Author: Kajoyan Gevork

JUSTICE MINISTRY PROBES POSSIBILITY OF COMPENSATION FOR GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 24, 2012 – 14:32 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Minister of Justice commented on the statements of
local and foreign experts suggesting Armenia must demand Turkey for
compensation for Genocide perpetrated in Ottoman Empire in 1915.

“At present, I can’t provide any specific information; however, 2
deputy ministers, as international law experts, initiated a research
into measures to be undertaken in that regard,” Hrayr Tovmasyan told
a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter during a visit to Tsitsernakaberd memorial
to Genocide victims.

However, the minister wasn’t confident the results achieved will
be satisfactory.

ARMENIAN DEPUTY FM: AS LONG AS TURKEY PERSISTS IN DENYING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, IT HAS NO FUTURE IN EUROPE

arminfo
Tuesday, April 24, 15:09

As long as Turkey persists in denying the Armenian Genocide, it has no
future in Europe, Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan
said while visiting the Armenian Genocide Memorial on Tuesday.

He said that the last developments over the French bill criminalizing
the denial of the Armenian Genocide have proved that humankind has
entered a new stage of development and will no longer endure such
inhuman crimes.

“Turkey’s policy to deny the Armenian Genocide proves that it is yet
very far from the European values and is still adherent to the values
applied in the Ottoman Empire,” Kocharyan said.

FRENCH AMBASSADOR: THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IS ALSO A FRENCH GENOCIDE

arminfo
Tuesday, April 24, 13:47

Ambassador of France to Armenia Henri Reynaud visited the
Tsitsernakaberd Memorial on Tuesday to commemorate the victims of
the Armenian Genocide.

He said that Armenia and France enjoy close relations and it was
exactly the reason why France recognized the Armenian Genocide in
2001. “We have a 500,000-strong Armenian community formed as a result
of the Armenian Genocide in 1915-1923. And that’s exactly why the
Armenian Genocide is also a French Genocide,” Reynaud said.

The Armenian Genocide is commemorated each year Apr 24. On that day in
1915 the Young Turk regime arrested and killed over 300 outstanding
Armenian intellectuals thereby giving start to a massacre of over
1,500,000 Armenians living in the territory of the Ottoman Empire.

The Armenian Genocide has been recognized by over 20 countries and
international organizations, including France, Russia, Poland, Italy,
Canada, Sweden, Greece, Switzerland, Vatican, the Council of Europe,
the European Parliament, as well as by 43 of 50 American states.

COMMEMORATING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE:PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

ARMENPRESS
24 April, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, APRIL 24 ARMENPRESS. During World War I, the world witnessed
the first genocide of the twentieth century. From 1915 to 1918, 1.5
million Armenians (approximately 50 percent of the Armenian population
at that time), along with other minorities living in the Ottoman
Empire, were systematically killed by the Ottoman Turks. The Armenian
Genocide is commemorated on April 24; it was on this day in 1915 that
the Young Turks, the ruling party of the Ottoman Empire, ordered the
killing of Armenian intellectuals, leaders, artists, and businessmen
living in the Ottoman Empire. Following this day, many Armenian men
were massacred and plans for the genocide were implemented.

In the three years since, Armenian men, women, and children were
deported to Deir ez-Zor desert in Syria and made to march in extreme
conditions. Many died en route and many more were killed by Turkish
military men enforcing the march. Even after journalists and diplomats,
such as Henry Morgenthau, called for help for the Armenians, countries
like Great Britain and the United States failed to respond effectively.

Within the MIT community, students of Armenian descent, both at the
undergraduate and graduate level, remember the tragic losses of their
ancestors. The ancestors of one of our fellow students were among the
Armenians that experienced the Genocide first-hand. After witnessing
the murder of their family and friends, they escaped to Syria.

Throughout the years, his ancestors have passed down the story of this
terrible crime committed against the Armenian people. “Armenpress”
reports, citing The Tech.

To this day, the Turkish Government has made no apology or historical
admittance of the Armenian Genocide. Many Turkish historians claim
that there was no Genocide, but rather that the killings were simply
the outcome of battles between Armenians and Turks during WWI.

However, a trend has developed towards more open dialogue about the
Armenian Genocide by Turkish society, albeit a slow one. For example,
Professor Taner Akcam of Clark University is the first scholar of
Turkish descent who has publicly recognized the Armenian Genocide and
has written several books on the topic including The Young Turks’
Crime Against Humanity: The Armenian Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing
in the Ottoman Empire, and A Shameful Act: Armenian Genocide and the
Question of Turkish Responsibility.

Today, the American government does not recognize the Armenian
Genocide. President after president has made extensive promises to
officially have the US government recognize the Armenian Genocide.

However, no president has remained true to his word. Among these
presidents are President Clinton, President Bush, and President Obama.

However the list of countries that have recognized the Genocide
are growing, and include France, Canada, Argentina, Germany, Italy,
Uruguay, and many others.

STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER TO THE ARMENIAN-CANADIAN COMMUNITY

ARMENPRESS
24 April, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, QPRIL 24, ARMENPRESS: Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper
declared a speech on 97th Commemoration of 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. Both houses of Parliament have adopted
resolutions referring to these events as “the first genocide of the
twentieth century.” 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. We support efforts by Armenia and Turkey 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 those on both
sides who seek to achieve a common understanding with honesty and in
a spirit of goodwill.I join with you today in remembering the past
and in sharing hope for a future based on peace and mutual respect.’

SHARMAZANOV: ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS TO BE NORMALIZED WITHOUT PRECONDITIONS

Panorama.am
24/04/2012

“Our disposition suggests normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations
without preconditions,” Parliament Deputy Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov
said after he bowed tribute to the victims of Armenian Genocide.

“Alas, once 300 thousand square meters, today Armenia is only 30
thousand square meters with 12 thousand sm of Artsakh. I am an optimist
and I’m thinking if God wished us to live and rule in those lands,
we will one day regain them back. We should rely on each other,”
said Mr. Sharmazanov.

Panorama.am recalls that Turkey has traditionally rejected the mass
killings of 1,5 million Armenians carried out early in the 20th
century and took the criticism of the West painfully.

Note that the following states have recognized and condemned the
Armenian Genocide carried out in the Ottoman Turkey: Uruguay (1965),
Cyprus (1982), Argentina (1993), Russian Federation (1995), Canada
(1996), Greece (1996), Lebanon (1997), Belgium (1998), Italy (2000),
Vatican (2000), France (2001), Switzerland (2003), Slovakia (2004),
the Netherlands (2004), Poland (2005), Germany (2005), Venezuela
(2005), Lithuania (2005), Chile (2007), Sweden (2010). Armenian
Genocide is also recognized by the European Parliament and World
Council of Churches.

SHAKARYAN: IT’S TIME TO LEAVE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TO LAWYERS

Panorama.am
12:00 24/04/2012 ” Society

We should leave the Armenian Genocide not to historians but to
lawyers, Turkish studies expert Artak Shakaryan told reporters in
Tsitsernakaberd.

According to him, 97 years after the Genocide, we continue to demand
recognition and compensation, return of territories, but unfortunately
we don’t know what territories we want to return – Kars, Ani, or the
entire territory of Western Armenia?

“We talk about compensation, but we don’t know how much money we demand
and by what mechanism,” the expert said and added that currently we
should combine our efforts towards giving answers to these questions.

Turkey insists on denying the fact of Armenian Genocide perpetrated
by the Ottoman government in the early 20th century.

The Armenian Genocide has been recognized and condemned by Uruguay
(1965), the Republic of Cyprus (1982), Argentina (1993), Russia (1995),
Canada (1996), Greece (1996), Lebanon (1997), Belgium (1998), Italy
(2000), Vatican (2000), France (2001), Switzerland (2003), Slovakia
(2004), The Netherlands (2004), Poland (2005), Germany (2005),
Venezuela (2005), Lithuania (2005), Chile (2007), Sweden (2010).

CONGRESSMAN ADAM SCHIFF TO VISIT MONTEBELLO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MONUMENT

news.am
April 24, 2012 | 11:57

Congressman Adam Schiff will visit the Montebello Armenian Genocide
Monument on Tuesday to honor memory of the victims.

The ceremony will be attended by members of the Los Angeles Chapter
of United Armenian Council for the Commemoration of the Armenian
Genocide, Armenian-Americans, and friends and supporters of the
Armenian community, Pasadena Star-News reports.

The Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument was unveiled in April, 1968 to
honor the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Turkish
government from 1915 through 1921, as well as to honor all victims
of crimes against humanity.

ARMENIANS IN WESTERN UKRAINE HONOR GENOCIDE VICTIMS

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 24, 2012 – 10:10 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – During the past 15 years, the southwestern Ukrainian
city of Chernivtsi has been hosting mournful events on April 24,
the day of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.

The Armenian people unite on that day, Victor Davidovich, head
of Armenian community in Ukrain’e Chernovitskaya region told
Analitika.at.ua.

“The tradition of bringing together representatives of the Armenian
Diaspora of Chernovitskaya, Khmelnitskaya, Ivano-Frankovskaya and
Ternopolskaya regions in the city of Chernovtsy comes to prove it,”
he said.

Memorial events started in Kyiv on April 13, with Ukrainian News
Agency’s press center hosting a “The Armenian Genocide: Impunity
causes the crime to repeat” round table.

On April 24, all Armenian churches and chapels in Ukraine will serve
liturgies for the memory of innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide.

Kiev is going to mark the memorial day in a chapel located on a new
plot assigned by city administration to the Ukrainian Diocese of the
Armenian Apostolic Church for construction of a new cathedral.

DES ANTI-CAPITALISTES TURCS COMMEMORENT LE GENOCIDE
Jean Eckian

armenews.com
mardi 24 avril 2012

Le 20 avril le Club des anti-capitalistes de l’Universite Bigli
d’Istanbul s’est reuni autour du thème “Que s’est-il passe le 24
avril ?” en presence de nombreux etudiants. Les intervenants etant
l’ecrivain Bagrat Estukyan, le sociologue Arus Yumul et le musicien
Tolga Tuzun, entre autres.

A l’issue de la conference, Bagrat Estukyan a eu cette phrase :
“Il y a 30 ans je n’aurais meme pas reve de telles discussions avec
les Turcs.” En 2008 il avait declare “Ce n’est pas une tâche facile
pour la Turquie de se confesser d’avoir perpetre le genocide ; mais
c’est inevitable, etant donne que le genocide armenien est un fait
historique. Tout le monde sait ce qui est arrive aux Armeniens dans
l’Empire ottoman, mais Ankara est toujours engage dans l’auto-illusion
“, avait-il dit.

Pour Tolga Tuzun, “la Turquie doit faire face a la verite.” Ajoutant
que la Turquie devra payer pour les Terres armeniennes. Il a appele
les participants a la conference de se rassembler place Taksim a
Istanbul a 1915 le 24 Avril pour commemorer les victimes du genocide.