Author: Ani Kharatian

Asa Jennings was a failed small-town Methodist minister from upstate New York working for the YMCA in Smyrna, Turkey, in 1922, when he saved a quarter of a million Christians from perishing in a brutal final chapter of the Armenian Genocide, according to

“A private individual, a guy without portfolio, who held a minor position in the YMCA, came forward and put together this astonishing rescue,” says Lou Ureneck, who spent four years researching and writing Jennings’ story. “One of the things I hope the book does is give America another hero. People ought to know about the work of Asa Jennings.”

The College of Communication journalism professor’s book, The Great Fire: One American’s Mission to Rescue Victims of the 20th Century’s First Genocide (Ecco, 2015) will debut at an event this week in Washington, D.C., amid commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the genocide’s beginning. The story’s staying power can be seen today in the continuing controversy over use of the word “genocide” and persecution of Christian minorities in other Muslim countries in the Middle East.

“I think the world has awakened to what happened in Asia Minor during those years,” Ureneck says. “When will Turkey stop denying it? I have no idea. But clearly there are a lot of people in Turkey who would like to know the truth, who are willing to admit the truth, who want to know the facts. So I think eventually Turkey will reconcile itself to its history. But it’s not an easy thing for any country to do, to admit it participated in a genocide.”

By Ara Khachatourian

His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, said Wednesday that the lawsuit filed last week in Turkey’s Constitutional Court by the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia to regain ownership of the historic headquarters of the Armenian Church is Sis (currently Kozan), in south-central Turkey, a “positive” step.

“We believe these are the first steps in order to continue the demand of the rights of the Armenian people,” said Karekin II expressing hope that the lawsuit will have a positive outcome.

The pontiff explained that the Armenian Church holds properties, which were confiscated by Turkey during the Armenian Genocide and lawsuits such as the one filed last week seek to regain those properties and have it returned to the church.

Karekin II said that the lawsuit was a positive first step to bring justice to the Armenian people.

The Catholicos, who is currently if Washington to preside over and attend events dedicated to the Armenian Genocide Centennial, spoke to reporters via a telephone press conference on Wednesday afternoon and touched on other issues such as the conflict in Syria and the Middle East.

Convinced that recognition of the Genocide and compensation should go together, His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia on the year of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, has filed the lawsuit In Turkey, thus setting a precedent for the descendants of the martyrs to reclaim their family belongings.

The Parliament of the  Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has unanimously adopted a resolution, recognizing the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian Foreign Ministry informs.

HRANT MELKUMIAN COMES 6TH AT DUBAI OPEN CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 14, 2010 – 13:17 AMT 08:17 GMT

Defeating Azeri chess player Eltaj Safarli in the last round,
Armenia’s Hrant Melkumian came 6th at the Dubai Open Chess Festival,
gaining 7 points.

Melkumian fell behind the tournament leader Eduardo Iturrizaga
(Venezuela) by additional results only.

Gabriel Sargissian was the 10th with 6.5 points; Tigran Kotanjian
was the 30th. Tigran Petrosyan and Gevorg Harutyunyan came 41st and
50th respectively.

Fresno Bee, CA
April 9 2010

Fowler Armenian church to celebrate 100th year

Posted at 11:50 AM on Friday, Apr. 09, 2010
By Ron Orozco / The Fresno Bee

A Fowler church with deep Armenian roots is reaching a milestone this weekend.

St. Gregory The Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church, built by
immigrant Armenians who settled on farms and in the small towns south
of Fresno, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a special event,
`A Century of Worship: Generations of Christian Faith.’

Archbishop Hovan Derderian of the Western Diocese of the Armenian
Church of North America, based in Burbank, will celebrate divine
liturgy at 10 a.m. Sunday at the church, 229 S. Third St. After
service ends, the church will hold a gala banquet at 1 p.m. at the
Fresno Convention Center New Exhibit Hall, 848 M St.

Dr. Garo H. Armen, CEO of the biotechnology company Antigenics Inc.
and founder of the Children of Armenia Fund, will be the keynote
speaker at the banquet.

Consecrated on April 11, 1910, the Fowler church became the hub of a
religious and social community that was determined to keep the
traditions of the Armenian Orthodox faith. That same year, it became
the fourth Armenian Apostolic Church in America, under the
jurisdiction of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North
America.

The congregation currently has more than 500 members. Original
families came from Selma, Kingsburg, Fowler and Sanger.

`Many are descendents of Armenians who fled the Armenian massacre,’
says the Rev. Yeghia Hairabedian, the parish priest since 2005. `So
their whole life centered around the church, which gave them a sense
of security.’

Hairabedian says he enjoys the closeness of the congregation. `Many
are related,’ he says. `They’ve known each other a long time.

Details: (559) 834-2919

579/fowler-armenian-church-to-celebrate.html

EuroNews – France
March 5, 2010 Friday

US politicians call killing of Armenians ‘genocide’

A US congressional panel has labelled the 1915 killing of Armenians by
Turkey ‘genocide’. President Obama’s administration had tried to
prevent voting on the controversial issue on Thursday.

Whilst Armenia is happy with the outcome, Turkey has recalled its
ambassador to the US.

However, the panel felt a decision was important. Speaking after the
vote, Congressman Brad Sherman said: "Long term, we will not have a
good relationship with Turkey until it abandons this effort to deny
the past and engage in genocide denial. Would we have a good
relationship with the German government denying the Holocaust? And
who would have a good relationship with us if we were denying slavery
and so many other things in our past?

It is estimated that 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman
Turks 95 years ago. Turkey accepts that some people were killed, but
it disputes the number that died and will not agree to the term
‘genocide’.

The US Congress last discussed this contentious issue in 2007.

ALMA, NAASR TO SCREEN ‘ARMENIANS OF HOOD RUBBER’ FILM

a-naasr-to-screen-%e2%80%98armenians-of-hood-rubbe r%e2%80%99-film/
February 22, 2010

WATERTOWN, Mass.-On Thurs., March 11, the Armenian Library and Museum
of America (ALMA) and National Association of American Studies and
Research (NAASR) will screen "Destination Watertown: The Armenians
of Hood Rubber," a documentary film by Roger Hagopian at the NAASR
Center. Hagopian will be on hand to discuss the creation of this
unique record of an important slice of Armenian American history.

"Destination Watertown: The Armenians of Hood Rubber" documents
the Hood Rubber Company of Watertown, Mass., which employed many
immigrants, including many Armenians, whose community evolved in the
shadow of the factory’s giant smokestack. Indeed, the plant provided
the impetus for the formation of the Armenian community of Watertown.

The plant opened in 1896, attracting Armenian immigrants newly arrived
from the Ottoman Empire, including refugees from the Hamidian Massacres
of the mid-1890’s.

Hood Rubber became a subsidiary of B. F. Goodrich in 1929, and the
factory survived the great Depression and thrived during World War II.

It closed in 1969.

Hagopian conducted extensive research and carried out numerous
interviews with former factory employees of Armenian descent, as well
as other East Watertown residents and descendants of the Hood family.

The documentary combines interview footage with historic photographs,
maps, documents, artifacts, and images of the remnants of the old
factory, once one of the largest of its kind in the world.

Workers recount life on the conveyor belt and other harsh working
conditions, yet many remember their time at the plant with gratitude,
affection, and humor. Others fondly remember the famous "sneaker"
test whereby the durability of the product was demonstrated through
daily activities of local kids.

Award-winning filmmaker Roger Hagopian’s other videos include "Memory
Fragments of the Armenian Genocide" (2007), "Our Boys: Armenian
American World War II Veterans" (2006), "Journey of an Armenian Family"
(1999) and "Memories of Marash: Legacy of a Lost Armenian Community"
(2002), which received the Comcast Regional Award for Best Documentary
Film.

The event is free and open to the public. It begins at 7:30 p.m. at the
NAASR Center, 395 Concord Ave. in Belmont, Mass. For more information,
visit ALMA’s website or email NAASR at [email protected].

;AID= 4328&CID=4072&IID=1263&lng=eng

Azerba ijan is offended by `Euronews’ for `pro-Karabakh’ report
By Georg Khachaturyan

Published: 02 December, 2009

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan is upset over a Euronews
TV broadcast on Nagorno-Karabakh, in which the self-proclaimed
republic was referred to as `a real Armenian region’.

The program aired last week, prompting a protest from the Azeris who
wrote a letter to the France-based network accusing it of a `one-sided
portrayal of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.’

The report by presenter Michael Raikhman `Nagorno-Karabakh: Wind of
Change’, included comments by Armenian studies Professor Bernard
Coulie in which he said: `Karabakh is a fascinating region which has
very much the same culture as Armenia. We are in a real Armenian
region with a Christian background, which is very important. We are in
the heart of Armenia but not in a political sense. That is also very
interesting.’

Official Baku took issue, too, with the report identifying Bako
Sahakyan as President of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.
(Azerbaijan, and most international bodies, maintain that NKR remains
a disputed enclave of Azerbaijan and that its government is
illegitimate.)

As Azeri Trend News Agency reports, the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan
assigned a commission at the Embassy of Azerbaijan to France to
investigate the reasons of the occurrence of such a news coverage on
Euronews.

Euronews TV, founded in 1993, broadcasts in 135 countries, with an
estimated 248 million viewers.

KONSUELO VIDAL LEAVES ARMENIA WITH FINE MEMORIES

Noyan Tapan
Nov 12, 2009

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 12, NOYAN TAPAN. RA President Serzh Sargsyan,
on November 12, receiving UN Permanent Coordinator, UNDP Permanent
Representative Konsuelo Vidal completing her diplomatic mission in
Armenia, expressed gratitude to her for the work done in the four
years and for assisting Armenia’s development programs. Attaching much
importance to programs implemented by various UN agencies S. Sargsyan
said: "We mean not only financial resources. Experience, involvement
and possibility of being compared are much more important."

K. Vidal, in her turn, thanked for UNDP-Armenia excellent cooperation.

She said that she leaves Armenia with fine memories and will always
stay Armenia’s friend.

According to RA President’s Press Office, the interlocutors
also exchanged thoughts over RA equal territorial development,
organization of census scheduled for next year. The UN Permanent
Coordinator considered noteworthy Armenia’s example: though the
global financial-economic crisis had much impact on economy, the
social programs have been kept completely.

GEORGIA DENIES REPORTS OF "INCIDENT" ON ARMENIAN BORDER – AGENCY

Kavkas-Press
Nov 5 2009
Georgia

Tbilisi, 5 November: The Georgian side has denied Armenian media
reports that an incident took place on the border between Georgia
and Armenia. The Georgian Border Police said that no incident took
place whatsoever and that Border Police chief Zaza Gogava did not go
to the border.

According to the Armenian media, the Armenian side tried to install
demarcation posts, but the Georgian side offered resistance and
subunits of the Georgian army were observed near the border.

The Armenian media also reported that the situation became so tense
that heads of the Georgian and Armenian border police travelled to
the site of the incident and that the incident was later resolved.

It should be noted that the National Security Service of Armenia has
confirmed that the incident took place.