Author: Emil Lazarian

Pan Armenian News
ARMENIAN SPEAKER MET GEORGIAN AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA
26.04.2005 06:10
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Armenian Parliamentary Speaker Artur Baghdasarian
met with Georgian Ambassador to Armenia , the Press Service of the National
Assembly of Armenia reported. IN the course of the meeting the interlocutors
discussed the details of Artur Baghdasarian’s coming visit to Tbilisi.
Besides, the parties discussed questions of bilateral relations,
highlighting the activities of the Armenian-Georgian Interparliamentary
Commission. The importance of development of the economic,
scientific-educational, cultural cooperation and implementation of joint
programs was also noted.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Catholic World News
April 26 2005
Orthodox patriarch at center of mounting Jerusalem dispute
Jerusalem, Apr. 26 (AsiaNews) – Greek Orthodox Patriarch Ireneos of
Jerusalem is the focus of an intense and potentially violent
controversy as the Eastern churches begin their observance of Holy
Week.
Patriarch Ireneos was confronted by angry Orthodox laymen as he left
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on April 24 following Palm Sunday
services. Shouting demonstrators referred to the Greek Orthodox
leader as “Judas Iscariot” because he has sold properties in the
walled Old City of Jerusalem to Jewish buyers, thus diminishing the
Christian presence there.
The patriarch’s property sales are currently being investigated by
the governments of Greece, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority. But
Israeli courts have consistently backed Ireneos’ contention that he
has the personal authority to dispose of property that has been owned
for generations by the Orthodox patriarchate. The mounting hostility
toward the Orthodox leader has also been fed by reports that one of
his key associates had been arrested in Italy, while another aide has
fled, apparently to avoid indictment on corruption charges.
Along with his questionable associations and real-estate
transactions, Patriarch Ireneos has developed a reputation for
hostility toward other Christian groups in Jerusalem. Last September,
at his prompting, Orthodox monks physically assaulted Franciscan
friars inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in an astonishing act
of violence that was captured on videotape. This year he has
announced that he will not allow Armenian priests to join in lighting
the “holy fire” in the basilica to begin Easter Vigil services.
The AsiaNews service reports that Israeli officials are showing a
growing inclination to control the behavior of the Greek prelate, and
to enforce the rules that govern the shared use of the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre by the different Christian bodies in Jerusalem.
Nevertheless, his penchant for conflict has raised concerns about the
prospects for a peaceful Holy Week among the members of the Eastern
churches.

REGULAR MONITORING OF OSCE ON CONTACT LINE OF ARMENIAN AND AZERBAIJANI
ARMED FORCES FIXED ON APRIL 26
YEREVAN, APRIL 25. ARMINFO. A regular monitoring of OSCE on the
contact line of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Armed Forces will take
place on April 26. Tavush region (Armenia) and Gazakh region
(Azerbaijani) will be monitored, The press- service of the Armenian
Defense Ministry informs ARMINFO, Personal Representative of OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk will participate in the monitoring
on the Armenian party.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

KataWeb, Italia
lunedì 25 aprile 2005
ARMENIA: A EREVAN E IN EUROPA RICORDATI 90 ANNI GENOCIDIO

Ricordati in Armenia e in tutta Europa i massacri e le deportazioni
degli armeni avviati dall’Impero Ottomano il 24 aprile 1915. Fu
l’inizio di un’immane tragedia, che secondo gli armeni costo’ la vita
a un milione e mezzo di persone in un vero e proprio genocidio. La
Turchia, erede di quell’Impero, nega pero’ che vi fosse la volonta’
di sterminare un popolo e ha tentato giustificare le deportazioni
come “una decisione di guerra” assunta per proteggere la minoranza
dalle rappresaglie anti-secessionistiche. A Erevan, capitale
dell’Armenia, centinaia di migliaia di persone con in mano tulipani,
crisantemi e giunchiglie si sono radunate davanti al grande obelisco
che ricorda il sacrificio di una popolazione che divenne il nemico
interno dell’impero e fu dispersa nei deserti della Mesopotamia e nel
nord della Siria. La folla guardava in lontananza alle pendici
innevate del monte Ararat, nella Turchia orientale, dove ebbe luogo
la tragedia. C’erano anche migliaia di discendenti delle vittime che
fanno parte della diaspora armena, arrivati da Europa e Stati Uniti.
La Francia – dove vivono 400mila armeni e il presidente Jacques
Chirac si e’ impegnato a sollecitare da Ankara il riconoscimento del
genocidio – ha ricordato la tragedia con una messa nella cattedrale
parigina di Notre Dame. (AGI)

Speech of H.E. Ambassador Armen Martirosyan,
Permanent Representative of Armenia to the United Nations
at the 90th Anniversary Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide
at St. Patrick’s Cathedral
April, 24, 2005, New York
Your Eminencies, Your Graces, Reverend Clergy,
Distinguished Ambassadors,
Dear compatriots, Dear survivors,
Honorable Congressman,
Ladies and gentlemen,
On behalf of the people and the government of Armenia, let me thank you for
being today with us on this memorable occasion.
There are three sacrosanctities for every Armenian. It is the Christian
faith, adopted 17 centuries ago as a state religion, being first in the
world then. It is the Armenian alphabet created 1600 years ago, and having
played a tremendous role in spreading the Christian belief and values, and
in preservation of the Armenian national identity. Alongside with those two
revered things there is a vigil on the Armenian Genocide. It brings us
together every year on this day to pay a tribute to the memory of 1.5
million martyrs.
The Armenian Genocide set the prototype of deliberate mass killings and
ethnocide in the twentieth century. The developments of the past 90 years
demonstrated that the characteristics of genocide, that is its planning and
implementation, its sweeping devastation, its trans-generational trauma, the
role of bystanders and their inaction have echoed down through every other
instance of state-sponsored genocidal act.
During the Armenian genocide the military and political establishment of the
world main actors allowed murder to take place confining to diplomatic
correspondence on the ongoing slaughter of an entire nation by the Ottoman
Turks and on the possible geopolitical consequences of intervention to stop
it. Thus the policy of annihilation became part of the political culture, an
“acceptable” way for solving problems.
The Holocaust also did not conclude the “age of genocide.” The adoption of
the Genocide Convention in 1948 and worldwide adherence to it did neither.
The world witnessed Balkans, Rwanda and Cambodia. Today it is Darfur.
There was one lesson the international community did not learn from the
Armenian Genocide: impunity, indifference and inaction pave the way for
repetition of the most horrible crime against humanity. As Archbishop
Desmond Tutu wrote: “…It is possible that if the world had been conscious
of the genocide that was committed by the Ottoman Turks against Armenians,
the first genocide of the twentieth century, then perhaps humanity might
have been more alert to the warning signs that were being given before
Hitler’s madness was unleashed on an unbelieving world.”
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Armenian Genocide is an undeniable fact. The evidence is compelling. The
antihuman act of Ottoman Empire is acknowledged by a large number of
countries that putting aside the sensitivity of their bilateral relations
with the successor of Ottoman Turkey officially recognized and condemned the
crime of Genocide committed against my nation.
We are grateful to all these people and their governments for having the
political and moral courage to have their actions meet the words, those
words that all of us time and again eagerly and unanimously pronounce on
different commemorative occasions.
We deem the recognition of any genocide utmost important in our common
effort to uproot this crime against humanity and rule out any repetition. It
is our strong conviction that exposing such violations and stopping the
impunity, as well as restoring the dignity of victims through
acknowledgement of their suffering are vital for the prevention of this
ultimate violation of human rights. Any selectivity in recognition creates
new loopholes threatening with recurrences in different parts of the world.
Recognition of the deeds of a past government and the responsibility of the
current generation, even if not culpable, to remember and to condemn is an
indispensable component of reconciliation. Many of those advocating for
reconciliation most often put the idea of “looking to the future instead of
the past” in the core of their call. They tend to forget that reconciliation
starts from the acknowledgement of the crime committed: avowal is as vital
for the victim as it is essential for the perpetrator. Denial traumatizes
both sides hampering any possibility for de-linking the present and the
future from the past.
It is paradoxical, but it was the Turkish Government that after the end of
the WWI officially condemned the Armenian Genocide by a unanimous decision
of its Military Tribunal in 1919, at the inception of the present Republic.
This fact is being carefully silenced by the current Turkish leadership.
Instead, it refuses to accept this judgment of history and spares no effort
to impose its revisionism on the civilized world. The rejectionist policies
of the Turkish Government today have got even to the absurdity of changing
the Latin names of animals and plants that have the word “Armenian” in them
as hinting to the historic inhabitants of those lands.
A constant blindfolding of its own people cannot continue forever. The
current progress in the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide
has compelled the progressive cycles of Turkish society to raise questions
about the meticulously concealed past. The taboo over the use of the word
“genocide” is still prevailing, although it is no more a “non-existent”
issue. The decorative moves so far undertaken by the Turkish Government to
make a pretense of changes are currently being countered by the shaping
demand from its civil society to open up and face the truth.
Today Turkey is knocking at the doors of the European Union. Yet it forgets
that becoming a member of this noble family, one has to follow its rules and
respect traditions. Denial and revisionism is no means to get into. One does
not become a European by rewriting its history and expelling its own
scholars who dare to challenge the state policy.
Whereas European values among others profess acceptance of the past
wrongdoings, even the most tragic ones. There are numerous examples to
follow. Only 3 months ago there was another reaffirmation of the
condemnation of the past acts from the UN General Assembly podium. His
Holiness, blessed memory, Pope John Paul II has apologized for the mistakes
of his coreligionists from the Roman Catholic Church. Turkey also will come
to terms with its own history. The sooner they do it the more will our
region and the enlarging Europe benefit from it.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Armenian legacy counts decades of centuries. We have managed to come out
of all the ordeals and trials of the destiny hardened in their flames. We
are grateful to the Lord for our dramatic but rewarding journey through the
history.
We are given much, but the expectations are also high. We bear
responsibility to both the memory of our ancestors and to the future
generations. We believe that the Truth would prevail bringing peace to all
those who have perished. The best way to pay a tribute to their memory and
due respect to survivors is by strengthening the foundation for our future –
competitive and democratic Armenian state. I do think about such prospect
with all the hope that can come out of deep commitments and dedication
towards our Motherland.
Thank you.

Daily Targum , NJ
April 25 2005
Recognize the Armenian genocide
By Laurie Apelian
In the wake of the solemn remembrance of the 90th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide, Mehmet Basoglu has yet again attempted to
discredit and undermine the events of the genocide with myriad skewed
facts and sketchy statements regarding what occurred.
At first, I was tempted to respond to Mr. Basoglu’s article “Changing
History” (The Daily Targum, April 14) by refuting each historical
“fact” of his one by one. I decided not to for two reasons.
The first reason is that I strongly urge all of you who are reading
this letter to read the following: “Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story,”
the eyewitness accounts of the American ambassador, Henry Morgenthau,
who was stationed in Turkey during the latter parts of the massacres
and documented exactly what he observed; “The Slaughterhouse
Province: An American Diplomat’s Report on the Armenian Genocide
(1915 – 1917),” based on the American consul Leslie Davis’ report to
the State Department from Harput, Turkey; and Peter Balakian’s “The
Burning Tigris,” a thorough compilation of many historical sources
and documents regarding the massacres and an examination of America’s
response to the Armenians’ plight. These sources are no “British Blue
Book propaganda,” with which Mr. Basoglu accuses Armenian Americans
of being brainwashed. These sources contain the facts that no one but
the Turkish government is trying to conceal.
My second reason for not disputing his claims one by one is that the
accounts of my own grandfather and great-grandfather are enough
evidence to me that the genocides occurred, and that is what I’d like
to share a little bit of with you.
Mr. Basoglu makes the statement that “true progress will never be
made on this issue until the Armenian Diaspora examines the roots of
their own identity.” I am a child of the Armenian Diaspora, and I
know full well the roots of my Armenian identity. My roots reach back
to my great-grandfather, Bedros Bahadourian, who passed away a few
years ago. As a child, as a teenager, I would sit next to my
great-grandfather and listen to his first-hand accounts of how he was
orphaned during the massacres, of how he and his siblings had to
march through the desert, of how he watched the bodies of those he
loved perish under the sun and at the hands of the Turkish troops,
and of how he was left poor, homeless and starving to the point of
stealing food and licking the remains of food off of the ground.
Also, my grandfather, Kevork Parseghian, was born and raised in
Turkey, and he describes how he and his younger sister would be
physically harassed and spit upon by the Turks while simply passing
by Turkish villages on their way to school. These stories are not
slanted British propaganda. They are not lies or allegations made up
by extremists. They are the true experiences of my own family
members.
Amazingly enough, my great-grandfather never once exhibited hatred
toward the Turks, although he and his family suffered at their hands.
He never taught his children, his grandchildren or his
great-grandchildren to hate the Turks or to retaliate in violence. My
great-grandfather was not a revolutionary or a member of a political
party – he was a man of God, who after relating all the horrors of
his childhood to us, would say, “Oor eyeenk, oor yegank Park
Asdoodzo,” meaning, “Where were we before? And look how far we have
come! Praise be to God!”
Mr. Basoglu quotes Turkish sources – if they are not slanted sources,
I don’t know what is – as saying only 300,000 Armenians died during
the period of the massacres. The truth of the matter is that 300,000
Armenians lost their lives in just the first period of attacks, from
1894-1896 at the hands of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. That is a fact from
“The Armenian Massacres, 1894-1896 U.S. Media Testimony” by Arman J.
Kirakossian. The massacres continued and only escalated during World
War I until about 1916, this time led by leaders like Enver Pasha and
Talaat Pahsa, among many others. By the end of 1916, the death toll
had reached over one million, a fact documented in many places, but
namely Merrill D. Peterson’s “Starving Armenians.”
To me personally, the exact numbers of how many people died is not
what matters the most. What is more crucial is that a targeted,
premeditated genocide against one specific group of people was
carried out for the sole reason that they were Armenian, and nothing
else. The Young Turks went after the Armenians for the same basic
reasons that Adolf Hitler and the Nazis went after the Jews and the
Hutus in Rwanda went after the Tutsis – to exterminate an ethnic
group of people who they did not see fit to live. The Jewish
Holocaust and many other occurrences of ethnic cleansing have been
acknowledged and dealt with on a federal level. Why must the Armenian
people alone continue to suffer the disgrace and pain of having their
genocide called “slanted propaganda” and mere “allegations”?
I do not support the few and far between Armenian extremists who
express their views with violence and hatred. But every time someone
like Mr. Basoglu writes such infuriating, blasphemous, careless
inaccuracies about the genocide that my own family members suffered
through, my Armenian blood boils. It is my Christian values that keep
me from retaliating in hatred, but it is my human dignity that
demands recognition of the atrocities committed against my people.
Laurie Apelian is an Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy sophomore.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

A1plus
| 15:35:19 | 25-04-2005 | Social |
SONGS OF KOMITAS IN THE SAN PAULO UNDERGROUND
In San Paulo in the Armenian Apostolic and Armenian Catholic Churches grand
masses have been celebrated in memory of the victims of the Genocide, after
which hundreds of participants have marched to the monument to the Genocide
victims near the Churches.
Near the monument at the presence of the Brazil National Guards of Honor
after the blowing of horns first a spiritual and then a civic ceremony took
place. During the ceremony V. Amadeu, delegate of the San Paulo Parliament,
O. Mostijyan, head of the Brazil branch of the fund «Armenia» and lawyer N.
Bertizlyan made speech. Spiritual songs have also been performed by the
choirs of the Churches.
At noon the Underground station named `Armenia’ built in connection with
April 24 was re-opened. The station radio broadcast the masses of Komitas
and Makar Yekmalyan from early morning till late at night.
Starting from April 22 more than 30 5-metre posters about the Genocide hang
in all the main routes and crossroads of the city During April 24 the young
Armenians spread more than 2000 flies among the local residents.

Pan Armenian News
GEORGE BUSH ONCE AGAIN FAILED TO CHARACTERIZE GENOCIDE AS GENOCIDE
25.04.2005 02:33
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Ignoring calls from a record two hundred and ten U.S.
legislators, President Bush failed, once again, to honor his pledge to
properly characterize the Armenian Genocide as a “genocide” in his annual
April 24th remarks, the Armenian National Committee of America reported
(ANCA). The statement says, `On Armenian Remembrance Day, we remember the
forced exile and mass killings of as many as 1.5 million Armenians during
the last days of the Ottoman Empire. This terrible event is what many
Armenian people have come to call the “Great Calamity.” I join my fellow
Americans and Armenian people around the world in expressing my deepest
condolences for this horrible loss of life. Today, as we commemorate the
90th anniversary of this human tragedy and reflect on the suffering of the
Armenian people, we also look toward a promising future for an independent
Armenian state. The United States is grateful for Armenia’s contributions to
the war on terror and to efforts to build a democratic and peaceful Iraq. We
remain committed to supporting the historic reforms Armenia has pursued for
over a decade. We call on the Government of Armenia to advance democratic
freedoms that will further advance the aspirations of the Armenian people.
We remain committed to a lasting and peaceful settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We also seek a deeper partnership with Armenia
that includes security cooperation and is rooted in the shared values of
democratic and market economic freedoms. I applaud individuals in Armenia
and Turkey who have sought to examine the historical events of the early
20th century with honesty and sensitivity. The recent analysis by the
International Center for Transitional Justice did not provide the final
word, yet marked a significant step toward reconciliation and restoration of
the spirit of tolerance and cultural richness that has connected the people
of the Caucasus and Anatolia for centuries. We look to a future of freedom,
peace, and prosperity in Armenia and Turkey and hope that Prime Minister
Erdogan’s recent proposal for a joint Turkish-Armenian commission can help
advance these processes. Millions of Americans proudly trace their ancestry
to Armenia. Their faith, traditions, and patriotism enrich the cultural,
political, and economic life of the United States. I appreciate all
individuals who work to promote peace, tolerance, and reconciliation. On
this solemn day of remembrance, I send my best wishes and expressions of
solidarity to Armenian people around the world.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Ottawa Sun, Canada
April 25 2005
Armenians rally at embassy, demand Turks admit atrocity
By MEGAN GILLIS, Ottawa Sun

Hundreds of Armenian-Canadians rallied outside the Turkish Embassy
yesterday, demanding the Turks admit to slaughtering 1.5 million
Armenians 90 years ago. Vahe Balabanian, president of the Armenian
Cultural Association of Ottawa, has rallied at the Sandy Hill park
for decades.
“My first one was in 1971,” he said. “We never lost hope, we believe
in the honesty of people. Eventually, the truth will win.”
Armenians from Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa set up paper tombstones
for the dead and demanded recognition from Turkey and reparation —
the return of ancestral lands.
Organizers pegged their numbers at up to 1,000.
Countries around the world — including Canada — have recognized
what Armenians call the 20th century’s first genocide and Turkey
dismisses as propaganda.
“The Jewish Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, the genocide in Darfur
— the Armenian genocide was the blueprint for modern genocide,” said
rally organizer Edward Agopian. “By not acknowledging such an
atrocity occurred, it leaves the door open for more atrocities to
occur.”
The rally also coincided with the 20th anniversary of when members of
the Armenian Revolutionary Army stormed the Turkish Embassy in
Ottawa, killing a security guard.

Turkish Press
April 25 2005
TURKISH PEOPLE HOLD A DEMONSTRATION IN WASHINGTON D.C.
SABAH- Turkish people living in the United States held a
demonstration in front of the White House in Washington D.C. to
protest allegations of so-called Armenian genocide. During the
protest, Turkish people observed a minute of silence out of respect
to those who were killed by Armenian terrorist group ASALA.