Author: Babajanian Karo

Twin Falls Times-News, Idaho
April 25 2014

Armenian Genocide Victims Paid Tribute in Twin Falls; Fight for
Acknowledgment Continues

April 25, 2014 2:00 am * By Tetona Dunlap – [email protected]
(
TWIN FALLS * One by one people walked across Twin Falls City Park with
red roses and yellow tulips in their hands.

They placed the flowers in front of a plaque on the ground that pays
tribute to the 1.5 million Armenians who were killed during the
Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923. Then the group of 30 formed a circle
to pray for peace.

This year marks the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide that
occurred in present-day Turkey. It is a genocide that the Turkish
government has long denied ever occurred.

On Wednesday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the
events “our shared pain” and acknowledged that the deportation of
Armenians had “inhumane consequences.”

It is the first time a Turkish official has acknowledged the genocide,
but for Liyah Babayan, 29, an organizer of Thursday’s commemoration,
Erdogan’s words have no meaning.

“It’s kind of mocking. If he meant it, then why is it a national crime
to speak about the Armenian genocide in Turkey?” Babayan said.

On Thursday, President Obama commemorated the massacre of 1.5 million
Armenians in 1915, but he once again avoided using the word
“genocide,” failing to keep a campaign pledge he made in 2008,
reported the Washington Times.

There are 42 U.S. states that recognize the Armenian Genocide by
legislation or proclamation according to the Armenian National
Committee of America.

“How can you prevent something in the future if you don’t acknowledge
mistakes of the past?” Babayan said. “We live in a world were the
government needs to be held accountable.”

Babayan’s family fled Baku, Azerbaijan when she was 10 and were
brought to Twin Falls with help from the College of Southern Idaho’s
Refugee Program. From 1988 through 1990, the Armenian population in
Soviet Azerbaijan were beaten, tortured, murdered and expelled from
the city. Babayan is now 29 and has two children.

She still remembers the tanks and seeing people fighting. It’s
something she doesn’t want her children to experience and said
education is the key to making sure it doesn’t happen again.

“The mob broke into our house and raped and murdered my aunt and threw
her off the eighth floor. My uncle was stabbed and my grandmother was
beaten. This was my childhood,” Babayan said. “This memorial is also
important to a lot of us who lost family members in 1988-89 and never
had a chance to bury them. They have a headstone to go visit,”

The plaque that memorializes the Armenian genocide has been in Twin
Falls City Park since 2009. In 2004, Idaho became the 33rd U.S. state
to recognize the Armenian Genocide after former Governor Dirk
Kempthorne, proclaimed April 24 Idaho Day of Remembrance of the
Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923.

Svetlana Petrosyan, who also fled Baku, has lived in Twin Falls for 10
years. She attended the memorial with her family.

“We’ve been coming every year to remember the tragedy that happened.
We want people in Twin Falls, the U.S., and the world to know that the
Armenian genocide did happen,” said Svetlana as her son Artem
Petrosyan interpreted.

Catherine Talkington of Twin Falls said it was important for her to
attend because all people, not only Armenians and those of Armenian
descent, should know about the history of the Armenian genocide.

“It gives you a sense of how bad things can be for people. We have a
responsibility to stand up for other people in the world,” Talkington
said.

Hundreds Commemorate Genocide in Diyarbakir

By Gulisor Akkum on April 26, 2014

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (A.W.)’Hundreds attended the commemoration of the
Armenian and Assyrian genocides here in Diyarbakir on April 24,
including Diyarbakir Metropolitan Municipality co-mayor Fırat Anlı and
former mayor of Sur Municipality Abdullah DemirbaÅ?.

A boy stands near the Monument of Common Conscience during the
genocide commemoration in Diyarbakir. (Photo by Scout Tufankjian)

The commemoration was jointly organized by the Diyarbakir Bar
Association, the Diyarbakir branch of the Human Rights Association of
Turkey (HRA), and the Gomidas Institute (GI).

At noon, attendees gathered at the Monument of Common Conscience
(Ortak Vicdan Anıtı), where pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party
(BDP) parliamentarian Altan Tan, GI’s Ara Sarafian, head of the
Diyarbakir Bar Association Tahir Elçi, and HRA Diyarbakir member Raci
Bilici delivered speeches.

Altan Tan stated that the genocide committed in 1915 against Armenians
and Assyrians is a dark blemish on the pages of history. Today, only
through understanding one another can we defeat the oppressors, he
noted.

The speakers at the commemoration (Photo by Gulisor Akkum)

Sarafian said that the genocide of the Armenians and Assyrians in 1915
was one of the darkest pages of the history of these lands, and it was
followed by the Turkish Republic’s oppression of Kurds, Alevis,
liberal intellectuals and communists.

The monument of common conscience can serve as a means of confronting
the past. Armenians, Turks, Kurds, and Assyrians should struggle for a
better future, Sarafian added.

Elçi briefly talked about the genocide of the Armenians and Assyrians.
Today, we share the pain of the Armenians and the Assyrians, he noted.

Speaking on behalf of IHD’s Diyarbakir chapter, Bilici said that the
perpetrators of the genocide against the non-Muslims in 1915 not only
destroyed entire communities, but confiscated all their possessions.
The genocide continues to be denied because of the fear of reparation
for the property that was stolen, he added.

This report was filed by The Armenian Weekly Diyarbakir correspondent
Gulisor Akkum.

Sargsyan: No country should be forced to pay price for integration choice

Saturday, April 26, 2014

`Over the past five years Armenia and the European Union have done an
extensive work: our political dialogue has been consolidated, we have
taken joint efforts at responding to multifarious challenges. We have
agreed upon and applied a visa-facilitation mechanism, which is one
among the first tangible outcomes of our partnership,’ Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan said during the second day of the high-level
meeting of Eastern Partnership, according to the presidential press
service.

`Assessing the road covered by the Eastern Partnership we can note
that at the end of the day it was successful. As I said on numerous
other occasions, it first of all provided the partner countries with
an opportunity to coordinate and expand their domestic reforms. We
have grounded it in shared values and consolidated the foundation for
our collaboration,’ the president said.

`Armenia has got an opportunity to participate in different EU
programs and thus enlarged the framework of its sectoral cooperation.
We are committed to taking further steps with our EU partners in order
to form a new legal foundation regulating our relations, which on one
hand will reflect the contents of Armenia’s preceding discussions with
the EU, and on the other hand will be compatible with other formats
for cooperation.

It is our conviction that none of the partner countries should be
forced to pay a price for the decision it makes regarding its
participation level in this or that integration process. We do not
want to make a choice between friends, but we want to have as many
friends as possible.

I believe that we have chosen the right path. The Eastern Partnership
is not solely about an association agreement. It is basically an
instrument. When we declared our approach of `both¦ and¦’ we meant an
opportunity that envisages alternative, and not a choice of this or
that instrument of cooperation. I am confident that if we continue to
abide by shared values and respect each other’s decisions and choice
our cooperation will proceed by the right path.

We sincerely believe that only through the avenue of cooperation and
joint steps it is possible to materialize the vision of the united
Europe in peace and prosperity.

In the end, I would like to note once again that the Eastern
Partnership had some problems in its formation period yet.
Particularly, the criterion of grouping partners was not clear: the
countries differed in their approaches, their goals and I think that
this is the reason that at least of the Eastern Partnership’s
components ` the regional cooperation component ` was doomed to
failure. I still do not understand the criterion of grouping Armenia
and Azerbaijan into one partnership ` different opportunities,
different approaches, different goals ` and this is the reason that
component did not work. I am confident that in any case the
partnership will continue and I am sure that there will be
difficulties as they exist today, but I am also confident that all
those difficulties will be addressed by peaceful means’, Serzh
Sargsyan stated.

25.04.2014, 20:00
Aysor.am

Turkish Foreign Minister backs PM’s farcical condolences

April 26, 2014 – 15:30 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said
that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s message of condolences
ahead of the 99th anniversary of the Genocide has accomplished its
goal, considering the reactions worldwide and that the statements was
primarily aimed at Armenians, rather than other countries, Today’s
Zaman reported.

“It is our hope and belief that the peoples of an ancient and unique
geography, who share similar customs and manners will be able to talk
to each other about the past with maturity and to remember together
their losses in a decent manner. And it is with this hope and belief
that we wish that the Armenians who lost their lives in the context of
the early twentieth century rest in peace, and we convey our
condolences to their grandchildren. Regardless of their ethnic or
religious origins, we pay tribute, with compassion and respect, to all
Ottoman citizens who lost their lives in the same period and under
similar conditions,’ Erdogan’s statement said.

`The statement of our prime minister brought positive reactions. It
has been accepted that regarding this issue, the Turkish people have
taken a historic step for dialogue and friendship. The message was
intended for Armenians. It was a humanitarian message. The reactions
from Armenian groups were extremely positive. The message has achieved
its goal,’ said DavutoÄ?lu during a joint press conference with his
Sudanese counterpart, Ali Ahmed Karti, on Friday, April 25.

`The Turkish prime minister has extended Turkey’s hand to Armenia to
bring our hearts and minds closer,’ said DavutoÄ?lu, adding that `if
the statement gets an answer, then we can build a future together. If
not, we will go back to the previous situation.’

The Turkish foreign minister noted that the statement demonstrates a
just and humane stance and proposes the idea of building a future
together, according to Today’s Zaman.

Davutoglu’s failing to see Armenia’s resentment over Erdogan’s address
is Turkey’s problem, with remark suggesting it accomplished its goal
far from reality.

In conclusion, DavutoÄ?lu emphasized that now it was Turkey’s turn to
expect Armenians to offer their condolences to Turkey for the murders
committed by the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia
(ASALA) against Turkish diplomats.

It’s hard to add anything to this cynical suggestion, considering that
Davutoglu is fully aware of ASALA actions being acts of vengeance
against perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide.

Armenian National Committee of America Executive Director Aram
Hamparian issued the following statement regarding Turkish Prime
Minister Erdogan’s public remarks on the “events of 1915.”

“Increasingly isolated internationally, Ankara is repackaging its
genocide denials.”

Cyprus solidarity with the Armenian people

He adds that the President and the Government express their solidarity
with the Armenian people and support efforts for the worldwide
recognition of the genocide.

FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE
¢ Friday, 25 April, 2014

President Anastasiades and the Government deplore the Armenian
genocide and support the efforts of the Armenians for worldwide
recognition of the genocide.

In a written statement on the occasion of the anniversary of the
Armenian genocide, Government Spokesman Nicos Christodoulides says
that `this crime is a stigma in the history of humankind` and that
Cyprus was one of the first countries to recognise the genocide.

He adds that the President and the Government express their solidarity
with the Armenian people and support efforts for the worldwide
recognition of the genocide. ‘

JUDO
Hovhannés Davdyan (60 kg) offre à l’Arménie une médaille de bronze
européenne à Montpellier
l’Arménien s’est imposé face à un Azéri

Le 24 avril, l’Arménien Hovhannés Davdyan (60 kg) a remporté la
médaille de bronze des championnats d’Europe de judo qui se déroulent
à Montpellier. Le meilleur judoka arménien s’est imposé facilement
pour cette médaille de bronze sur l’Azéri Orhan Safarov. Hovhannés
Davdyan avait gagné ses combats face à Yanislav Gartchev (Bulgarie),
Nouno Carvalo (Portugal). Il avait toutefois perdu face au géorgien
Amiran Papinashvili. Puis Hovhannés Davdyan s’était imposé sur
l’arménien représentant la Russie, le champion olympique Arsène
Galstyan, par forfait de ce dernier suite à une blessure.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 26 avril 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

Trend, Azerbaijan
April 25 2014

Protests held in Netherlands against opening of “Armenian Genocide”
monument (PHOTO)

Baku, Azerbaijan, April 25

Public Turkic organizations and representatives of the Azerbaijani
diaspora in the Netherlands have held protests against opening of a
monument to so-called Armenian genocide in front of the Armenian
church in the city of Almelo, Azerbaijani State Committee for Work
with Diaspora said on April 25.

During the protest action held in front of the building of the Almelo
municipality, leaders and representatives of the Turkic public
organizations made speeches condemning the opening of the monument.

The permission was given only for opening a monument to Armenians,
while later a “genocide” inscription was made on the monument,
according to Ilhan Ashkin, President of the Dutch Azerbaijan-Turkey
Cultural Association.

Ashkin went on to add that the Turkic public organizations and
representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora in the Netherlands are
ready to protest until the monument is destroyed.

The protesters have appealed to the municipality of the Almelo city
regarding the issue.

Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that Turkey’s predecessor the
Ottoman Empire allegedly carried out “genocide” against the Armenians
living in Anatolia in 1915. While strengthening the efforts to promote
the so-called genocide in the world, Armenians have achieved its
recognition by the parliaments of some countries.

Journal of Turkish Weekly
April 25 2014

Turkey to mull next steps after seeing Armenians’ reactions

25 April 2014

Turkey is waiting to gauge the reaction of Yerevan, the Armenian
diaspora and Turkey’s Armenians to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
ErdoÄ?an’s recent message on the Armenian issue before taking any new
steps on the matter, according to officials.

Turkey’s move is `a call for Armenia that we hope will be answered,’
Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu told reporters late April 23.

Turkey has been working on several confidence-building steps for
preliminary normalization with Armenia in the areas of the economy and
culture before implementing protocols that were signed in 2009 to
establish diplomatic relations and open the countries’ sealed borders.
Reopening the long-closed railway link between Kars and Armenia,
producing documentaries on history and uploading Ottoman archives
online are among the issues Turkey has been working on.

Ankara, however, has still made a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
problem between Azerbaijan and Armenia a prerequisite for approving
the protocols. Normalization with Armenia is not possible without a
solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, ErdoÄ?an told reporters late
April 23.

The reason why Ankara released the statement on April 23, but not
April 24 ` the day Armenians around the world mark the 1915 incidents
` is `to take the first step before developments and conduct a
proactive policy,’ a Turkish Foreign Ministry official told the
Hürriyet Daily News.

Ankara aimed to express its view before April 24 so that the statement
could be appraised on its own terms, not as a response to statements
on April 24.

Hurriyet Daily News
april 26 2014

Erdoðan and the Armenians

by Mutafa Akyol

Right on the eve of April 24, the day that Armenians all across the
world commemorate the Meds Yeghern, or the “Great Calamity” that Turks
inflicted on them in 1915, Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoðan took
a surprising step. He published a two-page message, which honored the
loss of the Armenians in a way that no Turkish statesmen has before.
“We wish that the Armenians who lost their lives in the context of the
early 20th century rest in peace,” Erdoðan said. “And we convey our
condolences to their grandchildren.”

This certainly fell short of submitting to the common Armenian demand
of “recognizing the genocide,” which I doubt will ever happen. Because
most Turks see 1915 as an ethnic cleansing in an era in which, they,
too, were subjected to the same horrors in other parts of the
crumbling empire.

Yet still, published in nine different languages, including “West
Armenian” and “East Armenian,” Erdoðan’s message was clearly a
well-calculated effort to reach out to the Armenians at a time when
the centennial of 1915, which is expected be globally significant, is
only one year ahead. It also comes at a time when Erdoðan was
criticized, at home and in the world, for his authoritarianism and
conspiracy-theory-rich nationalism.

In other words, one can say this was a pragmatic move, rather than a
conscientious mea culpa. But it was still a significant step for
Turkey, which used to either deny or trivialize the suffering of the
Armenians. Hence, Erdoðan deserves to be commended for taking it, no
matter how “political” his feelings were.

At this point, let me also note that this relatively more open-minded
stance on “the Armenian issue” by Erdoðan and his party, compared to
the rigidity of former political elites of Turkey, has some
ideological roots as well. In a nutshell, Erdoðan’s “Ottomanism”
simply gives him more room to be reformist vis-a-vis the Armenians
(and the Kurds, for that matter), than the “Turkish nationalism” that
the former elites subscribed to.

The reason is “Ottomanism” implies a broad umbrella under which Turks
co-existed peacefully with other peoples of the empire, including the
Armenians and the Kurds. The tragic expulsion of Armenians in 1915 was
not an outcome of this pluralist Ottoman paradigm. It was an outcome
of the fall of that paradigm. The Young Turks, who decided on the
exodus, were subscribers of a new ideology called “Turkish
nationalism,” which was, as one must see, a response to the Serbian,
Greek and Bulgarian nationalisms of the Balkans.

Soon after the foundation of the Republic, the more secularist version
of the Young Turk ideology evolved into Kemalism and became the
official creed. Today, Erdoðan’s AKP (Justice and Development Party),
which had defeated the Kemalist establishment, is building a
post-Kemalist Turkey. In this view, the expulsion of Armenians and the
forced assimilation of the Kurds are historic mistakes that should be
corrected.

In short, the very ideology of the AKP allows itself to take formerly
unthinkable steps to reconcile with the Kurds and Armenians. Yet, the
same ideology is not an asset, but a roadblock when it comes to
reconciling with Alevis or secular Turks – and no wonder Erdoðan’s
problems with these two camps are deepening, because, as the Americans
say, there is no free lunch. Every ideological hegemony comes with new
strengths, but also new shortcomings.

Al-Arabiya, UAE
April 24 2014

Erdogan offers condolences over mass WWI killings of Armenians

Wednesday, 23 April 2014

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday offered
condolences to the descendants of the victims of the mass killing of
Armenians by Ottoman troops during World War I.

Erdogan’s statement, on the eve of the 99th anniversary of the start
of mass deportations of Armenians in 1915, was the first such overt
comment by a Turkish leader over the killings, considered by many as
the first genocide of the 20th century.

“The incidents of the First World War are our shared pain,” said
Erdogan in a statement.

“It is our hope and belief that the peoples of an ancient and unique
geography, who share similar customs and manners will be able to talk
to each other about the past with maturity and to remember together
their losses in a decent manner.

“And it is with this hope and belief that we wish that the Armenians
who lost their lives in the context of the early 20th century rest in
peace, and we convey our condolences to their grandchildren,” he
added.

Armenia has been trying to get Turkey to recognize the killings of up
to 1.5 million people under the Ottoman empire as genocide.

But Turkey says 500,000 died of fighting and starvation during World
War I and categorically rejects the term genocide.