Author: Babajanian Karo

Vatican Radio
April 12 2015

Pope Francis: greetings to Armenian pilgrims

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis greeted the pilgrim faithful of Armenia
gathered in St. Peter’s Basilica for Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday,
during which the Armenian monk and mystic, St. Gregory of Narek, was
proclaimed Doctor of the Church and the centenary of the mass killing
of Armenians – as many as 1.5 million people – under the Ottoman
Empire was remembered. Below, please find the official English
translation of the Holy Father’s remarks.

***************

Greeting of the Holy Father

Mass for the Faithful of the Armenian Rite

12 April 2015

On a number of occasions I have spoken of our time as a time of war, a
third world war which is being fought piecemeal, one in which we daily
witness savage crimes, brutal massacres and senseless destruction.
Sadly, today too we hear the muffled and forgotten cry of so many of
our defenceless brothers and sisters who, on account of their faith in
Christ or their ethnic origin, are publicly and ruthlessly put to
death ` decapitated, crucified, burned alive ` or forced to leave
their homeland.

Today too we are experiencing a sort of genocide created by general
and collective indifference, by the complicit silence of Cain, who
cries out: `What does it matter to me? Am I my brother’s keeper?’ (cf.
Gen 4:9; Homily in Redipuglia, 13 September 2014).

In the past century our human family has lived through three massive
and unprecedented tragedies. The first, which is widely considered
`the first genocide of the twentieth century’ (JOHN PAUL II and
KAREKIN II, Common Declaration, Etchmiadzin, 27 September 2001),
struck your own Armenian people, the first Christian nation, as well
as Catholic and Orthodox Syrians, Assyrians, Chaldeans and Greeks.
Bishops and priests, religious, women and men, the elderly and even
defenceless children and the infirm were murdered. The remaining two
were perpetrated by Nazism and Stalinism. And more recently there
have been other mass killings, like those in Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi
and Bosnia. It seems that humanity is incapable of putting a halt to
the shedding of innocent blood. It seems that the enthusiasm
generated at the end of the Second World War has dissipated and is now
disappearing. It seems that the human family has refused to learn
from its mistakes caused by the law of terror, so that today too there
are those who attempt to eliminate others with the help of a few and
with the complicit silence of others who simply stand by. We have not
yet learned that `war is madness’, `senseless slaughter’ (cf. Homily
in Redipuglia, 13 September 2014).

Dear Armenian Christians, today, with hearts filled with pain but at
the same time with great hope in the risen Lord, we recall the
centenary of that tragic event, that immense and senseless slaughter
whose cruelty your forebears had to endure. It is necessary, and
indeed a duty, to honour their memory, for whenever memory fades, it
means that evil allows wounds to fester. Concealing or denying evil
is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it!

I greet you with affection and I thank you for your witness.

With gratitude for his presence, I greet Mr Serž Sargsyan, the
President of the Republic of Armenia.

My cordial greeting goes also to my brother Patriarchs and Bishops:
His Holiness Kerekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians; His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of
Cilicia, His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX, Patriarch of Cilicia of
Armenian Catholics; and Catholicosates of the Armenian Apostolic
Church and the Patriarchate of the Armenian Catholic Church.

In the firm certainty that evil never comes from God, who is
infinitely good, and standing firm in faith, let us profess that
cruelty may never be considered God’s work and, what is more, can find
absolutely no justification in his Holy Name. Let us continue this
celebration by fixing our gaze on Jesus Christ, risen from the dead,
victor over death and evil!

Pope Francis delivers message to Armenians

15:15 12/04/2015 >> SOCIETY

Pope Francis delivered a Message to all Armenians on Sunday,
presenting the President of Armenia, Serzh Azati Sargsyan, Catholicos
Karekin II, Catholicos Aram I, and Patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX, with
copies at the end of Mass marking the centenary of the Medz Yeghern in
which more than 1 million Armenians under Ottoman rule were driven
from their homes, dispossessed and killed, Vatican Radio reports.

Below, please find the full text of the Message in its official
English translation.

Dear Armenian Brothers and Sisters,

A century has passed since that horrific massacre which was a true
martyrdom of your people, in which many innocent people died as
confessors and martyrs for the name of Christ (cf. John Paul II and
Karekin II, Common Declaration, Etchmiadzin, 27 September 2001). Even
today, there is not an Armenian family untouched by the loss of loved
ones due to that tragedy: it truly was “Metz Yeghern”, the “Great
Evil”, as it is known by Armenians. On this anniversary, I feel a
great closeness to your people and I wish to unite myself spiritually
to the prayers which rise up from your hearts, your families and your
communities.

Today is a propitious occasion for us to pray together, as we proclaim
Saint Gregory of Narek a Doctor of the Church. I wish to express my
deep gratitude for the presence here today of His Holiness Karekin II,
Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Aram
I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, and His Beatitude Nerses
Bedros XIX, Patriarch of Cilicia of Armenian Catholics.

Saint Gregory of Narek, a monk of the tenth century, knew how to
express the sentiments of your people more than anyone. He gave voice
to the cry, which became a prayer, of a sinful and sorrowful humanity,
oppressed by the anguish of its powerlessness, but illuminated by the
splendour of God’s love and open to the hope of his salvific
intervention, which is capable of transforming all things. “Through
his strength I wait with certain expectation believing with unwavering
hope that… I shall be saved by the Lord’s mighty hand and… that I will
see the Lord himself in his mercy and compassion and receive the
legacy of heaven” (Saint Gregory of Narek, Book of Lamentations, XII).

Your Christian identity is indeed ancient, dating from the year 301,
when Saint Gregory the Illuminator guided Armenia to conversion and
baptism. You were the first among nations in the course of the
centuries to embrace the Gospel of Christ. That spiritual event
indelibly marked the Armenian people, as well as its culture and
history, in which martyrdom holds a preeminent place, as attested to
symbolically by the sacrificial witness of Saint Vardan and his
companions in the fifth century.

Your people, illuminated by Christ’s light and by his grace, have
overcome many trials and sufferings, animated by the hope which comes
from the Cross (cf. Rom 8:31-39). As Saint John Paul II said to you,
“Your history of suffering and martyrdom is a precious pearl, of which
the universal Church is proud. Faith in Christ, man’s Redeemer,
infused you with an admirable courage on your path, so often like that
of the Cross, on which you have advanced with determination, intent on
preserving your identity as a people and as believers” (Homily, 21
November 1987).

This faith also accompanied and sustained your people during the
tragic experience one hundred years ago “in what is generally referred
to as the first genocide of the twentieth century” (John Paul II and
Karekin II, Common Declaration, Etchmiadzin, 27 September 2001). Pope
Benedict XV, who condemned the First World War as a “senseless
slaughter” (AAS, IX [1917], 429), did everything in his power until
the very end to stop it, continuing the efforts at mediation already
begun by Pope Leo XIII when confronted with the “deadly events” of
1894-96. For this reason, Pope Benedict XV wrote to Sultan Mehmed V,
pleading that the many innocents be saved (cf. Letter of 10 September
1915) and, in the Secret Consistory of 6 December 1915, he declared
with great dismay, “Miserrima Armenorum gens ad interitum prope
ducitur” (AAS, VII [1915], 510).

It is the responsibility not only of the Armenian people and the
universal Church to recall all that has taken place, but of the entire
human family, so that the warnings from this tragedy will protect us
from falling into a similar horror, which offends against God and
human dignity. Today too, in fact, these conflicts at times degenerate
into unjustifiable violence, stirred up by exploiting ethnic and
religious differences. All who are Heads of State and of International
Organizations are called to oppose such crimes with a firm sense of
duty, without ceding to ambiguity or compromise.

May this sorrowful anniversary become for all an occasion of humble
and sincere reflection, and may every heart be open to forgiveness,
which is the source of peace and renewed hope. Saint Gregory of Narek,
an extraordinary interpreter of the human soul, offers words which are
prophetic for us: “I willingly blame myself with myriad accounts of
all the incurable sins, from our first forefather through the end of
his generations in all eternity, I charge myself with all these
voluntarily” (Book of Lamentations, LXXII). How striking is his sense
of universal solidarity! How small we feel before the greatness of his
invocations: “Remember, [Lord,]… those of the human race who are our
enemies as well, and for their benefit accord them pardon and mercy…
Do not destroy those who persecute me, but reform them, root out the
vile ways of this world, and plant the good in me and them” (ibid.,
LXXXIII).

May God grant that the people of Armenia and Turkey take up again the
path of reconciliation, and may peace also spring forth in Nagorno
Karabakh. Despite conflicts and tensions, Armenians and Turks have
lived long periods of peaceful coexistence in the past and, even in
the midst of violence, they have experienced times of solidarity and
mutual help. Only in this way will new generations open themselves to
a better future and will the sacrifice of so many become seeds of
justice and peace.

For us Christians, may this be above all a time of deep prayer.
Through the redemptive power of Christ’s sacrifice, may the blood
which has been shed bring about the miracle of the full unity of his
disciples. In particular, may it strengthen the bonds of fraternal
friendship which already unite the Catholic Church and the Armenian
Apostolic Church. The witness of many defenceless brothers and sisters
who sacrificed their lives for the faith unites the diverse
confessions: it is the ecumenism of blood, which led Saint John Paul
II to celebrate all the martyrs of the twentieth century together
during the Jubilee of 2000. Our celebration today also is situated in
this spiritual and ecclesial context. Representatives of our two
Churches are participating in this event to which many of our faithful
throughout the world are united spiritually, in a sign which reflects
on earth the perfect communion that exists between the blessed souls
in heaven. With brotherly affection, I assure you of my closeness on
the occasion of the canonization ceremony of the martyrs of the
Armenian Apostolic Church, to be held this coming 23 April in the
Cathedral of Etchmiadzin, and on the occasion of the commemorations to
be held in Antelias in July.

I entrust these intentions to the Mother of God, in the words of Saint
Gregory of Narek:

“O Most Pure of Virgins, first among the blessed,

Mother of the unshakeable edifice of the Church,

Mother of the immaculate Word of God,

(…)

Taking refuge beneath your boundless wings which grant us the
protection of your intercession, we lift up our hands to you,

and with unquestioned hope we believe that we are saved.”

(Panegyric of the Theotokos)

WASHINGTON: CONSERVATIVE COLUMNIST WARNS OF IMMINENT GENOCIDE OF CHRISTIANS IN US

US Official News
April 8, 2015 Wednesday

Washington

People For the American Way has issued the following news release:

John Zmirak, a conservative columnist and senior editor of James
Robison’s “The Stream” website, warned in a radio interview this week
(as he did in a recent column) that Christians in America are on the
verge of being violently persecuted like Armenians during the Armenian
Genocide, Jews in Nazi Germany, or Tutsis in Rwanda.

Citing the case of an Indiana pizzeria that shut down after facing
backlash after its owners said they wouldn’t cater gay people’s
weddings (and which has since received more than $800,000 in
donations), Zmirak told Alaska’s Joe Miller that “I think this
vilification of faithful Christians could lead to violence in America.”

“It’s happened so many times before, and all the signs are there
that the enemies of Christianity are seeing ‘how much can we get away
with?” he said.

He warned that within five years, “we’re going to see ourselves
reduced to the status of second-class citizens the way Christians
are in countries like Egypt and Syria.”

When a dominant group wants to persecute a minority, the first thing
they do is vilify them. You had the dominant secularists in France
before the French Revolution spend about 20 years vilifying the
Christian clergy; the moment they took power in the French Revolution,
they started killing the Christian clergy. When the Turks decided
that the Armenians were a dangerous minority almost 100 years ago to
the day, they started out with a propaganda campaign saying that the
Armenians were all traitors working for the Russian czar; within a
few years, they were butchering in the streets and driving them into
the desert to die of thirst. Same thing happened in, of course, Nazi
Germany, they vilified the Jews, preparing people for the Holocaust.

You saw it happen again in Rwanda, where the once-powerful Tutsi
minority, they were declared on government radio stations for weeks
and weeks, they were called cockroaches, ‘we must exterminate the
cockroaches.’ It was repeated over and over and over again and it was
followed, of course, by a genocide that in the course of a month or
two, killed more than a million people.

I think this vilification of faithful Christians could lead to
violence in America. I think the churches have been persecuted before,
Christians are being persecuted all around the world by Islamists —
and the U.S. government is doing nothing, of course — I could imagine
Americans standing by while churches are padlocked and pastors are
arrested for being hatemongers, while children are being taken away
from their parents because they don’t want them to be taught they’re
extremist views.

It’s happened so many times before, and all the signs are there that
the enemies of Christianity are seeing ‘how much can we get away with?

Can we close down a pizza parlor for even theoretically being willing
to discriminate? Can we get teachers from religious schools fired?

They’re going to keep pushing until they hit pushback. And unless
there’s powerful pushback from Christians now — not five years from
now, when it will be too late, but now — we’re going to see ourselves
reduced to the status of second-class citizens the way Christians
are in countries like Egypt and Syria.

LubbockOnline.com
April 11 2015

Close watch on pope’s Armenian Mass; will he say ‘genocide?’

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday will declare a little-known
10th-century Armenian mystic a doctor of the church, one of the
highest honors a pope can bestow. More attention, though, is likely to
be on whether Francis utters the word “genocide” during his homily.

Francis is marking the 100th anniversary of the killing of an
estimated 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire by celebrating a
Mass in the Armenian Catholic rite in St. Peter’s Basilica. The
Armenian patriarch, Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, will concelebrate and
the Mass will be attended by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

It’s a big deal for the Armenians, who in the run-up to the centenary
have been campaigning for greater recognition that the slaughter
constituted genocide. It’s also a big deal for Turkey, which has long
denied that the deaths constituted genocide, insisted the toll has
been inflated, and that those killed were victims of civil war and
unrest.

Francis avoided the word on Thursday when he met the visiting Armenian
church delegation, but said that what transpired 100 years ago
involved men “who were capable of systematically planning the
annihilation of their brothers.”

“Let us invoke divine mercy so that for the love of truth and justice,
we can heal every wound and bring about concrete gestures of peace and
reconciliation between two nations that are still unable to come to a
reasonable consensus on this sad event,” he said.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed
by genocide scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.

Several European countries recognize the massacres as such, though
Italy and the United States, for example, have avoided using the term
officially given the importance they place on Turkey as an ally.

According to reports in the Turkish media, Turkey has been working
behind the scenes to discourage Francis from uttering the term
“genocide” and reportedly successfully campaigned to prevent the papal
Mass from being celebrated on April 24, which is considered the actual
anniversary of the start of the slaughter.

Last year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a message of
condolences to descendants of Armenians killed and said Turkey was
ready to confront the history of the killings. More recently, Erdogan
has accused Armenians of not looking for the truth but seeking to
score points against Turkey, saying numerous calls from Turkey for
joint research to document precisely what happened had gone
unanswered.

The Armenians have found a willing supporter in Francis, who as
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was particularly close to the Armenian
community in Argentina and referred to the “genocide” of Armenians
three times in his 2010 book, “On Heaven and Earth.”

As pope, Francis provoked Turkish anxiety — and a minor diplomatic
incident — when in June 2013 he told a delegation of Armenian
Christians that the killing was “the first genocide of the 20th
century.”

The Vatican spokesman subsequently said the remarks were in no way a
formal or public declaration and therefore didn’t constitute a public
assertion by the pope that genocide took place.

But St. John Paul II referred to the “genocide” both before and during
his 2001 trip to Armenia, even signing an official document with the
Armenian church leader Catholicos Karekin II noting that that the
episode “is generally referred to as the first genocide of the 20th
century.”

Francis highlighted Turkey’s important role as a bridge between faiths
during his November visit to the country, and made no reference at all
to the Armenian issue — though he did add a last-minute visit to the
ailing Armenian patriarch of Constantinople.

On Sunday, Francis will declare the revered mystic St. Gregory of
Narek a doctor of the church. Only 35 people have been given the
title, which is reserved for those whose writings have greatly served
the universal church.

Gregory, who lived around 950 to 1005, is considered one of the most
important figures of medieval Armenian religious thought and
literature. His “Book of Prayers,” also called the “Book of
Lamentations,” is his best-known work, a mystical poem in 95 sections
about “speaking with God from the depths of the heart.”

OSCE CALLS ON GREEK CYPRIOTS TO RECONSIDER LAW ON ARMENIAN KILLINGS

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
April 10 2015

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

The Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) in Europe has
expressed concern over the Greek Cypriot administration’s latest move
to criminalize the denial of Armenian allegations over the killings
in 1915.

“While fully acknowledging the humanitarian intentions of this bill,
I believe that this measure raises serious concerns about compliance
with international freedom of expression standards,” the organization’s
representative on freedom of the media, Dunja Mijatovic, said April 9.

The new law, approved on April 2, imposes a five-year prison sentence
and a 10,000-euro fine on anyone who denies genocide allegations in
the mass killing of Armenians in 1915 at the hands of the Ottomans
during World War I or any other war crime recognized as such by
the Parliament.

“The authorities should have taken into consideration the right to
openly discuss questions of a sensitive and controversial nature
as one of the fundamental aspects of freedom of expression which
distinguishes a tolerant and pluralistic democratic society from a
repressive regime,” Mijatovic said.

The Greek Cypriot administration’s move – which remains at odds with
the Turkish side over the future of the divided island – came in
the very month when Armenia is planning to hold a mass commemoration
ceremony in Yerevan to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1915 incidents
on April 24.

In January, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent invitation
letters to more than 100 leaders, including Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan, to participate in a commemoration of the Battle of Gallipoli
on April 24.

Sargsyan reportedly denounced Erdogan’s invitation as an attempt to
overshadow the 100th anniversary of the 1915 incidents, according
to armenianow.com.

The move also comes at a time when the Turkish and Greek sides of
the divided island of Cyprus have taken mutual steps to return to
the bargaining table.

April/10/2015

LA CAMARA DE DIPUTADOS ARGENTINA EXPRESA SU SOLIDARIDAD POR EL CENTENARIO DEL GENOCIDIO ARMENIO

8.4.15

La Camara de Diputados de Argentinadeclaro hoy por unanimidad
“su solidaridad con el pueblo y la colectividad armenio-argentina
al conmemorarse el proximo 24 de abril el 100° aniversario del
genocidio”. La resolucion se da “en consonancia con los presupuestos
de la Ley 26.199 del ‘Día de Accion por la Tolerancia y el Respeto
entre los Pueblos'”.

En lo que va del año, las legislaturas de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires,
Santa Fe, Cordoba y Chubut ya expresaron su adhesion y solidaridad a
las actividades que lleva a cabo la comunidad armenia al cumplirse
cien años del genocidio contra el pueblo armenio perpetrado por el
Estado turco.

PUTIN’S VISIT TO YEREVAN TO COMMEMORATE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ON APR 24 UNDER CONSIDERATION – SPOKESMAN

Interfax, Russia
April 9 2015

MOSCOW. April 9

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Yerevan on April 24 to
attend events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide is under consideration; at the same time, Russia will
be represented at a high level at the celebration of the 100th
anniversary of the Gallipoli Campaign (the Battle of Canakkale)
in Turkey the same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

“The Russian Federation will be represented at a high level at the
commemorative events planned by our Turkish partners in Canakkale,”
Peskov told journalists on Thursday.

Asked whether the Russian president will go to Armenia to attend the
Armenian Genocide commemoration, Peskov said: “The matter is still
under consideration. We will make a relevant announcement.”

BAKU ANNOUNCES THE NEW YORK TIMES JOURNALIST PERSONA NON GRATA

AzerNews, Azerbaijan
April 10 2015

10 April 2015, 17:18 (GMT+05:00)
By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Baku included a journalist of The New-York Times on its list of
undesirable persons held by Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry after the
reporter made an illegal visit to the Azerbaijani territories under
Armenia’s occupation.

Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Hikmet Hajiyev said the article
by Seth Kugel, the New York Times journalist, distorted the real
situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, showing a clear
disrespect to the readers of the newspaper.

“Kugel’s action is also disrespectful to the rights of more than
one million Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons
who suffered from bloody ethnic cleansing atrocities in the occupied
territories. It is regrettable for The New-York Times to publish such
an article,” Hajiyev said.

Writing about his illegal visit to Nagorno-Karabakh, and Shusha city
in particular, Kugel titled his article “A warm welcome in the South
Caucasus mountains”, where he described the lifestyle and nature in
the occupied Azerbaijani lands.

Hajiyev said Kugel avoided deliberately to properly reflect certain
facts — looting of property in the occupied lands belonging to
Azerbaijani people, the destruction of material culture samples and
the Islamic monuments in his biased article written on order from
the Armenian lobby.

“I would like to remind the management of The New-York Times, which
published that biased article about “tourist trips” to the occupied
territories presenting it “safe for travelers”, that its journalist
failed to mention that such transnational crimes as human trafficking,
production and sale of drugs, illicit arms trafficking, training of
terrorists are organized in these territories,” he concluded.

Visiting the occupied lands without Baku’s official permit is
considered a violation of the country’s law and a clear disrespect
of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Foreign Ministry
developed a special black list for all those who have failed to comply
with Baku’s requirements and made illegal visits to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized Nagorno-Karabakh territory
has become a conflict zone following Armenia’s aggression in the
early 1990s. As a result of Armenia’s armed invasion, 20 percent of
Azerbaijan’s territory fell under Armenia’s occupation. Although the
OSCE has attempted to foster a peaceful resolution to this conflict
Armenia has remained persistent in its aggressive stance.

DEPUTY PM BABACAN’S PROGRAM IN WASHINGTON CANCELED

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 10 2015

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan’s program at Washington-based
Brookings Institute has been canceled, media reports have said.

There are conflicting reports over the chief reason for the
cancellation. Babacan, who is heading Turkey’s G20 presidency, is
set to travel to Washington for activities related to Think Tanks 20
next week.

Ankara-based Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV)
told media outlets that Babacan was not informed about the program’s
cancellation and that it was TEPAV that decided to hold the program
at the Reagan Building along with a number of other think tanks,
including the Brookings Institution.

Washington saw another Turkish official visit the American capital in
an attempt to lure international investors amid growing concerns over
the state of the Turkish economy. Yigit Bulut, President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan’s chief economic advisor, held a meeting with representatives
of leading US firms at the American Chamber of Trade in Washington,
D.C. The president’s chief advisor reportedly criticized American
businessmen for sending Kemal DerviÃ…~_ and like-minded economists to
Turkey to manipulate the economy. “Don’t send new DerviÃ…~_es. Turkey
has changed a lot,” Bulut is reported to have told the American
businessmen.

DerviÃ…~_ was in charge of the Turkish economy after a financial
crisis plunged the economy into an abyss, shattering the confidence
of international investors in 2001. A coalition government then
introduced new regulatory mechanisms to monitor banking systems and
more effective tools for the firm discipline of financial policies.

The Central Bank of Turkey also gained more importance and autonomy,
serving as a balancing force against the governments’ potentially
reckless policies.

DerviÃ…~_, an experienced economist who also held top spots at the World
Bank, has accepted an offer for the post of deputy prime minister in
charge of economic affairs if the main opposition Republican People’s
Party (CHP) comes out on top in the parliamentary elections slated
for June 7. He was named a candidate from Ä°stanbul.

Next week, another leading Turkish official will travel to Washington.

Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tanju Bilgic told media outlets
that Foreign Minister Mevlut CavuÃ…~_oglu will soon be in Washington
for talks. While Bilgic declined to offer further details about the
foreign minister’s agenda, sources have said CavuÃ…~_oglu will try to
persuade the American Congress and other administration officials
not to pass a bill that will recognize the 1915 mass killings of
Armenians by the Ottomans during World War I as genocide.

The subject of Armenian “genocide” has been a source of friction
between Turkey and the US, such that Ankara annually lobbies Washington
against officially recognizing the 1915 killings as genocide. This
year is the centenary of the 1915 events and the Armenian diaspora
has launched an international campaign to have it recognized globally.

Federation of Armenian Organisations in The Netherlands (FAON)
Address: Weesperstraat 91 – 2574 VS The Hague, The Netherlands
Website:
E-mail: [email protected]

PRESS RELEASE

Wide support in Dutch Parliament for the motion on Armenian Genocide

The Hague, 9 April 2015 – On the eve of the worldwide commemoration of the
Centennial of Armenian Genocide on 24 April 2015, the Dutch Parliament has
overwhelmingly passed today a motion by Christian Union (CU) MP Joel
Voordewind. The motion was also signed by the factions of Reformed Political
Party (SGP), Socialist Party (SP), Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA),
People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), Democrats 66 (D66), Green
Left (Groenlinks), Dutch Labour Party (PvdA), Bontes/van Klaveren, Klein and
Party for the Animals.

The starting point being the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the
Parliament, this motion calls for the first time explicitly on Turkey to
take steps towards rapprochement with Armenia and strive together with the
Armenian government towards reconciliation.

The motion also includes the wish of the Parliament that the upcoming
commemorative events dedicated to the Centennial of Armenian Genocide, in
the Netherlands and elsewhere, will contribute to respect and acceptance
between related communities. By this way the Parliament hopes to avoid the
repetition of the situation of last year, when some Turkish groups held
demonstrations with anti-Armenian chanting inciting to hatred.

The Joint Armenian Organisations appreciate the gesture of the Parliament to
reaffirm the recognition of the Armenian Genocide in this particular year
2015. The statment that it is Turkey¹s turn to enter into dialogue is
considered by the Joint Armenian Organisations also as being of particular
importance.

Next week, the centennial commemorations in the Netherlands begin with a
demonstration on 18 April in The Hague, followed by a Concert on 20 April in
The Hague, the submission of petition and meeting on 21 April in The Hague,
as well as a commemorative rally on 23 April in The Hague, and commemorative
events on 24 April at the monuments successively in Assen and Almelo.