Author: Badalian Vardan

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.

Syrian President finally recognizes the Armenian Genocide

April 6, 2015 By administrator Leave a Comment

17:20, 29 Jan 2014
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Pres. Bashar al-Assad

In a lengthy interview last week with Agence France Presse (AFP) on
the tragic situation in Syria, Pres. Bashar al-Assad made an
unexpected reference to the massacres of 1.5 million Armenians. This
is the first time that any Syrian head of state has acknowledged the
Armenian mass murders and identified the perpetrator as Ottoman
Turkey. Report armradio.am

During the interview, Pres. Assad compared the Armenian Genocide of
1915 to the brutal killings of civilians by foreign fighters nowadays
in Syria: “The degree of savagery and inhumanity that the terrorists
have reached reminds us of what happened in the Middle Ages in Europe
over 500 years ago. In more recent modern times, it reminds us of the
massacres perpetrated by the Ottomans against the Armenians when they
killed a million and a half Armenians and half a million Orthodox
Syriacs in Syria and in Turkish territory.”

Not surprisingly, two days later, Bashar Jaafari, Syria’s Ambassador
to the United Nations in Geneva, made a similar remark: “How about the
Armenian Genocide where 1.5 million people were killed?”

The only other high ranking Syrian official who has acknowledged the
Armenian Genocide was Abd al-Qader Qaddura, Speaker of the Syrian
Parliament, when he inscribed a poignant statement in the Book of
Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide Monument and Museum in Yerevan on
July 16, 2001: “As we visit the Memorial and Museum of the Genocide
that the Armenian nation suffered in 1915, we stand in full admiration
and respect in front of those heroes that faced death with courage and
heroism. Their children and grandchildren continued after them to
immortalize their courage and struggle…. With great respect we bow our
heads in memory of the martyrs of the Armenian nation — our friends —
and hail their ability for resoluteness and triumph. We will work
together to liberate every human being from aggression and
oppression.”

While the Parliament Speaker’s 2001 statement was a candid and
heartfelt message with no political overtones, the same cannot be said
about Pres. Assad’s words on the Armenian Genocide as he clearly
intended to lash back at the Turkish government’s hostile actions
against the Syrian regime. It is well known that Turkey has played a
major role in the concerted international effort to topple Pres.
Assad, by dispatching heavy weapons and arranging the infiltration of
foreign radical Islamist fighters into Syria.

Relations between Syria and Turkey were not always hostile. Before the
start of the Syrian crisis in 2011, the two countries were such close
political and economic allies that the Assad regime banned the sale of
books on the Armenian Genocide, and did not permit foreign film crews
to visit Der Zor, the killing fields of thousands of Armenians during
the Genocide. Mindful of possible Turkish backlash, Pres. Assad’s
staff cancelled my courtesy meeting with the President in 2009 after
they discovered on the internet my countless critical articles on
Turkey. Moreover, during the honeymoon period between the Syrian and
Turkish governments, Pres. Assad advised the visiting Catholicos Aram
I that Armenians should maintain good relations with Turkey and not
dwell on the past!

In his recent interview with AFP, Pres. Assad also complained about
the failure of Western leaders to comprehend developments in the
Middle East: “They are always very late in realizing things, sometimes
even after the situation has been overtaken by a new reality that is
completely different.” Frankly, one could make the same criticism
about Pres. Assad for realizing at his own detriment only too late the
dishonesty and duplicity of Turkey’s leadership.

Regrettably, the Syrian President is not the only head of state who
has failed to decipher the scheming mindset of Turkey’s rulers.
Countless Middle Eastern, European, and American leaders have made the
same mistake, trusting Turkey’s feigned friendship, only to be let
down when the time came for Turkey to keep its end of the bargain.

In recent months, with the increasing dissatisfaction of the
international community with Prime Minister Erdogan’s autocratic
policies and belligerent statements, it has become crystal clear that
no one knows the true face of Turkey better than Armenians, Assyrians,
Greeks and Kurds, who have suffered countless brutalities, massacres
and even genocide under despotic Turkish rule.

Despite Pres. Assad’s political motivations, Armenians should welcome
his belated statement on the Armenian Genocide. After refraining from
acknowledging the Genocide for all the wrong reasons for so long, at
least now the Syrian President is on record telling the truth about
past and present Turkish atrocities!

Starr 103.5 FM
April 12 2015

Pope Francis calls Armenian WW1 killings ‘genocide’

Apr 12, 2015 at 8:47am

Pope Francis has used the word “genocide” to describe mass killing of
Armenians under Ottoman rule in WW1 100 years ago, at a Vatican church
service.

Armenia and many historians say up to 1.5 million people were
systematically killed by Ottoman forces in 1915.

But the Pope’s statement is expected to anger Turkey, which has
consistently denied that the killings were genocide.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is attending the service, to honour
a 10th century Armenian mystic.

The dispute has continued to sour relations between Armenia and Turkey.
‘Bleeding wound’

The Pope first used the word genocide for the killings two years ago,
prompting a fierce protest from Turkey.

At Sunday’s Mass in the Armenian Catholic rite at Peter’s Basilica, he
said that humanity had lived through “three massive and unprecedented
tragedies” in the last century.

“The first, which is widely considered ‘the first genocide of the 20th
Century’, struck your own Armenian people,” he said.

The other two were the Nazi Holocaust and Stalinism, Associated Press
reported him as saying.

He said it was his duty to honour the memories of those who were killed.

“Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding
without bandaging it,” the Pope added.

On Sunday, Pope Francis was also to honour the 10th Century mystic St
Gregory of Narek by declaring him a doctor of the church. Only 35
people have been given the title, reports AP.

Armenia marks the date of 24 April 1915 as the start of the mass
killings. The country has long campaigned for greater recognition of
what it regards as a genocide.
‘Political conflict’

In 2014, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered condolences to the
grandchildren of all the Armenians who lost their lives for the first
time.

But he also said that it was inadmissible for Armenia to turn the
issue “into a matter of political conflict”.

Armenia says up to 1.5 million people died in 1915-16 as the Ottoman
empire split. Turkey has said the number of deaths was much smaller.

Most non-Turkish scholars of the events regard them as genocide. Among
the other states which formally recognise them as genocide are
Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Russia and Uruguay.

Turkey maintains that many of the dead were killed in clashes during
World War I, and that ethnic Turks also suffered in the conflict.

2 ARMENIAN OPPOSITION GROUP MEMBERS CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTING TO ORGANIZE UNREST

Greenfield Daily Reporter
April 10 2015

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

YEREVAN, Armenia — Two leaders of an Armenian opposition group have
been charged with attempts to organize mass disorder.

The charges on Thursday came two days after police detained four
members of the Founding Parliament opposition group. The Investigative
Committee said weapons were found in the search of homes and offices
that accompanied the detentions.

Group leader Jirair Sefilian and activist Varuzhan Aventisian would
face sentences of up to 10 years if convicted on the charges.

Investigators said the detentions were aimed at preventing disorder
allegedly planned for April 24, the day the country will mark the
centennial of the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks. Turkey
denies the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll is inflated
and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

NO ONE WANTS CONFLICT IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH TO ENTER HOT PHASE – LAVROV

ITAR-TASS, Russia
April 8, 2015 Wednesday 12:56 PM GMT+4

MOSCOW April 8.

No one wants the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh to enter the hot phase,
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday after talks
with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandyan

“We do not even allow ourselves to think that the conflict may
enter its hot phase,” Lavrov said. “I am convinced that, despite the
rhetoric, no one from the interested parties wants this,” he added.

“All actions are directed at finding a mutually acceptable solution
as soon as possible,” the foreign minister stressed.

Consultations on this issue are held regularly, Lavrov added.

“Representative of co-chairing countries [in the OSCE Minsk
Group] often visit the region, including the capitals of Armenia
and Azerbaijan, including the line of contact. The presidents of
co-chairing countries pay personal attention to searching for ways
of settlement [of the conflict],” he noted. “Our president took
special measures last year, after which consultations continued on
possible practical steps. They would allow the implementation of
process of ending the conflict that benefits no one, which would
make Transcaucasia the region of cooperation without any blockades,
sanctions, restrictions,” Lavrov said. “Everyone will benefit from
this, including our Armenian friends,” he noted.

There is no alternative to negotiations in settling the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan
said on Wednesday. “Up to this day, Azerbaijan has been refusing the
proposals of co-chairs of the Minsk group both on settling the conflict
in Nagorno-Karabakh and on strengthening trust-building measures,”
Nalbandyan noted. “However, there is no alternative to talks,” the
foreign minister stressed.

The mountainous area of Nagorno-Karabakh remains a so-called “frozen
conflict” on the post-Soviet space as it is the subject of a dispute
between Azerbaijan where the region is located and its ethnic Armenian
population.

In 1988 a war broke out there between Azerbaijani troops and Armenian
residents, which resulted in the region’s de facto independence. In
1994 a ceasefire was reached but the relations between the two states
are still strained.

Russia, France and the US co-chair the Minsk Group of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which attempts to broker an
end to hostilities and the conflict. –0 –sap

SARGSYAN: ABSENCE OF EEU BORDERS NOT A BIG OBSTACLE TO YEREVAN

Central Asia General Newswire
April 9, 2015 Thursday 7:25 PM MSK

MOSCOW. April 9

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan believes the absence of borders
between the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) countries will not hider
business activities in this integration association.

“Our businessmen have to fill out transit declarations to carry goods
through the neighboring countries. But I think it’s not something
that can considerably affect the cost of goods or business profits,”
he said in an interview with MIR television.

At the same time, Sargsyan said that “the EEU is not just trade.”

“This association is base don four principles: freedom of movement of
goods, services, capital and workforce. And technical capabilities
in the 21st century make it possible to use these freedoms without
much effort,” he said.

Sargsyan also spoke for more intensive cooperation in the CIS.

“I think humanitarian cooperation cannot be replaced with anything
now. We have lived together in one country for a long time. We had
very strong ties and now that we are independent these ties need to
be strengthened, or at least we should ensure that these ties do not
stop,” Sargsyan said.

“For this reason, I think this organization is very useful and it
needs to be strengthened,” Sargsyan said.

Glendale News Press, CA
April 11 2015

Editorial: Sacrifice in the name of awareness

As the spring municipal election season comes to a close — with
Glendale’s voting having taken place last Tuesday and Burbank’s
ballots due by April 14 — the next important date on local calendars
is April 24, the 100th anniversary of the start of the Armenian
Genocide. Numerous events to mark this centennial year of the
atrocities committed by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 have already taken
place or are in the works throughout the greater Los Angeles area,
from photo exhibits to blood drives; from church services to vigils.
Marches and rallies are planned, and on Sunday, April 26 Glendale’s
Alex Theatre will be the venue for the Armenian Genocide Commemorative
Event.

All of the above are group activities designed so we may jointly
remember the 1.5 million victims of the genocide, as well as those who
survived but were displaced. The various event organizers have gone to
great pains to give this solemn anniversary its due consideration. But
one man, Agasi Vartanyan, is doing an extraordinary solo feat to
commemorate the Armenians who died those many years ago — he’s
conducting a 55-day fast. Vartanyan, who is 55, conducted a similar,
50-day fast 10 years ago. Nothing in the intervening decade has
managed to convince, once and for all, the highest office in our
country to push for the Republic of Turkey’s full acknowledgment of
the crime.

And so, Vartanyan is marking his days in a glass enclosure on Glenoaks
Boulevard in Burbank, outside St. Leon Cathedral, with nothing but
water and his faith to sustain him until his fast concludes. He hopes
his solitary sacrifice will help raise awareness about the genocide
among those who pass by his perch, which was built with help from the
nonprofit Crimes Against Humanity Never Again.

It’s a powerful personal statement and an example to all of us who
would do well to imagine how much we might be willing to sacrifice so
that atrocities such as the Armenian Genocide are recognized and that
perpetrators of such actions are held accountable.

,0,652932.story

TURKISH MEDIA CONCERNED OVER KIM KARDASHIAN’S VISIT TO ARMENIA

20:17, 10.04.2015
Region:Armenia, Turkey
Theme: Politics, Society

The Turkish media is concerned over Kim Kardashian’s visit to Armenia,
her ancestral homeland.

Haberturk newspaper published an article entitled “Great interest in
Kardashian’s visit ahead of the Armenian Genocdie Centennial.”

According to the newspaper, Kim said the details of the visit will
be shown in the Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

Cumhuriyet newspaper touched upon Kardashians’ visit publishing
an article about their meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Hovik
Abrahamyan during which the sisters pledged to continue fighting for
recognition of the Genocide.

Rotahaber website said Kim will shoot a documentary about the Armenian
Genocide.

Another Turkish website Superhabertv says Kardashian will visit
Memorial to the Armenian Genocide victims which “can be propaganda
of genocide recognition on American TV channels”.

Armenia News – NEWS.am

Diario Buenos Aires, Argentina
11 abril 2015

El Papa on Nuestros Armenios

Histórico encuentro de la comunidad armenia de Argentina con el Papa Francisco

El Sumo Pontífice recibió este mediodía en una audiencia especial a un
grupo de representantes de la comunidad armenia de Argentina que se
encuentra en Roma para asistir a la misa que su Santidad oficiará este
domingo 12 de abril en homenaje a las víctimas del Genocidio Armenio,
en el centenario de ese crimen de lesa humanidad.

La delegación, integrada por el Arzobispo Kissag Mouradian, Primado de
la Iglesia Apostólica Armenia de la Argentina y Chile, el Arzobispo de
Buenos Aires y Primado de la Argentina, Cardenal Mario Aurelio Poli;
el Arzobispo de Córdoba, Monseñor Carlos Ñáñez, el Exarca Apostólico
Armenio de América Latina y Obispo de la Eparquía San Gregorio de
Narek de los Armenios Católicos de la Argentina, Monseñor Vartán
Boghossian; el ex Ministro de Justicia León Carlos Arslanian; el
Subsecretario de Derechos Humanos y Pluralismo Cultural del Gobierno
de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Claudio Avruj, el presidente del Centro
Armenio de la República Argentina, Alberto Djeredjian y dirigentes de
la comunidad armenia de Argentina; le hizo entrega de un “jachkar”
(cruz de piedra) a Su Santidad.

El encuentro se desarrolló como preludio de la mencionada misa
pontifical que se celebrará este domingo en la Basílica de San Pedro,
en el Vaticano, constituyendo ese uno de los actos de mayor
trascendencia mundial dentro del marco del centenario del Genocidio
Armenio.

Para entrevistas

Comunicarse con Carlos Manoukian, Responsable de Asuntos Culturales y
Prensa del Centro Armenio de la República Argentina, al 15 57131950

Prensa

Alex Hadjian: 1550184536 – Leo Moumdjian: 1533766903

PRENSA CENTRO ARMENIO – [email protected] – Tel: (00 54
11) 4772-3558 interno 110 – Armenia 1353 (C1414DKC), Ciudad Autónoma
de Buenos Aires

Les Inrocks
10 avril 2015

Génocide des Arméniens: le mensonge d’un siècle

L’édito de Frédéric Bonnaud

24 avril 1915 : grande rafle des intellectuels et des notables
arméniens de Constantinople?; le génocide peut commencer. Cent ans
plus tard, le président de la République de Turquie, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, continue d’exiger des preuves. Barack Obama, lui, a déjÃ
déclaré que le génocide arménien était une incontestable vérité
historique. Mais les Etats-Unis d’Amérique ne sont pas prêts à une
reconnaissance officielle, aujourd’hui moins que jamais. La Turquie
demeure un allié trop important, puissant et ombrageux, depuis trop
longtemps, un verrou stratégique qu’il convient de ménager. Cent ans
après le début des massacres, seule une vingtaine de pays ont reconnu
officiellement le génocide et la Turquie s’arcboute sur son
négationnisme d’Etat, fondateur de son existence même, sa colonne
vertébrale idéologique, comme si elle craignait de s’effondrer en
cessant de nier une si vieille évidence, pourtant irréfutable et
documentée.

Dans l’entretien qu’il nous a accordé (lire pp. 52-55), le
géopoliticien Gérard Chaliand considère que la position turque
officielle n’évoluera plus guère, malgré la demande pressante des
forces vives de la société. Il rappelle le temps infini qu’il a fallu,
après les premiers témoignages occidentaux sur le sort atroce réservé
aux Arméniens de Turquie et les procès ottomans de 1919 condamnant par
contumace les organisateurs du génocide ` qui avaient pris la fuite `,
pour que cette tragédie cesse d’être celle des seuls Arméniens,
abandonnés à leur douleur, uniques dépositaires d’une mémoire qui
aurait dû être partagée et entretenue par l’humanité tout entière.
Mais la Turquie moderne naissait en 1923, après les ultimes tueries,
nettoyée de ses Arméniens d’Anatolie ` mais où s’étaient-ils
volatilisés, tous ces Arméniens?? `, et Mustafa Kemal avait plus
besoin d’union sacrée que de vérité historique. Le mensonge
s’installa, puis le silence, un silence interminable et difficilement
imaginable aujourd’hui, un silence de cinquante ans, brisé peu à peu,
y compris par l’emploi de ce que Chaliand appelle `le terrorisme
publicitaire’ de certaines organisations arméniennes.

`la dimension proprement totalitaire du phénomène’

En 1984, devant le Tribunal permanent des peuples, un tribunal
historique et symbolique réuni par Chaliand à la Sorbonne, Pierre
Vidal-Naquet déclarait : `Ce qui est important, voire capital, est que
le meurtre intentionnel des Juifs (et des Tsiganes) a, par contrecoup,
éclairé, défini, dans sa signification même, le massacre des Arméniens
comme massacre d’Etat, inaugurant la série déjà large du moderne
massacre d’Etat. C’est la dimension proprement totalitaire du
phénomène qui est commune aux deux génocides des Arméniens et des
Juifs.’ Et le grand historien français, auteur des Assassins de la
mémoire et réfutateur infatigable des négationnistes ` et du plus
célèbre d’entre eux, Robert Faurisson `, ajoutait : `Mais l’Allemagne,
elle, a reconnu son crime. Imaginons ce que peuvent ressentir les
minorités arméniennes. Imaginons Faurisson ministre, Faurisson
président de la République, Faurisson général, Faurisson ambassadeur,
Faurisson président de la Commission historique turque, membre du
Sénat, de l’université d’Istanbul, membre influent des Nations unies,
Faurisson répondant dans la presse chaque fois qu’il est question du
génocide des Juifs. Bref un Faurisson d’Etat doublé d’un Faurisson
international.’

Il s’agit de sortir de ce cauchemar. Il s’agit de lire Chaliand, Yves
Ternon ou Vincent Duclert (La France face au génocide des arméniens,
Fayard). Comme nous lisons Jean Hatzfeld sur le Rwanda ou Rithy Panh
sur le Cambodge. Pour que le génocide arménien fasse désormais
pleinement partie de notre histoire commune.