Author: Kalantarian Kevo

ARMENIA FOCUSED ON HAMPERING BILATERAL RELATIONS, SAYS TURKISH PARLIAMENT SPEAKER

Journal of Turkish Weekly
March 25 2015

25 March 2015

Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek has said that even though
Turkey is “approaching Armenia with candidness in an effort to resolve
the 1915 incidents,” Yerevan focuses on the events to hamper the
normalization process between the two countries.

“We see that Armenia chooses to focus on intensifying its anti-Turkey
events organized within the concept of the centenary of the 1915
incidents, rather than carrying the normalization process further on
the path towards April 24. This is despite all the well-intentioned
initiatives coming from our country,” said Cicek during a speech titled
“Turkey-U.S. Relations in the 21st Century” at the Center for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington on March 24.

He said there was “no change” in Turkey’s stance toward normalizing
relations with Armenia, adding there was still hope for it to improve.

“The condolences messages and statements about these issues by our
president and prime minister are important steps taken in this way,”
Cicek said, referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s message
issued in April 2014.

Cicek also said Turkey had opened all of its archives to researchers
and wished that the Armenians would do the same.

“We want the exploitation [of the subject] to be removed and for
peace to be supported by enlightening historical facts. We are ready
to give support to any kind of research,” he added.

The year 2015 marks the centenary of the 1915 Ottoman Armenian mass
killings during World War I.

While Armenia and a number of other countries and international
organizations legally refer to the incidents as genocide, the Turkish
state does not accept the term.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry’s view of the issue, published on its
website, states that Turkey “does not deny the suffering of Armenians,
including the loss of many innocent lives, during the First World War.

However, a greater numbers of Turks died or were killed in the
years leading up to and during the War. Without belittling the
tragic consequences for any group, Turkey objects to the one-sided
presentation of this tragedy as genocide by one group against another.”

25 March 2015

COLLOQUE INTERNATIONAL SUR LE GENOCIDE DES ARMENIENS : DISCOURS DE NAJAT VALLAUD-BELKACEM

Publie le : 27-03-2015

Info Collectif VAN – – Le 25 mars 2015, Najat
Vallaud-Belkacem, ministre de l’Education nationale, de l’Enseignement
superieur et de la Recherche ouvrait le colloque international

Aujourd’hui, l’echo de ces voix-la resonne encore a nos oreilles.

Je souhaite remercier le .

Cette reconnaissance est essentielle car c’est aussi la reconnaissance
due aux 500 000 francais d’origine armenienne, descendants de
survivants ; a tous ceux d’entre eux qui, refugies en France, comme
Missak Manouchian, se sont battus pour la France et sont morts pour
elle en heros.

Cette reconnaissance est, de facon universelle, la reconnaissance
due aux individus persecutes, aux minorites opprimees et aux peuples
menaces dans leur existence.

C’est aussi ce qui conduit la France a affirmer que le negationnisme
est intolerable, car le droit est ce qui protège contre toutes les
formes de manipulation. Et c’est la position de la France auprès de
la Cour europeenne des droits de l’homme.

Les diasporas armeniennes vivant dans des pays libres ont
magnifiquement illustre a quel point la connaissance scientifique
est une arme essentielle pour la reconnaissance et contre le
negationnisme. A l’image d’Archag Tchobanian, arrive a Paris en 1895
pour prendre la defense de son peuple precipite dans les massacres
hamidiens, les intellectuels armeniens ont fait du livre et de l’ecrit
un combat pour la verite.

Dans le domaine de la recherche, nous devons beaucoup aux historiens
d’origine armenienne, que ce soient les grands historiens francais
Anahide Ter Minassian, Raymond Kervokian et tant d’autres, ou les
historiens americains comme par exemple Vahakn Dadrian et Richard
Hovannisian.

En Turquie, les Armeniens travaillent main dans la main avec des
intellectuels et historiens turcs, dont certains ont paye de leur
vie ce combat pour la verite : je pense en particulier a Hrant Dink,
assassine le 19 janvier 2007. Je veux remercier la politiste Bursa
Ersanli [prononcer Ersanleu], l’editeur Ragip [prononcer Ragueup]
Zarakolu ou encore Fethiye [prononcer Fetiye] Cetin [prononcer
Chtetine] d’etre presents aujourd’hui.

Mais les chercheurs d’identite armenienne n’oeuvrent pas seuls. Et
ce centenaire de l’evenement installe les historiens armeniens au
coeur de l’histoire globale des sciences sociales des genocides ;
il est l’occasion, et ce colloque en est la manifestation, du passage
du genocide armenien a un statut d’objet historique global. En France,
le desenclavement de cet objet d’etudes, dont Yves Ternon, puis Pierre
Vidal-Naquet, ont ete les precurseurs, s’est poursuivi avec l’apport
des specialistes de la Première Guerre mondiale : les historiens
de la Grande Guerre l’incluent desormais pleinement l’etude et la
comprehension des phenomènes extremes de violence guerrière.

L’apport de la turcologie a lui aussi ete determinant, les specialistes
du monde turco-ottoman ayant su aborder l’evenement sans concession.

Enfin, en France, l’etude comparee sur les genocides a permis
d’eclairer l’evenement a la lumière de la recherche sur la Shoah,
mais aussi de la recherche, en plein essor, sur le genocide des Tutsi
au Rwanda.

Aujourd’hui, c’est forts de la somme de ces recherches que nous
pouvons nous souvenir collectivement, et rendre hommage aux victimes.

La recherche, le livre, la creation, sont aussi un apaisement a la
douleur des memoires. Ce sont autant de ponts jetes entre le passe
et l’avenir.

Mais le travail des historiens est, enfin, ce qui permet a une nation
de regarder plus loin, vers l’avenir, et d’empecher les massacres de
se reproduire.

L’histoire, en tant que science du passe des nations, en nous apprenant
d’où nous venons, nous permet aussi d’eclairer notre avenir.

Parce que, grâce a elle, nous pouvons nous projeter collectivement,
elle nous aide a construire notre citoyennete.

L’histoire n’est pas que celle des puissances et des empires : elle
est aussi celles des peuples et des gens, elle est aussi l’histoire
sociale et l’histoire populaire.

Parce que la citoyennete republicaine est fondee sur le savoir,
la connaissance, le refus de la fatalite, l’ecole a un rôle central
a jouer pour cette transmission. C’est elle qui peut rendre reelle
la promesse de la Republique a ses enfants de les faire grandir dans
l’egalite et la tolerance. C’est elle qui peut semer les germes d’une
memoire partagee.

Je veux ici rendre hommage a tous les professeurs d’histoire-geographie
de France qui y contribuent au quotidien. Le genocide des Armeniens de
l’Empire ottoman, qui fait partie de notre memoire a tous, est etudie
par tous au cours de la scolarite obligatoire, en classe de 3ème.

A l’ecole, nous transmettons l’eveil de la citoyennete, la culture du
debat d’idees, la lutte contre les prejuges et contre toutes les formes
de persecution. Nous apprenons la difference entre la controverse,
le dialogue, qui est a la source meme de la connaissance, et la
manipulation ou la falsification.

A l’ecole, les elèves doivent apprendre a comprendre le monde, mais
aussi apprendre a vouloir le changer, pour prendre pleinement leur
place de citoyen. C’est le sens des reformes que nous adoptons, avec
la mise en place dès la rentree prochaine d’un enseignement moral et
civique tout au long de la scolarite obligatoire.

Mais cette transmission ne peut se faire seulement a l’ecole, sans
l’appui de la recherche.

Elle doit se poursuivre dans l’enseignement superieur et la recherche,
où les etudes sur les genocides doivent pouvoir encore mieux trouver
leur place, comme les > ont pu trouver la leur
outre-Atlantique notamment.

Par l’ampleur des questions qu’elles recouvrent, elles concernent de
très nombreuses disciplines scientifiques, dans les sciences humaines
et sociales et au-dela. Alors que nous entrons dans le deuxième siècle
de recherches sur le genocide armenien, je souhaite lancer une mission
d’etude dressant un etat des lieux de la recherche sur les genocides
pour permettre a celle-ci de se developper.

Confronter les points de vue, comprendre ce qui a conduit aux
evenements tragiques du passe, c’est ce qui nous permettra de prevenir
la possibilite de leur repetition demain. C’est ce qui nous permettra
de continuer le combat contre l’oubli.

C’est le sens je crois que le President de la Republique a souhaite
donner a ce colloque, qui se tient sous son haut-patronage.

En attendant le 24 avril, où je me rendrai a Erevan aux côtes du
President de la Republique pour une commemoration internationale
exceptionnelle, j’aime a voir dans la tenue de ce grand colloque
international a la Sorbonne une promesse d’inscription durable de
cette histoire dans le present et dans l’avenir : la definition
meme de l’histoire selon Thucydide, qui l’appelait

ARMENIAN AND CHINESE LEADERS’ DECLARATION PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF COMMON APPROACHES ON KEY ISSUES – EXPERT

YEREVAN, March 27. /ARKA/. The joint declaration signed by the leaders
of Armenia and China to deepen ties is an important achievement and
indicates that the country have common approaches on key issues,
political analyst Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan said on Sputnik-Armenia
radio station.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and China’s President Xi Jinping
signed a joint declaration in Beijing on Wednesday on further
development and deepening of friendly relations between the two
countries.

The document, in particular, states that Armenia and China will
continue to develop their relations based on mutual respect, equality
and benefits. China also stands for a peaceful and just settlement
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict according to universally recognized
norms of international law and fundamental principles and objectives
of the UN Charter. Armenia confirms it will not be establishing
official ties with Taiwan and will consider the Taiwan problem as
China’s internal political issue.

The declaration consists of 12 items, and, apart from sections about
Artsakh and the Taiwan problems, has some other provisions as well,
Melik-Shahnazaryan said, as cited by Novosti-Armenia.

In particular, these provisions cover military cooperation, staff
training, cooperation on international platforms, non-membership in
treaties against security of the other party.

This means the document is based on principles of an almost allied
partnership, according to the analyst.

“I believe it is an important achievement,” Melik-Shahnazaryan said.

Both sides condemn genocide denial policies, he said. -0–

SHOULD OBAMA MARK ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CENTENARY?

Commentary Magazine
March 25 2015

Michael Rubin

Every year, the Armenian Diaspora marks April 24 as the anniversary
of the Armenian genocide. Traditionally, senators representing states
with large Armenian communities–California, Massachusetts, and New
Jersey, for example–seek to pass a formal resolution commemorating
the genocide. Out of fear of angering Turkey, however, presidents
and secretaries of State have traditionally avoided the word genocide.

As senator, for example, Barack Obama was a vocal supporter of
commemorating the genocide. In 2008, he declared, “America deserves
a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian Genocide and
responds forcefully to all genocides,” and added, “I intend to be
that president.” Once he won the Oval Office, he avoided doing so
just as his predecessors had, instead using the formulation “one
of the worst atrocities of the 20th century.” Likewise, as senator,
John Kerry was solicitous of the Armenian community and its demands
to recognize the mass murder of the Armenians as genocide, but upon
becoming America’s top diplomat, let’s just say he was with them
before he was against them. Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the
United Nations, was as hypocritical: Her claim to fame has been as a
scholar of genocide and a moral voice castigating the United States
for refusing to acknowledge genocide for diplomatic reasons. Prior to
becoming an advisor to Barack Obama, she criticized American passivity
with regard to the Armenian genocide and, as UN ambassador, she hasn’t
hesitated to get on Twitter or issue statements that take a tougher
line than Obama. But on the Armenian issue? Crickets.

The forthcoming anniversary is, of course, special: It marks
the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. For Turkey,
which seeks to prevent formal recognition abroad, it is a perfect
storm. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has shown himself to be an
anti-Semitic and corrupt dictator. And parliamentarians from his
Justice and Development Party as well as Turkey’s court journalists
and access-craving intellectuals have, with their blind support,
shown themselves equally culpable, if not supportive of Erdogan’s
noxious vision.

And while Turkey has long been able to count on a strong lobby in
Washington, there is no real Turkey lobby anymore. Some congressmen
may have kept their names on the Congressional Turkey Caucus roster
but, as one congressman recently put it, “that’s a nothing burger.”

Ankara and its paid lobbyists understand that when push comes to shove,
few congressmen will stick their necks out for Turkey.

So what should Obama do? Here things are more complicated. Genocide
studies has always been more a political discipline than an academic
one. Few members of that field research in the primary languages
or step foot in archives. Area specialists are a bit more divided
on whether what transpired against the Armenians was state-directed
or spontaneous, and whether it was directed against all Armenians or
just those living in areas through which the frontlines of World War
I passed. While no one denies the deaths of hundreds of thousands if
not more than a million Armenians, Guenter Lewy, Edward Erickson,
and Bernard Lewis have all questioned the popular narrative that
assumes genocide. After all, more than fifteen million people died
around Europe as a result of the war.

While there will be pressure on Obama to confirm genocide on the 100th
anniversary of the arrest of 250 Armenian intellectuals in Istanbul
on April 24, 1915, perhaps a better question is why politicians should
be in the business of arbitrating history.

While Erdogan’s offensive behavior in recent years means that few
will shed tears if Turkey suffers a rebuke in a vote few care about
outside of the Turkish and Armenian communities, the very fact that
contemporary Turkish politics could influence such a vote underlines
why politicians should not be the judges of history. Ultimately,
liberated from facing another election and caring very little for
his peers of either party, Obama may use the 100th anniversary
commemorations to officially put the imprimatur of the president of
the United States behind the idea that what occurred in the Ottoman
Empire a century ago was genocide. But, ultimately, such a statement
will be meaningless to the understanding of events or the facts of
the case. For that, political grandstanding and polemic will always
matter far less than careful historical research and debate.

AZERBAIJAN BEARS FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR MILITARY ESCALATION OF CONFLICT – ARMAN KIRAKOSSIAN

12:30 27/03/2015 >> POLITICS

On March 26, Permanent Representative of Armenia to the OSCE,
Ambassador Arman Kirakossian delivered a speech at the Meeting of
the OSCE Permanent Council, the press service of Armenian Foreign
Ministry reported.

Ambassador Kirakossian touched upon the military infiltration on March
19 of the Azerbaijani armed forces along the Line of Contact in the
Martakert region of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which resulted in
four casualties of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army. He stressed that
the response of the armed unit of the Defense Army inflicted numerous
losses on the Azerbaijani subversive group and that Azerbaijan tries to
hide its military losses, officially restricting access of journalists
and representatives of civil society to borderline settlements.

Mr Kirakossian noted that for the first time since the ceasefire was
established Azerbaijan used artillery with caliber of 120 mm, which
indicates Baku’s intention to further escalate the situation. Such
deliberate actions of Azerbaijan are aimed at undermining of the
ceasefire regime, established by the trilateral ceasefire agreements
in May 1994 and February 1995, shifting the military balance.

Ambassador Kirakossian stressed that this alarming development
should be a matter of close attention of Minsk Group Co-Chairs and
the Personal Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office.

Ambassador Kirakossian noted that while the world marks the
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the
Azerbaijani leadership sends the messages of hatred and xenophobia. In
this regard, he quoted the statements by the President and Minister of
Defense of Azerbaijan, where they voiced claims to the territory of
the capital of Armenia and other territories and overtly expressed
their intention to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through
military aggression.

The Permanent Representative of Armenia highlighted that physical
survival of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh and protection from
mass atrocities are under responsibilities of the Nagorno-Karabakh
authorities. He recalled that no indigenous population survived
in those parts of Nagorno-Karabakh which fell under the control
of Azerbaijani armed forces. In this context, Arman Kirakossian
stated that Azerbaijan strives to resume the military phase of the
conflict to suppress the right of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to
self-determination through use of force.

Condemning power policy of the Azerbaijani leadership, the Ambassador
stressed that Azerbaijan bears full responsibility for the military
escalation of the conflict and its consequences. He reiterated
Armenia’s firm position that consolidation of ceasefire by implying
confidence-building measures is crucial to advance peace talks.

‘MARATHON OF MEMORY’ REACHES ARMENIA

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
March 25 2015

25 March 2015 – 2:34pm

A delegation of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS countries
has arrived in Yerevan. The visit of the delegation to Armenia is
taking place as part of the ‘Marathon of Memory’ dedicated to the
70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

Armenia became the fourth country to join the action. The ‘Marathon
of Memory’ was launched on March 11, 2015 in the capital of Belarus,
after which it was attended by Azerbaijan and Moldova. The day before,
not only the members of the action but also war veterans now living
in Armenia arrived at the eternal flame in Yerevan.

“We celebrate together the 70th anniversary of the victory. Then
we also were together, we fought and defeated the Nazi machine,”
a veteran said.

“The fragments of the eternal flame, which are taken from the Assembly
member countries’ eternal flames, will be gathered into one flame
to deliver to the Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg,” the head of the
delegation of the CIS Inter-parliamentary Assembly, Belarus MP Tamara
Dolgoshey, said.

Welcoming the guests to the National Assembly, the Chairman of the
NA Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture, Youth and
Sport, Artak Davtyan, noted that about 600,000 Armenians took part
in the Great Patriotic War. And everybody remembers with pride the
victorious end of that war. The Armenian sons’ feats devoted their
life to the Motherland and victory is undeniable. Davtyan noted that
the importance of the victory would be highlighted not only 70 years
later, but also 700, Armenia Today reports.

As the head of the delegation of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly
noted, the victory united and unites nations, states and generations
during the Great Patriotic War. The general history of those nations
is rich in heroes and deeds. The goal of the campaign is to bring
up a generation deserving heroes, to be grateful to the veterans for
their devotion and for the victory against fascism.

Armenia is the fourth country to take the baton. The delegation of
the CIS member states will bring the eternal flame to St. Petersburg
and to kindle it in the Tauride Palace on April 16.

The next venue for the action ‘Marathon of Memory’ will be the capital
of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, on March 27

HISTOIRE – ARMENIENS, L’AUTRE GENOCIDE

Valeurs Actuelles
25 mars 2015

1915. Depuis un siècle, les Armeniens se battent pour un mot. S’ils
ont renonce a des reparations materielles, ils veulent que le massacre
qui a frappe plus de la moitie des leurs dans l’Empire ottoman prenne
le nom de genocide.

Le signal fut donne le 24 avril 1915. Six cents notables et
intellectuels armeniens d’Istanbul furent arretes et assassines
ce jour-la sur ordre du gouvernement jeune-turc. Ce fut le debut
d’une vaste operation deployee principalement en Anatolie ainsi qu’en
Cilicie, où se concentrent les 2 millions d’Armeniens qui vivent alors
dans l’Empire ottoman. Dans les provinces de Van, Bitlis, Erzurum,
les populations armeniennes apprennent qu’elles ont de quelques heures
a quelques jours selon les lieux pour rassembler leurs affaires et
partir vers une destination inconnue. Une fois eloignes des villes,
les hommes sont separes de leur famille et executes.

Les femmes, les enfants et les vieillards continuent leur route a pied,
sans nourriture et quasi sans eau. Sur la route de leur calvaire,
certaines femmes vendent leurs enfants contre un peu de pain aux
Turcs et aux Arabes en quete d’esclaves. Les mères peuvent ainsi
esperer que leurs enfants ne mourront pas. Ils deviendront musulmans.

Les jeunes femmes et les plus beaux enfants ont davantage de chances
de survie. Les autres rejoignent Deir ez-Zor, dans le desert de Syrie,
où ils vont mourir dans des campements de fortune.

Talaat Pacha, le ministre de l’Interieur (il sera promu grand vizir,
c’est-a-dire chef du gouvernement, après le massacre), a donne des
instructions : > Toutes les branches de l’administration collaborent a ce
plan coordonne par l’Organisation speciale du Comite union et progrès,
le nom officiel du parti jeune turc au pouvoir. Elles s’appuient aussi
sur une participation populaire sous forme de pogroms et de pillages.

Les banquiers et les riches commercants sont particulièrement detestes
du petit peuple. Les syriaques, les Grecs, les juifs, les chaldeens
subissent le meme sort que les Armeniens. Des eglises et des ecoles
sont detruites par milliers.

Cependant, dans les grandes villes de la côte mediterraneenne,
le mouvement est rapidement stoppe : des diplomates allemands et
americains, comme Henry Morgenthau, sont choques. Ils alertent
leur gouvernement et la presse internationale. Certains Armeniens
sont sauves par des “justes” comme le consul americain en poste a
Kharpout, Leslie Davies. Le maire de Malatya, Mustafa agha Aziz oglou,
est assassine par son propre fils pour avoir sauve des chretiens. En
Cilicie, une flotte francaise conduite par le croiseur Guichen evacue
plusieurs milliers de refugies vers Port-Saïd, en Egypte. Cet episode
est raconte, en 1933, dans un roman a succès de Franz Werfel, interdit
dans l’Allemagne hitlerienne, les Quarante Jours du Musa Dagh. Mais
quand il s’agit de l’adapter au cinema, quelques annees plus tard,
le gouvernement turc fait pression sur la MGM, a Hollywood, pour
arreter le projet…Lire la suite…

À lire Le Genocide armenien, de la memoire outragee a la memoire
partagee, de Michel Marian, Albin Michel, 176 pages, 17 EURO (en
librairie le 2 avril). Detruire les Armeniens, histoire d’un genocide,
de Mikaël Nichanian, PUF, 288 pages, 21 EURO. À voir The Cut, la
blessure, film de Fatih Akin, janvier 2015.

ZHOGHOVURD: PASSENGERS FLYING TO ARMENIA NOT ALLOWED TO SHOP AT DUTY FREES

11:08 27/03/2015 >> DAILY PRESS

Since Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU),
Armenian citizens cannot shop at the duty free stores at Russian
airports, Zhoghovurd reports.

“Since the beginning of this year, passengers flying to Armenia
via Russian airports are not allowed to shop at duty free stores. It
doesn’t matter whether the passenger flies from Moscow or from another
country. If his/her destination is Armenia, he/she is not allowed to
shop,” the newspaper notes.

Source: Panorama.am

ISTANBUL-BASED ARMENIAN CHURCH DAUBED WITH HATE MESSAGES

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 25 2015

This image circulated on Twitter shows one of the messages on the
wall of the Armenian church, which reads: “What does it matter if
you are all Armenian when one of us is Ogun Samast.”

March 25, 2015, Wednesday/ 16:02:30/ ZEYNEP KARATAÃ…~^ / ISTANBUL

The Surp Astuanzazh Armenian Church in Ä°stanbul’s Bakırköy
neighborhood was daubed with hate speech on Tuesday as “1915, blessed
year” was written on the side of the building in reference to the
massacre of more than 1 million Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire
during World War I.

Tensions have been growing since Turkey announced in January that
it would host international events to commemorate the centennial of
the Gallipoli Campaign on April 24, a date that overlaps with the
annual commemoration of the massacres, which many countries consider
to be genocide.

In addition to “1915, blessed year,” further graffiti on the church
stated, “What does it matter if you are all Armenian when there is
already one Ogun Samast.”

The message echoes a demonstration slogan that commemorated the murder
of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink who was assassinated in
2007 by then-17-year-old ultranationalist Samast. In the aftermath
of the murder, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to show
empathy for the slain journalist with signs reading “We are all Hrant,
we are all Armenian.”

Today’s Zaman visited the site on Wednesday morning and found that
the graffiti had been painted over. But an administrator at the
church said, “This type of thing happens all the time.” The Armenian
Patriarchate of Ä°stanbul refused to comment on the matter. No criminal
complaint has been filed.

The incident comes hot on the heels of another racist slur against
Armenians in Turkey. It was reported on Tuesday that Ankara Mayor
Melih Gökcek had filed a criminal complaint against Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hayko Bagdat on defamation charges after Bagdat posted
lighthearted tweets on his Twitter account referring to the mayor as
an Armenian after the March 2014 local elections.

Gökcek appears to believe it an insult to be called an Armenian
as his lawyer petitioned the Ankara Prosecutor’s Office, saying,
“The statements [by Bagdat] are false and include insult and libel.”

ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL RECEIVES GREEK DELEGATION

17:35 27/03/2015 >> SOCIETY

Armenian National Assembly Deputy Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov on Friday
received members of the World Council of Greeks Abroad Foti Chitlidis,
Vadim Anastasiadi, Sophia Prokopidou, Arkady Khitarov, Anna Khitarova,
Eduard Polatov and well-known Greek historian Konstantinos Fotiadis,
the press service of National Assembly reports.

The members of the delegation thanked the Armenian National Assembly
and the authors of the initiative for the NA statement “On Condemning
the Genocide of Greeks and Assyrians Perpetrated in the Ottoman Turkey”
unanimously adopted on March 24.

Welcoming the delegation, Eduard Sharmazanov noted that the adoption
of the NA statement was not an aim in itself: recognizing the genocide
perpetrated in the Ottoman Turkey against the Greeks and Assyrians,
the Armenian Parliament condemns all genocides ever perpetrated. In the
NA Deputy Speaker’s words, unless the genocides have been recognized
and condemned, the possibility of their repetition cannot be excluded.

In this context, Mr Sharmazanov and the guests highlighted the
necessity of recognition and condemnation of genocides perpetrated
against different nations in different times and the restoration of
the historical justice.

The interlocutors emphasized the strengthening of relations between
the Armenian and Greek fraternal peoples and the intensification of
cooperation in common issues.

The guests handed the NA Deputy Speaker books on the genocide
perpetrated against the Greek people.