Author: Babajanian Karo

ARMENIAN ORGANIZATIONS MARK 1915 AT CEREMONIES IN ISTANBUL

TERT.AM
11:20 â~@¢ 25.04.13

A series of activities were held in Istanbul yesterday to mark the
98th anniversary of the mass killings of Armenians during World War I.

Along with a delegation composed of 25 people from diaspora
organizations, various non-governmental organizations from Europe
attended the events held by Stop Nationalism and Racism Platform and
Human Rights Association (Ä°HD).

“Armenian organizations’ participation in the commemoration activities
is of a great importance. We are here to support NGOs’ struggle for
the recognition of the [Armenian] genocide,” The European Grassroots
Antiracist Movement (EGAM) president Benjamin Abtan told the Hurriyet
Daily News.

A IZMIR LES PARTISANS D’UNE RECONNAISSANCE DU GENOCIDE ARMENIEN ATTAQUES

Une organisation kurde, le Congrès democratique des peuples, a organise
a Izmir une manifestation regroupant 150 personnes au cour de laquelle
un communique a ete lu appelant a se “souvenir du genocide et ressentir
dans nos coeurs la douleur de ce qui a eu lieu”.

Pour protester contre toute reconnaissance du genocide armenien 30
membres du Parti de liberation du peuple, un groupe constitue d’une
variete de partis politiques et d’organisations de la societe civile,
s’est egalement rassemble dans une autre partie de la place. Après
quelques coups echanges la police a separe les deux groupes.

jeudi 25 avril 2013, Stephane ©armenews.com

EMOTIONS A LA MAIRIE DE PARIS

A l’occasion de la 13ème ceremonie organisee par la Mairie de Paris,
ce 24 avril 2013, (la dernière pour l’actuel maire) la communaute
armenienne n’a peut-etre pas remarque l’emotion qui a soudainement
pris a la gorge le maire de Paris Bertrand Delanoë lorsqu’après avoir
dit qu’il etait ” inadmissible qu’on ne reconnaisse pas le genocide,
cette verite historique “, et renouvele son sincère soutien a ses
administres, la chaleur des applaudissements saluant son indefectible
appui lui est alle droit au coeur. Tout comme les remerciements
chaleureux de l’ambassadeur d’Armenie en France, Viguen Tchitetchian,
auront sur lui les memes effets imperceptibles, mais bien presents
(voir video).

Emotion egalement pour Erol Ozkoray, ecrivain et editeur turc,
lorsque Ara Toranian lui a remis la Medaille du courage, recue en
toute modestie par l’interesse.

Mais a n’en pas douter, il y avait aussi de la revendication dans
l’air, quand Mourad Papazian a lance un appel au President de la
Republique, s’adressant a Bertrand Delanoë, pour qu’il mette en
oeuvre, sans tarder, les rouages de l’Etat a l’elaboration d’un
texte contre le negationnisme ” qui ne soit pas inconstitutionnel
“. Mourad Papazian s’interrogera egalement sur la question de savoir,
si la Republique soutient ou ne soutient pas le negationnisme…

Vint ensuite la vibrante intervention d’Ara Toranian, dont la teneur
des propos ont appele chacun a se referer a l’honneur.

Jean Eckian + photos

Video : extrait du discours de Bertrand Delanoë cliquer ICI

jeudi 25 avril 2013, Jean Eckian ©armenews.com

TURQUIE: A DEUX ANS DU CENTENAIRE, LA PERCEPTION DU GENOCIDE ARMENIEN CHANGE

Liberation, France
24 avril 2013

Plusieurs manifestations ont commemore mercredi sur le sol turc le
souvenir des massacres d’Armeniens par l’Empire ottoman en 1915, un
phenomène nouveau qui accroît la pression sur la Turquie pour qu’elle
reconnaisse, près d’un siècle plus tard, leur caractère de genocide.

Pour les milliers de touristes etrangers qui se rendaient de la
basilique Sainte-Sophie a la Mosquee bleue, le petit groupe qui s’est
constitue a deux pas de la, devant un musee en travaux, est passe
quasiment inapercu.

A peine une grosse centaine de personnes bardees de pancartes
et de portraits. Cette annee encore, ce rassemblement est reste
confidentiel. Bien loin des ceremonies officielles, presidees par
le chef de l’Etat Serge Sarkissian, qui ont reuni mercredi une foule
enorme a Erevan, la capitale armenienne.

Mais depuis sa première edition il y a cinq ans, la commemoration du
24 avril reunit a Istanbul de plus en plus d’Armeniens de la diaspora
et surtout de Turcs, qu’ils soient d’origine armenienne ou pas. Le
signe que la perception de cet episode historique controverse est en
train de changer.

“Il y a dix ans, une telle manifestation etait impossible en Turquie.

Il y a deux ans, nous n’etions qu’une quinzaine, aujourd’hui nous
sommes près de 200. C’est le signe que les mentalites changent”, s’est
rejoui Benjamin Abtan, president du Mouvement europeen antiraciste
(EGAM).

Pour la première fois cette annee, des associations d’Armeniens de la
diaspora et des ONG europeennes de lutte contre les discriminations
se sont associees aux celebrations du 24 avril organisees par la
societe civile turque.

Ensemble, elles ont depose une gerbe sur la tombe d’un sous-prefet
de l’Empire ottoman, Faik Ali Ozansoy, qu’elles considèrent comme un
“juste” pour avoir refuse d’executer les ordres de deportation en 1915.

Autre nouveaute, la commemoration d’Istanbul a fait cette annee
des petits dans le reste du pays avec, pour la première fois, des
manifestations autorisees a Mersin (sud), Adana (sud), Izmir (ouest),
Malatya (est) ou Tunceli (est).

Evolution

Dans ces villes, une organisation kurde, le Congrès democratique des
peuples, a lu une declaration appelant a se “souvenir du genocide et
ressentir dans nos coeurs la douleur de ce qui a eu lieu”.

De son côte, le Parti kurde pour la paix et la democratie (BDP)
a appele le pays a “faire face a son histoire et a presenter des
excuses”.

Comme ses predecesseurs, l’actuel gouvernement islamo-conservateur
refuse de qualifier de genocide les massacres de 1915 et denonce tous
les pays qui adoptent des legislations reprimant la negation de leur
caractère genocidaire.

Un homme, qui a brièvement perturbe la ceremonie d’Istanbul en criant
“le peuple turc n’a jamais commis de genocide”, est venu rappeler
mercredi que le point de vue “officiel” etait encore largement
partage. Et les grands medias turcs sont restes plutôt discrets sur
ce thème.

Mais la societe civile turque veut croire a une evolution. “Il y a
cinq ans, nous avions publie une petition appelant le gouvernement
a presenter ses excuses, mais sans parler de +genocide+”, a souligne
le responsable de l’ONG turque DurDe, Levent Sensever, “aujourd’hui
nous pouvons ecrire ce mot”.

“La population turque demande davantage de democratie, un meilleur
respect des droits de l’homme”, a explique M. Abtan, “je crois que
la reconnaissance du genocide est devenue possible”.

“Maintenant que nous pouvons organiser ce type de commemoration,
nous souhaiterions y voir des officiels”, a rencheri Nicolas Tavitian,
responsable d’une association culturelle armenienne europeenne (AGBU),
“et, un jour, un Premier ministre turc y prononcer un discours”.

Pour M. Sensever, le centenaire du genocide, dans deux ans, pourrait
servir d’accelerateur. “En 2015, le gouvernement sera sous la pression
et sous le feu des critiques”, a-t-il estime, “il va devoir evoluer”.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT TO BE DISCUSSED DURING ARMENIAN FM’S VISIT TO MOSCOW

Trend, Azerbaijan
April 24 2013

Issues surrounding the assurance of security and stability in the
South Caucasus, including the problems of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict’s settlement are planned to be discussed during Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian’s visit to Moscow, spokesman
for the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexander Lukashevich said in an
interview with RIA Novosti today.

“We believe that the close coordination of foreign policy actions
with Yerevan at the regional level contributes to improving the
political situation in the region,” Lukashevich said in an interview
in connection with Nalbandian’s forthcoming official visit to Russia.

A wide range of issues of bilateral cooperation, international and
regional policy are planned to be discussed during the talks with
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Lukashevich said.

The Armenian delegation plans to meet with the leadership of the
Federation Council and the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the
Russian Federation, he said.

He stressed that Nalbandian will address the professors, teachers and
listeners of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“Besides the intensive high-level dialogue, Russia and Armenia
maintain active, interdepartmental and inter-parliamentary contacts
and relations through the regions. The bilateral legal framework is
being improved.”

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France and the U.S. are
currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.

AGAIN BARACK OBAMA DOES NOT USE WORD “GENOCIDE” IN HIS APRIL 24 STATEMENT

APA, Azerbaijan
April 24 2013

[ 24 April 2013 19:02 ]

Baku – APA. US President Barack Obama again has not used the word
“genocide” in his April 24 statement regarding what occurred in the
Ottoman Empire in 1915.

APA reports quoting Novosti-Armenia that Barack Obama again used the
word “Medz Yeghern” (in Armenian Great Disaster).

Armenians living all over the world claim they underwent genocide
in the Ottoman Empire and mark the anniversary of the “genocide”
on April 24 every year.

WATCH: SCHIFF MAKES REMARKS IN ARMENIAN MARKING GENOCIDE ANNIVERSARY

WASHINGTON “On Wednesday Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the lead sponsor of
the Armenian Genocide resolution in Congress, delivered his remarks
in Armenian on the House Floor to honor the more than one and a half
million Armenian men, women and children who were murdered by the
Ottoman government.

In a historic first in the Congress, Representative Schiff said in
his Armenian address, “I speak to you from the floor of the House of
Representatives in the language of your grandparents and your great
grandparents â?” the language they used to speak of their hopes,
their dreams, their lives and their loves in the years before 1915
â?¦ I speak to you in the language of sons who watched their fathers
murdered â?¦ I speak to you in the language of the girls begging
the gendarmes for mercy â?¦” “My Armenian friends, here and around
the world, today on the 98th anniversary of the [genocide day],
I speak to you from the floor of the House of Representatives in
the language of your grandparents and your great grandparents â?”
the language they used to speak of their hopes, their dreams, their
lives and their loves in the years before 1915.

“Throughout the Ottoman Empire, tens of thousands were to be killed
outright.

“I speak to you in the language of the sons who watched their fathers’
murdered.

“Women were raped by the thousands.

“I speak to you in the language of the girls begging the gendarmes
for mercy.

“Families were force marched through desert heat as the Ottoman
government sought to destroy a people.

“I speak you in the language of the children begging for a drop
of water.

“By the time it was over in 1923, more than 1.5 million Armenian men,
women and children were dead. It was the first genocide of the 20th
Century.

“I speak to you in the language of the mothers who died with their
babies in their arms.

“A nation was scattered around the worldâ?¦ To the Middle East,
to Europe and to America.

“I speak to you in the language of the survivors who came to America
for freedom and made a new life “For almost a century, Turkey has
denied the genocide. In the face of overwhelming evidence â?” much
of it from American diplomats and journalists â?” Ankara has denied
that the genocide ever happened. They want the world to forget.

“I speak to you in the language of those who were lost. Their voices
drift across the decades â?” begging us to remember.

“I am not a descendant of the fallen, but I speak to you in their
beautiful language because on this day, we are all Armenian. And
not just on this day. Whenever we speak out against mass murder,
whenever we refuse to be cowed into silence, we are all Armenian.

“For many years I have sat with you and listened â?” to the stories
of those who were lost in the genocide and those who survived.

“I speak to you in their language to thank you for sharing your
history with me. And I speak to you from this place, this House,
because Americans have always shown the courage to look horror in
the eye and speak its name, and I look forward to the day when its
leaders will do the same.

“And because I know that day will come. May it come soon, so the last
of the survivors may hear its awesome sound.

“May God hear our voices.

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield back.”

ARAM MANUKIAN: PROTOCOLS SLOWED DOWN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION PROCESS

Wednesday,
April 24

The Armenian-Turkish protocols have slowed down the international
recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the deputy of the opposition
HAK faction Aram Manukian told Aysor.am.

“Ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, we have
two important problems: we should have legitimate authorities in the
country and close the page relating to the creation of the commission
of historians on the Armenian Genocide,” Manukian said, adding that
Armenian National Congress (HAK) will do everything possible in
this connection.

TODAY, 20:46

Aysor.am

OBAMA AVOIDS TERM ‘ARMENIAN GENOCIDE,’ BUT BROWN DOESN’T

Fresno Bee, CA
April 24 2013

By John Ellis – The Fresno Bee
Wednesday, Apr. 24, 2013 | 11:59 AM

While speeches and a flag-raising marked the 98th anniversary of the
Armenian genocide Wednesday in Fresno, President Barack Obama and Gov.

Jerry Brown took different approaches to noting the atrocities of
1915.

President Obama issued the White House’s standard April 24 statement
marking what he termed the “Meds Yeghern (an Armenian term meaning
great calamity) … one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century.”

Carefully avoiding the term “genocide” or phrase “Armenian genocide,”
Obama stated that “1.5 million Armenians were massacred or marched to
their deaths in the final days of the Ottoman Empire.”

Like other presidents before him, Obama had indicated while
campaigning his intention to apply the term genocide. That played well
among Armenian-American voters. Once in office, though, he shifted
position.

“I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and
my view has not changed,” Obama insisted.

Gov. Brown embraced using the term “genocide,” adding in his
proclamation that the events were a “deliberate attempt by the Ottoman
Empire to eliminate all traces of a thriving, noble civilization.”

April 24 is Genocide Remembrance Day and is marked by Armenians
worldwide. It has also become a contentious day in American politics
as the word genocide is carefully avoided by U.S. presidents.

But it has been a different story in California. Back in 1985,
then-Gov. George Deukmejian said it was time for President Reagan and
Congress to “stop buckling under to Turkish pressure” on the genocide
issue.

Subsequent governors have used the term in annual proclamations.

In Fresno on Wednesday morning, a group of Homenetmen Sassoon Troup 12
scouts raised the Armenian flag in front of Fresno City Hall as part
of the annual commemoration.

Other Fresno events included a Tuesday evening prayer service. One
more Fresno event is planned: a commemoration Sunday at the Soghomon
Tehlirian Memorial Statue at the Masis-Ararat Cemetery, 250 N. Hughes
Ave. in Fresno west of Highway 99. The event begins at 1 p.m.

HUNDREDS MARK ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ANNIVERSARY

Annenberg TV News, USC, CA
April 24 2013

The protest and march observed the 98th anniversary of the Armenian
genocide.

By Ilani Umel

The Unified Young Armenians staged a protest and march Wednesday,
marking the 98th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

The march started at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Hobart
Avenue and concluded with a closing ceremony at the interesections
of Hobart Avenue and Sunset Boulevard.

Politicians, activists, and genocide survivors were among those who
participated in the annual march.

Organizers chose April 24 to commemorate the day in 1915 when 300
Armenian leaders were deported or killed by the Ottoman government,
while 5,000 Armenians were killed around Istanbul.

Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian, who is of Armenian descent,
said the annual march is important to keep pressure on the Turkish
government.

“It is very important for all of us to recognize and condemn man’s
inhumanity towards man,” Councilmember Krekorian said. “Those
individual stories [like Rose’s] are what bring reality to those
horrors.”

According to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau, L.A. County has the largest
concentration of Armenians in the United States, populating nearly
194,000 people. Nearly one-third of Glendale residents are Armenian.

Governor Jerry Brown also issued a proclamation Wednesday recognizing
the “tragedy” of the Armenian genocide.

“On this day, we honor the victims and survivors of the genocide,
and reaffirm our commitment to preventing future atrocities from
being committed against any people,” said Brown’s proclamation.