Author: Badalian Vardan

Glendale News Press, CA
May 1 2014

Armenian Relief Society marks anniversary

Three days of events will celebrate organization’s efforts to aid the needy.

By Brittany Levine, [email protected]

May 1, 2014 | 8:46 a.m.

The Armenian Relief Society of Western USA in Glendale is celebrating
its 30th anniversary with three days of events, starting on Friday.

Founded in 1984, the organization provides assistance to needy
individuals and communities. In addition to offering local
social-service programs, the group has played a large role in
fundraising efforts for Armenians affected by the civil war in Syria.

The celebration is set to kick off with a gala at 7 p.m. at the
Taglyan Cultural Center, 1201 Vine St. in Los Angeles. The event will
highlight the organization’s decades of service as well as honor
several individuals key to the nonprofit. The Glendale Chamber
Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Michael Avedissian, is set to perform.
Tickets are $125 per person.

On Saturday, the nonprofit is scheduled to host a free seminar
covering topics such as Armenian Genocide education in the public
school system, repatriation and personal stories of survival. The
seminar will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Glendale Hilton,
100 W. Glenoaks Blvd.

Lastly, the society will host a beach-side lunch from 11 a.m. to 4
p.m. on Sunday at the Sky Room, 40 S. Locust Ave. in Long Beach. The
lunch costs $75 per person.

To reserve space or learn more, contact (818) 500-1343 or

,0,5141573.story

The Riverdale Press
May 1 2014

Engel shows support for strife-torn Ukraine

By Shant Shahrigian

Last week, Rep. Eliot Engel brought a wreath from the Ukrainian
community in Yonkers and laid it in the epicenter of this year’s
anti-government protests in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.

It was part of a three-country, nine-day tour in which the ranking
Democrat on the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee,
joined for part of the trip by the panel’s Republican chairman, sought
to show U.S. support for a range of struggling causes.

“It’s important for the United States to show a presence in this
region while the region is undergoing turmoil,” Mr. Engel said in a
phone interview after his trip, which included stops in Armenia and
Azerbaijan. “It’s important for Russia to see us there. It’s important
for the people of Ukraine to see the United States cares about them.”

After laying the wreath amid a scene of burnt tires and damaged
buildings still near Kiev’s Maidan Square, where demonstrations led to
the ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich in February, Mr.
Engel went on to meet the country’s acting Prime Minister Arseniy
Yatsenyuk and other members of the precarious interim government
there.

While pro-Russian forces continue to cause unrest in eastern Ukraine —
with observers worried that Moscow wants to take over territory beyond
Crimea, which Russia annexed in March — Mr. Engel is looking to
sanctions and upcoming elections to thwart Russian President Vladimir
Putin’s aims.

“These elections are the best way for Ukraine to clearly show what
direction the country wants to go,” the congressman said.

He added that he expects Russia will try to undermine voting,
scheduled for May 25, in eastern Ukraine, and claim that the elections
are invalid. But Mr. Engel said he hopes economic sanctions, which the
U.S. expanded on Monday, will help contain Russia.

DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
April 30, 2014 Wednesday

CONFLICT IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH AND CLUMSY POLICY

Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, April 28, 2014, p. 11
by Vladimir Kazimirov

NEGOTIATIONS ON REGULATION IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH WILL BE EFFICIENT ONLY
AFTER THE PARTIES GIVE UP COMBAT OPERATIONS; In September of 1991,
Russia became an intermediary in the most difficult armed
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the first in the USSR. By May 12 of 1994,
it helped Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh to stop the mass
bloodshed. The bitter war of almost three years ended with a truce.
Half a month later, it will have its 20th jubilee.

The Minsk OSCE group (ambassadors of 11 countries) acted as
intermediaries since March of 1992 too. Moscow achieved ceasefire both
independently and in the Minsk group. The truce achieved by Russia
forced participants of the group to recognize its special role in
resolving of this conflict and to make it co-chair of the Minsk OSCE
group (since 1997, these are Russia, US and France).

Harsh mutual mistrust and maximalism of parties of the conflict do not
allow solving of the problems still. Periodical aggravations of the
situation pose a big danger for both nations, for neighboring
countries and for a very sensitive region. Confirmation of the truce
for promotion of peaceful regulation by political measures is the most
important task of parties of the conflict.

This is first but this is above all because all the rest depends on
it. The truce is drawn as infinite but this is insufficient. Decades
of negotiations have proven that as long as a risk of war is not ruled
out fully their success is not guaranteed and is even doubtful. By
their attitude the parties deprive themselves of flexibility and
readiness for search for compromise.

Consistency and sequence of the steps have huge importance in
regulation of conflicts at the peak of mistrust. Official Baku
addressing humanity struggles, first of all, for departure of Armenian
troops from the territories occupied by them and for return of
refugees and postpones achievement of peace and resolving of the main
dispute about status of Nagorno-Karabakh. It even threatens with a new
war. Why did those who did not wish stopping of combat operations
contrary to four resolutions of the UN Security Council forget about
humanism?

Having moved the frontline further from Nagorno-Karabakh and having
occupied the shortest positions (this is important for them) and
having fortified them thoroughly, Armenians do not hurry to leave
struggling for comprehensive resolving of the conflict: they wish to
confirm the truce reliable as a path to peace and, of course, to
determine status of Nagorno-Karabakh as soon as possible. How was the
problem of sequence formulated in resolutions of the UN Security
Council? They demanded immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of
occupation forces but the second was obviously impossible before
observance of the first demand.

However, not these resolutions ruined by those who tried to resolve
the conflict by force served as the basis of the truce. This was the
most important document of the mediation of Russia, namely the
statement of the council of the leaders of CIS countries of April 15
of 1994. In it leaders of the states with personal participation of
Geidar Aliyev and Levon Ter-Petrosyan outlined only two key statements
there: 1) not only to cease fire but also to confirm the truce
reliable; 2) determined the sequence of further actions. The parties
emphasized specifically that without reliable confirmation of
ceasefire “it is impossible to transit to liquidation of consequences
of the traffic confrontation” (withdrawal of troops and repatriation
of refugees).

Of course, this is not a legal document but the most important
political document adopted on the supreme level. For the purpose of
confirmation of this statement leaders of parliaments of all parties
of the conflict were gathered in Bishkek between May 4 and 5 of 1994.
They supported it and called on the parties to cease fire by May 8.
Delays and tricks of one of the parties forced legalization of the
truce in a very original way but by May 12 of 1994 the agreement
acquired full legal force.

But there is no reliable confirmation of the agreement still! Military
preparations and militarist rhetoric of Baku are well known, as well
as its refusal to sign an agreement on non-use of force, evasion of
separation of troops, a lot of incidents on the line of contact and
other manifestations of gross forceful clumsy policy. The motto of the
incumbent authorities of Azerbaijan is, “Not the war but just its
first stage is over.” The authorities hide that Geidar Aliyev has
advocated resolving of the conflict “by peaceful methods alone.”
Armenians act harshly sometimes too but not so often and, as a rule,
in response to the steps of Baku. Attempts of President Ilham Aliyev
to change the procedure of resolving of the conflict radically (to
regain the land lost in battles without confirmation of a truce before
this) are not connected with the realistic approach of his father
expressed on April 15 of 1994 anymore.

At first glance from outside, the parties seem to be equal: Armenians
are not praised for retention of occupied territories and Azerbaijanis
are not praised for demonstrative belligerence and threats. Along with
this, there is a difference. Problems of occupation and refugees were
born “the day before yesterday and yesterday” and already became
reality. They are a little soothed down by ‘today” and require
peaceful solution “tomorrow.” Promises to restart the slaughter
represent the “tomorrow” that makes the entire today harder because of
apprehensions. That is why it is quite naturally from the
psychological point of view that what s the most dangerous, that I the
policy of Baku, is criticized the biggest of all. There are also three
other reasons.

First, a new war about Nagorno-Karabakh is absolutely unnecessary and
dangerous for both nations, Armenian and Azerbaijani, for their
neighbors and, of course, for Russia.

Second, fulfillment of officially signed agreements between the
parties is extremely important. For states, especially the young ones,
this is a measurement of maturity and reliability as partners. The
list of non-observance cases and cases of evasion of peacekeeping
initiatives is obviously unfavorable for Azerbaijan: it ruined four
resolutions of the UN Security Council, four ceasefire initiatives,
more than 20 proposals of intermediaries (Armenians scored only four
cases in total), refusal to separate the troops, ignoring of the
agreement on strengthening of the ceasefire regime. Is this little?
Dos this increase confidence in Baku?

There is also the “third.” There the first is from the field of policy
the second is from the field of law, the third is rather from the
fouled of morality: unreliability and sometimes lie of propaganda.
Baku poses and condemns the occupation as problem number one. But it
is high time to study the reasons of its appearance then and not to
confine everything to aggressiveness of Armenians. Why there is not a
single word about obvious mistakes of Abulfaz Elchibey and Geidar
Aliyev on their stake at force, which resulted in spreading of
occupation to seven districts? Propaganda of Armenians has faults too
but authorities there are more accurate and avoid shady arguments. In
Baku it is possible to hear anything on the highest level: 20% of the
territory is allegedly occupied, there are reportedly more than 1
million refugees etc.

Thus, according to all these parameters official Baku is “beyond
competition” too. Why should we be surprised that critique is
addressed mostly to it (and not to Azerbaijani people contrary to what
Baku would like to show).

Drawn out negotiations on Nagorno-Karabakh will stop skidding only
after full ruling out of combat operations. Peace for Nagorno-Karabakh
guaranteed seriously by Azerbaijan, as well as by great powers, would
change positions of Armenians. They would have to quit the occupied
land gradually but quicker. Meanwhile, Baku allegedly striving for
soonest regulation does everything on the opposite: it prolongs the
status quo contrary to the declared interests.

Another obstacle in negotiations is unwillingness of Azerbaijan to
recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as a party of the conflict and hence its
participant. Along with this, during the years of the war Baku
contacted Stepanakert more than ten times and signed various documents
with it (without participation of Yerevan). Nagorno-Karabakh also
signed three common documents with Azerbaijan and Armenia: the truce,
the statement of July 27 of 1994 and agreement of February 4 of 1995.
Without participation of Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations cannot reach
the final round because its status is the main disputable point of the
conflict.

[Translated from Russian]

‘GRANDMA’S TATTOOS’: ARMENIAN REFLECTION AND REMEMBRANCE

PCC Courier, Pasadena, CA
April 30 2014

Monique LeBleu

A 104 year old woman-clutching close her prayer beads for
comfort-recalls a night of her early childhood that was filled
with rifle fire, where families were attacked, parents murdered,
homes looted, and the “good-looking” daughters taken by the “fire and
thunder gangs” to “rape them or do whatever they wanted to with them”,
while the authorities of the time did nothing.

“They took my mother. They killed my father,” the woman says. She
cries and rocks herself softly, because she can’t forget.

Women and girls were taken later in deportation caravans, where their
fates varied from prostitution, forced concubinage, slavery or death.

If they lived, their enslavers had them marked for all to know-shaming
them for life.

Beginning a week of city-wide events commemorating the date of
the Armenian Genocide, PCC’s Armenian Student Organization brought
students, family and friends together on April 22 to screen Suzanne
Khardalian’s film, “Grandma’s Tattoos.”

The event, held in the Wi-Fi Lounge next to the Cross Cultural Center
in the CC building, was designed to create an open forum of discussion
about the “cycle of genocide” as well as inform on the various rallying
events leading up to the Apr. 24 date that marks the Armenian Genocide
99 years ago.

The communities’ activism seeks the recognition of the genocide by
the Turkish government and is also designed to empower, support and
encourage activism within the Armenian community and for all who feel
the results of historically equally suppressive violent actions.

“‘Cycle of genocide’ is a term used to illustrate the repercussions
of not recognizing genocide,” explained Nareen Manoukian, a PCC
English professor with several students attending the event. “The
Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the 20th century and it’s
unrecognized still.”

The documentary, “Grandma’s Tattoos,” depicts the rippling effect
that the genocide has had on the young Armenian women of the time
who were enslaved by their captors.

Aside from the 1.5 million people killed in the genocide, many died as
a result of being “driven out of their homeland [and] into the deserts
of Syria and Iraq” where “thousands of young women were abducted to
become the concubines Turks, Kurds, and Arabs,” according to the film.

“There was a lot of sexual violence too, and there was a lot of shame
associated with that, so [the survivors] were not comfortable talking
about that,” said Manoukian. “The women in the video had their faces
tattooed because they were trapped and enslaved in harems.”

Manoukian’s own family had experiences that were relayed by surviving
family members. She explained why there was an almost 50 year lull
prior to the community response that has occurred within the last
half-century.

“About the first 50 years following the genocide, there was a cultural
P.T.S.D. that occurred,” said Manoukian. “The immediate survivors-they
weren’t the descendants of the survivors-they were completely
shell-shocked. They didn’t know how to respond to what had happened.”

Senior Hykaz Paronian, mechanical engineering, collaborated with
students, faculty and the Cross Cultural Center to organize and host
the event for his last year, in order to provide the award-winning
film and have a guest speaker from the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF),
PCC alumnus Caspar Jivalagian, for PCC’s own commemorative event.

“We are gathered here tonight to not only mourn the loss the 1.5
million Armenians that we lost to the Armenian Genocide,” said
Paronian. “We are here to be educated about the past in order to move
forward from racism, hate and intolerance.”

Jivalagian spoke on behalf of AYF and their short film, “Revolution
in Progress.” Fueled by the experiences relayed to him by his own
surviving family members, he spoke passionately on what it takes to
be an activist and on the AYF’s upcoming annual event.

“This year we decided to do a 24-hour protest,” Jivalagian said.

“There will be a reflection on each date of a genocide, which is not
limited to the Armenian Genocide, but all the genocides of the 20th
and 21st century.”

Clear feelings were stressed on how critical this recognition is to
the Armenian people.

“We are at the 99-year mark now,” said Manoukian. “I feel like it’s
a crucial time. That if it hasn’t be recognized thus far, this next
year is the most crucial point.”

ARMENIANS SAY NEVER FORGET ON 99TH ANNIVERSARY OF GENOCIDE

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA)
April 25, 2014 Friday

by Lauren Gold

MONTEBELLO >> With a message of never forget, thousands of Armenians
and others came out from Hollywood to Montebello to Pasadena Thursday
to commemorate the 99th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

The genocide is commemorated April 24 because that was the day in
1915 that about 300 Armenian leaders in Turkey were rounded up and
deported or killed, and nearly 5,000 poor Armenians were killed in
and around Istanbul.

The Turkish government has questioned the number of deaths and denies
it was a genocide.

It s important we remember the genocide, said Los Angeles Mayor Eric
Garcetti before about 1,500 people at the United Armenian Council
of Los Angeles event at the Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument at
Bicknell Park in Montebello.

There will be children who will never have known somebody who survived
the genocide, Garcetti said. It will fall on our shoulders now to talk
about that memory. We ll need to tell the young children growing up
what happened.

Another commemoration was held on the steps of Pasadena City Hall
and in Hollywood thousands of protestors took part in a march, many
carrying signs, flags and banners as they gathered at Hollywood and
Hobart boulevards.

The program in Pasadena sponsored by the Armenian Community Coalition
featured musical tributes, poems and speeches by elected officials
and community members.

They massacred a million and a half of us, yet today we stand as over
11 million worldwide, said Levon Keshishian, master of ceremonies
for the Pasadena event.

For 99 years we have proven we are a people that can survive this. By
all difficulties we are a people who adapt to all situations. We are
survivors of tragedies; from time immemorial our faith has guided us
all the way, said Keshishian. Today is not a day of mourning, it is
a day of remembrance and rededication to the cause, which is unsolved.

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, reminded attendees that there are still
people in the world experiencing hardships and horrors similar to
those of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, specifically in Syria.

We have a duty to recognize the Armenian Genocide and the tragedy in
Kasab (Syria) and remind the world that horror and destruction will
not be ignored, Chu said, adding that she plans to continue to push
for a congressional resolution recognizing the Armenian massacre as
a genocide.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank speaking in Montebello called on Turkey
to acknowledge the genocide.

When we re gathered here next year for the 100th anniversary, I hope
and pray Turkey will answer with words of repentance, Schiff said. He
also called on the United States to recognize the genocide.

I hope also the greatest nation on Earth lives up to its ideals and
recognize the Armenian genocide, Schiff said.

Another event was held Wednesday night also at the Montebello monument.

About 400 people were present for the speeches and musical
performances.

This is important, said Montebello Councilman Jack Hadjinian, who was
the master of ceremony on Wednesday night for the Armenian National
Committee of San Gabriel Valley-sponsored event.

We celebrate our existence and we continue to demand justice, Hadjinian
said. The U.S. needs to take a position to classify what happened in
1915 as genocide, not just a tragic event.

President Barack Obama in a statement issued Thursday said a full,
frank and just acknowledgement of the facts is in all our interests.

We recall the horror of what happened 99 years ago, when 1.5 million
Armenians were massacred or marched to their deaths in the final
days of the Ottoman Empire, and we grieve for the lives lost and the
suffering endured by those men, women, and children, his statement
read.

We are joined in solemn commemoration by millions in the United States
and across the world, he wrote. In so doing, we remind ourselves
of our shared commitment to ensure that such dark chapters of human
history are never again repeated.

Commemoration of the Armenian genocide will continue at 6 p.m. Sunday
with a ground-blessing ceremony at the site of the Pasadena City
Council-approved Armenian Genocide Memorial in Memorial Park, 85
East Holly Street. For information visit or call
818-454-3603.

City News Service contributed to the story

TURKEY DENIES ACCUSATIONS OF PROMOTING ETHNIC CLEANSING OF ARMENIANS IN NORTHERN SYRIA

The Irish Times
April 25, 2014 Friday

3,500 people, mainly Armenian Christians, flee north Syrian town
after rebel attack

by Michael Jansen

Direct Turkish military involvement in the invasion by fundamentalist
insurgents of the Armenian village of Kessab in the far north of
Syria has set off alarm bells in Armenian communities in the region
and has prompted charges that Turkey is promoting ethnic cleansing
of Armenians.

Some 3,500 people – mainly Armenian Christians – fled Kessab late
last month after it came under attack from rebel forces.

Turkish media leaks of taped conversations among senior officials,
including foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu, revealed that an act of
provocation which could be a pretext for overt Turkish intervention
in Syria, was being considered, although it is not clear that Kessab
was meant to be involved.

Turkish analysts contend the government wanted a “victory” ahead of
last month’s local elections.

On March 26th, the Turkish foreign ministry said claims of Turkish
support for the jihadi offensive were “entirely baseless”. Days later,
Turkey’s foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu denied charges that Turkey
had facilitated and provided covering fire for the attack by Jabhat
al- Nusra and other jihadi groups on Kessab. He said Turkey’s doors
were open to receive Armenians who fled Kessab.

The Armenian primate of Lebanon, Bishop Shahe Panossian – who is from
Kessab and whose brother was among those who fled the town – told The
Irish Times that Turkey had violated a 1952 agreement reached between
Ankara and Damascus to demilitarise the tiny enclave where Kessab is
located by introducing into the area insurgents from al-Qaeda-linked
Jabhat al-Nusra and other extremist groups.

Sought sanctuarySome 60 extended families fled the village but,
contrary to some reports, no one was killed or wounded, Bishop
Panossian said. Some of those who left were from Aleppo and had sought
sanctuary from the conflict in Kessab.

Kessab is the latest problem Armenians had faced since the conflict
began, the bishop said. The Armenian church and school in the old
city of Damascus are frequently targeted by insurgent mortar fire
from the eastern Ghoutta area adjacent to the capital. Last week two
children were killed and 36 wounded at the school in the Bab Touma
(St Thomas’s Gate) neighbourhood.

Zarmik, who fled Kessab with his family, said that before the attack,
the Turkish army, which controls three-quarters of the border of the
enclave, had repeatedly prevented infiltration by insurgents seeking
access from Turkish territory.

The Armenians felt confident Turkey would continue to prevent
incursions and relations between villagers on both sides of the
frontier were cordial. “We shared cigarettes and talked, ” he said. He
speaks Turkish as well as Armenian, Arabic and English.

On the afternoon of March 20th, Turkish frontier guards began to
leave their posts.

“We observed these movements and understood that things were not
normal and called the Syrian authorities, who said wait to see what
will happen,” said Zarmik. Between 3.30am and 4am, the Syrians sent
a group to investigate and a gunfight ensued.

Bombardment began from the Turkish side and insurgents invaded at
5.30am. Afraid they would be killed or taken hostage, the Armenians
fled, some in their pyjamas.

“We did not close our doors or bring my pick-up,” Zarmik said. He
squeezed his wife, three children, mother, mother-in-law and aunt
into his car and drove to the edge of the enclave where the people
of Kessab waited, hoping to go home.

The bombing was heavy and they drove on side roads to the Syrian port
city of Latakia, which was also targeted, and where, Zarmik said,
they were hosted by the church for two or three days.

The Armenians of Latakia were already impoverished from providing
shelter for people from Aleppo and elsewhere. This forced many from
Kessab to flee to Lebanon. Zarmik and six family members are now
living in one room at the home of a relative. His mother has gone to
Damascus for an operation.

Trained as an electrical engineer, Zarmik was taking a course in
computer science in California when the conflict erupted. He had
a restaurant and small shop as well as produce from his land –
“our apples are famous all over Syria”.

Difficult situationThe situation was difficult in Kessab before
the ousting of the Armenians as the village depended on tourism
and agriculture. Due to the conflict, “we had no tourists for three
years”, he said. “Kessab’s pine and oak forests are all ashes. We were
blockaded and had no rice, sugar or tea. We depended on our fields.”

Kessab “has a long history with Turkey”, Zarmik added. Its inhabitants
were driven out in 1909 and 1915 by the Ottomans. When France and
Britain were dividing up the spoils of the empire after the first
World War, Kessab was initially awarded to Turkey along with the Syrian
province of Iskandarun (Hatay) and the city of Antioch (Antakia).

“Kessab spent nine months under the Turks around 1928-30 but we paid
France to change the border so we would be in Syria. The Turks want
to take it back,” he said, tears in his eyes. “Kessab is my village,
my place, our roots.”

ARMENIAN CHURCH LEADERS CALL FOR RECOGNITION OF 1915 ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

World Council of Churches
April 25 2014

GENEVA

The World Council of Churches issued the following news release:

Leaders of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church have marked the
99th anniversary of the start of the Armenian Genocide with calls for
recognition of that historic event. Beginning in April 1915, more than
one million Armenians were killed by troops of the Ottoman Empire,
a world power with its capital in what is now the Republic of Turkey.

Patriarch Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians, and Catholicos Aram I of the Holy See of Cilicia, based
in Lebanon, presided at separate anniversary events honouring those
who suffered as martyrs.

At a Requiem Mass in Armenia, Karekin II observed that the martyrs’
pain was inflicted deliberately because of who they were, contrary to
the position of those who perceive their suffering as an unfortunate
side-effect of general suffering during the First World War.

According to online news source Havern Aysor, the patriarch warned
that “denial of the truth is a heavy burden not only on the denied,
but the denier as well. The truth can be concealed, but never forgotten
or lost.”

Earlier in April, at an international conference in Lebanon, Aram I
spoke of the need for Armenians throughout the world to observe next
year’s 100th anniversary as a united people.

“Unity must become the driving force for all Armenians,” he said.

“It’s obvious that Armenia and all Diaspora Armenian communities
will hold events according to their region and conditions. But we
must take measures to make this a pan-national event”.

Aram I stressed that the goals of remembrance must include both
“recognition” of the genocide and “reparation” for losses of the past
hundred years.

Last year, on 24 April 2013, Karekin II and Aram I took the unusual
step of issuing a joint statement on the Armenian Genocide urging
Turkey to return confiscated Armenian churches and church estates. The
statement came as an appeal uniting the voices of the two Primates
on an issue of great importance to their churches in Armenia and
the diaspora.

“In 1915, more than 1.5 million Armenians became victims of genocide.

The survivors on the roads of exile found shelter in Eastern Armenia,
the present-day Republic of Armenia, Syria, Lebanon and other
Arabic nations, and in a number of other countries of the world,”
the statement said.

Karekin II and Aram I demanded that the government of Turkey recognize
the killing of Armenians as genocide, that the government return all
of the confiscated churches, church properties, monasteries and other
relics to the Armenian churches, and compensate those Armenians who
have suffered because of the genocide.

The Turkish government has never recognized the Armenian Genocide,
despite governments around the world, including the EU and United
States, recognizing the killings as genocide.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is planning a major conference on
the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on 24 April 2015. In
a Minute passed by the WCC 10th Assembly held in Busan, Korea, 30
October to 8 November, the assembly pledged that the WCC will hold
an “an international conference in Geneva on the recognition of and
reparation for the Armenian Genocide”.

Both Armenian churches are member churches of the World Council of
Churches. Patriarch Karekin II is one of the eight recently elected
presidents of the WCC. He was elected by the 10th Assembly as president
for the Oriental Orthodox churches of the WCC. Catholicos Aram I is a
past, and the longest-serving, moderator of the WCC Central Committee,
having served in that office from 1991 to 2006.

Read the joint statement from Karekin II and Aram I
()

Read the WCC 10th Assembly Minute on the Armenian Genocide
()

Read about the 24 April statement by Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan
()

Armenian Apostolic Church (Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin)
()

Armenian Apostolic Church (Holy See of Cilicia)
()

Italian edition of Varujan Vosganian’s `Book of Whispers’ presented in
the Vatican

18:29 29.04.2014

The presentation of Itaian edition of Romanilan Armenian writer,
politician, Senator Varujan Vosganian’s `Book of Whispers’ was held at
Centro Russia Ecumenica cultural center in Vatican. The event was
organized by the Armenian Embassy in the Holy See.

In his opening remarks Armenian Ambassador to Vatican Mikael Minasyan
stressed the importance of presenting the memories of the ancestors
that have survived the Armenian Genocide to the world.

Attending the event were the Vatican `Chief of Justice’ Cardinal
Francesco Coccopalmero, other high-ranking representatives of the Holy
See, the Ambassadors of Peru, Russia, Romania, Uruguay, Croatia,
Bulgaria and other countries accredited to the Vatican, culture
figures, scholars, representatives of the Armenian community.

I am the grandson of a Genocide survivor and I have a dream: JPost

11:40, 29 April, 2014

Making friends with the sea–These orphan children at Marathon,
Greece, were brought from the interior of Asia Minor by the Near East
Relief and never saw the sea before | Armenian and Greek orphans
standing in sea, Marathon, Greece. Photograph by Near East Relief.
George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress) Everybody who
has ever met an Armenian may have been told about the Armenian
genocide and the story about parents or grandparents who were killed
by Turks.

I am also an Armenian and my roots are from Western Armenia.

My grandfather’s father Karapet twice survived from massacres. He was
forced to leave Adana during the massacres taking place there in April
of 1909 and moved to Constantinople. During the Armenian Genocide in
1915 he escaped to Greece and then with his wife Ester came to what is
now Armenia in 1931.

My grandmother’s mother, Zaruhi was from Kharpert. Her father with his
brothers possessed a factory of silk production, which had a great
reputation not only in the Ottoman Turkey, but also in the European
markets. The Armenian genocide put an end to their peaceful
work. Zaruhi’s father and uncles were killed in front of her eyes, and
the Turks took their property and houses. Since she was a beautiful
girl, her grandmother scraped mud on her face and dressed her in
shabby clothes so as to prevent her from catching the eye of any
covetous Turks. She hardly reached the American orphanage, from there
moving on to Beirut. She married Vahan from Karin (Erzurum) and came
to Armenia in 1947.

While she had a tattoo on her hand, `Armenian’ so that she would not
forget about her roots when she is older, I was born with a `tattoo’
on my heart carrying the pain of my ancestors.

The mass slaughter of over one and half million Armenians was
something beyond human imagination. Shamefully, the political and
economic interests of the international community transcended
morality, never condemning Turkey for the Armenian genocide to prevent
other similar crimes against humanity.

This lead to the Nazi leader Hitler saying, `who, after all, speaks
today of the annihilation of the Armenians?’ while implementing the
invasion of Poland, massacre of Poles and the Holocaust.

The `more speeches, than actions’ behavior of the international
community brought other genocides and continuation of anti-Semitism
and persecutions against Christians in the Middle East and other parts
of the world.

Despite all this, the Armenians and Jews continue to live and Create
with their indomitable will to survive and having a strong faith in
the future.

Every year, on the day of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide,
April 24th, I feel this with a great conjugation to my ancestors.

And, just as the Jews walked through a difficult ladder of their
collective life, overcoming various sufferings, before reaching their
desired motherland, Armenians having a similar historical path, should
aspire to do the same.

This is what all Armenians in the world keep in their genes and this
is what my dream is about.

Vahan Dilanyan, Ph.D. is a recognized expert on regional security and
conflict resolution. He serves as the Chairman of the Political
Developments Research Center (PDRC), a think-tank based in Yerevan.
He is an author of numerous articles in professional publications and
popular media.

White House will Display Orphan Rug, Schiff Says

Wednesday, April 30th, 2014

The Ghazir Rug, also known as the Orphan Rug

Ghazir Rug Will Be Displayed As Early as This Fall

WASHINGTON’Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) announced Wednesday that
the White House has agreed to exhibit the `Armenian Orphan Rug’ in the
near future, likely this fall. The rug, woven by orphans of the
Armenian Genocide in 1920, was presented to President Calvin Coolidge
in 1925 as a symbol of gratitude for American aid and generosity for
U.S. assistance during the genocide. The Armenian Orphan Rug, which
measures 11²7³ x 18²5′, has over 4,000,000 hand-tied knots and took
the Armenian girls in the Ghazir Orphanage of the Near East Relief
Society 10 months to weave.

President Coolidge noted that, `The rug has a place of honor in the
White House where it will be a daily symbol of goodwill on earth.’ The
rug ` which has been in storage at the White House for decades ` was
supposed to be released for exhibition in a Smithsonian event for the
launch of Hagop Martin Deranian’s new book `President Calvin Coolidge
and the Armenian Orphan Rug.’ Unfortunately, the rug was not able to
be displayed at that time.

`Since first raising this issue with the Administration, I have worked
diligently with the White House to find a way for the Ghazir rug to be
sensitively and appropriately displayed,’ said Rep. Schiff. `Today,
I’m pleased to be able to say that planning is underway for the
Armenian Orphan Rug to be displayed as early as this fall. I have
worked out with the White House that the display will take place in a
venue that is open to the general public, and I appreciate their
willingness to place this significant artifact on display for all to
see.’

Schiff and Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) sent a letter, along with 31
other Members, to President Obama last year urging the Administration
to allow exhibition of the rug. The full letter is below, and can be
found here, and in the letter they stated: `The Armenian Orphan Rug is
a piece of American history and it belongs to the American people. For
over a decade, Armenian American organizations have sought the public
display of the rug and have requested the White House and the State
Department grant their request on numerous occasions. Unfortunately,
Armenian Americans have yet to have their requests granted.We urge you
to release this American treasure for exhibition.’

Since sending the letter, Schiff has worked with the White House to
find a way for the rug to be sensitively and appropriately displayed.
Details of the future exhibition will be released as they come
available.