Author: Badalian Vardan

CANADA PM ISSUES MESSAGE TO ARMENIAN COMMUNITY

20:52, 23.04.2015
Region:World News, Armenia, Turkey
Theme: Politics

Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper issued a message to the
Armenian community on the centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

“On this day we remember the terrible loss of life during the demise
of the Ottoman Empire in 1915, and in particular the horrific suffering
endured by the Armenian people one hundred years ago.

Both the Senate of Canada and the House of Commons have adopted
resolutions referring to these events as genocide.

This is a day we acknowledge solemnly, not to cast blame back into
the distant past, but to guide us towards a better future. It reminds
us all why we must remain committed to ensuring that today’s world
is one where respect for human rights and democratic freedom prevails.

Today, Canadians of Armenian and Turkish origin live together, sharing
our values of tolerance and openness. In this spirit, we encourage
Armenia and Turkey to resume discussion of normalization protocols,
to seek a path towards reconciliation including an open border,
the establishment of diplomatic relations and the implementation
of a dialogue on the events of 1915. On this day of remembrance, we
praise individuals in both countries who are courageously examining
the historical record to seek to achieve a common understanding with
honesty and in a spirit of goodwill.

Now one hundred years later, I join all Canadians, especially those
of Armenian descent, in remembering the past and in sharing hope for
a future based on peace and mutual respect.

GALLIPOLI BATTLE ANNIVERSARY: TURKEY’S AIM IS TO CONFUSE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY – DANIEL FEIERSTEIN

22:08 * 23.04.15

In an interview with Tert.am, in response to a question as to whether
he can make Turkey abandon its policy of denying the Armenian Genocide,
Daniel Feierstein, President of the International Association of
Genocide Scholars (IAGS), pointed out the need for spare no efforts
and continue struggle.

He welcomed the Pope’s remarks about the Armenian Genocide.

The developments are now following the right course. However, Turkey
should follow Germany’s example and admit the Armenian Genocide.

Sufficient evidence of the Armenian Genocide is available, and much
has to be done for all states to recognize the fact.

A Turkish ambassador visits countries that have mot recognized the
Armenian Genocide and warns of possible deterioration of relations if
they recognize the Armenian Genocide. US President Barack Obama is
well aware of the truth, but the question is whether he will accept
it or not, Mr Feierstein said.

Although all the states are well aware of the need to struggle against
genocide, recognition involves politics.

Mr Feierstein also hopes for Armenian-Turkish reconciliation.

As regards Turkish blockade of the borders, he agrees that this is
not a problem of the 21st century.

Although every country has a right to close its borders, they should
follow the way to Europe without borders.

Speaking of the events commemorating the Battle of Gallipoli Turkey
scheduled for April 24, Mr Feierstein said that Turkey’s aim is to
misrepresent the Armenian Genocide as part of that battle.

“CENTENARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE; ANATOLE FRANCE” STAMPED CANCELLED

18:36, 23 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Today, on April 23rd 2015, within the framework of the forum “Against
the Crime of Genocide”, HayPost has officially cancelled and put
into circulation a postage stamp dedicated to the “Centenary of the
Armenian Genocide; Anatole France”.

The president of the General Council of the state Hauts-de-Seine,
member of the Parliament Patrick Devedjian, leader of France-Armenia
deputy friendship group Francois Roshblua, President of the National
Assembly of RA Galust Sahakyan and HayPost Trust Management BV
Managing Director Juan Pablo Gechidjian participated in the ceremony
of cancellation of the Anatole France postage stamp.

Anatole France (1890-1945) was an outstanding French writer,
academician and a Nobel Prize winner as well as the founder
and publisher of “Pro Armenia” journal in Paris. He has shown
a bigcontribution and humanitarian help to the survivors of the
Armenian Genocide.

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

GERMANY’S ANTI-GENOCIDE MOVE TO ASSERT HISTORICAL TRUTH – ENVOY

15:11 * 23.04.15

Germany’s ambassador to Armenia said Thursday that he expects his
country’s legislative authorities’ move to back an anti-genocide
motion to succeed.

But Reiner Morell expressed strong doubts that their president would
use the word “genocide” to refer to the mass killings of Armenians
committed 100 years ago.

“We all understand that the expectations are great, but I do not know
what the president of Germany will say,” he said at the Yerevan-hosted
International “Social and Political Global Forum against the Crime
of Genocide”.

Asked about possible steps by Turkey, the diplomat said he doesn’t
think that the country can be influence by any leverage. “I am
confident that all that will be said or pronounced will not be against
Turkey; it will address the historical fact. We definitely want to
live in peace,” he said, noting that Armenian officials also often
reiterate their willingness for an open dialogue.

The ambassador said his country is trying to offer unbiased and
balanced support to Armenia and Turkey to promote a mutual dialogue.

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.”

BLOOMBERG: TURKEY’S DENIALS HAVE LEFT THE COUNTRY INCREASINGLY ISOLATED

15:47 23/04/2015 >> SOCIETY

Below we present an article by Bloomberg, titled Genocide Debate
Haunts Turkey 100 Years After Armenia.”

Like Turkey’s government, Abdullah won’t bring himself to say the
actions of his great grandfather a century ago amounted to genocide.

The 21-year-old Ankara student’s ancestor was among those who played
a prominent role in the deportation that led to the killing of as
many as 1.5 million Armenians in 1915 as the Ottoman Empire crumbled
during World War I. The centenary of the slaughter is being marked
amid unprecedented international recognition that what happened was
an act of genocide, to the fury of the authorities in Ankara who
dispute the death toll.

“What happened was ethnic engineering,” said Abdullah, whose family
name was withheld in case of reprisals. “Still, I don’t think my great
grandfather made a mistake, he obeyed orders to relocate Armenians
who rebelled against the state.”

As world leaders gather in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on Friday,
Turkey’s denials have left the country increasingly isolated. Pope
Francis and the European Parliament called on the government in Ankara
last week to recognize the genocide, while Germany, Turkey’s largest
trading partner in the European Union, is due to adopt the term for
the first time on Friday.

Nektar Alatuzyan, 101, is among a dwindling group of survivors in
Armenia. When Turks ordered the expulsion of residents of her village,
her parents joined a band of Armenians who fought back for 53 days
from Musa Dagh mountain in what became a legendary tale of resistance.

Putin, Kardashian

“Our house was full of weapons to defend ourselves,” said Alatuzyan,
now almost blind and hard of hearing. “My father was a hero of seven
villages.”

They escaped with their lives when a French ship on the Mediterranean
coast rescued survivors of the revolt. Alatuzyan went on to have
five children, 12 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren and eight
great-great-grandchildren.

“The perpetrators of the genocide failed to achieve what they
planned,” Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan told a forum in Yerevan
on Wednesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President
Francois Hollande, whose countries both recognize the slaughter
as genocide, will be among more than 60 delegations at Friday’s
commemorations.

U.S. reality-TV star Kim Kardashian added to Turkey’s troubles when
she stirred up global publicity about the genocide during a visit
to Armenia, her family’s ancestral homeland, with her rapper husband
Kanye West this month.

George Clooney brought Hollywood glitter to Armenian billionaire Ruben
Vardanyan’s New York launch of the “100 Lives” project celebrating
survivors in March.

Obama Pledge

Though he made a 2008 pre-election pledge to recognize the “Armenian
genocide,” U.S. President Barack Obama is unlikely to use the term in
his statement on the centenary, preferring not to alienate Turkey. The
country hosts a U.S. air base at Incirlik and is a key defense ally
in the Middle East.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will lead a presidential delegation in
Yerevan and the U.S. will “urge a full, frank, and just acknowledgment
of the facts,” according to a White House statement on Tuesday.

The genocide dispute is at the core of tensions between Armenia
and Turkey, who have no diplomatic ties and face each other across
a closed border. Turkey argues that, while atrocities took place,
they were the consequence of war after some Armenians joined Russian
troops fighting the Ottomans.

Gallipoli Clash

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan changed the date of a ceremony
to mark the 1915 Gallipoli campaign to clash with the one in Yerevan,
leading to a diplomatic tug-of-war with Armenia over attendance at
the respective events. The British royal family and Australian Prime
Minister Tony Abbott will be present for the Gallipoli memorial.

Turkey “can never accept such a sin, such guilt,” Erdogan said last
week in reference to the genocide.

Some analysts say a tentative reassessment of the Turkish role has
begun, however, pointing out that Erdogan offered Turkey’s first-ever
condolences last year to descendants of Armenians killed in 1915.

“We remember with respect the innocent Ottoman Armenians who lost
their lives and offer our deep condolences to their descendants,”
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in a statement on Monday,
while declaring that “reducing everything to one word” is “morally
and legally problematic.”

Growing international recognition of the genocide is increasing
pressure on Turkey “to more sincerely face its past,” Richard
Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Center in Yerevan,
said by e-mail.

The Bandit

Abdullah said his relative, known as “Ali the bandit,” murdered
an Armenian dignitary on the orders of Halet Bey, a member of the
Ottoman parliament.

Pressure for change must come from the bottom up, according to Diana
Yayloyan, an Armenian activist also studying in Ankara. Like Abdullah,
she has also sought to challenge her upbringing in a conservative
family that was driven from Turkey in 1915.

“In Armenia, we think that all Turks know the truth of genocide and
they reject it,” said Yayloyan. “The problem is that the people in
Turkey don’t know anything about it.”

All sides “need to uncover the past and learn from each other,”
she said. “Then the politicians will follow.”

A L’ANCIEN MUSEE DE PEINTURE DE GRENOBLE, UNE EXPOSITION RETRACE LE DESTIN DES ORPHELINS DU GENOCIDE ARMENIEN

GRENOBLE
Nous sommes l’avenir, c’est le titre de l’exposition realisee par la
Maison de la Culture Armenienne du Dauphine. Elle lève le voile sur
un aspect meconnu de ce drame et retrace le destin de 200.000 femmes
et enfants, rescapes du genocide armenien,

Ce sont des Oublies de l’Histoire, les rescapes du genocide armenien,
dont on commemore le 100ème anniversaire….Ils n’ont pas pour
autant echappe a la souffrance. Ils furent près de 200.000, femmes
et enfants, abandonnes, disperses a travers tout le Proche-Orient,
enleves par des familles turques, kurdes ou bedouines, decidees a les
“assimiler” ou tout simplement a les utiliser comme des esclaves.

Dès 1918, les survivants armeniens, epaules parfois par des
associations occidentales sont partis a leur recherche. Ils en ont
retrouves, parfois meme rachetes…près de 120.000. Bon nombre d’entre
eux ont ete recueillis dans des orphelinats du Dauphine.

Reportage de Jean-Christophe Pain & Aurelie Massait-Salamanca

“Nous sommes l’avenir” Intervenant : Antoine Bedrossian, Commissaire
de l’exposition ” Nous sommes l’Avenir”

L’exposition “Nous sommes l’Avenir” est visible jusqu’au 3 mai.

jeudi 23 avril 2015, Stephane (c)armenews.com

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.

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MILORAD DODIK: BY BANNING FLIGHTS ANKARA CANNOT ACHIEVE REVISION OF ITS HISTORY

Thursday, April 23, 12:10

If President of the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Milorad Dodik chose the air corridor passing by Turkey, he would
be in Yerevan now, Ruben Grdzelyan, Spokesperson of the Chief Civil
Aviation Department of Armenia, told ArmInfo. He said Turkey refused to
serve Dodik’s charter flight. The president was to arrive in Yerevan
at 5:00pm local time. Grdzelyan said it is not a violation of the
international standards of civil aviation.

“There would be no problems, if he chose another air corridor passing
by Turkey, which would be more expensive, indeed,” Grdzelyan said. He
is sure there would be no problems even if the president of the
Republika Srpska chose a planned flight via Vienna, for instance.

President of the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Milorad Dodik was to arrive in Armenia on April 22 to attend
the Armenian Genocide Centennial events. However, his plane was
not allowed to fly via Turkey, through the flight was previously
coordinated with Ankara.

Milorad Dodik has already come out with a statement wherein he says
that Ankara will not get its history to be revised by banning flights.

“Everyone knows that 100 years ago a horrific crime was committed
against the Armenian Christians and it were Turks who committed that
crime,” Dodik said.