Author: Babajanian Karo

GERMAN-LANGUAGE WEBSITE ABOUT THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE LAUNCHED –

YEREVAN, February 2. /ARKA/. A German-language website has been
launched about the 1915 genocide of Armenians –

The new website offers various information on the genocide, including
videos and archive documents, and tells about the Armenian community
of Germany and its efforts to achieve acknowledgment of the genocide
by Germany.

News from all over the world on the genocide problem, including on
Perincek’s case, is posted on the website created by the committee
for Armenian genocide centennial measures in Germany.

The target audience of the resource is the German speaking population
of Europe. The site has also a feedback option.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Wednesday heard an appeal
filed by Switzerland against Turkey’s Workers’ Party chairman Dogu
Perincek, who was convicted earlier by a Swiss court of denying the
Armenian genocide. Armenia was represented in Strasbourg by human
rights lawyer Amal Clooney and Geoffrey Robertson. The Strasbourg
court will announce its ruling on the case at a later date.

Perincek had earlier won an appeal at the European court against the
Swiss court decision to convict him of having branded the Armenian
genocide an “international lie” during a series of speeches in
Switzerland in 2007. The ECHR said in its December 17, 2013, decision
that the politician had exercised his “right to free speech.”

The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the twentieth century.

According to Armenian and many other historians, up to 1.5 million
Armenians were killed starting in 1915 in a systematic campaign by
the government of Turkey. Turkey has been denying it for decades.

The Armenian genocide was recognized by tens of countries. The first
was Uruguay that did so in 1965. Other nations are Russia, France,
Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden,
Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Canada, Venezuela, Argentina,
42 U.S. states.

It was recognized also by the Vatican, the European Parliament, the
World Council of Churches and other international organizations. -0-

JIRAYR SEFILIAN THANKS PEOPLE FOR SUPPORT, SAYS HE WILL SPEAK ABOUT BERDZOR INCIDENT LATER THIS WEEK

13:00 | February 2,2015 | Politics

Jirayr Sefilian, a former commander of Shushi special battalion and a
member of the Founding Parliament, wrote on his Facebook that he will
talk to journalists about the Berdzor incident in the second of the
week.

“Dear compatriots,
I am already in good health but I need several days for full recovery.

Soon I shall return to my normal routine and speak to media
representatives in the second half of the week. I am grateful to you
for the moral support,” he said.

At least a dozen participants of an automobile rally organised by the
Founding Parliament, a successor of the initiative called
Pre-Parliament pressure group, were injured on Jan. 31 during an
automobile march organized by the movement to the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic. Police in Karabakh stopped them on the way, banning their
entry to the country. The group members were beaten up by the police,
four dozen vehicles were turned away and the participants of the
automobile march could not get into Karabakh. Jirayr Sefilian and
other veterans of the Karabakh were among the injured.

ZARGEZUR PLANT TO PAY TREATMENT COSTS FOR 13 PEOPLE DIAGNOSED WITH HEPATITIS C

YEREVAN, February 2. /ARKA/. Zangezur cooper-molybdenum combine will
meet all the costs of treatment of 13 people diagnosed with hepatitis
C in Kajaran, says the press report.

Some patients of Kajaran municipal hospital were diagnosed with
hepatitis C in the beginning of January.

A special ministry of health commission was set up then for a check of
instrument sterility and the measures to prevent spread of infectious
diseases in the hospital. A criminal case was instituted.

Ninety-five of 192 patients operated in Kajaran medical center were
examined and 13 of them were diagnosed with hepatitis C, including
seven with acute hepatitis C. All these patients are under medical
control and their condition has improved.

The ministry of health asked the remaining patients to apply to
medical institutions for examination by the end of February.

The press office of the combine said on Friday five of thirteen
citizens diagnosed with hepatitis C are its employees.

As the disease treatment requires serious expenditures and is not
covered by the medical insurance, the management of the plant talked
to the main stockholder, Cronimet Mining AG, and to the ministry
of health, and decided to cover the cost of treatments of its five
employees, according to the report.

At the same time, as a socially responsible company, the plant is
willing to shoulder the cost of treatment of the other eight patients.

Zangezur Copper- Molybdenum Combine operates the largest copper
and molybdenum deposit in the country. The company’s shareholders
are German “Croniment Mining” ( 60%), Pure Iron Plant OJSC (15%),
“Armenian Molybdenum Production” Ltd. (12.5%), “Zangezur Mining” Ltd.

(12.5%). –0–

LA TURQUIE DEVRAIT OUVRIR LE DIALOGUE AVEC L’ARMENIE, PAS AVEC LA DIASPORA ARMENIENNE

ETYEN MAHCUPYAN

La Turquie devrait saisir l’occasion du centenaire des evenements
de 1915 pour ouvrir le dialogue avec l’etat armenien et la societe
armenienne plutôt qu’avec la Diaspora, le premier etant plus enclin
au dialogue, a declare le conseiller du premier ministre turc Etyen
Mahcupyan. Mahcupyan a dit que les pas respectifs de la Turquie et
de l’Armenie autour du centenaire des evenements de 1915 devraient
changer les relations entre les deux etats orientees vers une ”
guerison “, ajoutant que la phase initiale devrait concerner la
Turquie et l’Armenie plutôt que la Diaspora armenienne.

” L’Armenie et sa societe sont plus pretes au dialogue avec la Turquie
que ne l’est la Diaspora. Mais parce que c’est la voix d’un etat qu’on
ecoute et parce que l’etat parle comme un etat, elle apparaît plus
nette “, a dit Mahcupyan. Declarant que lorsqu’on s’adresse en Armenie
aux gens dans la rue, on peut comprendre qu’ils veulent qu’une solution
soit trouvee, Mahcupyan a dit qu’en Turquie c’est la meme chose. Il
a ajoute que bien que les deux nations soient ” les enfants d’une
meme culture ” et qu’il y ait entre eux de la nostalgie, le système
mondial actuel a trace des frontières entre les deux etats, donnant
aux relations entre les etats plus de froideur et de formalisme.

Commentant l’invitation du president Erdogan au president armenien
Serge Sarkissian aux ceremonies de la bataille de Gallipoli a Canakkale
a la fin avril qui coïncident avec le jour de la commemoration des
evenements de 1915, Mahcupyan a dit que l’invitation etait faite au
monde entier, y-compris a l’Armenie.

Le conseiller a dit egalement que beaucoup de soldats armeniens
etant morts pour l’Empire ottoman a Canakkale, la ceremonie devrait
naturellement interesser l’etat armenien. ” Mais les etats ne devraient
pas tenir compte, pour agir, de responsabilites morales. Ils se
placent d’un point de vue plus oriente vers eux-memes et vers les
compromis “, a declare Mahcupyan, evoquant la decision de Sarkissian
de decliner l’invitation.

D’après l’Armenie, jusqu’a un million et demi d’Armeniens ottomans ont
ete tues a partir de 1915. La Turquie nie que ces morts constituent un
genocide, disant que le nombre de victimes au cours des deportations
massives d’Armeniens ottomans a ete exagere et que ceux qui furent
tues en 1915 et 1916 ont ete victimes des troubles inherents a la
Première Guerre Mondiale. Beaucoup d’etats cependant, a travers le
monde, reconnaissent les evenements comme un genocide. Mahcupyan a
dit que les relations devraient etre engagees au depart a un niveau
informel et societal, plutôt que celui d’etat a etat, suggerant par
exemple la rencontre de mouvements de femmes de chacun des deux pays.

28/29 janvier 2015

Traduction Gilbert Beguian

lundi 2 fevrier 2015, Ara (c)armenews.com

Mission 2015
Le film d’Arto Pehlivanian au dîner du CCAF – Video

Le 28 janvier 2015, à l’occasion du grand dîner organisé par le CCAF,
en présence du Président de la République et de Charles Aznavour, Arto
Pehlivanian a placé sa caméra aux points stratégiques de la réception
des invités. Il a également filmé les discours et l’allocution de
François Hollande.

samedi 31 janvier 2015,
Jean Eckian (c)armenews.com

GHN News Agency, Georgia
January 30, 2015 Friday

In 2015 there is celebrated 100th anniversary of Armenian Genocide

In 2015 there is celebrated 100th anniversary of Armenian Genocide. On
January 29, the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan read the
declaration about anniversary of Armenian Genocide in the
Museum-Institute of the Genocide.

We offer to you informal translation of the Declaration

Pan-Armenian Declaration on the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide

The State Commission on the Coordination of Events Dedicated to the
100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, in consultation with its
regional committees in the Diaspora,

-expressing the united will of the Armenian people,

-based on the Declaration of Independence of Armenia of 23 August 1990
and the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia,

-recalling the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights of
10 December 1948, whereby recognition of the inherent dignity and of
the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is
the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

-guided by the respective principles and provisions of the United
Nations General Assembly Resolution 96(1) of 11 December 1946, the
United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the
Crime of Genocide of 9 December 1948, the United Nations Convention on
the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and
Crimes Against Humanity of 26 November 1968, the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 16 December 1966 as well as
all the other international documents on human rights,

-taking into consideration that while adopting the Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the United Nations
specifically underlined the importance of international cooperation in
the struggle against that criminal offence,

-emphasizing the inadmissibility of impunity of the constituent
elements of the crime of genocide and the non-applicability of
statutory limitation thereto,

-condemning the genocidal acts against the Armenian people, planned
and continuously perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire and various regimes
of Turkey in 1894-1923, dispossession of the homeland, the massacres
and ethnic cleansing aimed at the extermination of the Armenian
population, the destruction of the Armenian heritage, as well as the
denial of the Genocide, all attempts to avoid responsibility, to
consign to oblivion the committed crimes and their consequences or to
justify them, as a continuation of this crime and encouragement to
commit new genocides,

– also considering the 1919-1921 verdicts of the courts-martial of the
Ottoman Empire on that grave crime perpetrated “against the law and
humanity” as a legal assessment of the fact,

– appreciating the joint declaration of the Allied Powers on May 24,
1915, for the first time in history defining the most heinous crime
perpetrated against the Armenian people as a “crime against humanity
and civilization” and emphasizing the necessity of holding Ottoman
authorities responsible, as well as the role and significance of the
Sevres Peace Treaty of 10 August 1920 and US President Woodrow
Wilson’s Arbitral Award of 22 November 1920 in overcoming the
consequences of the Armenian Genocide: 1. Commemorates one-and-a-half
million innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide and bows in
gratitude before those martyred and surviving heroes who struggled for
their lives and human dignity.

2. Reiterates the commitment of Armenia and the Armenian people to
continue the international struggle for the prevention of genocides,
the restoration of the rights of people subjected to genocide and the
establishment of historical justice.

3. Expresses gratitude to those states and international, religious
and non-governmental organizations that had political courage to
recognize and condemn the Armenian Genocide as a heinous crime against
humanity and even today continue to undertake legal measures to that
end, also preventing the dangerous manifestations of denialism.

4. Expresses gratitude to those nations, institutions and individuals,
who often endangering their lives, provided multifaceted humanitarian
assistance and rescued many Armenians facing the threat of total
annihilation, created safe and peaceful conditions for the survivors
of the Armenian Genocide, thus promoting orphan care and the
international Armenophile movement.

5. Appeals to UN member states, international organizations, all
people of good will, regardless of their ethnic origin and religious
affiliation, to unite their efforts aimed at restoring historical
justice and paying tribute to the memory of the victims of the
Armenian Genocide.

6. Expresses the united will of Armenia and the Armenian people to
achieve worldwide recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the
elimination of the consequences of the Genocide, preparing to this end
a file of legal claims as a point of departure in the process of
restoring individual, communal and pan-Armenian rights and legitimate
interests.

7. Condemns the illegal blockade of the Republic of Armenia imposed by
the Republic of Turkey, its anti-Armenian stance in international fora
and the imposition of preconditions in the normalization of interstate
relations, considering this a consequence of the continued impunity of
the Armenian Genocide, Meds Yeghern.

8. Calls upon the Republic of Turkey to recognize and condemn the
Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire, and to face its own
history and memory through commemorating the victims of that heinous
crime against humanity and renouncing the policy of falsification,
denialsm and banalizations of this indisputable fact.

Supports those segments of Turkish civil society whose representatives

nowadays dare to speak out against the official position of the authorities.

9. Expresses the hope that recognition and condemnation of the
Armenian Genocide by Turkey will serve as a starting point for the
historical reconciliation of the Armenian and Turkish peoples.

10. Proudly notes that during the last century the Armenian people,
having survived the Genocide,

– Demonstrated an unbending will and national self-consciousness and
restored its sovereign statehood, lost centuries ago,

– Preserved and developed national values, achieved the renaissance of
their national culture, science and education, bringing its unique
contribution to the development of world heritage,

– established a powerful and effective network of religious and
secular institutions in the Armenian Diaspora, thus contributing to
the preservation of their Armenian identity in Armenian communities
worldwide, the shaping of a respected and esteemed image of the
Armenian, and the protection of the legitimate rights of the Armenian
people,

– united and restored the national gene pool that was facing
extermination as a result of the Genocide, through a pan-Armenian
cooperation and extensive repatriation program,

– made its valuable contribution to international peace and security
during the First and the Second World Wars and won glorious victories
in the heroic battle of Sardarapat and the Artsakh war.

11. Considers the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide an
important milestone in the ongoing struggle for historical justice
under the motto “I remember and demand”.

12. Calls upon the coming generations of Armenians to protect their sacred

native heritage with patriotism, consciousness and intellect and
resolutely struggle and serve for:

– a stronger Homeland, free and democratic Republic of Armenia,

– the progress and strengthening of independent Artsakh,

– the efficient unity of Armenians worldwide,

– the realization of the centuries-old sacrosanct goals of all Armenians.

This Professor Refuses to Disclose Her Work for an Autocratic Regime.
Here’s What Happened When I Confronted Her.

BY STAFF
POSTED ON JANUARY 28, 2015
POSTED IN: NEWS, WORLD

The woman across the table demanded to know my cholesterol count. This
was in front of 30 others, during an on-the-record discussion at
Columbia University, where the woman–an academic named Brenda Shaffer,
a political science professor at the University of Haifa–replied to my
question about her non-disclosures with questions of her own.

“If I asked you, Casey, OK, what’s your wife’s name, what school do
you go to, who funds your scholarship right now, where do you work,
how do you pay your meals, how do–what’s your cholesterol
count–there’s nothing to be ashamed of in any of those answers,”
Shaffer said.

My cholesterol. My wife’s name. Who paid my tuition, thus allowing me
to sit in on the panel discussing Azerbaijan’s plans for a Southern
Gas Corridor to reroute Caspian gas toward European markets. The panel
featured Shaffer and Vitaliy Baylarbayov, the deputy vice president
from SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s state-run hydrocarbon company. Shaffer
established her assertiveness early. Halfway through the discussion,
when the moderator, Jesse McCormick of the Center on Global Energy
Policy, referred to Shaffer as a “panelist,” she stopped him.
“Moderator,” she corrected. The discussion continued, through some
confused looks.

Once the floor opened, I raised my hand, interested in the role Tony
Blair was playing in lobbying for Azerbaijan’s pipeline interests. I
was also interested in Shaffer’s role that day–and why she decided not
to disclose her relationship with the Azerbaijani government, time and
again, on that panel and in print. A few weeks earlier, Shafferpenned
an op-ed in The New York Times claiming that Azerbaijan was the West’s
important security partner and that, bizarrely, Russia’s “next land
grab” would take place in the South Caucasus–rather than, say, Moldova
or northern Kazakhstan. (This claim presumably would prime the West to
offer greater diplomatic support for Azerbaijan in Moscow.) While most
analysts scratched their heads at Shaffer’s reasoning, others focused
on why she wrote the article in the first place. As first reported by
RFE/RL, her impetus may have come from her role as an adviser “for
strategic affairs” for the president of SOCAR. According to The
Harvard Crimson, Shaffer has continued in that position, presenting a
distinct, laughable barrier to her claims of objectivity when
assessing Eurasian fuel.

When the relationship came to light, the Times was forced to issue an
editor’s note saying Shaffer had breached a contractual obligation to
“disclose conflicts of interest, actual or potential.” Shortly
thereafter, The Washington Postfollowed suit, issuing a clarification
on an op-ed in which Shaffer had stumped for Azerbaijan’s pipeline
push. It’s not clear whether members of Congress knew of Shaffer’s
relationship when she testified at a commission hearing over the
summer, a discussion in which, in her stated capacity as a scholar,
she spoke glowingly of Baku’s role as an American partner.

When I learned Shaffer would be speaking about Azerbaijan’s
hydrocarbon potential–and when I saw that she would pose simply as an
academic, rather than disclosing her position as an official adviser
to the government-run energy behemoth–I saw an opportunity to ask why
she was so loath to disclose that relationship. “Professor Shaffer, I
was hoping to address a question to you,” I said. “Your name has been
in the news a little bit recently. You were a strategic adviser, an
adviser for strategic affairs, for the president of SOCAR; you had an
op-ed in The New York Times that had to issue a correction clarifying
that. I was wondering if you might address that, and then whether or
not Congress was aware of that relationship when you testified.”

The panel was not only on the record, but open to the public. Instead
of answering my questions–about her lack of disclosure to the Times,
to Congress, to us–she demanded to know my cholesterol count. I
repeated the question, asking if she had any comment about her choice
not to disclose the relationship, rather than her interests in my
romantic liaisons or financial well-being. “Again, like I said, I’m
not going to ask you your cholesterol count,” she replied. “Who pays
your scholarship, Casey? How do you pay your tuition here?” McCormick
tried to interject: “I don’t think we need to–” Shaffer cut him off,
zeroing in on my finances, voice beginning to boom. “Who pays your
tuition here?”

McCormick regained control of the discussion, redirecting the
conversation back to potentials for Azerbaijani fuel expansion. The
back-and-forth between me and Shaffer ended up as a story in its own
right. But I never got my answers. Shaffer has since continued
offering both broad analyses and arguments against Azerbaijan’s
hydrocarbon competitors, always as an academic, never disclosing her
role as adviser.

Perhaps it’s not fair to single out Shaffer; she’s certainly not the
only one who has failed to disclose relations with organizations
propelling post-Soviet autocracies. Mark Adomanis, for instance,
continues as a “contributor” on Russian issues for Forbes, offering
some of the most sympathetic writing Russia enjoys. It also happens
that Adomanis was offering this “analysis” on Russia while
simultaneously working for the Kremlin’s foremost propaganda outlet,
Rossiya Segodnya. Adomanis’s analysis has been shredded by voices far
more qualified than my own, but when I asked him whether his work with
the Kremlin’s propaganda outlet was paid or voluntary, Adomanis
wouldn’t answer. When I then detailed the relationship, he accused me
of “vacuous preening.”

Adomanis continues an unsettling trend among Forbes contributors, in
which writers fail to disclose relations with organizations buffing
the image and reach of post-Soviet autocracies. Last year, Hilary
Kramer–who had written a string of distinctly pro-Tajikistan pieces
with the outlet–was outed for her relationship with a public relations
firm fluffing the central Asian autocracy’s image. In late 2012, as
Azerbaijan’s civil rights backslide became a full-blown clampdown,
Kramer also staked that “Azerbaijan has charted a path for itself that
is not ideological, but open.” Considering Azerbaijan currently boasts
twice as many political prisoners as Russia and Belarus combined, the
claim is, at the least, questionable.

To Forbes’ credit, Kramer has not written for the publication since
her relationship came to light. But Shaffer, for one, continues to
make the rounds–with NPR, with the BBC–without pointing out that her
position as an official adviser with Baku undermines any claims she
has to objectivity.

These people continue to peddle their work, failing to disclose but
willing to buff the autocracies swamping the post-Soviet landscape.
They’re part of a larger nexus of public-relations swill aimed at
drowning out human rights concerns in the region. Unlike the questions
Shaffer lobbed at me, their conflicts aren’t personal–they’re
business.

Casey Michel is a graduate student at Columbia University’s Harriman
Institute. His writing has appeared in Foreign Policy, The Atlantic,
and Al Jazeera. He can be followed on Twitter at @cjcmichel.

By Casey Michel

Azerbaijan violates ceasefire with Karabakh 2,200 times in one week

14:31, 31.01.2015

STEPANAKERT. – The adversary violated the ceasefire on the Line of
Contact between the Karabakh-Azerbaijani opposing forces around 2,200
times, from January 25 to 31.

During this time, more than 40,000 shots were fired in the direction
of Armenian military positions, and by way of rifle weaponry, mine
throwers and grenade launchers, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR)
Defense Army reported.

In the same period, the adversary also launched sabotage infiltration
attempts which, however, the Armenian position-holders detected on
time and drew back. As a result of the retaliatory actions by the
Defense Army vanguard divisions, the adversary suffered at least three
casualties and had wounded. The Defense Army, on the other hand,
suffered no casualties.

In addition, Azerbaijan resorted to a cheap propaganda trick, to
conceal its military casualties and form a triumphant mood among the
Azerbaijani society, by alleging that it had shot down an Armenian
drone in the direction of Akn. But in reality, the relevant Defense
Army bodies have revealed that the Azerbaijani army had downed its own
drone.

The NKR Defense Army vanguard units controlled the tactical
operational situation on the frontlines, and confidently carried out
their military watch all through the week.

Armenia News – NEWS.am

E-Flux
Jan 31 2015

Republic of Armenia Pavilion at the Venice Biennale

Armenity/Hayoutioun
The National Pavilion of the Republic of Armenia
Opening: May 6, 2015, 7`9pm
The Island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni
Venice

Contemporary artists from the Armenian Diaspora

Haig Aivazian, Lebanon; Nigol Bezjian, Syria/USA; Anna Boghiguian
Egypt/Canada; Hera BüyüktaÅ?çıyan, Turkey; Silvina Der-Meguerditchian,
Argentina/Germany; Rene Gabri & Ayreen Anastas, Iran/Palestine/USA;
Mekhitar Garabedian, Belgium; Aikaterini Gegisian, Greece; Yervant
Gianikian & Angela Ricci Lucchi, Italy; Aram Jibilian, USA; Nina
Katchadourian, USA/Finland; Melik Ohanian, France; Mikayel Ohanjanyan,
Armenia/Italy; Rosana Palazyan, Brasil; Sarkis, Turkey/France; Hrair
Sarkissian, Syria/UK

Curated by Adelina Cüberyan v. Fürstenberg*

Opening May 6, 2015, from 7 to 9pm
Special shuttle service ACTV vaporetto from the Giardini to the Island
of San Lazzaro. ACTV vaporetto Number 20 from San Marco Zaccaria to
San Lazzaro

In this symbolic year 2015, on the occasion of the 100th commemoration
of the Armenian Genocide, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of
Armenia has dedicated its pavilion to the artists of the Armenian
diaspora. It will be located at the Mekhitarist Monastery on the
island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni.

The curatorial concept of armenity** implies the notion of
displacement and territory, justice and reconciliation, ethos and
resilience. Regardless of their place of birth, the selected artists
carry within their identity the memory of their origins. Through their
talent and willpower, these grandchildren of survivors of the Armenian
Genocide’the first genocide of the 20th century’rebuilt a
`transnational assembly’ from the remnants of a shattered identity.
Their ingrained concern for memory, justice and reconciliation
skillfully transcends notions of territory, borders and geography.
Whether they were born in Beirut, Lyon, Los Angeles, or Cairo and
wherever they may reside, these global citizens constantly question
and reinvent their armenity.

Armenity is being held in a setting of special significance for the
Armenian diaspora. It was on the Island of San Lazzaro, located
between San Marco and the Lido and facing the Giardini of the
Biennale, that in 1717 the Armenian monk Mekhitar established the
Mekhitarist Order. It was here that in the early 19th century Lord
Byron studied the Armenian language. Many important works of European
literature and religious texts were first translated into Armenian on
this scenic island. Over its 300-year history the Monastery of San
Lazzaro with its gardens, former print shop, cloisters, museum and
library, has helped to preserve Armenia’s unique cultural heritage,
much of which might otherwise have been lost.

An accompanying catalogue published by Skira, Milan will contain
colour reproductions and texts in English and Armenian. An
introduction, forewords and curatorial texts will be followed by four
pages dedicated to each of the 16 artists: one page of text by each
artist and essays by international art critics and writers such as
Ruben Arevshatyan, Cecile Bourne, Ginevra Bria, Adam Budak, David
Kazanjian, Berthold Reiss, Gabi Scardi, Hrag Vartanian and three pages
with images and drawings of the works. The third part of the catalogue
will contain essays by New York-based art historian and independent
curator Neery Melkonian and London-based art writer and Ibraaz editor
Stephanie Bailey. The catalogue will end with the Armenian
translations of the texts.

Press contact:
Lucia Crespi, Milan
T +39 02 89415532 / T +39 02 89401645 / T +39 338 8090545 /
[email protected] / [email protected]

The Lyon-based Bullukian Foundation is proud to be a partner of Armenity.

*Adelina Cüberyan von Fürstenberg is a renowned international curator.
A pioneer in the field, she is known for broadening contemporary art
to include a multicultural approach. Founder and first Director of the
Centre d’Art Contemporain de Genève, she directed as well the
MAGASIN`Centre National d’Art Contemporain in Grenoble. In 1996 she
founded ART for The World, a unique NGO working with contemporary art,
independent cinema and human rights.

**Armenity derives from the French word Arménité, a notion which
expresses the particular characteristics of the grandchildren of
Armenian Genocide survivors. These include a state of constant flux, a
diversity of self-definition, and a modern and often subjective sense
of being-in-the-world.

Erdogan Accuses Armenian Diaspora of ‘Exploiting 1915 Events’

Friday, January 30th, 2015

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a live television
interview on Jan. 29. (Photo: Anadolu Agency)

ANKARA–In a live interview with the state-run Turkish Radio and
Television Corporation (TRT), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
said on Thursday that the Armenian diaspora is pushing for the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide, but that “[the] issue needs to
be handled by the historians,” Today’s Zaman reported.

“We are saying, ‘If you are sincere on this matter, then come, let’s
leave this to historians, let historians study the issue, let’s open
our archives,'” Erdogan said

“If the results reveal that we have committed a crime, if we have a
price to pay, then as Turkey we would assess it and take the required
steps.”

Erdogan said the Armenian diaspora is trying to exploit the Armenian
Genocide of 1915 and “drag Turkey into a fight.”

The Turkish President said Armenians have a strong lobby around the
world and it is a fact that Turkey’s efforts against them are somewhat
weak, according to Today’s Zaman.

Armenian leaders have stated in the past that there is no debate over
the veracity of the Armenian Genocide, accusing Turkish proposals for
a “panel of historians” of being a ploy to create a debate where there
is none; a debate which Turkey-backed historians will be free to
derail and stall, giving Turkey another excuse to avoid recognizing
the Armenian Genocide.

In another part of the interview, when asked about the latest “Freedom
in the World 2015” report of US-based watchdog Freedom House and its
heavy criticism of Turkey with regards to increasing interference in
the media and judiciary, Erdogan claimed that “no one really takes
Freedom House seriously.”

Erdogan refuted Freedom House’s findings and said: “Freedom House
doesn’t have any dignity. Zero dignity. They think they are so
valuable. There may be others behind organizations like Freedom House.
We need to know these facts.”

In other remarks, Erdogan once again criticized Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu attending a march in Paris after the attack against
French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo earlier this month. Leaders
around the world marched arm-in-arm for the victims of the Paris
attacks in a show of solidarity. Erdogan said he did not understand
how Netanyahu dared to attend the march, considering “Israel’s
increasingly aggressive behavior,” especially with regards to the
“violation of holy sites in Jerusalem.” Erdogan himself has been
criticized by the international community for censoring Charlie Hebdo
cartoons just days after that same march in Paris.

Erdogan went on to say that Netanyahu’s acts against Palestinians are
“state terror” and that Israelis “like to shed blood” and find peace
in “sucking blood.”