Author: Arpi Talalian

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement in recognition of Armenia’s Independence Day:

“Today, we join the Armenian community – here in Canada, in Armenia, and around the world – in celebrating the country’s 25^thIndependence Day.

“Canada and the Republic of Armenia enjoy a dynamic and friendly relationship, rooted in the shared values of democracy and freedom, bilateral relations, and our collaboration in international organizations such as La Francophonie.

“I look forward to working with President Serzh Sargsyan and newly-appointed Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan to further strengthen the relations between our two countries, and to work together on global and regional issues including peace, security, and development cooperation.

“On behalf of the Government of Canada, Sophie and I invite all Canadians to reflect on the important contributions of Canadians of Armenian descent to our national fabric, and offer our best wishes to everyone celebrating today.”

Massis Post – Prof. Taner Akcam of Clark University will give a lecture entitled “The Memoir of Naim Bey and Talat Pasha Telegrams: Are They ‘Armenian Forgeries’?” on Thursday, October 4, 2016, at 7:30 p.m., at First Armenian Church, 380 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA. The program is sponsored by the friends of the Kaloosdian-Mugar Chair in Armenian Genocide Studies at Clark University and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR). A reception will take place following the program at the NAASR Center across the street from the church.

In 1920-21, author and editor Aram Andonian published a book known in English as The Memoirs of Naim Bey and in Armenian as Medz Vojirì (The Great Crime). It contained the writings of an Ottoman official and telegrams from Talat Pasha containing orders for the killing of Armenians.

In 1983, Turkish authors Sinasi Orel and Sureyya Yuca published a book to establish that the memoir was fake and the telegrams were forgeries.
The argument had three main pillars:
1) there was no such person as Naim Bey;
2) there is no actual memoir, since a non-existing person cannot write a memoir; and
3) the so-called Talat Pasha telegrams, like the alleged memoir, were invented by Andonian.

Although noted researcher Fr. Krikor Guerguerian (Kriger) in 1965 published a detailed examination of Andonian’s published and unpublished materials and Vahakn N. Dadrian in 1986 published a lengthy response to Orel and Yuca, in general the scholarly world ceased using the memoir and telegrams as trustworthy sources. Until now, the claims against Andonian have remained unanswered and became the cornerstone of denialism.

Taner Akcam risked venturing into this highly disputed territory and pursued the matter to its necessary conclusion, seeking out the archival sources and documents needed for a proper scholarly assessment. The first results of his research will be presented in this lecture and in a book to be published in Turkish later this fall. The question must be asked: Is it time to remove one of the last bricks in the denialist wall and watch the façade crumble?

Taner Akcam is the author of From Empire To Republic: Turkish Nationalism and the Armenian Genocide and A Shameful Act: the Armenian Genocide and Turkish Responsibility, and The Young Turks’ Crime Against Humanity: The Armenian Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing in the Ottoman Empire as well as other works in the English and Turkish Languages. Since 2008 he has been the Robert Aram and Marianne Kaloosdian and Stephen and Marian Mugar Professor of Armenian Genocide Studies at Clark University in Worcester, MA.

Asbarez – Denver-based Emmy Award winning composer Denise Gentilini and writing partner, internationally celebrated singer/songwriter Lisa Nemzo, bring their original production, I AM ALIVE to Los Angeles for an exclusive showing for one weekend only this September.

Gentilini, who is of Armenian descent, has assembled a largely non-Armenian cast to tell the story of the Armenian Genocide with a completely new focus; celebrating those who survived. Gentilini was inspired by the story of her own grandparents who survived the systematic killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

Using her childhood memories of her grandparents as well as transcripts from interviews with them, Gentilini/Nemzo used direct excerpts from their firsthand accounts for some lyrics and dialogue in the musical. This personal connection has allowed them to craft a complex experience that explores the human side of a politically contentious topic alongside the love story that unfolds between two people in an unimaginable set of circumstances.

With the 100 year anniversary behind us, this production is meant to provide closure around the tragedy and provide a renewed focus on the human spirit.

I AM ALIVE is produced by Well Orchestrated Madness and directed by Christy Montour-Larson and will be shown only one weekend on the West Coast. Partner organizations include; Jewish World Watch, Mashdots College, United Armenian Council, ANCA-WR and AFFMA. Armenians of Colorado serve as the fiscal sponsor.

The Armenian National Security Service has issued a statement warning that it will no longer tolerate the “escalation of situation by the armed group through terrorist actions, the firing in the direction of law enforcers and citizens outside the seized police station.”

The NSS says that after the events that took place late on June 29  all reasonable opportunities of reaching a peaceful settlement of the situation have been exhausted.

‘The use of force envisages by RA legislature and justified by the current conditions is extremely necessary to protect citizens from attacks threatening their health and lives, to rebuff an armed assault threatening the life and health of servicemen of the law  enforcement bodies, to prevent the use of weapons by the armed group, release the hostages and free the seized state buildings, as well as pressure the resistance of the armed group,” the statement reads.

The NSS calls on the members of the armed group to lay down arms and surrender to the authorities. The deadline is set at 17:00 today. Otherwise, the NSS sais, the special forces of the law-enforcement bodies are authorised to open fire without warning and neutralize any armed man inside or outside the seized police station.

The European Union Delegation in issues the following statement in agreement with the EU Members States´ Heads of Mission in Armenia.

We stress that the use of force to achieve political change is unacceptable and offer our condolences to the family of Colonel Artur Vanoyan, Deputy Commander of the Patrol Regiment of the Yerevan Police Department. We wish all persons injured in connection with the hostage situation at the police station in Erebuni swift and full recovery.

With concern we note reports on excessive use of force and mass arrests by the police. In that regard, we call on the authorities to observe the principle of proportionality in handling public manifestations, which applies to both peaceful and violent gatherings. Likewise, demonstrators need to refrain from violence in the exercise of their civil rights.

We also take note of the statements issued by the Ombudsman and call for a full investigation of all cases of alleged wrongdoing by the police, including mistreatment, denial of access to lawyers and medical care.

A group of Armenian peacekeepers left for Germany today to prepare for a mission in Afghanistan, Press Service of the Armenian Ministry of Defense reports.

Before the departure the group was greeted by commander of the peacekeeping brigade, Major-General Arthur Simonyan. He urged the servicemen to fulfill the mission with dignity and remain committed to the traditions established in RA Armed Forces.

Armenia has been participating in the NATO mission in Afghanistan since 2010. The Armenian servicemen carry out their mission under the command of the German Armed Forces.

Armenia has condemned the attack in Nice.

“We condemn the Nice lorry attack. We express our condolences to the relatives of the victims,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Ministry is currently checking whether there are Armenians among the victim of the attack. There is no confirmed data so far.

 

Photo: Getty Images

 

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says he has sold football club AC Milan to a Chinese consortium, the BBC reports.

Berlusconi, who owns the Serie A team, made the remarks to local newspapers on Tuesday.

He said they will be paying at least €400m (£220m) over the next two years, which may value the club at up to €750m including debt.

“Milan has now embarked on this path towards China,” he said without disclosing the identity of the buyers.

However other media outlets, citing their own sources, said the terms of the deal are still being finalised.

A trilateral meeting between the Presidents of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan has started in St. Petersburg, Armenian President’s Spokesman Vladimir Hakobyan informs in a Twitter post.