Author: Kajoyan Gevork

ARMENIAN ARCHBISHOP IN ARGENTINA PROUD OF POPE

10:19, 23 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Associated Press – The head of the Armenian Apostolic Church in
Argentina says he is proud, but definitely not surprised, that his
friend Pope Francis recently called the 1915 mass killing of Armenians
in Turkey “genocide.”

Archbishop Kissag Mouradian says he developed a friendship with the
pope when Jorge Mario Bergoglio was the Roman Catholic archbishop of
Buenos Aires in the 1990s. In private conversations and in public,
Mouradian says, Bergoglio expressed support for the strong conviction
of Armenians worldwide that the mass slayings constituted genocide,
which Turkey denies.

Bergoglio often celebrated Mass “recognizing the martyrs (of the
Armenian massacre), so we can say that we always knew what his stance
was,” Mouradian told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday
at the Armenian Cathedral in Buenos Aires.

During a Mass this month commemorating the 100th anniversary of
the bloodshed that many scholars estimate killed around 1.5 million
Armenians, Francis called it “the first genocide of the 20th century.”

“Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding
without bandaging it,” Francis said St. Peter’s Basilica on April 12.

Turkey has long held that the death estimate is inflated and says that
those killed were victims of civil war and unrest, not genocide. The
Turkish government reacted strongly to the pope’s comments, recalling
its ambassador to the Vatican and accusing Francis of spreading hate
and unfounded claims.

“I do not often say it in a loud voice, but in this case I really
did feel a deep inner pride that my friend could do such a thing,”
Mouradian said of the pope’s comments.

Mouradian said Bergoglio had a strong relationship with many Armenians
in Argentina, which is estimated to be home to about 120,000 ethnic
Armenians, many of whose ancestors fled Turkey after the killings.

“We are not just leaders of churches or religions, we are two friends,”
said Mouradian, who has a picture with the pope in his office.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 21, 2015

President Obama Announces Presidential Delegation to the Republic of
Armenia to Attend the Centennial Commemoration of the Events of 1915

President Barack Obama today announced the designation of a
Presidential Delegation to the Republic of Armenia to attend the
Centennial Commemoration of the Events of 1915 on April 24, 2015.

The Honorable Jacob J. Lew, Secretary of the Department of Treasury,
will lead the delegation.

_ _

_Members of the Presidential Delegation:_

_ _

The Honorable Richard M. Mills, Jr., United States Ambassador to the
Republic of Armenia, Department of State

The Honorable Jackie `Kanchelian’ Speier, Member of the United States
House of Representatives (CA-14)

The Honorable Frank Pallone, Jr., Member of the United States House of
Representatives (NJ-6)

The Honorable Anna G. Eshoo, Member of the United States House of
Representatives (CA-18)

The Honorable Dave Trott, Member of the United States House of
Representatives (MI-11)

###

TURKEY GRADUALLY REACHING LINE BEYOND WHICH NUREMBERG JUDGMENT OR REPENTANCE – ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER

14:09 * 23.04.15

Since the end of the 19th century, Ottoman Turkey’s authorities, filled
with hate for Armenians, has been implementing a policy of annihilating
Armenians, which reached its climax in the Armenian Genocide in 1915,
Armenian Parliament speaker Galust Sahakyan stated at the at the
International Social and Political Forum against the Crime of Genocide.

However, desire for life enabled the Armenians to not only survive, but
also remember the past, demand justice and never forget their homeland.

“Struggle against genocide is not effective now because political
interests are superior to civilized morals. The progressive humanity’s
set of values Turkey is unwilling to adopt and Turkey’s denial of
the Armenian Genocide means new genocides, war and human losses,”
Mr Sahakyan said.

More than 20 states have recognized the Armenian Genocide, and some
Parliaments even adopted bills criminalizing the denial of the Armenian
Genocide. It means that Turkey is gradually reaching the line beyond
which is either the Nuremberg judgment or repentance.

“A cruel crime against humanity – the Armenian Genocide – was committed
30 years before the Nuremberg judgment, which has since then been
waiting for a fair judgment and repentance on Turkey’s part, first
of all. Otherwise, events similar to those in Deir ez-Zor may happen,
a new genocide,” Mr Sahakyan said.

And if criminal silence is Turkey’s response, the civilized world
has no right to remain silent.

FOCUS ON ECHMIADZIN: MOTHER SEE PREPARES FOR CANONIZATION OF GENOCIDE MARTYRS

GENOCIDE | 23.04.15 | 15:09

The Armenian Apostolic Church tonight prepares to conduct a ceremony
in which the victims of the Ottoman-era Genocide will be canonized
as saints.

At the end of the rite to be performed jointly by His Holiness
Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians,
and Catholicos Aram I, of the Great House of Cilicia, all Armenian
churches around the world (accept in Turkey) as well as some other
sister churches will ring for a 100 times symbolizing the centenary
that has passed since the start of the 1915 Genocide of Armenians in
Ottoman Turkey.

Among the churches that will join the peel will also be the Cathedral
of Our Lady of Strasbourg.

The Armenian Church says that by the canonization of the Genocide
victims it does not indicate the specific number of 1.5 million
victims, distinguish their spiritual deeds or gives the names of the
individuals, but proclaims the collective martyrdom of those who were
killed for the sake of their faith and their homeland.

PUTIN CALLS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE “A HORRIBLE EVENT IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND”

April 23, 2015 09:43

Russian President Vladimir Putin

Photo: reuters.com

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the
Armenian Genocide “one of the most horrible and dramatic events in
the history of mankind”.

The Russian President’s address to the participants of “World without
Genocide” commemorative evening reads this, the Kremlin press service
reports.

“April 24, 1915 – is a mournful date linked to one of the most horrible
and dramatic events in the history of mankind- the Armenian Genocide.

Centuries later, we bow to the memory of all the victims of the tragedy
which is perceived in our country as our own sorrow and calamity.

Russia’s stance has been and is objective and consistent: there can
be no justification to mass killings on the basis of nationality. The
international community’s calling is to do their best so as such
evil deeds wouldn’t ever happen anywhere. The new generations of
Armenians and other peoples of the region should live in peace and
agreement without the horrors born of inciting religious hatred,
aggressive nationalism and xenophobia.

I wish kindness, peace and prosperity to the fraternal country of
Armenia and all the Armenians living in Russia.

Eternal memory to the victims”, the address reads.

UN SIECLE DE DENI DE LA TURQUIE A PROPOS DU GENOCIDE ARMENIEN

NEW YORK TIMES

Le monastère de pierre en ruine, construit a flanc de colline, se
dresse comme un monument desespere d’un passe terrible.

la suite en anglais avec de superbes photographies…

?smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0#

jeudi 23 avril 2015, Jean Eckian (c)armenews.com

OVER 270 COMPANIES EXPECTED AT ‘MADE IN ARMENIA EXPO 2015’ IN YEREVAN

YEREVAN, April 23. /ARKA/. More than 270 companies practically from
all sectors will showcase their products at ‘Made in Armenia Expo
2015’ on April 26-28, the press office of Armenia’s ministry of
economy reported.

The exhibition is to showcase the country’s industrial potential
and development prospects, to seek new markets, to help establish
business ties and efficient dialogue between local manufacturers and
foreign investors.

Foodstuffs, natural juices, beverages, mineral water, wines, cognac,
beer and tobacco products will be presented at the exhibition.

Other participants are light industries, household chemical goods,
pharmaceutics, building materials and glass containers, jewelry,
diamonds and watches, mining products, metallurgy, machine-building,
IT and tourism companies.

The exhibition is held by the ministry of economy and the Armenian
Development Fund as part of the government support program for
export-oriented industries. The exhibition will take place at
“Meridian” expo center. -0–

CONSEQUENCES OF MASS KILLINGS OF ETHNIC ARMENIANS STILL REVERBERATE – THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

13:38 * 23.04.15

Sarkis Teke is the last living remnant of a community that no longer
exists.

The grizzled pensioner lives alone in a hillside villa in this
Turkish city whose commercial and cultural life until a century ago
was dominated by Armenians and whose skyline was crowned by the spires
of the 40 Christian churches where they worshiped.

With the killing and forced deportation of more than 1.5 million
ethnic Armenians in 1915 by forces of the disintegrating Ottoman
Empire, the steeples have long since crumbled and Mr. Teke’s family,
like so many that once prospered here, have left for Istanbul and
beyond to Lebanon, Canada and the U.S.

“All my life I’ve fought to stay here, and I’ve paid a heavy price,”
Mr. Teke said as he thumbed gold rosary beads clutched in his palm. “I
will stay here until I die.”

Some 250 miles away in the city of Diyarbakir, where an Armenian
community also once flourished, Yervant Bostanci is the only person of
Armenian descent known to have accepted an invitation from municipal
officials to Armenians abroad to return.

After two decades in Los Angeles, Mr. Bostanci relocated to the
predominantly ethnic Kurdish city two years ago. A musician, he is
the first Armenian member of a prestigious, government-funded choir.

While a milestone, Mr. Bostanci is too mindful of the bloody history
that haunts Turkey to suggest Armenian representation in a state-funded
organization could prompt many others to resettle in the land of
their forebears.

“Last year, our choir sang the first Armenian song,” he said. “It’s a
positive step, but I’m sure no one else will return. They have built
their lives elsewhere.”

Friday marks the 100th anniversary of the day that Ottoman authorities
began rounding up ethnic Armenian intellectuals and community leaders
in Istanbul, then known to Christians as Constantinople. By the end
of 1915, the splintering empire’s minority Armenian communities were
wiped out.

The horrors and trauma of 1915 still reverberate, not only in the
lives of Mssrs. Teke and Bostanci but for Armenians scattered across
the world. At the center of the anguish is the bitter controversy
over what to call the bloodshed itself.

Turkey still vehemently disputes any suggestion that Ottoman forces
committed genocide in 1915, saying the deaths occurred as part of
war in which Turks were also killed by Armenians.

Most independent scholars have described it as genocide, however,
and more than 20 nations have formally recognized it as such. When
Pope Francis and the European Parliament voiced agreement last week,
Ankara withdrew its ambassador to the Vatican in protest and accused
Rome of joining an anti-Turkish conspiracy.

U.S. officials on Tuesday said President Barack Obama would stop
short of labeling the 1915 bloodshed as genocide. On Friday, however,
parliament in Germany–Turkey’s biggest trading partner and the home to
its largest overseas community–is expected to recognize the Armenian
genocide for the first time.

The consequences of the slaughter that convulsed a waning empire are
more than semantic and historical.

Armenian communities today are all but nonexistent in eastern and
southern Turkey. The fate of property seized by Turks and ethnic
Kurds from deported Armenians is still disputed. And Ankara has no
diplomatic relations with present-day Armenia.

Read more here

TURKISH ORGANIZATIONS TO PARTICIPATE IN EVENTS DEDICATED TO MEMORY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS

14:01, 23 April, 2015

YEREVAN, 23 APRIL, ARMENPRESS. On April 25, the Turkish organizations
of France, for the first time, will participate in the events dedicated
to the memory of Armenian Genocide victims near the monument of
Komitas in Paris.

As “Armenpress” reports, the General Coordinator of “Assemble Citoyenne
des Originaires de Turquie, ACORT” Umit Metine stated this in a talk
with “Voice of America”.

“For the first time, the Turks living in France will visit the Komitas
monument to commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide. “We
decided to do it on April 25 at 15:00 pm, one day after of the vast
remembrance ceremony of April 24. We call on Turkey to recognize the
Genocide”, he highlighted.

SWEDISH PM BACKTRACKS ON PLEDGE TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

© REUTERS/ David Mdzinarishvili
EUROPE
15:15 23.04.2015Get short URL
1400
The Swedish Prime Minister, who had promised to recognize the 1915
genocide of Armenians which was perpetrated under Ottoman rule prior
to his election last year, has said the subject is under review.

© REUTERS/ DAVID MDZINARISHVILI Turkey Recalls Vienna Ambassador
Amid Armenian Genocide Recognition A pledge made by Swedish Prime
Minister Stefan Lovren while campaigning for office last year that
his government would recognize the killing of Armenians under Ottoman
rule as genocide might go unfulfilled, according to government sources
in Sweden.

A source from the Swedish Foreign Ministry told TT news that the
question is “delicate,” and that the decision on whether to acknowledge
the atrocities as genocide is under review, despite the election
pledge. According to TT, a foreign policy declaration released after
the election in October last year made no mention of the issue, and the
Foreign Office has declined to make an official comment on the subject.

Vahagn Avedian, spokesman for the Armenian Associations in Sweden,
called the decision “absurd,” and complained, “they say one thing in
opposition, and another in office.”

“France has recognized the genocide, and so has Germany recently. Why
wouldn’t Sweden do so?” said Avedian, who added that he believed fear
of Turkey’s reaction lie behind the decision.

In 2010, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled a visit to
Sweden and recalled the Turkish ambassador after the Swedish parliament
voted narrowly to pass a cross-party motion, “to recognize as an act
of genocide the killing of Armenians, Assyrians/Syriacs/Chaldeans
and Pontic Greeks in 1915.” Then Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt
said the parliament’s move was “a mistake” and not the position of
the government.

In a statement criticizing the vote, Erdogan said, “Our people and
our government reject this decision [which is] based upon major errors
and without foundation.”

© AP PHOTO/ BERZA SIMSEK White House Considers Old Approach to Armenian
Genocide ‘Right One’ On April 24 each year, Armenians observe a day of
remembrance in honor of the victims of a genocide committed against
up to 1.5 million ethnic Armenians by the Ottoman army during the
last throes of the Ottoman Empire. This year’s remembrance will mark
100 years since the genocide began.

The term genocide is used by more than 20 countries to describe the
killings, including Russia, France and Italy, and the German parliament
is set to use the term in a motion to be passed on Friday.

The Austrian parliament became the latest to do so on Wednesday,
causing furious reaction from Turkey.

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