Author: Ekmekjian Janet

SIGNING PROTOCOLS WITH ARMENIA A HISTORICAL MISTAKE, BOLUKBASI

Today’s Zaman
April 26 2010
Turkey

A deputy of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) from Ankara,
Deniz Bolukbasi, said Monday signing protocols with Armenia was an
historical mistake.

Speaking on Turkish-Armenian relations after a speech delivered by
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at a parliamentary session
on Monday, Bolukbasi said that it was an historical mistake on the
part of the Turkish government to sign a protocol with Armenia that
does not recognize its borders with Turkey and one that is an occupier
of territory.

The Justice and Development (AK) Party government could not display the
courage to withdraw the protocols. The AK Party government continued
with its weak stance by expressing that they would be loyal to the
‘signature’ on the protocols, BölukbaÅ~_ı said.

Turkey’s foreign policy has insulted Azerbaijan and this policy could
not be very effective, BölukbaÅ~_ı also said.

Also speaking on Turkish-Armenian relations at the parliament on
Monday, a deputy of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), Onur Oymen,
said that the U.S. President Barack Obama referred to the incidents
of 1915 by using an Armenian word meaning ‘genocide’ on April 24.

How can we accept such an insult to our grandparents? Oymen asked
during his speech.

It is only international courts that can decide on whether there
has been a genocide or not. We do not think Obama’s comments on the
incidents of 1915 were right, Oymen said.

The protocols with Armenia should not be ratified unless Armenia
withdraws from Azerbaijani territory, and Armenia gives up its
assertions on the incidents of 1915. The protocols should not be
ratified unless Armenia gives up its claims on Turkish territory in
eastern Anatolia, Oymen also said.

ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF IRELAND PROTESTS AGAINST TURKEY’S REJECTING POLICY

Panorama.am
12:40 26/04/2010

Society

On April 24, the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, protest
action was held at Turkey’s Embassy in Dublin.

During the several-hour-long action, many Irish people got informed
about the Armenian bitter history pages, the atrocities carried out
by the Ottoman Empire and Turkey. The small Armenian community of
Ireland for the first time got together to protest against Turkish
rejecting policy.

The action was followed by a community meeting, during which a decision
was made on holding similar actions regularly.

Press Trust of India
April 24 2010

Armenia seeks more Bollywood films

Kolkata, Apr 24 (PTI) Bollywood films are "very popular" in Armenia
and its government has plans for more cultural exchange programmes
with India so that people there could see more of such movies,
Armenian Ambassador to India said today.

"Armenians love to see Bollywood films which are full of songs and
dance. These films are very bright, well-designed and one comes out in
a good mood after watching a Bollywood film," Ara Hakobyan told PTI
here.

People in Armenia watch the films subtitled in English and Russian,
said Hakobyan who is here to attend a programme to commemorate the
95th anniversary of Armenian Genocide.

"Not only Bollywood films, Indian culture as a whole is very popular
in Armenia. We feel the need for more cultural exchange programmes to
boost the friendly relations between the countries," he said.

The Armenian government also have plans to bring more Armenian films to India.

Interfax, Russia
April 23 2010

Armenia, Turkey still have chance to normalize relations – Russian ministry

MOSCOW April 23

The authorities in Moscow hope that Armenia and Turkey will be able to
resolve the ongoing crisis in their relations, Russian Foreign
Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said.

"The process launched a year ago to normalize relations between
Armenia and Turkey still has a future. We express hope that the two
countries will be able to sort out the current complex situation and
to create conditions for a full-fledged normalization effort, in which
all states of the region are interested," Nesterenko said.

« Sasna Erguir », un concert exceptionnel à Valence
avec Ruben Sasunci, Agasi Ispiryan et Gohar Hovhannessyan accompagnés
de la troupe Goris-Sassoun

CHANTS, DANSES, CULTURE ET TRADITION

dimanche25 avril 2010, par Krikor Amirzayan/armenews

L’association France Ashtarak Arménie organise samedi 29 mai à
Valence, un concert exceptionnel « Sasna Ergir » (Pays de Sassoun en
arménien) avec le Ruben Sasunci, Agasi Ispirian et Gohar Jovhannessyan
et la participation de la troupe de danse folkloriques arméniennes
Goris-Sassoun. Lors de cette manifestation exceptionnelle, chants et
danses rythmeront une soirée dédiée à la culture arménienne avec la
présence des très célèbres artistes d’Arménie.

Concert exceptionnel « Sasna Ergir » (danses traditionnelles, chants),
samedi 29 mai à 20h30 salle « Le Bel Image » (place Charles
Huguenel-Valence) avec Ruben Sasunci, Agasi Ispiryan, Gohar
Hovhannessyan et la troupe Goris-Sassoun. Tarifs : enfants (-13 ans)
15 , adulte 25 . Réservations au 06 67 26 56 42 ou 06 41 61 51 51.
Infos complémentaires : Les Amis du Centre du Patrimoine Arménien et
association Arménia (06 19 58 00 42).

RECOGNISING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IS THE FINAL FRONTIER
Natasha Robinson

The Australian
sing-the-armenian-genocide-is-the-final-frontier/s tory-e6frgd26-1225857638394
April 24 2010

JUST one day before the Gallipoli landing, Turkey’s empire opened a
front in another war.

It was April 24, 1915, and in the Ottoman capital of Constantinople,
250 Armenian intellectuals were rounded up and arrested.

Within 10 days, reports were reaching the US that as many as half a
million Armenians had been slaughtered in a calculated campaign of
ethnic cleansing by the Turkish government.

As hundreds of Australians who have travelled to Turkey prepare
to mark Anzac Day in ceremonies at Gallipoli on Sunday, there is
growing pressure at home for the federal government to recognise the
Armenian genocide, in which it is claimed up to 1.5 million Armenians
were killed.

Labor politician Maxine McKew, whose seat of Bennelong has a large
Armenian population, recognised the genocide in a speech in parliament
last month.

Opposition Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey, whose grandfather was
Armenian, told The Weekend Australian the Rudd government should
recognise the Armenian genocide immediately, as had 20 countries
including Britain, France and Switzerland.

"The relationship between modern Turkey and Australia will always
continue to be influenced by the unresolved matter of the Armenian
genocide," he said.

But Mr Hockey said there was no doubt Turkey "would seek retribution
against Australia should we join with other principled nations in
recognising the genocide".

The Turkish government strongly disputes that the events of 1915-23
amounted to a genocide.

The second secretary at Australia’s Turkish embassy in Canberra,
Umut Ozturk, labelled the claims "a systematic campaign of defamation
carried out by Armenian lobbying groups living in various countries
all over the world".

"Any recognition or any resolution accusing the Turkish nation of a
crime that it has not committed is unacceptable," Mr Ozturk said. "The
allegations are totally groundless and baseless.

"In the international law, the Armenian allegations of genocide fail
to meet the minimum standards of proof required by the UN conventions."

But the documentary evidence of the persecution of Armenians during WWI
exists even in Australian archives — much of it from the observations
of Australian prisoners of war.

Australia’s living survivors of the Armenian persecutions are now
very few. It is thought there are only three Armenian migrants who
lived through the period 1915-23 still alive and living here.

One of those survivors is Thaddaes "Matthew" Panikian, who turns 100
on Monday and was a young child during WWI.

Mr Panikian spoke to The Weekend Australian yesterday from his home
in Marrickville, in Sydney’s inner west.

He has few direct memories of the massacres and deportations of
1915-23, but he does remember his teachers documenting the horrific
events occurring around them in his home town of Malkara, near the
Bulgarian border.

"Our friends, they were all telling their story, and the teachers were
taking notes," he said. "Those who survived, it was like a miracle.

"It is difficult to talk about. All the prominent people from our
city were exiled. The rich, and the prominent people. You know what
it means, exiled? It means executed. It’s strange that, still, they
are denying it was genocide."

ARMENIAN CONFERENCE CRITICIZES TURKEY IN RUN-UP TO APRIL 24

Huriyet
April 23 2010
Turkey

Turkey did not succeed at driving a wedge between the Armenian state
and its diaspora when the two countries signed diplomatic protocols
last October, according to an Armenian minister.

"When Turkey established diplomatic connections with Armenia, they
thought that the diaspora would be left outside alone," Diaspora
Minister Hranush Hakobian said this past week during the "International
Cultural Genocide Conference" at the city’s Genocide Museum.

"[Turkey] tried to come between the diaspora and Armenia, but in vain.

All Armenians in the world are one and together, they will never give
up on each other," he said during his speech.

Many foreign guests were expected to attend the conference, which
comes in the run-up to April 24, the day Armenians commemorate the
deaths of their ancestors during World War I, but were prevented
from doing so due to the presence of volcanic ash across Europe that
grounded many flights.

The minister also said the country would do all it takes to make
sure the entire world recognizes Armenian genocide claims. Armenia
claims up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed shortly after World
War I under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Yerevan insists the
events constituted genocide, but Turkey fiercely rejects the label,
saying civil strife caused many deaths on both sides.

Hakobian also accused Turkey of destroying over 2,000 Armenian cultural
artifacts in the aftermath of 1915.

At the conference, 15 experts presented papers on different topics,
almost all of which were on the Armenian cultural wealth destroyed
in Turkey. One of the key topics was Turkey’s Tourism and Culture
Minister Ertugrul Gunay’s declaration that the historical Surp Hac
Armenian church on Akdamar Island in Van would be allowed to hold
services once a year.

Participants, however, branded the effort as simply a "political
maneuver."

"They are employing political manipulation and trying to deceive the
world," said Hayk Demoian, head of the Genocide Museum. "It was only
last year when the graveyards at the Ani ruins in Kars were destroyed."

On the same day of the conference, an exhibition on the events of
1915 was opened by the Dashnak Party at Moscow Cinema Square, one
of the most frequented quarters of Yerevan. Meanwhile, an exhibition
on the media coverage of the 1915 events was also opened Thursday at
the museum.

MOSCOW STILL HOPES FOR ARMENIAN-TURKISH RECONCILIATION

news.am
April 23 2010
Armenia

Moscow hopes Armenia and Turkey will be able to cope with the present
critical situation and create conditions for full-scale normalization
of bilateral relations, which also a concern of all the states in
the region, stated Andrey Nesterenko, RF Foreign Ministry Spokesman.

"We state the fact that, at the current stage, Armenia has not yet
achieved a result that would enable it to restore its relations with
Turkey thereby improve the political environment in the Transcaucasus
and create preconditions for stability in the region," he said.

Nesterenko pointed out that in his televised address to the
Armenian nation on April 22, RA President Serzh Sargsyan summed
up the deplorable results of the long-lasting negotiations for
Armenian-Turkish rapprochement and stated a stalemate in the process.

The Armenian leader stressed that Armenia only suspended the
ratification process, without, however, withdrawing its signature put
to the documents. "Thus the policy of establishing Armenian-Turkish
relations launched a year ago still has prospects," Nesterenko said.

NEWS.am reminds readers that RA President Serzh Sargsyan made a
decision to suspend the ratification of the Armenian-Turkish protocols,
the reason being Turkish officials’ destructive position and delay
in ratifying the documents.

PRESIDENT SARGSYAN’S ADDRESS ON THE 95TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

armradio.am
24.04.2010 13:38

Dear compatriots,

Today is April 24h. Ninety-five years ago a grave and monstrous crime
was committed, which had had no precedent in the history of not only
the Armenian people, but also all humanity. The state machine of the
Ottoman Empire fulfilled its program of annihilation of Armenians
through its structures following specific orders. That day in 1915
divided the history of the Armenian people into two periods – before
and after.

1.5 million victims, people bereaved of their Homeland, destruction
of ancient culture – theis was the aftermath of a violent desire to
destroy the last traces of Armenians and turn this ideology into a
state policy.

The rest of the Armenian people that survived the Genocide were
expected to fail to get over the blow, assimilate on the five
continents, lose their national identity and ability to be a political
factor. But we, as a united nation, found the strength to return
to the international arena to say that we continue moving forward
resolute to prevent reoccurrence of similar crimes in the future.

We are grateful to all those in many countries of the world,
including Turkey, who realize the importance of preventing crimes
against humanity and support us in our struggle. The development of
this process has no alternative.

Dear compatriots, Today together with all Armenians I bow my head
respectfully before the memory of the innocent victims of the Armenian
Genocide. They entrusted us with living and creating for the sake of
kindness, beauty, Hoemland, our national hopes and all humanity. We
will never betray their memory and behest."

SARKOZY WELCOMES SERZH SARGSYAN’S DECISION

armradio.am
23.04.2010 12:10

French President’s press service released an address to hail
Armenian President’s decision to suspend the ratification process of
Armenian-Turkish protocols. The message reads:

"The President of the Republic of France was introduced to Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan’s statement to settle diplomatic ties and
open border with Turkey."

Sarkozy welcomed Armenian President’s decision, confirming the
readiness to normalize Armenia-Turkey relations in defiance of
difficulties, the parties encountered in the ratification of accords,
signed in Zurich on October 10, 2009.

Nicolas Sarkozy has at the same time encouraged "to keep dialogue
and to double the efforts to reach the commitment of the protocols,
which is to contribute to peace and security in the region."