Author: Badalian Vardan

ARAM I ARRIVES IN ARMENIA BRINGING RELICS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS

10:50, 23 April, 2015

YEREVAN, 23 APRIL, ARMENPRESS. In the early morning of April 23,
His Holiness Catholicos Aram I of the Holy See of Cilicia has arrived
in Armenia by a special flight to preside with His Holiness Karekin
II Catholicos of All Armenians over the canonization ceremony of the
Armenian Genocide victims. “Armenpress” was informed about this from
the Catholicosate of Cilicia’s official cite. His Holiness Aram I
was accompanied by the bishops and priests of the Congregation of
Catholicosate of Cilicia.

His Holiness has brought with him the relics of Genocide victims,
which were kept in the Chapel of the Holy Martyrs’ Altar of the Great
House of Cilicia.

After the canonization ceremony, at the same night Aram I Catholicos
will return to Antelias to preside over the ecclesiastical ceremony of
April 24, as well as to consecrate the renovated Armenian Genocide
first Memorial and deliver his pontifical speech of the 100th
anniversary to the people.

TURKISH RECOGNITION OF GENOCIDE ‘SHORTEST PATH’ TO RECONCILIATION, SARKISIAN SAYS

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2015

Armenia’s President Serzh Sarkisian during an interview with Euronews

YEREVAN–In an interview with Euronews, Armenia’s President Serzh
Sarkisian reiterated his country’s view that the mass killings and
deportations of Armenians under Ottoman Turkish rule should be termed
a genocide.

“Without a doubt, the recognition of the genocide by the Turks is the
shortest path to the reconciliation of our nations. And it is my
strong conviction that, if it is done sincerely, I believe, in a short
period of time, relations between Armenia and Turkey could reach a new
and quite a high level.”

“The events that will commemorate the victims of the genocide contain
in themselves a few messages,” President Sarkisian said.

“The first one is the message of remembrance. We think the crimes
against humanity cannot be forgotten with time. The second message
during the events is gratitude, which is directly linked to the
message of remembrance. It is gratitude to those individuals,
organizations and nations and states that at the most difficult moment
for us spoke up and extended a helpful hand to us and helped some of
our people to survive. The third message is a mix of both remembrance
and gratitude that leads towards prevention against the recurrence of
such crimes and it is our duty to find out and point out the patterns
and the causal relations that can later turn into this type of crime.

With this we say that it is necessary to fight against these
particular phenomena in order to be able to prevent future genocides
and other crimes against humanity from recurring. And a final general
message, the fourth one, is the message of a nation rising from the
ashes. We say that those who wished us harm did not succeed in erasing
us from the Earth.”

Speaking about the prospects of reconciliation, Serzh Sarkisian said:
“I myself in my capacity as the president of the Republic of Armenia
have tried two times to embark upon this path. And the two presidents
who preceded me tried to embark upon that same path. We have declared
our intention to establish diplomatic relations with Turkey without
any preconditions. After that, parties could have discussed and
addressed all issues that exist between them. The second such attempt
was made on the eve of the Armenian Genocide centennial. Several
months in advance I sent a letter to the president of Turkey. That
letter was delivered in person by our foreign minister to the
appropriate Turkish officials, so it was not just a publicized action.

And by that letter I invited him to partake in the April 24th events
and to express jointly condolences and commemorate all victims. But
the Turkish authorities decided otherwise: they decided to hold on
April 24th – our genocide remembrance day -celebrations for the
Gallipoli battle.”

In the past days the Turkish side has unleashed all their anger, there
were harsh statements, unusually harsh reactions to the statement of
the Pope, to a resolution voted by the European Parliament. “For us
those statements and reactions of the Turkish side were not in any way
or shape unexpected,” the Armenian President said.

“We have always heard and witnessed their denialist posturing. We have
also seen that every time they renewed their toolbox of denial. With
regard to the statement by His Holiness, I consider that to be an
appropriate one. You know, I believe that a world free of crimes
against humanity can be achieved only with the leadership of strong
people. His holiness is a great leader, just and truth speaking.”

As for Turkey’s proposal to set up a commission of historians,
President Sarkisian said: “First, from the very beginning it is
incorrect since I am not aware of a case that historians sat down,
made a decision and the question was settled once and for all. This
was the first point. Secondly, I cannot imagine how such a commission
shall operate, since the Turkish historians would be under pressure of
the Turkish society and Turkish authorities’ pressure, and the
Armenian historians would be under the pressure of the Armenian
society and Armenian authorities’. But even these are not the most
important arguments. The most important is the following: the
specialized structures, countries that posess the largest archives on
this issue have no doubts about it. There are no doubts about it and I
again return to what happened at the Vatican: what do you think, isn’t
the Vatican one of the most well informed of the events that unfolded
during the First World War? What do you think, does the Vatican feel a
shortage of well-educated historians? For us such a proposal in itself
is an insulting one since it questions the very fact and veracity of
the Armenian Genocide. Ultimately, what will the historians find out?

How many people died? And is there a significant difference whether
one and a half million people or one million four hundred forty nine
thousand people died?”

VICE SPEAKER OF CZECH PARLIAMENT CITES HITLER: “WHO, AFTER ALL, SPEAKS TODAY OF THE ANNIHILATION OF THE ARMENIANS?”

Thursday, April 23, 13:43

Vice Speaker of the Czech Parliament Zdenek Skromach delivered a
speech at the ongoing Public and Political Global Forum Against the
Crime of Genocide in Yerevan. In his speech, the Czech politician
said the history of Armenians dates back over 2,000 years.

“We are living difficult times when some countries still rattle the
sabre,” he said. Skromach said massacre of Armenians is part of the
mosaic that makes the international culture and cited Adolf Hitler:

“Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”

The Czech parliamentarian is sure that to prevent such crimes against
humanity, it is necessary to learn the lessons of the past. “We ought
to work towards that,” he said

PRESIDENT OF CYPRUS: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CAN NEVER BE FORGOTTEN

April 23, 2015 11:15
EXCLUSIVE

President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades

Photo: huffpost.com

Yerevan /Mediamax/. President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades told
Mediamax today that the Armenian Genocide gave many important lessons
to the humanity.

Nicos Anastasiades told Mediamax about it on the eve of his visit to
Yerevan on April 24.

“Only by recognizing the magnitude of the catastrophe can we hope to
redeem humanity and civilization from its darkest pages.

I am visiting Armenia, upon the invitation of H.E. the President
of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, to attend a most important event, the
centennial commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.

Our delegation visiting Yerevan, comprising of myself, the President of
the House of Representatives, as well as several members of parliament
and high level government officials, is here to offer a message of
solidarity, respect, and remembrance to the Armenian people; the
Medz Yeghern, can never be forgotten, and we will solemnly continue
to honour the memory of those who perished, out of respect for the
Armenian people, and ultimately, out of respect for humanity and the
sanctity of human life”, said the President of Cyprus.

He recalled that Cyprus is home to a vibrant Armenian community,
and a good friend of the Armenian state, and the official delegation
could not have been absent from the events due in Yerevan on April 24.

Cyprus has done a lot to serve this cause: it became a home and a safe
haven to thousands of Armenian refugees fleeing Ottoman persecution
and famine in the early part of the 20th century, it became the
first European country to have recognised the Armenian genocide and
most recently, it has criminalised the public claim of denial of the
genocide, by Parliamentary decree.

The lessons to be learned by the Armenian genocide, the first genocide
of the tumultuous 20th century, are many and important. We need to
keep alive the remembrance of the genocide by paying tribute to the
millions of lives lost, by serving their memory and legacy, and being
adamant that impunity cannot go unpunished”, said Nicos Anastasiades.

According to the President of Cyprus, the people of Armenia and Cyprus
share a lot, unfortunately also being victims of the same impunity.

“We also share universal values and principles: respect in
international law, peace, the independence and freedom of peoples
and respect for human rights. These characteristics stem from our
interwoven history and the struggles of our peoples who persevered
for survival and prosperity”, he said.

EUROPEAN ARMENIAN FEDERATION
For Justice and Democracy
Avenue de la Renaissance 10
Bruxelles, 1000
Belgique

Tel./Fax : +32 (0) 2 732 70 26 / 27
E-mail : [email protected]
Web:

Brussels, 22 April, 2015: The Austrian Parliament adopted a declaration
recognizing the Armenian Genocide, acknowledging the responsibility of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire, at the time an ally of Ottoman Empire, calling on
Turkey to reconcile with the dark pages of its past. The declaration was
adopted unanimously by all political factions in the Parliament, before
adopting it, the deputies held a moment of silence in memory of the 1.5
million innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide.

The declaration states that it is Austria’s obligation to recognize the
terrible events as genocide and condemn them. It also states, that it is
the duty of Turkey “to honestly face its dark and painful chapter of
the past, and the crimes committed during the Ottoman Empire against the
Armenians to recognize as genocide.”

The statement on the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide, also pays homage
to Assyrians, Arameans, Chaldeans, Greeks, victims of the total
annihilation of minorities perpetrated by Turkey.

Garo Chadoian, chairman of the Austrian Armenian Committee for Justice and
Democracy (Hay Tad Austria) thanked the Armenian community of Austria, and
the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia, for the persistent and coordinated
efforts over the past years, which resulted in this joint declaration
today, and praised the Austrian political parties for their courageous and
responsible stance on recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

Kaspar Karampetian, President of the European Armenian Federation for
Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) said: “we congratulate the Austrian –
Armenian community for their tireless work, and welcome this historic
recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Austria. It isi historic in the
sense, that Austria, acknowledging its responsibility for the past
regarding Austro-Hungarian Empire’s alliance with the Ottoman Turkey, could
serve as a noble example for Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide and
come to terms with its past”.

“Armenian Diaspora’s activism, the Pope’s message, the European
Parliament’s resolutions on the Armenian Genocide have all contributed to
this declaration by the Austrian Parliament”. We very much hope, that
Germany as well, will shift its stance on the Armenian Question and
officially recognize the Armenian Genocide”, concluded Karampetian.

#########

PACE ADOPTES WRITTEN DECLARATION “COMMEMORATION OF THE CENTENNIAL OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE”

by Tatevik Shahunyan

Thursday, April 23, 15:13

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a
written declaration “Commemoration of the Centennial of the Armenian
genocide” on April 23.

The declaration authored by Rene Rouquet was signed by 171 delegates.

The text of the Declaration reads: “Genocide is an unconceivable crime
for a society which is founded on tolerance and protection of human
rights and fundamental freedoms. Early prevention of such crimes can
surely stop the escalation of conflicts, tragedies and humanitarian
catastrophes. The absence of unequivocal and timely condemnation of the
Armenian genocide largely contributed to the failure to prevent future
crimes against humanity such as the Holocaust and other genocides.

24 April 2015 marks the Centennial of the Armenian genocide. 1,500,000
Armenians perished as a result of this hideous crime perpetrated in
the Ottoman Empire.

The undersigned parliamentarians pay tribute to the memory of innocent
victims and condemn all forms of crimes against humanity and genocide
and deeply deplore attempts at their denial.

Prevention of genocides and crimes against humanity should be amongst
our priorities. Further development of the international capacities in
this regard is instrumental. The Council of Europe has an important
role to play within the international efforts in contributing to the
prevention of crimes against humanity. It should encourage its member
States to come to terms with their own past and prepare grounds for
future reconciliation between peoples.”

GERMAN PARLIAMENTARIAN CALLS ON TURKEY TO SHOW COURAGE AND FACE BLACK PAGES IN ITS HISTORY

Thursday, April 23, 16:20

Genocide of Armenians will not be buried in oblivion, despite anything,
Albert Wailer, German MP, said at the Public and Political Global
Forum Against the Crime of Genocide in Yerevan on April 23.

Calling the massacre of the 1,5 million of Armenians as Genocide,
Wailer said the German government lacks enough courage to recognize
the Genocide of Armenians. He said that the world’s scholars,
parliamentarians, politicians have repeatedly called on Turkey to
publicly recognize the facts of its history.

“We, Germans, committed a heavy sin in the 20th century. I am
speaking about the Holocaust. They forgave us as we condemned our
past. It was not easy, it took us great efforts, but we did it,”
the parliamentarian said.

To become a part of the European family, he said, it is necessary
to face one’s past. He called on Turkey, mainly, the intellectuals,
to show courage and face the black pages if their past.

INTERPARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY ON ORTHODOXY: OUR BROTHERS’ MASSACRE CONTINUES

14:31, 23.04.2015
Region:World News, Armenia, Turkey
Theme: Politics

YEREVAN. – The study of the topic of genocide is necessary to prevent
its recurrence in the future.

The secretary general of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy
(IAO), Ioannis Amanatidis, stated the above-said Thursday at the
two-day International Social and Political Global Forum against the
Crime of Genocide. This forum is devoted to the Armenian Genocide
Centennial, it is held in Armenia’s capital city of Yerevan, and about
600 participants from fifty countries are taking part in this event

Amanatidis recalled that the National Assembly of Armenia is a
co-founder of the IAO.

“We are marking two events: the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide, and the end of the First World War.

“The attempts to conceal the Armenian Genocide led to the [Jewish]
Holocaust. One hundred years later, Armenians demand justice and await.

“Unfortunately, the massacre of our brothers continues. Let’s make sure
that the genocide does not continue,” Amanatidis specifically stated.

FIDH: EUROPEAN GAMES – GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO DENOUNCE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN AZERBAIJAN

13:56 22/04/2015 ” LAW

Repression of Azerbaijani civil society, NGOs and journalists has
escalated significantly as the date of the Baku European Games
approaches, says the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights
Defenders in a report (FIDH).

The report documents the repression of eight Azerbaijani human rights
defenders who have been arbitrarily detained, and details the series of
legislative amendments recently adopted to silence independent voices.

“Most of the high-level leaders of the independent NGOs have been
arrested. The conditions of detention are abominable and the declining
health of some of them, such as Leyla Yunus and Intigam Aliyev is
of serious concern,” Secretary General of World Organization Against
Torture (OMCT) Gerald Staberock stated.

In January 2015, the Observatory led a mission to Baku to meet with
civil society organizations. Despite several requests submitted to the
authorities, the delegation was not allowed to visit the imprisoned
defenders, the report reads.

Further FIDH states that the international community must use this
opportunity to express its concern with Azerbaijani authorities
regarding human rights abuses and the situation the people and
organizations defending these rights face in Azerbaijan.

“We hope that the leaders of the countries participating in the
European Games will take advantage of the opportunity to denounce
the human rights situation in Azerbaijan. That is why we are asking
them officially to condition their participation in the opening
ceremony on the release of all imprisoned human rights defenders,”
the President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH),
Souhayr Belhassen, stated.

It is also noted that in 2014, several laws were amended to restrict
the activities of civil society. New laws were adopted that increased
the administrative requirements for NGOs. These laws make it de facto
impossible for unregistered NGOs receive grants in accordance with
the law. The authorities have used these new regulations to prosecute
NGO leaders by accusing them of financial irregularities.

Related:

EurasiaNet.org: European Games visitors to Azerbaijan to have what
government orders for breakfast

The Washington Post: Olympic flame must illuminate terrible stain
ruling regime is inflicting on Azerbaijan

Human rights groups appeal to U.S. Secretary of State to boycott
European games in Baku

DES SUISSES ONT AIDE LES VICTIMES DES MASSACRES

REVUE DE PRESSE
Le genocide armenien de 1915-1916 a eu des repercussions jusqu’en Suisse.

De nombreux Armeniens se sont refugies sur le territoire helvetique,
en particulier en Suisse romande, et divers projets ont ete mis sur
pied pour venir en aide aux victimes des massacres.

Le Vaudois Antony Krafft-Bonnard (1869-1945) s’est notamment engage
pour l’accueil en Suisse d’orphelins armeniens. Ce pasteur, qui a
commence son oeuvre après les pogroms de 1895-1896, a fonde en 1921
les > de Begnins (VD) et de Genève.

Plus de 150 orphelins y recurent une education dans la tradition
armenienne (langue et religion) en meme temps qu, considere
par les Armeniens comme un temoignage de première importance sur
le genocide.

Le > de Cilicie (Liban), Aram Ier, se rendra en Suisse
en septembre pour remercier le peuple suisse et ses autorites au
nom des Armeniens. Il s’exprimera a Berne, mais aussi a Begnins et
a Wazenhausen (AR), en l’honneur de Jakob Kunzler.

Aujourd’hui, quelque 5000 Armeniens vivent en Suisse. Une messe doit
etre celebree vendredi dans l’eglise apostolique armenienne de Troinex
(GE).

mercredi 22 avril 2015, Stephane (c)armenews.com