Author: Badalian Vardan

FERVENT INTERNATIONAL REACTION MAY FADE IF ARMENIA ISN’T CONSISTENT (VIDEO)

12:50 | April 14,2015 | Politics

Turkey responded very aggressively to the speech of Pope Francis,
who called mass killings of Armenians in 1915 “1st genocide of the
20th century”. Turkey even recalled its Ambassador to Vatican.

Armenian political analysts are surprised at the reaction of Turkey.

Pope just repeated the words said still in 2001 by his predecessor-
Pope John Paul II.

Representative of ARF Armenian Cause Office in Yerevan isn’t surprised
at Pope’s speech. He doesn’t reject that the liturgy in memory of
the Armenian Genocide victims and the speech of Pope, which filled
the media, have been for the benefit of our country.

Fervent international reaction, though, may fade if Armenia isn’t
consistent.

The specialists and politicians don’t exclude that Turkey may try to
take more decisive steps by using both the Armenian-Turkish protocols
and the NK conflict. But at the same time they assure that the state,
which killed 1.5 million Armenians in 1915, will sooner or later
recognize and compensate.

GOVERNMENT RESPONDS TO CALL FOR EVACUATING ARMENIAN KIDS FROM ALEPPO

12:02 * 14.04.15

The Armenian Government has offered its readiness to assist in the
evacuation Aleppo-Armenian children from the war-torn city.

“The Government is ready to host and offer the necessary conditions
to the children and pupils moving to Armenia from Aleppo,” a source
from the Government’s press service told Tert.am.

It comes after reports emerged about the continuing Islamist rocket
raids in the city’s Armenian-populated district, Suleymanie. The
attacks raised panic among the Armenians of Syria, with many voicing
calls in the social networks for evacuating children from the war zone.

FELLIPE BARBOSA READS THE TESTIMONY OF GOHAR SARIAN

April 14, 2015 09:21
EXCLUSIVE

Fellipe Barbosa

Photo: Bart Michiels

Mediamax presents 100 Seconds project devoted to Armenian Genocide
Centennial. The project is based on testimonies of Genocide survivors
published by the National Archive of Armenia.

Fellipe Barbosa is a Brazilian filmmaker. His “Salt Kiss” (2007) film
won over 10 international awards. He was featured among Filmmaker’s
Magazine “25 New Faces of Independent Film”.

For 100 seconds project he reads an extract from Armenian Genocide
survivor Gohar Sarian’s testimony.

National Archives of Armenia Collection of Documents

Testimony of Survivor Gohar Sarian on the Massacres of Trabzon
(extract)

[1916] Tiflis

On Saturday, 13 June, the authorities posted an announcement giving
us 5 days to get ready to leave for Mesopotamia.

We could not take any belongings with us or sell them. Everybody had
to hand over everything to the authorities with their hands.

Old, sick, widowed and pregnant women could stay but they had to
produce a certificate from the municipality doctor and the head of
the police to stay on that basis.

No Greek or Turkish families could be seen on the streets. They all
went to villages in order not to see this calamity. We, the women,
gathered and with the children went to the governor. They rudely
turned us out.

We applied to the German consul in the summer house, one hour out of
the town. He received us very badly. We begged him but he ruthlessly
turned us out. We applied to the Austrian consul. He welcomed us, wept
und said:”I wish I could be helpful but there is nothing I can do.”

Producer: Ara
Tadevosyan Filming: Lena Gevorgyan, Mariam Loretsyan Post Production:
Tumo LLC

The source of Gohar Sarian’s testimony: National Archives of Armenia,
Armenian Genocide by Ottoman Turkey, 1915, Testimony of survivors,
Collection of documents, Yerevan-2013.

VivaCell-MTS is the general partner of 100 seconds project.

KAREKIN II: INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CAN CONTRIBUTE TO ESTABLISHMENT OF SAFETY AND JUSTICE WORLDWIDE

by Nana Martirosyan

Tuesday, April 14, 00:35

The Armenian Genocide Centennial urges the humanity not to be
indifferent to people’s anguish, to exert efforts to stop and prevent
crimes against humanity, Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II said
during the Vatican liturgy commemorating the Armenian Genocide victims.

Karekin II recalled that a century ago the Ottoman authorities
committed the Armenian Genocide that claimed 1.5 million Armenian
lives. He said that Armenians were deported from their historical
motherland and their property was robbed. “Today our people live in the
blockade imposed by Turkey and Azerbaijan and fight for the freedom
of Artsakh people and restoration of the Armenian people’s rights,
recognition and condemnation of the Genocide”, he said.

Karekin II added that if the humanity had been able to prevent
the Armenian Genocide, it would not have been followed by the
Holocaust, genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur. “We are sure that
the international recognition of the Genocide as an example of human
rights protection and restoration of historical justice can contribute
to establishment of safety and justice all over the world”, he said.

In this light, Karekin II pointed out the significance of publication
of the documents in Vatican’s archives. On behalf of Armenian people,
he thanked those who raise the issue of the Genocide and those who
extended a helping hand to those who fled the massacre.

To note, Pope Francis himself served the liturgy. Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan, Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II and other
officials from Armenia attended the liturgy. Vatican provided a 10th-
century Armenian theologian and philosopher Grigor Narekatsi with a
rank of a doctor of church.

To recall, Ankara recalled its ambassador from Vatican after Pope
Francis used the term “genocide” when describing the killings of the
Armenians in Ottoman Empire in the early XX century.

LES PROPOS DU PAPE SUR LES EVENEMENTS DE 1915 SONT UNE DISCRIMINATION ET UNE DIFFAMATION CONTRE LA TURQUIE, SELON CEMIL CICEK

TURQUIE

“Les propos du Pape Francois sur les evenements de 1915 sont une
discrimination et une diffamation” selon le president du Parlement
turc, Cemil Cicek, qui a accorde lundi, une interview a la chaîne de
television turque Haberturk.

“Il est inacceptable qu’une personnalite de ce rang exprime de
telles allegations, a-t-il affirme. Il s’agit d’une discrimination,
d’une diffamation.”

Pour Cemil Cicek, l’annee 2015 represente un tournant pour la Turquie
qui, selon lui, “preoccupee par la politique domestique depuis un
certain temps, ne s’est pas suffisamment interessee a ce qui se passe
a l’etranger.”

Ainsi, Cemil Cicek a fait savoir qu’il a rencontre plus d’une centaine
de chefs d’Etat, de Premiers ministres et de presidents de Parlement
pour leur expliquer clairement que les evenements de 1915 n’etaient
pas un genocide.

mardi 14 avril 2015, Stephane (c)armenews.com

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT ARMENIANS AND GENOCIDE

New York Times
April 13 2015

By RICK GLADSTONEAPRIL 13, 2015

Pope Francis’ description of the killing of Armenians 100 years ago as
a genocide has caused a diplomatic uproar with Turkey and elevated
resilient historical arguments about what really happened. The
arguments are likely to intensify as Armenia prepares to officially
commemorate the event in less than two weeks.

Here are some questions raised by the pope’s statement, made during
Sunday Mass, and by the response from Turkey, which condemned his
remarks as “baseless” and recalled its ambassador from the Vatican.

Q. What does genocide mean and what is its origin?

A. Genocide is generally defined as the deliberate killing of people
who belong to a particular racial, political or cultural group,
with the intent of the killers to destroy the existence of that
group. The term did not exist until 1944, when a Polish-Jewish lawyer,
Raphael Lemkin, was credited with creating it to describe systematic
mass killings conducted by the Nazis, including the destruction of
Europe’s Jews. According to the website of the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum, Mr. Lemkin combined the Greek word for race or tribe,
“geno,” with “-cide,” from the Latin word for killing. The term was
incorporated into the 1948 United Nations Convention on Genocide.

Q. What is the historical event at issue?

A. It refers to the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, starting in 1915,
when the Ottomans, who were aligned with Germany in World War I,
sought to prevent Armenians from collaborating with Russia and ordered
mass deportations from the empire’s eastern provinces. As many as 1.5
million ethnic Armenians died from the combination of forced exodus,
starvation and killings by Ottoman Turk soldiers and the police. About
500,000 Armenians survived, and many scattered into Russia, the United
States and elsewhere in what became an Armenian diaspora. The term
genocide has been retroactively applied by many historians to that
period, which is now widely acknowledged to be the first genocide of
the 20th century.

Q. Why is Turkey’s government so opposed to the use of the term
“genocide” to describe what happened?

A. Turkey’s government has acknowledged that atrocities were committed
during that period but has argued that a large number of Turks were
also killed, and that to portray the killing of Armenians as systematic
and intentional is historically inaccurate. Turkey’s government has
disputed the number of Armenians killed, suggesting it was far lower
than 1.5 million. The government has often responded angrily when
other countries, groups and individuals call the Armenian killings
a genocide.

Q. How many other countries have taken a position on this question?

A. According to the website of the Armenian National Council of
America, legislatures in at least 15 countries, and the Council
of Europe and the European Parliament, have passed resolutions
recognizing the Armenian genocide. The United Nations Sub-Comission on
the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities has also
described the period as genocide. Some countries, including Switzerland
and Greece, have called for criminal charges against those who deny it.

Q. What is the position of the United States government on use of
the word genocide to describe what happened?

A. Successive administrations have sought to skirt this question
because of Turkey’s growing importance, both as a NATO ally and as an
influential political and economic power in the Middle East. They have
also described the use of the term genocide as harmful to efforts at
Turkish-Armenian reconciliation. When President Obama first campaigned
for president in 2008 he used the term genocide but has softened
his description since taking office, calling the period of history
an atrocity and a dark chapter, but resisting efforts by members of
Congress to bring a resolution on the question to a vote. Pope Francis’
use of the term genocide in his Sunday Mass has raised speculation
that Mr. Obama might do so as well.

Q. What special events are planned to commemorate the centennial?

A. Prominent Armenians in the diaspora have already started
commemorating the 100th anniversary. Some have collaborated with
Hollywood celebrities to award a humanitarian prize, starting next
year, in honor of those who helped to save Armenians during that
period. In Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, the centennial will be
officially remembered on April 24 and will be attended by a number
of world leaders, including President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

The parliament of Armenia is also likely to adopt a statement
before the centennial remembrance calling on parliaments and
interparliamentary organizations around the world to recognize the
Armenian genocide.

Daily Sabah, Turkey
April 12 2015

Pope’s Armenia comments one-sided and incoherent: PM DavutoÄ?lu

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu on Sunday blamed Pope Francis
for using a ‘inappropriate’ and ‘one-sided’ language after the pontiff
described the killings of Armenians during World War I as “the first
genocide of the 20th century.”

Speaking at a closing ceremony in Istanbul, DavutoÄ?lu said “only
highlighting one side’s suffering during war time and discriminating
the others’ pain is not appropriate for the pope and the authority
that he holds.”

DavutoÄ?lu also said that the pope’s one-sided and incoherent statement
gives credence to rising racism and anti-Turkish approach in Europe.

On Sunday, Pope Francis called the 1915 incidents involving Armenians
“genocide” on Sunday during a Mass in the Armenian Catholic rite at
the St. Peter’s Basilica, which Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan also
attended.

Following the pope’s remarks, The Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned
Vatican’s envoy to Ankara and re called its ambassador to Vatican to
Ankara for consultation and related the message that the incident has
caused “loss of trust” and would be met with a response.

The foreign ministry also released a statement regarding the incident,
saying “Pope Francis, who has defended the opinion of building peace
and friendship between different groups around the world since the day
he was assigned as Pope, has discriminated about people’s suffering,
overlooked atrocities that Turks and Muslims suffered in the First
World War and only highlighted the Christian suffering, especially
that of the Armenian people.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt ÇavuÃ…?oÄ?lu also slammed Pope’s
statement earlier in the day via social media, saying: The Pope’s
statement, which is out of touch with both historical facts and legal
basis, is simply unacceptable.

“Religious offices are not places through which hatred and animosity
are fueled by unfounded allegations,” ÇavuÃ…?oÄ?lu shared through
Twitter.

The Ottoman Empire relocated Armenians in eastern Anatolia following
the revolts and there were Armenian casualties during the relocation
process.

Armenia has demanded an apology and compensation, while Turkey has
officially refuted Armenian allegations over the incidents saying
that, although Armenians died during the relocations, many Turks also
lost their lives in attacks carried out by Armenian gangs in Anatolia.

The Turkish government has repeatedly called on historians to study
Ottoman archives pertaining to the era in order to uncover what
actually happened between the Ottoman government and its Armenian
citizens.

The debate on “genocide” and the differing opinions between the
present day Turkish government and the Armenian diaspora, along with
the current administration in Yerevan, still generates political
tension between Turks and Armenians.

Turkey’s official position against allegations of “genocide” is that
it acknowledges the past experiences were a great tragedy and that
both parties suffered heavy casualties, including hundreds of Muslim
Turks.

Ankara agrees that there were certainly Armenian casualties during
World War I, but says that it is impossible to define these incidents
as “genocide.”

In 2014, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an expressed his condolences for
the first time to all Ottoman citizens who lost their lives in the
events of 1915.

“May Armenians who lost their lives in the events in the early
twentieth century rest in peace, and we convey our condolences to
their grandchildren,” ErdoÄ?an said.

Mohave Valley News
April 12 2015

Armenians cast close eye on papal mass: Turkey said to discourage
pope from using term ‘genocide’

Sunday, April 12, 2015 12:22 am

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis today will declare a little-known
10th-century Armenian mystic a doctor of the church, one of the
highest honors a pope can bestow. More attention, though, is likely to
be on whether Francis utters the word “genocide” during his homily.

Francis is marking the 100th anniversary of the killing of an estimated

1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire by celebrating a Mass in
the Armenian Catholic rite in St. Peter’s Basilica. The Armenian
patriarch, Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, will concelebrate and the Mass
will be attended by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

It’s a big deal for the Armenians, who in the run-up to the centenary
have been campaigning for greater recognition that the slaughter
constituted genocide. It’s also a big deal for Turkey, which has long
denied that the deaths constituted genocide, insisted that the toll
has been inflated, and that those killed were victims of civil war and
unrest.

Francis avoided the word on Thursday when he met the visiting Armenian
church delegation, but said that what transpired 100 years ago
involved men “who were capable of systematically planning the
annihilation of their brothers.”

“Let us invoke divine mercy so that for the love of truth and justice,
we can heal every wound and bring about concrete gestures of peace and
reconciliation between two nations that are still unable to come to a
reasonable consensus on this sad event,” he said.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed
by genocide scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.
Several European countries recognize the massacres as such, though
Italy and the United States, for example, have avoided using the term
officially given the importance they place on Turkey as an ally.

According to reports in the Turkish media, Turkey has been working
behind the scenes to discourage Francis from uttering the term
“genocide” and reportedly successfully campaigned to prevent the papal
Mass from being celebrated on April 24, which is considered the actual
anniversary of the start of the slaughter.

Last year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a message of
condolences to descendants of Armenians killed and said Turkey was
ready to confront the history of the killings. More recently, Erdogan
has accused Armenians of not looking for the truth but seeking to
score points against Turkey, saying numerous calls from Turkey for
joint research to document precisely what happened had gone
unanswered.

The Armenians have found a willing supporter in Francis, who as
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was particularly close to the Armenian
community in Argentina and referred to the “genocide” of Armenians
three times in his 2010 book, “On Heaven and Earth.”

As pope, Francis provoked Turkish anxiety — and a minor diplomatic
incident — when in June 2013 he told a delegation of Armenian
Christians that the killing was “the first genocide of the 20th
century.”

The Vatican spokesman subsequently said the remarks were in no way a
formal or public declaration and therefore didn’t constitute a public
assertion by the pope that genocide took place.

But St. John Paul II referred to the “genocide” both before and during
his 2001 trip to Armenia, even signing an official document with the
Armenian church leader Catholicos Karekin II noting that that the
episode “is generally referred to as the first genocide of the 20th
century.”

Today, Francis will declare the revered mystic St. Gregory of Narek a
doctor of the church. Only 35 people have been given the title, which
is reserved for those whose writings have greatly served the universal
church.

Gregory, who lived around 950 to 1005, is considered one of the most
important figures of medieval Armenian religious thought and
literature. His “Book of Prayers,” also called the “Book of
Lamentations,” is his best-known work, a mystical poem in 95 sections
about “speaking with God from the depths of the heart.”

Ha’aretz, Israel
April 12 2015

100 years since Armenian slaughter, Pope remembers ‘first genocide of
20th century’

Pope Francis has previous spoken out about the massacre, and has
Turkey to recognize it as ‘the gravest crime’ of the Ottoman Empire;
Turkey cancels Holy See press conference scheduled for Sunday.

Pope Francis on Sunday remembered the 100th anniversary of the
slaughter of Armenians by calling it “the first genocide of the 20th
century,” a politically explosive pronouncement that will certainly
anger Turkey.

Turkey’s embassy to the Holy See had canceled a planned press
conference for Sunday, presumably after learning that the pope would
utter the word “genocide” over its objections.

Francis, who has close ties to the Armenian community from his days in
Argentina, defended his pronouncement by saying it was his duty to
honor the memory of the innocent men, women, children, priests and
bishops who were “senselessly” murdered.

“Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding
without bandaging it,” he said at the start of a Mass Sunday in the
Armenian Catholic rite in St. Peter’s Basilica honoring the centenary.

This was not the first time that the Pope has spoken out over the
Armenia genocide. In 2013, at a meeting with Catholicos Patriarch of
Cilicia of the Armenian Catholics at the Vatican, he declared: “The
first genocide of the 20th century was that of the Armenians.”

In 2006, before he became pontiff, he urged Turkey to recognize the
genocide as the “gravest crime of Ottoman Turkey against the Armenian
people and the entire humanity.”

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed
by genocide scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.

Turkey however denies that the death constituted genocide, saying that
the toll has been inflated, and that those killed were victims of
civil war and unrest.

Several European countries recognize the massacres as genocide, though
Italy and the United States have avoided using the term officially
given the importance they place on Turkey as an ally.

The American Register
April 12 2015

Pope Francis’ Armenia “Genocide” Declaration Angers Turkey, Recalls
its Vatican Ambassador

By Jessica Smith

Turkey recalled its ambassador to the Vatican on Sunday after Pope
Francis declared the massacre of Armenians under Ottoman rule 100
years ago as genocide.

The Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement that the pope’s
comments were “null and void” to the Turkish people, and withdrew its
envoy in the Vatican back to Ankara.

It added that the Turkish people would not recognize the pope’s
statement “which is controversial in every aspect, which is based on
prejudice, which distorts history and reduces the pains suffered in
Anatolia under the conditions of the First World War to members of
just one religion.”

Earlier on Sunday, Francis described the massacre of up to 1.5 million
Armenians the “first genocide of the 20th century,” marking the
centenary of the mass killing.

Armenians have long campaigned for recognition that the killings,
which happened between 1915 and 1917 under the rule of the Ottoman
Empire, constituted genocide.

Turkey accepts that many Christian Armenians died in clashes with
Ottoman soldiers when Armenia was part of the empire ruled from
Istanbul. But the country denies hundreds of thousands were killed and
that this amounted to genocide.

The killings are recognized as genocide by a number of countries
around the world, but Turkey’s allies Italy and the United States have
avoided using the contentious term.

The United Nations defines genocide as acts intended to destroy a
national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part.

Prior the recall of its ambassador, Turkey’s embassy to the Vatican
canceled a planned news conference for Sunday. Instead, the Foreign
Ministry in Ankara issued a terse statement conveying its “great
disappointment and sadness” over the pope’s statement.

It said the pope’s words signaled a loss in trust, contradicted the
pope’s message of peace and was discriminatory because Francis only
mentioned the pain of Christians, not Muslims or other religious
groups.