Author: Badalian Vardan

POLISH DAYS KICK OFF IN ARMENIA

Aysor.am
April 25, 20102

Polish Days in Armenia kicked off today and will last until late May,
the Polish Embassy in Armenia said.

The program of Polish Days includes various cultural events featuring
Polish music, literature and cinematography.

Naregatsi Art Institute and The Club will host screening of modern
Polish films. Works by contemporary Polish poets will be presented
at Yerevan Metro.

“Promni” Artistic Folk Dance Ensemble will perform a concert at Aram
Khachaturian Concert Hall on May 11. The ensemble will also perform
on the sidelines of Europe Day, on May 12.

LET THEM DO THEIR WORK WHILE I KILL ARMENIANS – ABDUL HAMID’S CARICATURE IN FRENCH SCHOOL

news.am
April 25, 2012 | 00:04

The caricatures about Turkey committing the Armenian Genocide were
not the first ones which were shown at the Anatole France School in
Montbeliard, France.

As the Turkish Hurriyet reports, while a parent was checking his
child’s school book he discovered a photo of Abdul Hamid with bloody
hands and a knife in his mouth. The caricature read – Let them do
their work while I kill Armenians.

To note, last week a teacher in Anatole France School showed the
caricature, which depicted a man carrying a sack full of human skulls.

The sack symbolizes Turkey carrying the skulls with the Armenian
Genocide inscription. A person standing near is France. The man is
climbing the mountain with EU flag on the top.

The world commemorates on April 24 the 97th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide, the first genocide of the 20th century.

Commemoration actions are held in all states, people remember this
monstrous crime against humanity as over one and a half million
innocent Armenians were massacred in the Ottoman Empire, while hundreds
of thousands were tortured and deported.

The fact of the Armenian Genocide is recognized by many states. It
was first recognized in 1965 by Uruguay. In general, the Armenian
Genocide in Ottoman Turkey has already been recognized by Russia,
France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania,
Slovakia, Switzerland, Sweden, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Canada,
Venezuela, Argentina, and 43 U.S. states.

”THE FACT OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIAL IS UNACCEPTABLE IN THE REPUBLIC OF FRANCE”: NICOLAS SARKOZY

ARMENPRESS
25 April, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, APRIL 25, ARMENPRESS. The memories of Armenian Genocide will
never wane; as the anguish transfers from generation to generation.

The president of the Republic of France Nicolas Sarkozy delivered
a speech after paying tribute to the innocent victims of Armenian
Genocide at the statute of Komitas in the Cananda Square, Paris,
Armenpress reports. The message runs as follows: “We are talking
about a very important issue. We ought to exclude making mistakes and
mitigations in this case. I address you as the leader of the state
and not as a candidate. I deem many people share my perception on
this issue regardless party membership” Sakozy stated.

The President highlighted that he was very much impressed when visiting
Armenian Genocide Memorial within his working visit to Yerevan. “I
want to tell all those who have not made that trip , who have not
seen, heard, and learnt what I have seen that all Armenians around
the world , regardless where they reside , bear the memory of bitter
pain inside them ” Sarkozy underscored.

French President stated that in his visit to Yerevan he got very
proud that France had lent a helping hand to the Genocide survivors
in those days. He said “that ” France is eternal.

“Talking about the pain and memory I do not want to touch upon only
the issue of Genocide; there is not a single state in the world that
does not refer to his own history. The state is powerful not only by
possessing strong and developed economy but when his residents rely
on the state, that it can prove the truthiness of his history. I do
not want to draw a parallel between the states, just demand Turkey to
reconsider his own history. It is not the sign of weakness. God knows
how much I love France, whereas noticing something wrong I accept it;
because it is just impossible to forgive the mistake when it is not
recognized” the President concluded.

On April 24 numerous representatives of Armenian community have
gathered in the center of Paris, near Komitas statue to pay tribute
to the victims of Armenian Genocide.

TURKEY DISAPPOINTED BY THE GENOCIDE STATEMENTS OF THE US PRESIDE AND FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFULS

armradio.am
25.04.2012 12:09

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Tuesday remarks by French
presidential candidates Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande over
the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide were motivated by election
tactics. “This is just another example of abusing controversial
historical issues for the sake of political calculations,” the ministry
said in a statement.

“The statements delivered by the President of France Nicolas Sarkozy
and by the Presidential candidate Francois Hollande on the occasion of
the commemoration ceremony in Paris on 24 April and which apparently
reflect electoral considerations in the country, provide the latest
examples of the abuse of controversial historical issues for the
purpose of internal political calculations.

Politicization of history for different motivations is highly
unfortunate. Prejudiced and discriminatory approaches can serve neither
justice nor a correct understanding of history. What is expected
from prominent French politicians is not to foment hatred, but to
act on the basis of facts and in accordance with the responsibility
of statesmen by giving messages to encourage Turks and Armenians to
reach together a just memory.

It is not possible to obtain results through artificial external
impositions on an issue which should be settled between the concerned
countries. Such statements also impede efforts to establish peace
and tranquillity in the region,” the statement reads.

L’ARMENIE COMMEMORE LE 97E ANNIVERSAIRE DU DEBUT DU GENOCIDE DES ARMENIENS
Laetitia

armenews.com
mercredi 25 avril 2012

Des centaines de milliers de personnes ont fait une marche jusqu’au
memorial d’Erevan mardi 24 avril 2012 pour commemorer le 97e
anniversaire du debut du genocide des Armeniens en Turquie.

Cette commemoration est un rituel annuel depuis les cinq dernières
decennies. De nombreuses personnes ont depose des fleurs tout au long
de la journee au memorial Tsitsernakabert.

” Les grands-parents de mon mari ont fui la Turquie “, a declare une
femme venant deposee une rose rouge. ” Les Turcs ont tue le frère de
son grand-père. ”

La procession silencieuse a commence dans la matinee après une
ceremonie officielle en presence du president Serge Sarkissian,
d’autres fonctionnaires de l’Etat et le clerge de l’Eglise apostolique
armenienne. Le Catholicos Garegin, chef supreme de l’Eglise, a fait
une prière pour les morts.

” Aujourd’hui, nous, tout comme beaucoup d’autres personnes dans le
monde, nous pensons aux victimes du genocide armenien “, a declare
Sarkissian lors de son discours.

Sarkissian a declare que le gouvernement armenien va intensifier ses
efforts pour parvenir a une plus grande reconnaissance internationale
du genocide. Le porte-parole du parti republicain, Edouard Sharmazanov,
a reaffirme cet engagement mardi.

” Nous pensons que la Turquie doit reconnaître le genocide armenien,
lever le blocus et normaliser les relations [turco-armeniennes] sans
conditions prealables “, a declare aux journalistes Sharmazanov au
memorial du genocide. ” La necessite que la Turquie reconnaisse le
genocide a egalement ete soulignee par les Armeniens en visite au
memorial de Tsitsernakabert. Le monde va reconnaître le genocide,
tôt ou tard, mais il est important que la Turquie le reconnaisse “,
a declare un homme.

” La Turquie doit etre prete a le reconnaître. Ce n’est pas grave si
nous n’obtenons pas le mont Ararat ou une indemnisation. Ils ont juste
besoin de reconnaître ce que leurs ancetres ont fait “, at-il dit.

Un autre homme a suggere que la normalisation des relations
turco-armeniennes est essentielle pour la reconnaissance du genocide.

” L’Armenie ne franchira pas l’etape [vers la ratification du
protocole] tant que la Turquie ne fait pas quant a elle un pas vers
nous “, a declare Sharmazanov .

ARTSAKH SPEAKER: GENOCIDE RECOGNITION CAMPAIGN MUST CONTINUE

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 24, 2012 – 22:22 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – There must be continuation of the Armenian Genocide
recognition campaign, Nagorno Karabakh National Assembly speaker said.

“We won’t stop making demands even after all the countries worldwide
recognize the Armenian Genocide due to its being a legal and political
assessment,” Ashot Ghulyan told a press conference in Stepanakert.

He noted that all the marches to Genocide memorials prove the
commitment of Armenians worldwide to principles of demands on
acknowledgment of the blatant fact.

“Hopefully the turning point that occurred about two decades ago
when the Armenian Genocide recognition issue was put on a number of
parliaments’ agenda will have a continuation, as the current policy
of Turkey fits into the framework of neither international law, nor
the international relations,” Karabakh-open.info quoted the speaker
as saying.

ON ARMENIAN REMEMBRANCE DAY, OBAMA AGAIN AVOIDS ‘GENOCIDE’

KGO 810

April 24 2012
San Francisco

(WASHINGTON) — On the fourth Armenian Remembrance Day of his
presidency, President Obama has for the fourth time in a row broken
his promise to the Armenian community to use the word “genocide”
in describing what happened at the hands of the Turks roughly a
century ago.

As a senator, and then as a presidential candidate, Obama often
talked about how bold he was to call the slaughter of an estimated
1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire just what
it was: a genocide.

“America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian
Genocide and responds forcefully to all genocides,” he said. “I intend
to be that president.”

In a January 2008 letter to the Armenian Reporter, Obama said he
shared “with Armenian Americans — so many of whom are descended from
genocide survivors — a principled commitment to commemorating and
ending genocide. That starts with acknowledging the tragic instances
of genocide in world history.”

In 2006, Obama noted, “I criticized the secretary of state [Condoleezza
Rice] for the firing of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans,
after he properly used the term ‘genocide’ to describe Turkey’s
slaughter of thousands of Armenians starting in 1915. I shared with
Secretary Rice my firmly held conviction that the Armenian Genocide
is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but
rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of
historical evidence.”

Obama asserted back then, “The facts are undeniable. An official
policy that calls on diplomats to distort the historical facts is an
untenable policy.”

That was then, and this is now. As previous presidents have concluded,
Obama has decided that distorting the historical facts is better than
alienating ally Turkey, which disputes that term. And that policy
has been, at least in the short term, quite tenable.

The president in his statement on Tuesday said: “I have consistently
stated my own view of what occurred in 1915. My view of that history
has not changed. A full, frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts
is in all of our interests. Moving forward with the future cannot be
done without reckoning with the facts of the past. …Some individuals
have already taken this courageous step forward. We applaud those
Armenians and Turks who have taken this path, and we hope that many
more will choose it, with the support of their governments, as well
as mine.”

OBAMA AVOIDS ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’

The Daily Beast

April 24 2012

President Obama is getting heat for his speech honoring Armenian
Remembrance Day. The president avoided mentioning the word “genocide”
for the fourth year in a row, despite having vowed as a presidential
candidate to acknowledge it. In a statement, the chairman of the
Armenian National Committee of America voiced his feelings of betrayal,
condemning the president and saying his “pledge to recognize the
Armenian genocide stands as a stark lie.” While Obama emphasized that
his “view of history has not changed” and applauded diplomacy efforts
between Armenians and Turks, his speech was criticized by the other
side as well, with the Turkish ambassador in Washington calling the
president’s statement “wrongful” and “distorted.”

IN TURKEY, HUNDREDS MARK ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Focus News

April 24 2012
Bulgaria

Istanbul. Hundreds demonstrated in Istanbul’s central Taksim square on
Tuesday to commemorate the 97th anniversary of the Armenian genocide
by Ottoman Turks during World War I, AFP reported.

The large group of Turkish, Armenian and Kurdish protesters staged a
sit-in, holding pictures of prominent Armenian intellectuals including
journalist Hrant Dink, who was killed in 2007 in front of his Istanbul
office.

“We are here to say this pain belongs to all of us … We are trying
to share the pain of Armenians,” said Senol Karakas, a spokesman for
the group.

The group sat in silence, some of them crying.

ANGELENOS COMMEMORATE, SEEK RECOGNITION FOR ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

89.3 KPCC

April 24 2012

Hundreds of Angelenos gathered at the steps of Pasadena City Hall
on Tuesday to pay tribute to the hundreds of thousands of Armenians
killed by forces loyal to the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923.

The event was organized by the Armenian Community Coalition on the
massacre’s 97-year anniversary.

While the event was focused on raising awareness and recognition of
the attacks within the Armenian community, lawmakers and speakers
also pushed for official recognition of the Armenian genocide from
the city and federal governments.

“If we continue not to recognize the genocide, officially, it not
only hurts us as Americans, I believe it hurts Turkey also,” says
David Mgrublian, CEO of IDS Real Estate Group. “As long as the
Armenian-American community doesn’t allow the American public to
forget, I think the likelihood of recognition is inevitable. It’s
just a matter of time.”

Mgrublian lost seven of eight grandparents in the killings.

Roy Boulghourjian of the Armenian Community Coalition says they are in
talks with the city of Pasadena to erect a monument in Memorial Park.

The slaughter of Armenians that began in 1915 is regarded by many to
be the first genocide of the 20th Century. But Turkey has historically
denied that the killings qualify as genocide, and President Obama has
been hesitant to use the term – even after a congressional committee
voted to.

“It’s not in our culture to not act on the truth,” said Khatchik
“Chris” Chahinian, chairman of the Armenian Community Coalition. “When
we have put it to the side, it’s hurt our country.”

The commemoration included a number of speakers, performers, school
groups and religious leaders. Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard spoke, as did
representatives of Congress and the Consul of the Republic of Armenia.