plan was made through the "Great Armenia project" in the past; today, it is tried to be realized through the "Great Kurdistan project." As a matter of fact, Turkey's fight against terrorism is also wanted to be shown as a crime against humanity.

Q: Many predict deterioration of relations between Turkey and the U.S. under Biden's presidency. What is the reason?

A: Countries with deep-rooted state traditions, such as Turkey, Iran, Russia, China, are the biggest obstacle to U.S. plans. The United States cannot carry out its own strategy unless they bring these countries to their knees or tear them apart. Therefore, there is a strategic confrontation between Turkey and the United States. The issue is not a simple problem or misunderstanding, etc.

Turkey will not surrender to the USA. Bilateral relations cannot improve until the USA respects Turkey's territorial integrity and sovereignty. The problem originates from U.S. imperialist plans for Turkey and the region. 
Biden has also shown that he will continue these plans by exacerbating them.

 Q: How can Turkey balance its ties with Russia and the U.S.?

 A: The United States is strategically positioned against Turkey. Russia, on the other hand, is facing the U.S. threat just like Turkey and has common interests with Turkey in the region. Therefore, Moscow is one of Ankara's most important strategic allies in the region. Turkey can only eliminate the U.S. threat to itself in cooperation with countries such as Russia and Iran.

So Ankara's need is not to maintain a balance between Moscow and Washington. All she has to do is develop a strategy with Moscow, Tehran, Damascus, and Baghdad that will stop U.S. plans together. 

Q: Do you think Turkey may desire to form a bloc with regional powers to confront U.S. policies?

A: This is a necessity for Turkey. This is a need not only for Turkey but also for all countries of the region. Rivalries and conflicts between countries in the region are provoked by the USA. Because the USA's realization of its plans in the region depends entirely on us fighting among ourselves.

In this regard, Ankara, Tehran, Moscow, Damascus and Baghdad need to be vigilant and prevent U.S. provocations. If the U.S. comes with a gift, there will be an insidious plan behind it for sure. In return, it'll want us to do something against our neighbors.
The Astana process is a very important example in this regard. When U.S. intervention is prevented, and countries in the region take the initiative, significant achievements can be achieved for peace and stability in the region. This initiative must be further deepened and expanded.

Q: While Turkey's relations with the U.S. are deteriorating, Ankara tries to approach Israel? How do you see this policy?

 A: The U.S. and Israel are in the same camp and have a common strategy. Both countries are a threat to Turkey's national security and regional peace. In this respect, it is not possible for Turkey to get closer to Israel while it is falling apart with the U.S.
In order for Turkey-Israel relations to normalize, Israel, first of all, must stop supporting the "Kurdistan" plan and the terrorist organizations PKK/PYD. Today, the biggest supporters of the PKK/PYD are the USA and Israel. Today, the Turkish army is fighting against the Israeli plan both in Syria and in the Eastern Mediterranean.

On the other hand, the normalization of relations between Israel and countries such as the United Arab Emirates is targeting Turkey as well. These agreements aim to press Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East (West Asia). It's part of a plan to isolate Turkey.

In this regard, Turkey and Iran should also come together and cooperate against the Israel threat.

Conflict Affected Families in Armenia to Receive World Bank Support

Emma Nadirian
May 7 2021
May 7, 2021

New Delhi: A Grant Agreement for the “Support to Conflict Affected Families” project was signed today by Sylvie Bossoutrot, World Bank Country Manager for Armenia, and Atom Janjughazyan, Acting Minister of Finance of Armenia. Funds for the project are provided by the multi-donor State and Peacebuilding Fund (SPF), through a one-year grant of $3.72 million.

The Government of Armenia has developed a broader social protection response package with support from development partners and non-governmental organizations. This project will be implemented by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia, through its subordinated agency — the Unified Social Service — and aims to improve the resilience of conflict affected people and reduce the financial burden of host families, with a particular focus on women and vulnerable members of the population.

“We are pleased to sign this timely Agreement supported by the State and Peacebuilding Fund Grant,” said Sylvie Bossoutrot, World Bank Country Manager for Armenia. “This project is of extreme importance and the assistance granted to displaced individuals and their host families will help to improve the resilience of families affected by the conflict.”

The proposed project will contribute to selected social protection and employment support programs, which are part of a larger support package targeting displaced people and their host families, from the Government of Armenia.

Specifically, the project aims to:

Reach around 11,530 displaced persons with a monthly cash benefit equal to the minimum wage (68,000 AMD) per adult/child for up to four months in Armenia.
Provide cash assistance/income support to 3,975 families in Armenia hosting displaced people to help meet basic consumption needs.
Temporarily subsidize an employment program for 936 displaced people who are looking to gain work experience in Armenia and facilitate their labor market participation and economic inclusion.

Support 115 displaced individuals through the public works program (cash-for-work).

“The project is designed to especially benefit women affected by the conflict,” said Maddalena Honorati, World Bank Task Team Leader. “According to a rapid multi-sector needs assessment conducted last December, women represent 70 percent of the adult displaced population. The cash transfers will help them meet their basic needs on a day-to-day basis. More importantly, the project will improve the resilience of the displaced families and promote social cohesion in their host communities.”

The State and Peacebuilding Fund is a global fund administered by the World Bank to finance critical development operations and analysis in situations of fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV). The SPF is kindly supported by Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, The United Kingdom, as well as the World Bank.

Armenian Judoka Released from Azerbaijan

Emil Lazarian
May 7 2021


In the past armed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, among those taken prisoners was a young Armenian judoka, the 19-year-old Robert Vardanyan. Following a call for help from the Armenian Judo Federation, President Marius Vizer, reacted promptly and without hesitation.
The International Judo Federation is happy to announce that the young judoka has now returned home his family safely, due to the generosity of His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan.
We would like to express our deep gratitude to President of Azerbaijan, His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev – and the Azerbaijan judo family.
Once again, Judo proved to be an incredible tool against war and conflict situations, and the release of the young judoka is proof of the power and high moral values that our sport is carrying, surpassing any conflict and animosity. The solidarity and the unity of the International Judo Family has no borders, and we are all united by the common goal of mutual aid and prosperity.

6 famous members of the Armenian diaspora that have taken the world by storm

Karapet Navasardian
Daily Sundial – CSUN
May 7 2021

After 106 years, President Joe Biden became the first U.S. president to recognize the atrocities committed against the Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, using the word genocide for the first time since President Ronald Regan.

The 1915 Armenian Genocide, known as the first modern-day genocide of the 20th century, was an orchestrated crime against humanity in an attempt to annihilate the Armenian people as the Turkish Ottoman Empire massacred 1.5 million Armenian lives. Ottoman authorities first deported, hunted and murdered hundreds of Armenian intellectuals and community leaders to ensure the history of the Armenians died along with them, They then proceeded to do the same with the rest of the Armenian people.

In the world’s failure to hold the Ottoman Turks responsible for their atrocities, one does not have to think far about how Adolf Hitler got the idea to persecute and kill 6 million Jews. Hitler believed that because the world didn’t act to stop the Ottoman Turks, no one would care about the Jewish people. “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians? Hitler said in his 1939 Obersalzberg Speech.

With millions of Armenians escaping their ethnic homeland to survive, Armenia now has one of the largest diasporas in the world. Armenians escaped to France, the United Kingdom, Spain, the United States, Russia, Ethiopia and countless other countries across the globe. With a widely spread out diaspora, it’s no question descendants of the Armenian Genocide have taken the world by storm.

Kim Kardashian West

Kim Kardashian West (David Shankbone via Wikipedia Commons)

Whether one loves to love or loves to hate Kim Kardashian West, she is one of the biggest names in Hollywood and continuously sheds light on her Armenian ancestry through the hit reality television show “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” interviews and her work as a celebrity political activist.

Kardashian West inherits her Armenian roots from her late father, Robert Kardashian. She has amassed her success through her career as a reality television star and a business mogul, according to Forbes magazine. Kardashian West, who is worth $1 billion is now the second Armenian female billionaire to grace the cover of Forbes, right alongside Alex and Ani founder Carolyn Rafaelian. While being one of Hollywood’s biggest A-listers, Kardashian West continues to uphold her traditional Armenian roots through not only educating herself but educating her 285 million social media followers about the Armenian Genocide and the dire situations that surround Armenia today.

Kardashian West, who has also visited the homeland twice, plans to move production for her company Skims to the country in an effort to bring more business into Armenia, according to the Daily Mail.

Cher

Cher (Gage Skidmore via Flickr)

Cher, born Cherilyn Sarkisian, changed the game of pop music for generations to come. Like Kardashian, Sarkisian was born to an American mother and an Armenian father. One of the original queens of pop, Cher has left her name in the roots of Hollywood for life. From being a part of the duo Sonny & Cher, becoming a solo megastar to being an Oscar-winning actress, she continues to inspire pop artists. Cher has also done a great deal for the Armenian community, despite never feeling a strong connection to her background due to growing up with an estranged father. Everything changed when she decided to travel to Armenia in 1993, when Armenia went to war with Azerbaijan over ownership of ethnic Armenian lands, according to the Guardian. Since going to Armenia and connecting with her roots, Cher has been extremely vocal in the support of Armenia and getting the world to recognize the Armenian Genocide for what it was: an extermination.

Andy Serkis

Andy Serkis (Gage Skidmore via Flickr)

Andy Clement Serkis, whose original surname is Sarkisian, is one of Hollywood’s most prominent actors. With roles ranging from Gollum in “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” to gaining a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Ulysses Klaue in “Black Panther,” Serkis remains one of the few Armenian actors in the realm of Hollywood. Born to a British mother and an Armenian father, Serkis’ work earned him a BAFTA award for Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema.

Serj Tankian

Serj Tankian (Boris Baldinger via Flickr)

Serj Tankian, the lead singer of the all-Armenian metal band System of a Down, is beloved by metalheads around the world. Tankian was born to Armenian parents, with four grandparents who escaped from Armenia to Lebanon during the persecution of the Armenians. His work in the music industry earned his band a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance and an MTV Europe Music Award for Best Alternative Rock Band. Tankian has used his platform to unite rock lovers all over the globe and to educate his fans about the atrocities committed against the Armenians through his lyrics. Tankian is relentless in his fight to get the world to recognize the Armenian Genocide through continuous political activism work with both the U. S. government and the Armenian government. Tankian is also a CSUN alumnus who graduated with a marketing degree in 1989.

Kirk Kerkorian

Kirk Kerkorian (EarlyVegas via Flickr)

Known as the “Father of Las Vegas megaresort,” Kerkor “Kirk” Kerkorian was one of America’s most successful businessmen, investors and philanthropists. Kerkorian is responsible for quite literally architecting the city of Las Vegas from the ground up. Worth an estimated $4 billion, Kerkorian once purchased MGM Studios in 1969 as a film investor and later opened the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in 1973, the largest hotel in the world at the time. A descendant of Armenian immigrant parents who escaped from the Ottomans, Kerkorian honored his Armenian ancestry by donating over $1 billion to the people of Armenia after the devastating earthquake in Spitak, Armenia in 1988. Kerkorian also fully financed the Armenian Genocide remembrance film “The Promise.” The film, which starred Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac, was the first mainstream American film to depict the story of the Armenian Genocide. According to the Hollywood Reporter, if it had not been for Kerkorian, the film never would have made it on the screen. “The Promise” was a project that had been in the works for quite some time as it had great meaning to Kerkorian, who ensured every detail that went into the film would be beautifully and painfully depicted before his death in 2015.

Charles Aznavour

Charles Aznavour (Roland Godefroy via Wikipedia Commons)

One of the greatest celebrated artists in France and regarded as the “French Frank Sinatra,” Aznavour was a poet who could turn his poetry into French love songs. Born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, Aznavour was a child of Armenian immigrants who fled from Armenia to France to escape the 1915 genocide. Aznavour first made his mark on the music industry when French icon Edith Piaf heard him sing and later invited him to join her on tour, according to Snippet of History. Aznavour recorded more than 1,200 songs and starred in more than 80 French films and TV shows. He was always an outspoken advocate for the Armenian cause through his charity work and countless efforts to share the horrific history of the Armenian people and the tragic fate that his mother and father escaped from. Despite being displaced from their mother country during the Armenian Genocide, Aznavour’s parents resisted Turkish assimilation by teaching their children the Armenian language, folklore and traditions to preserve their Armenian culture, according to the New Yorker. After Aznavour died in 2018, the Eiffel Tower shone extra bright, as France lost one of their most cherished singers.

The Armenian people have endured some of the worst events in history. Despite being ignored by the United States because of its security partnership with Turkey, the Armenian people’s fight for genocidal recognition has continued for over 100 years. To this day, the Turkish government refuses to acknowledge their crimes.

The Armenians are a people of pride and will continue to share their history with their children to keep the culture of the motherland alive throughout the diaspora, just as these Hollywood elites have worked so hard to do.

Biden’s Genocide Declaration Makes Little Difference for Turkey’s Armenians

Hagop Kamalian
Foreign Policy
April 29 2021

ISTANBUL—Armed with a large, shiny key, Sahak Tavukcu, the caretaker of Surp Hresdagabet Church, is one of the last Armenians remaining in Istanbul’s Balat neighborhood. The area was once home to a cluster of minorities such as Armenians, Greeks, and Jews. Today, however, the district’s residents are predominantly conservative Muslims, and Balat itself has attracted anti-Armenian sentiment, even though most Armenians left the neighborhood years ago.

According to the Turkish Armenian patriarchate, around 60,000 ethnic Armenians remain in Turkey, mostly in and around Istanbul, a far cry from the over a million Armenians who called it home before the tragic events of 1915-1917, when the Ottoman Empire led hundreds of thousands of Armenians on forced marches from the capital to the Syrian desert, saying they needed to be resettled for military reasons. Between 600,000 and 1.5 million Armenians died due to massacres, murders, or ill treatment.

Over the weekend, for the first time ever, U.S. President Joe Biden formally declared Turkey’s killing and displacement of what’s estimated at more than a million Armenians a genocide. It’s a designation of little consequence in international law, but which carries huge weight in the fraught relations between Turkey and its Armenian minority. 

For decades, the United States danced around any such designation, fearing that it would harm relations with a longtime NATO ally. But with U.S.-Turkey relations seemingly already bottomed out, after years of disputes over Syria, the Kurds, Russian missiles, and more, Washington has finally called the Armenian slaughter by the name that it helped coin.

But for many ethnic Armenians in Turkey, Biden’s comments, made more than a century after the fact, were too little, too late. “It’s been so long,” said Tavukcu, 56, mopping the rarely visited church’s pristine floors. “Maybe it will be a good thing—who knows? It’s all politics.”

The church, which has burned down and been rebuilt more than once, is in many ways the embodiment of the city’s multicultural history—and the Armenian community’s struggle to survive. Built originally as a Greek Orthodox church before being given to Armenians in the 15th century, its stone-walled grounds sit next to an abandoned Armenian school, now derelict and used as a base by migrant waste collectors. Nearby is a modern mosque and an old synagogue.

Tavukcu said only about 15 people attend the weekly Thursday prayers now, but years ago the church attracted huge crowds during holy festivals. Despite a history in the country that goes back millennia—St. Paul wrote one of his many epistles to the Christian community of Galatia, in central Anatolia—Turkey’s Christians face increasing nationalism intertwined with Islamic conservatism. 

In recent years, Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party, with its brand of populist nationalism, has mandated conversion of a number of churches and historical sites into mosques. The country has moved away from secular traditions and has become increasingly intolerant of those who do not fit with leadership’s vision of a more Islamic and less diverse Turkey. 

“They called this a church of miracles until 12 years ago,” Tavukcu said. Worshipers would come, he said, from the capital, from “everywhere,” to mark the Exaltation of the Holy Cross festival each September, an important religious event for Armenians. “We would celebrate until dawn, sheep and other offerings would be brought and many people were healed in this church. … It was our version of Eid,” he said. 

Things changed, however, after a TV report focusing on the religious healings and sacrifices caused outrage in Turkey. “After that there was pressure on us, so we had to stop our traditions,” Tavukcu said. Now they mark the festival simply by reading prayers until evening.

Other neighborhoods have larger Armenian communities. Tavukcu has also been offered U.S. residency. But he stays, he said, to keep alive the flicker of Armenian presence here. For those who are both Armenian and Turkish, their inner world is complicated and full of contradictions. Inside the church’s living quarters, there’s a picture of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey. Next to it hangs an old Armenian prayer.

Last year, the church was vandalized with graffiti as Armenia and Azerbaijan, a country of ethnic Turks backed by sophisticated Turkish weapons, fought a brutal conflict over the contested enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Cars paraded through Balat waving Azerbaijani and Turkish flags; some of the former are still visible on the streets.

The precarious position Turkey’s Armenians cling to today explains why so few were willing to talk about Biden’s designation. Turkey’s Armenian patriarch Sahak Mashalian told state media that he agreed the move was political, and in a rare show of unity, even opposition parties rallied against the declaration. Turkey’s government condemned the move, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying the genocide claims are “baseless, unjust, and untrue.” An exhibition dedicated to Turkish diplomats killed by Armenian militants was unveiled on the same day in Los Angeles, which has a big Armenian diaspora population, and the government has vowed that there will be a response at an “appropriate” but undefined time in the future. 

For Turkish Armenians, the issue is still raw. Garo Paylan, a Turkish member of parliament of Armenian descent, received threats on social media after he submitted a legal proposal for genocide recognition this week. His party, the pro-minority Peoples’ Democratic Party, is the only one to have spoken out in favor. The threats are not without precedent—in 2007, the outspoken journalist Hrant Dink, who founded the Istanbul-based Armenian newspaper Agos, was shot to death outside his office. 

Armenian Turkish journalist Rober Koptas, who formerly worked at Agos, also faced a strong backlash on social media after he encouraged Turkey to recognize the genocide. Ten or 15 years ago, he said, the topic could still be broached. He said that although he used to believe that foreign interference in the issue was harmful to the struggle for dialogue within Turkey, he now believes that the ongoing crackdown on freedom of speech means that discussing it is no longer an option. 

“Of course the U.S. is doing this on the basis of their own interests, and Turkey-U.S. relations are not good at the moment. Perhaps it is a tool for diplomacy to show Turkey how they can punish them if agreements are broken, but the U.S. is an important country, and what they say matters,” he said. “Turkish denial has caused this recognition. Go and acknowledge your genocide, and then no one can use this as a diplomatic tool against you. The denial mechanism is very strong, and as a Turkish Armenian, this is very sad for me.”

Although some feared for the Armenian community in the wake of the U.S. decision, the response has so far been limited to small protests in the United States and outside Istanbul’s U.S. Consulate. But for Tavukcu, the tiny size of the Armenian population means they will always have to be careful. 

“We were afraid of Biden’s genocide announcement,” because Armenians are such a small community, he said. Other countries and communities have bigger populations, he said, “but we are a small number.” 

Liz Cookman is a freelance journalist based in Istanbul covering Turkey, Syria, and the wider Middle East.

See photos at the link below:

Biden Administration Releases Statement on Armenian Genocide

Emil Lazarian
May 7 2021

Ryan Teutschmann, [email protected]|May 7, 2021

Saturday, April 24 marked Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, a day on which Armenians around the world remember the atrocities committed against them by the Ottoman Empire – now present-day Turkey – in 1915-16 during the Meds Yeghern, the Armenian term for the genocide. This year’s remembrance gained additional awareness from the public after President Biden released a statement specifically referring to the event as a genocide. The move followed through on Biden’s campaign promise to focus on human rights, even at the risk of alienating Turkey – a NATO ally and major power in the Middle East.
The Armenian Genocide, sometimes called “the first genocide of the twentieth century,” refers to a period of violence, deportation and death marches by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenian population from spring 1915 until fall 1916. The genocide targeted roughly 1.5 million Armenians in Ottoman territory and resulted in “(a)t least 664,000 and possibly as many as 1.2 million” deaths, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
According to the USHMM, the genocide was sparked by fear that invading Allied armies would incite the Christian Armenians to take up arms against the Ottomans, resulting in forced deportations beginning in provinces nearer to their enemies that quickly expanded to target Armenians in the entire empire. Turkey has long denied that these atrocities were genocide and suppressed information about them, resulting in their place in history being obscured and often forgotten. Despite these efforts, the Armenian Genocide and what news of it that did escape to the wider world inspired attempts to create protections for groups and helped coin the term “genocide.”
Presidents of the United States have almost always avoided referring to the atrocities as genocide in the past due to Turkey’s position as a major NATO ally in the Middle East. This delicate partnership and the offense Turkey takes when other countries insinuate the events as a genocide meant that, until now, the Armenian Genocide had never been officially referred to as a genocide in U.S. policy. The only exception to this unspoken rule was one occasion when President Ronald Reagan used the term in the 1980s. However, this instance did not affect the overall U.S. policy on the matter, according to the Associated Press.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry released a statement soon after Biden’s, condemning his decision to recognize the genocide.
“We reject and denounce in the strongest terms the statement of the President of the U.S. regarding the events of 1915 made under the pressure of radical Armenian circles and anti-Turkey groups,” said the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
In contrast, according to the Associated Press, the Armenian government praised the statement and said it hopes to serves as an example to the rest of the world to honor the memory of those horrible events.
Regardless of the international political backlash, the statement will have, Biden has already been praised by members of the Armenian-American community, activists, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and several other Democratic members of Congress for upholding history and recognizing violations of human rights from the past. The statement has set the tone for this administration’s stance on human rights, though how this commitment will play out remains to be seen.

Civilian Armenian POW Faces Terrorism Charges in Azerbaijan

Emil Lazarian
May 6 2021

Man Charged Is Descendant of 1915 Genocide

05/06/2021 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – International Christian Concern (ICC) learned that on May 5, 2021, Azerbaijan approved an indictment against Armenian-Lebanese Vicken Euljekjian, a civilian prisoner of war captured when Azerbaijan invaded Nagorno-Karabakh and seized new territory. Euljekjian is facing three charges: participation as a mercenary in a military conflict, committing terrorism, and illegally crossing into Azerbaijan. These charges are falsely leveled against Euljekjian. They are part of Azerbaijan and Turkey’s joint attempt to justify their genocidal actions in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan invaded Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2020 with the support of Turkish-backed Syrian mercenaries. The brutality of the invasion demonstrated an intent of ethnic-religious cleansing towards Karabakh’s Armenian Christian community, whose presence in the region predates the Islamic Turkic presence. The human rights abuses committed against local Armenian civilians were reminiscent of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, which the US formally recognized for the second time in history on April 24.

Euljekjian is a descendant of the 1915 genocide and had just moved to Shushi before the invasion. However, the city was captured by Azerbaijan and he spent most of the war as a displaced person. After the November Ceasefire Agreement, Euljekjian returned to Shushi to collect his belongings, and at a checkpoint, Euljekjian and his companion were arrested. Meral was released after four months of captivity and deported to Lebanon.

Meral told reporters that they thought the road was open. “During the search, no weapons and or sharp objects were found in his car. How could he be a terrorist if he is not carrying anything? Vicken’s only crime was that he wanted to collect his personal belongings from Shushi.”

Just days before Azerbaijan approved Euljekjian’s indictment, his daughter Christine released a video. “Today is my 18th birthday. It is my first time my father is not with me. We have been particularly close to each other. I have always been daddy’s girl. All I want is that my father returns home safe and sound, that is my only wish.”

Euljekjian is one of at least 200 Armenian POWs who have yet to be returned, despite Azerbaijan’s violation of the November Ceasefire Agreement. The brutality they are subjected to was further confirmed when lawyers representing Armenian POWs at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) announced this week that Azerbaijan had tortured and killed 19 prisoners of war, 12 of whom are civilians.

Turkey has maintained a supporting role of Azerbaijan following the invasion, providing logistical, infrastructure, military, and other types of support. Azerbaijan has reciprocated by providing Turkey media support following the 1915 genocide recognition from the U.S.

Claire Evans, ICC’s Regional Manager, said, “We are very concerned for the welfare of Vicken Euljekjian, even more so given the context of this week’s news regarding the fate of other POWs held by Azerbaijan. Vicken is a civilian who tried to collect his personal belongings, and for that Azerbaijan has trumped up a false narrative. We urge the authorities to release him, and to allow him contact with his family. The injustice of his detention and the false narrative that is built around his case unfortunately highlights one of the many difficulties which continue following the invasion.”

    

Declaration adopted by Latvian parliament on Armenian genocide is attempt to rewrite history – Turkish Foreign Ministry

Emil Lazarian
The Baltic Times
May 7 2021

  • 2021-05-07
  • LETA/TBT Staff

RIGA – The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in its statement today that the declaration adopted by the Latvian Parliament today, which recognizes the events of 1915 as a genocide against Armenians, is a null and void attempt to rewrite the history for political motives. 

"We reject and strongly denounce this unfortunate and unlawful declaration. Parliaments are not venues to write or pass judgments on history," the ministry said.

The ministry noted that none of the conditions required for the use of the term “genocide” that is strictly defined in international law exist with regards to the events of 1915. This attempt is in conflict with both the provisions of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the decisions taken by the European Court of Human Rights in 2013 and 2015, which clearly establish the controversial nature of the events of 1915.

This declaration also contradicts the statement made by the Latvian Parliament regarding the events in its own history on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of occupation of Latvia, which expresses that an honest and fair approach to historical events is a prerequisite of international relations, and this respect, sets out a double standard.

Turkey calls on the Latvian Parliament to step back on this mistake and to support the efforts aiming to establish a practice of peaceful coexistence in the region, especially among the Turkish and Armenian nations, instead of serving the agenda of those circles that try to foment enmity from history.

As reported, the Saeima on Wednesday passed a declaration on the Armenian genocide that was committed in the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

The document says that it is important to remember the lives of people who perished in the Armenian genocide organized by Ottoman authorities – mass killings and deportations, which started on April 24, 1915 with arrests of ethnic Armenian intellectuals and activists in Constantinople (now Istanbul).

In the declaration, the Saeima denounces the crimes committed by the Ottoman Empire against Armenians – killings and forced deportations.

The Latvian parliament refers to the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention) and the European Parliament's resolution recognizing these World War I events as genocide as defined in the UN Genocide Convention.

The lawmakers underline that Latvia condemns all crimes against humanity and realizes its duty to recognize and remember these crimes to prevent their repetition in the future.

The parliament says in the document that as a result of the Ottoman authorities' actions, many ethnic Armenians were forcibly deported to other regions of the empire, which resulted in the loss of many lives due to famine, physical violence and killings.

The Saeima underlines that Latvia honors the memory of all Armenian genocide victims and shows respect for the survivors, as well as points out that open and free discussions on historical events are indispensable for the development of a healthy and mature democracy.

The Latvian parliament calls on the international community to assess these historical events and set sights to the future, which should be built free from violence and intolerance – a future where human rights are honored and each individual can feel free, unthreatened and secure.