Author: Andres-Papazian

RALLY OF ARMENIANS IN FRONT OF TURKISH EMBASSY IN IRAN PREVENTED

apa
april 26 2012
azerbaijan

A group of Armenians attempted to hold procession towards Turkish
embassy in Iran on April 24.

IRIB reported that Iranian law-enforcement bodes prevented the rally.

Then the Armenians assembled in the church in Karimkhan avenue of
Tehran and chanted slogans on the so-called “Armenian genocide”
and against Turkey.

Every year Armenians living in Turkey address Iranian Interior Ministry
to hold procession towards Turkish embassy in Iran on April 24. But
they are not permitted to hold such rally.

From: A. Papazian

CHINGIZ ABDULLAEV: “AZERBAIJAN IS A UNIQUE COUNTRY – WE ARE LOCATED IN ASIA, BUT WE ARE ALSO PART OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY ”

Vestnik Kavkaza
April 26 2012
Russia

Interview by Oleg Kushaty. Moscow-Baku. Exclusively for VK

The VK is presenting the next text by Oleg Kushaty as part of the
“Unknown Caucasus” project. He has recently visited Azerbaijan and has
seen not only Baku, but also the mountainous regions of the country.

In the coming days, the VK will publish the texts of Kushaty on Gabala
and Ismailli rayons of Azerbaijan.

In Baku, Kushaty met with the famous Azerbaijani writer Chingiz
Abdullaev. Abdullaev, only 53 years old, has already written 160
novels and stories. According to experts, in the last four years,
he produced a book every one and a half months. His works have been
translated into 28 languages. The next presentation of Abdullaev’s
book will take place in Paris in mid-May. Journalists often ask the
writer about the key to his rare productivity. Our talk began with
the same question.

– Honestly, I do wonder myself – Chingiz Abdullaev said – Sometimes
I work for 26-28 hours in a row with a couple of five-minute eating
breaks. For example, I settle at the desk at 9 AM and finish writing
at 11 AM the next day. It is hard to believe. But, I must say, this
happens rarely. When journalists ask me this question, I often ask
them: “Can you write ten pages of text a day?” Everyone says: “Of
course! We need to spend two or three hours at a desk, and everything
will be ready.” Now let’s multiply it by 60 days. It will turn into
600 pages – a great novel in two months. A year will give you six
books. “Why do you not write?” – I ask. “It does not happen that
way …” – they answer. And I think it happens that way. Even Dmitry
Bykov manages to write a lot.

Before talking about my work, people would say: his dad found clever
lawyers who write for his son (my father was chairman of the Presidium
of the Lawyers’ Association of Azerbaijan). Now no one says that.

Although I would like to find smart people who would at least help me
a bit. But I do not have them and that is why I write on my own. The
“Ogonyok” magazine claimed five years ago that there certainly was
no Chingiz Abdullaev. In fact there were four people that gathered –
an investigator, a judge, a journalist and a prosecutor – and wrote
books. I proposed them a bet: if you can find at least one line
in my books which I have not written on my own, I will give you 10
thousand dollars. If you do not find any – you give me a ruble and
apologize. Actually they have not apologized.

When Victor Loshak (editor in chief of “Ogonyok” – V.K.) and Mikhail
Gusman (Deputy Director General of ITAR-TASS – V.K.) came here, I
told them this story. Loshak was very surprised that such information
appeared in “Ogonyok” – he knows me well.

So I work. Although I have many other important things. For example,
I am the president of the PEN club, the secretary of the Azerbaijani
Writers’ Union, a member of the Committee for State Prizes, a member
of UNESCO … I can enumerate my public duties until the evening.

– It is clear that high creative productivity is a matter of
self-organization. When one comes to Baku one sees an unprecedented
economic breakthrough. It is explainable: it is about the ability to
intelligently invest the hydrocarbon money. I am much more interested
in the ideological and spiritual trends in independent Azerbaijan.

Remember what Brezhnev said: “Azerbaijan is striding wide”? In what
direction does Azerbaijan stride today?

– In the USSR, there were only two donor republics – Russia and
Azerbaijan. Independence has created new challenges. Our country is
marching towards European civilization. In this respect, we are in
a unique position – being located in Asia, we see ourselves as part
of Europe. Being a Muslim country, we are willing to accept European
values. In this respect, we are ahead of Turkey, because the religious
party has been winning there for the last several years. Imagine a
religious party winning in our elections – it is simply impossible. We
are moving towards integration with Europe, but we understand that
we will not be so eagerly welcomed, just like Turkey. But still we
are moving in this direction. At the end of May Baku will host the
“Eurovision” contest, because we came first last year in Dusseldorf.

For a country geographically located in Asia, we have achieved great
success. In September we will host the Women’s Football World Cup,
which will be opened by Jennifer Lopez. We have never had such an
educated government before. Of course, Heydar Aliyev was an outstanding
personality, but Ilham Heydarovich received an excellent education
at MGIMO and speaks five foreign languages. He is an example to
others. Members of the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers speak four
or five languages. In addition to their native tongue, they speak
excellent Russian, Turkish, English – these are the languages which
are taken for granted. You should agree that it says a lot.

– In 1990 there was a myth that Azerbaijan was moving towards to
Turkey …

– I do not think so. Religious parties, as we have already talked
about, would not win even one percent in Azerbaijan. Let us compare
the first lady of our country and the wives of the leaders of Turkey.

There they are covered with Muslim headscarves. The First Lady of
Azerbaijan is a European. This suggests that Western values prevail
here. Our many young girls are trying to be like Mehriban: to take
care of themselves, be in good shape.

My daughter graduated from the London School of Economics, she works
in one of the largest economist firms in the UK. She speaks seven
languages perfectly: English, Spanish, French, Italian, Turkish,
Azerbaijani and Russian. I think even many Europeans need to catch
up with us. I personally speak six languages and I think that this
is normal. Although now, looking at children, I understand that I
do not speak them so well. After all, language proficiency involves
reading books in these languages. When we know the Russian language,
we read poems by Pushkin, Lermontov, Tolstoy’s prose, Dostoevsky,
Chekhov. In this regard, we have great changes and I think that the
presidential family is leading this direction,

– In Georgia, there are attempts to replace the Russian language with
English. And what is the tendency in Azerbaijan?

– Yesterday, I opened an international conference dedicated to the
publishing of books in Russian by authors from three Transcaucasian
republics. I was told there that Georgia is becoming a center of
the study of the Russian language. The “Literary Gazeta” has just
published my article about the Russian-speaking Azerbaijanis. We have
18,000 students who study in Russian, not a single Russian school or
university was closed. Out of nine Azerbaijani writers, three write
in Russian, even four, because one writes in two languages. The “White
Sun of the Desert” can be considered perhaps the most Russian movie.

All the astronauts see this movie before the launch – it is a
tradition. The script was written by the Azerbaijani writer Rustam
Ibragimbekov. He was also a co-writer together with Nikita Mikhalkov
of the famous movies “Burnt by the Sun” and “Urga”. We are the only
republic in the CISto have maintained respect for the Russian language
and Russian culture in general.

– Azerbaijani literature of the Soviet period was also prolific. What
are the main objectives of contemporary national authors?

– An author of any country reflects the national aspirations of his
people. The National Literature is the concentration of spiritual
aspirations of a people. Writers are always in the roots of people’s
deeds. They form spiritual goals and objectives, which are then
pursued by the rest of the people. Take Russian literature. You can
argue with Bondarev and Rasputin, but they certainly reflect the deep
aspirations of the Russian people. Azerbaijani writers as well. Of
course, the biggest pain is the problem of the Karabakh war. We are
trying to comprehend what has happened over the last twenty years. We
are trying to understand the place of Azerbaijan in the international
system. We have a unique country – we are located in Asia, but we are
part of the European community. As Muslims, we adopt European values.

We have excellent relations with Israel, though many do not even know
that Azerbaijan is the second state after Iran professing Shiism. We
also have Sunnis, while confrontations in Pakistan, Iraq and other
countries are taking place between Sunnis and Shiites. We do not have
a single case like that (touch wood!). This is a unique example. If
not for Karabakh, Baku would have remained the most polyethnic city.

Landau, Rostropovich, Kasparov, and many others were born in Baku.

Writers reflect the path of people and think about where to go next.

If you want to understand the soul of a people, you should understand
its poets and writers.

– Mikheil Saakashvili supports the idea of a united Caucasus. He
apparently has in mind political unification. Is it possible to unite
the Caucasus spiritually?

– There used to be a Transcaucasian Federation. It is hard to imagine
what we could have achieved if in the late 1980s we united and fought
together against all our problems, rather than entering into disputes.

As it is said, Heaven on Earth was once created in the Caucasus. It
was possible to create a unique infrastructure and recreational
facilities. The region has many peoples. After all, they used to
live together. Look at what is happening in Dagestan and Chechnya;
remember the conflicts between the Ossetians and the Ingush, the
Georgians and Abkhazians, the Georgians and Ossetians, not to mention
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It is clear that these outrages were
fuelled by external forces, and apparently there were sons of bitches
who tried to become rich in these situations. Nikolay Gumilev wrote:
“A country that could be a paradise became a lair of fire.” But it is
not too late to make a difference. I think that Saakashvili is right.

We must find common ground with neighbors and build a normal economy.

Incidentally, it is not only in the interests of Azerbaijan, but also
Armenia, because many people there are emigrating. I am not sure that
a political unification of the Caucasus is possible at the moment,
but a confederation is of course possible. The peoples have to live
without war. For example, France and Germany are currently in a union,
but for how long they were enemies!..

From: A. Papazian

FAITH & CHARITY: ARMENIAN EVANGELICALS REMEMBER THEIR PEOPLE’S TRAGIC HISTORY
By Linda Rubin

Patch.com

April 26, 2012

Sunday’s service was devoted to commemorating Armenian Martyr’s Day

In the Armenian diaspora, April 24 marks the date when 250 Armenian
intellectuals were rounded up in the Ottoman capital of Constantinople
(now Istanbul) and executed or deported.

Reverend Ron Tovmassian, senior pastor of Studio City’s United Armenian
Congregational Church said in the video interview that the seizure
of the poets, musicians, publicists, editors, lawyers and doctors
was the government’s way of “cutting off the head” of the Armenian
people in Turkey.

While the Armenians, along with other Christians in the Ottoman Empire,
had already been subjected to repression – even violent pogroms – for
years, the deportation of Armenian notables, also known as Red Sunday,
is regarded as the historic start of a campaign of displacement and
murder now known as the Armenian Genocide*.

An estimated 1 to 1.5 million people died as a result of massacres,
forced marches, rapes and starvation as the population was forced into
the Syrian desert. A reporter for The New York Times in August 1914
repeated an unattributed report that “the roads and the Euphrates are
strewn with corpses of exiles, and those who survive are doomed to
certain death. It is a plan to exterminate the whole Armenian people.”

Assyrians, Syrians, and Anatolian and Pontic Greeks were also among
those victimized.

Every year members of Southern California’s Armenian Evangelical Union
hold a joint service to commemorate the sad date. This year the program
took place in Studio City. Prior to the traditional Protestant Sabbath
service, a standing room only crowd watched two historical lectures.

Rev. Vatche Ekmekjian of Downey’s Immanuel Armenian Congregational
Church presented, in Armenian, a slide show depicting significant
churches and educational institutions in the old country, as well as
their leaders, all lost to Armenian evangelicals between 1895 and 1923.

Zaven Khanjian, a member of the Studio City congregation who describes
himself as an activist, showed a DVD narrated in Turkish by Hrant
Dink an Armenian journalist and newspaper editor in that country who
was decrying the 1980 seizure of an Armenian-owned summer camp by the
Turkish government. Shortly after recording the video, and only two
months after visiting the Studio City church in 2007, 52-year-old
Dink was assassinated on an Instanbul street by a teenaged Turkish
nationalist.

Following coffee and traditional honey-soaked pastries, the audience
and dozens more took seats in the church sanctuary where they heard
hymns from a joint choir, messages in English and Armenian and a
recital by students of Merdinian Armenian Evangelical School in
Sherman Oaks. Highlights are captured in the video.

*In 1997 the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS)
passed a resolution unanimously recognizing the Ottoman massacres of
Armenians as genocide however United State, Turkey and Israel are
among the nations that have not yet accepted the resolution. In a
sad irony, Jews of Israel and the diaspora commemorated Yom Hashoah,
Holocaust Remembrance Day, on April 18.

From: A. Papazian

TURKISH TABOOS PERPETUATE IMMATURITY

guardian.co.uk
Wednesday 18 April 2012 16.39

The protection of ‘Turkishness’ has gone too far. To heal the wounds
of our dark past, we need debate and deliberation

A woman holds a portrait of the Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink
at the Hague in 2007. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images Growing up under the
spell of taboos is a debilitating experience. It can imprison one’s
mind in a state of infancy despite the inevitable physical growth of
a person. As the Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana says:
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” When
I understood the magnitude of these words, I was already an adult
enrolled in graduate school in the US.

I grew up in Turkey, where the prevailing education system still
conceals certain historical facts in primary and secondary school
curricula lest they harm the “indivisibility of the state with its
country and nation”, an expression that is used several times in
the current Turkish constitution. Perhaps the fear about deeds that
can harm the unity of the state and nation is best symbolised in the
Turkish national anthem, which begins with the lyrics “Do not fear”.

When fears nurture and sustain taboos, the ability to retain
experiences declines. Enduring an education that is laden with either
false historical facts or an eerie silence makes it impossible for
people to exit the state of self-imposed immaturity.

When I encountered Armenian-American students in Boston who examined me
as “the Turk” in flesh and blood, at first, I could not understand the
reason for their unfettered curiosity. As soon as we began to talk,
I also began to read about the tragedy of the Armenians during the
demise of the Ottoman empire. It almost felt as if I was from another
planet. I had grown up under the spell of nationalist taboos and was
educated to be ignorant on certain issues. Yes, progress is diminished
to cosmetic change in the absence of retaining knowledge.

Taboos perpetuate immaturity.

There are many taboos in Turkey that mainly concern the protection
of the “indivisibility of the state and nation”. There are also many
laws that make it a crime to break these taboos. When taboos are
sustained by law, the minds (and, many times, bodies) of citizens
end up being imprisoned. One such taboo involves the founder of the
Turkish republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. In Turkey, it is a crime to
insult his memory and harm his statutes. Another taboo involves the
sacredness of the armed forces. This is sustained by a law against
discouraging people from performing their compulsory military service.

Many conscientious objectors, as well as writers, have faced criminal
charges on the basis of this law. “Turkishness” is another taboo and
there is a law against insulting “Turkishness”. Armenian-Turkish
journalist Hrant Dink was charged and found guilty for insulting
Turkishness on the basis of an opinion piece he had authored despite
a report of experts presented to the local criminal court who opposed
the charges against him. This indictment ignited the fire of events
that led to his assassination in 2007.

The notion of the “indivisibility of the Turkish state with its
country and nation” is the most pervasive taboo of the Turkish
republic. The Turkish state’s unremitting drive to protect the
fantasy of a unified nation has led to the denial of the identity of
its Kurdish citizens. They were banned from speaking Kurdish in the
aftermath of the 1980 military coup. Thousands of Kurds were killed or
“lost” in Turkey in clandestine acts in the 1990s. It does not seem
possible to heal the wounds of this dark past without widening the
channels of public debate and deliberation.

Taboos, enforced by law, are fetters in front of the ability to
reason. It is possible to be released from the spell of taboos
and strengthen the ethos of democracy by upholding the realm of
public debate and deliberation. Therefore, yes, I agree with Free
Speech Debate’s fourth draft principle, “We allow no taboos in the
discussion and dissemination of knowledge”, because we try not to be
trapped in a state of immaturity and want to do our utmost to fulfil
our capacities as reasonable human beings.

From: A. Papazian

SARKOZY: WE MUST ADOPT ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BILL (VIDEO)

April 25, 2012 – 16:43 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenian Genocide denial in France is inadmissible,
French President said.

As Nicolas Sarkozy noted during an Armenian Genocide commemorative
event in Paris, many disagree with the position, putting forward
mainly ungrounded arguments.

He further said that France forces Turkey into reconsidering its
own history.

“Reviewing own history is not a sign of weakness, because mistakes
must be admitted,” he said.

“France has recognized the events of the beginning of the 20th century
as Genocide. What happened then cannot be termed as military operations
casualties; Armenians were exterminated due to their nationality,”
the French President said, addressing the participants.

He further dubbed the Turkish proposal to set up a committee of
historians for examination of the fact of Genocide as offensive and
unacceptable.

“I address those who have never been to Armenian Genocide Memorial in
Yerevan, who have never experienced what I did – memories of the deep
sorrow of Armenians around the world. However, I also felt proud that
France offered shelter to Armenians in exile,” he said, pledging to
adopt the bill criminalizing the Armenian Genocide.

From: A. Papazian

A COURSE ON FURTHER DEMOCRATIZATION
Leonid Martirossian

Wednesday, 25 April 2012 06:12

On April 20, in fact, the pre-election campaign for the next
presidential elections in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is scheduled
for July 19, 2012, was launched. In accordance with the schedule
approved by the NKR CEC, the nomination of presidential candidates
should start on April 20. In other words, over the next three months
the comparatively measured life of the Republic will undergo certain
changes and is likely to become more dynamic, both due to the very
essence of the election campaign and the natural expectations of the
society for the coming political events.

The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic has entered the third decade of its
independence, and for this period, it has held various-level elections
– presidential, parliamentary and municipal. The current elections
of the NKR President will be the fifth national elections of the
head of the Artsakh Republic. That is, we can already safely state
our big experience in organizing and holding democratic elections,
which were usually observed by international observers, getting their
highest assessments.

That is why the very fact of the success of all previous electoral
processes should not in any way be a ground for complacency. Moreover,
with each election, we are witnessing increasing levels of its
organization and conduct, which in itself is a guarantee for maximum
objectivity of the voting process as an important form of the free
will of citizens and, consequently, the domestic political stability.

We can be sure that the bar raised in the past to a sufficient height
will not be reduced. The people of Artsakh that has already selected
the democratic way of development will not deviate from the course
for further democratization of the social and political life of the
Republic, improvement of public institutions and creation of a civil
society. First of all, because it is extremely interested in this, as
only in a truly democratic society one can rely on the realization of
his civil rights and liberties. By the way, the top leadership of the
Republic is also interested in this, as only a legitimately elected
power, endowed with the vote of confidence by the voters, can rely
on the support of citizens for the implementation of the state policy
in all the spheres of the public-political and social-economic life,
as well as effectively protect the NKR positions in the international
arena. In such a coincidence of interests, real democracy is possible
as an objective precondition for the further strengthening of the
sovereign Karabakh statehood.

It is well known that any election in our Republic, and especially
presidential, besides a purely domestic vector, also contain
a vector of foreign policy, which, taking into account the fact
of the international non-recognition of the NKR, acquires special
urgency. It is needless to say that the NKR presidential elections
are in the focus of attention of many international structures,
as it happened repeatedly in the past. It is clear, because as we
have “applied for” independence and joining the family of civilized
nations, so all our steps will be verified with the generally accepted
democratic standards for the compliance with the principles and
rules of building a democratic state. That is, when holding regular
elections, we actually have a kind of test on political maturity,
which we, fortunately, stand deservingly. It should also be considered
that, whether we like it or not, international organizations dealing
with issues of democracy and human rights, compare the level of
democratization in our country and in Azerbaijan.

It should be noted that according to international experts, this
comparison is in our favor. One of the important arguments here is
that the power in Nagorno-Karabakh is transferred in a civilized
way, via national elections and not dynastically, as it happened in
Azerbaijan. For the international image of the NKR “works” also the
high electoral culture of our people, which was repeatedly noted by
independent international observers. So, the commitment of Artsakh to
democratic norms during the construction of its independent statehood
and its apparent success in this direction deserve the support of
the international community.

Surely, we are far from thinking that the upcoming presidential
elections and their level will directly influence the process of the
Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement. Unfortunately (and we have
mentioned this repeatedly), in our case, the influential global power
centers are still guided by the principle of political expediency,
ignoring the legal framework, which should be the basis of settlement.

We believe that in assessing the situation and searching a mutually
acceptable solution to the problem, one should proceed from the current
reality and objective truth. And one of the factors that create this
very reality is the democratically held elections.

In any case, we hold different-level elections, first of all, for
ourselves. Independently creating our own capable authorities on the
basis of free will, we create the necessary prerequisites for the
further successive development of the NKR statehood and consolidation
of its sovereignty, for ensuring a decent life for the present and
future generations of the Artsakh people.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE’S DENIAL IS UNACCEPTABLE IN FRANCE – SARKOZY (VIDEO)

April 25, 2012 | 11:44

YEREVAN. – The Armenian Genocide’s memory will never fade, since the
pain and suffering are transferred from generation to generation,
stated French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who on Tuesday paid his
respects in Paris to the Genocide victims.

“I believe many share my views on this matter,” Sarkozy said at the
event, and added that he was very moved by his visit to the Armenian
Genocide Memorial during his state visit paid to Armenia’s capital
Yerevan, Armenpress News Agency informs.

“The bitter memory of this pain is with all Armenians,” the French
President stressed.

“There is no powerful state which does not reflect on its own history.

A powerful state’s first sign is the evaluation by its residents. This
is the perception that it can prove the impartiality of its own
history. France demands from Turkey to review its own history. This
is not a sign of weakness,” Sarkozy said.

“The wound of history and memory does not heal if denialism continues.

France has recognized that what happened was genocide. The whole
world recognizes what happened as genocide. All historians know this,”
the French Head of State noted.

In his view, it is insulting to call for the formation of a commission
that will decide on a matter which is already decided.

Also, Sarkozy stated that democracy does not mean saying whatever you
wish, but without any respect toward the victims. “The denial of the
fact of the Armenian Genocide is unacceptable in France,” he added.

The French President stressed yet again that a new bill on
criminalizing the Armenian Genocide’s denial will be introduced in
France this June.

“We need to do that, since that is justice, and enacting of justice
is always right,” Nicolas Sarkozy concluded.

From: A. Papazian

INFORMATION ABOUT ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNIZED SELECTED ARTICLE IN WIKIPEDIA’S HOMEPAGE

ARMENPRESS
25 April, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, APRIL 25, ARMENPRESS: The information about the Armenian
Genocide has been recognized a selected article in the homepage of
the Russian edition of Wikipedia.

As Armenpress reports, the Russian edition of Wikipedia mentions that
more than 1, 5 million peaceful Armenian population were killed during
the Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman Turkey in 1915. On April
24, 1915 in Constantinople, Armenian intellectuals like Siamanto,
Grigor Zohrap, Ruben Sevak, and Daniel Varuzhan were arrested and
cruelly killed.

235 Armenian intellectuals in all were arrested on April 24, 1915,
and on April 29 their number exceeded the 800. Afterward they all
were killed by Turkish criminals.

Wikipedia is a free, collaborative,multilingual Internet encyclopedia
supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 21 million
articles (over 3.9 million in English alone) have been written
collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its
articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site, and it has
about 100,000 regularly active contributors.

From: A. Papazian

BERMAN EMPHASIZES HIS COMMITMENT TO ACHIEVING US RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

ARMENPRESS
25 April, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, APRIL 25, ARMENPRESS: Rep. Howard Berman commemorated the 97th
Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide by emphasizing his commitment
to achieving US recognition of the Ottoman genocide against the
Armenian people.

This past weekend, Rep. Berman attended a ceremony at Holy Martyrs
School to recognize the 97th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,
Armenpress reports citing “enico.patch.com”.

“1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered by the Ottoman Turks. That
is a fact,” said Rep. Berman. “I am baffled, disturbed, and frankly
offended by others around the world who know the truth in their hearts,
yet refuse to acknowledge that truth, for purely geopolitical reasons.”

Rep. Berman continued: “As we mark the 97th anniversary of the start
of one of history’s greatest crimes – the crime that gave birth to the
very term ‘genocide’ – I re-dedicate myself to the cause of achieving
American acknowledgement of that crime, and I pledge my ceaseless
effort in that regard until we achieve our goal.”

Rep. Berman has always been a very strong supporter of U.S.

recognition of the Armenian Genocide. As Chairman of the Foreign
Affairs Committee, he played a key role in rounding up the votes to
pass the Armenian Genocide resolution through the Committee.

Rep. Berman also co-authored a resolution urging Turkey to return
churches and other properties confiscated from its Christian minorities
and to allow those minorities full freedom of worship. In December
2011, the resolution passed the House with bipartisan support.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS COMMEMORATED IN SYRIA

Panorama.am
25/04/2012

The 97th anniversary of Armenian Genocide has been commemorated in
Damascus, as local Armenian community bowed tribute to the innocent
victims of Armenian Genocide.

MFA press and information department says Armenian Ambassador to
Syria Arshak Poladyan and embassy staff put flowers on the Memorial
to victims of Armenian Genocide.

Panorama.am recalls that Turkey has traditionally rejected the mass
killings of 1,5 million Armenians carried out early in the 20th
century and took the criticism of the West painfully.

Note that the following states have recognized and condemned the
Armenian Genocide carried out in the Ottoman Turkey: Uruguay (1965),
Cyprus (1982), Argentina (1993), Russian Federation (1995), Canada
(1996), Greece (1996), Lebanon (1997), Belgium (1998), Italy (2000),
Vatican (2000), France (2001), Switzerland (2003), Slovakia (2004),
the Netherlands (2004), Poland (2005), Germany (2005), Venezuela
(2005), Lithuania (2005), Chile (2007), Sweden (2010). Armenian
Genocide is also recognized by the European Parliament and World
Council of Churches.

From: A. Papazian