Author: Kalantarian Kevo

A1 Plus | 17:19:26 | 29-04-2004 | Politics |
PACE FINAL REPORT ON ARMENIA
PACE has already adopted final report on situation in Armenia.
1. Since the end of March 2004, a series of protests were organised by
the opposition forces in Armenia, calling for the holding of a
“referendum of confidence” in President Kocharian. The possibility of
such a referendum was first mentioned by the Armenian Constitutional
Court following the presidential elections in February and March last
year. The Constitutional Court later clarified its proposal and the
authorities qualify the opposition demands and protests as an attempt
to seize power by force.
2. The demonstrations, while announced, have not been authorised by
the authorities who threatened their organisers with criminal
prosecution. Following the demonstrations on 5 April, the prosecutor
general opened criminal investigations in connection with the rally of
the opposition parties against several members of the opposition and
many more were arrested. On the same occasion, several journalists and
politicians were beaten up by unknown persons while the police were
standing by taking no action.
3. New demonstrations took place on 9, 10 and 12 April in Yerevan. In
the early morning of 13 April, the security forces violently dispersed
some 2000-3000 protesters who were attempting to march towards the
presidential palace, calling for President Kocharian’s
resignation. The police reportedly used truncheons, water cannons and
tear gas, causing dozens of injuries. A number of protesters were
arrested, including members of parliament, some of whom are members of
the Assembly, and some were allegedly mistreated during their custody
by the police. The security forces also assaulted and arrested several
journalists who were covering the opposition rally.
4. The tensions in Armenia continue to run high; new protests are
planned for the week of 26 April. For the time being, there seems to
be little room for dialogue between the authorities and the
opposition, even if some offers have been made and some members of the
ruling majority – and notably the Speaker of the Armenian parliament –
have begun criticising the heavy-handed crackdown on demonstrators.
5. With regard to the conduct of the authorities, the Parliamentary
Assembly recalls that its actions are contrary to the letter and the
spirit of the recommendations formulated in its Resolution 1361 (2004)
adopted last January. It is particularly concerned with the fact that:
i. arrests, including on the basis of the Administrative Code, ignored
the demand to immediately end the practice of administrative detention
and change the Administrative Code used as a legal basis for this
practice;
ii. the authorities refused to authorise opposition rallies for
reasons not permitted under the European Convention on Human
Rights. Moreover the new draft law on the procedure of conducting
gatherings, meetings, rallies and demonstrations, currently in the
parliamentary procedure, was evaluated as excessively restrictive by
experts of the Venice Commission;
iii. persons detained during the recent events were reportedly
subjected to ill-treatment by police and security forces, in spite of
Assembly’s demands to take resolute and more active steps to remedy
misconduct by law enforcement officials;
iv. freedom of expression continues to be seriously curtailed and
several acts of violence against journalists, which took place during
the recent events, were carried out or were allowed to happen by the
police and security forces.
6. With regard to the conduct of the opposition, the Assembly stresses
that they should do their utmost to avoid any future violence.
7. As to their demands for the holding of a “referendum of confidence”
and the resignation of President Kocharian, the Assembly stresses
that:
i. both the presidential, and the parliamentary elections which
followed in May last year were severely criticised by the
international community, including by the Assembly delegations. The
electoral process as a whole had not complied with international
standards and the irregularities observed notably included biased
media coverage, detention of opposition proxies and campaign staff,
falsification of results, intimidation of observers as well as
generally inadequate performance of the elections administration.
ii. although the fraud, in spite of its magnitude, did not decisively
change the outcome of the elections nor invalidate their final
results, in its report on the honouring of obligations and commitments
by Armenia, adopted in January 2004 (Resolution 1361), the Assembly
expressed profound disappointment at the conduct of the elections and
called for a thorough investigation into electoral fraud and an end to
the judicial impunity for those responsible for it.
8. While insisting that the Armenian authorities must fully comply
with its recommendations concerning last year’s flawed elections, the
Assembly considers that the opposition, while entitled fully to enjoy
its constitutional right to peaceful assembly, should strive to
achieve its goals within the constitutional framework.
9. The Assembly calls upon the Armenian authorities to:
i. allow peaceful demonstrations and refrain from any further action
which would legally, or in practice, lead to unjustified restrictions
to the freedom of assembly guaranteed by the European Convention on
human rights;
ii. guarantee freedom of movement within Armenia;
iii. immediately investigate – in a transparent and credible manner –
the incidents and human rights abuses reported during the recent
events, including assaults of journalists and human rights activists,
and inform the Assembly of their findings and possible legal actions
against persons responsible;
iv. immediately release the persons detained for their participation
in the demonstrations and immediately end the practice of
administrative detention and amend the Administrative Code to this
effect;
v. take note of the fact that the immunities of PACE members are valid
during the whole year (PACE Resolution 1325 (2003) and Recommendation
1602 (2003)); accordingly it invites the competent Armenian
authorities to henceforth inform as soon as possible the President of
the PACE when Armenian members of that Assembly are prosecuted or
detained;
vi. create fair conditions for the normal functioning of the media,
notably as regards the issuing of broadcasting licences to television
companies, particularly to television channel A1+;
vii. send a written report to the Assembly, before the opening of the
June 2004 part-session, on the steps it has taken with regard to
sub-paragraphs 9.i to 9.vi.
10. The Assembly calls upon the authorities and the opposition to
refrain from any action which may lead to further violence and to
engage in a dialogue without preconditions, with a view to resolving
the present conflict in accordance with Council of Europe standards
and European democratic practice.
11. The Assembly believes that the recent events have added a measure
of urgency to its demands for Armenia’s full and unconditional
compliance with their obligations and commitments. It resolves to
instruct the Monitoring Committee to send its rapporteurs to Armenia
to present a report on the situation, particularly on the follow-up of
the recommendations set out in sub-paragraphs 9.i to 9.vi, as soon as
appropriate, and well before the opening of the September 2004
part-session. If no progress with regard to sub-paragraphs 9.i to 9.vi
is made by the opening of the September 2004 part-session, it resolves
to reconsider the credentials of the Armenian delegation in accordance
with Rule 9 of the Rules of Procedure.

Sweet science pays off for Harrison
The Scotsman – United Kingdom
Apr 30, 2004
Stephen Halliday

IT HAS long been known as the sweet science, although AJ Liebling
certainly did not have jelly babies or laboratories on his mind when
he gave boxing its memorable moniker several decades ago.
For WBO featherweight champion Scott Harrison, however, the phrase has
taken on a whole new meaning since he turned to sports scientist Dr
Niall Macfarlane for assistance in the wake of July’s numbing and
unexpected loss of his title to Manuel Medina.
The University of Glasgow lecturer has since become a crucial part of
Team Harrison, helping the 26-year-old Scot regain his belt and adding
a whole new dimension to his already unforgiving training
regime. William Abelyan, the US-based Armenian No 1 contender for
Harrison’s title, will be the next to face the revitalised champion
when the pair clash at the Braehead Arena on 29 May.
More of the aforementioned jelly babies later, but Harrison’s father
and trainer Peter first explained yesterday the circumstances which
lead him to seek scientific help for his son.
“After the first Medina fight, I wanted to make sure nothing like that
happened to Scott in the future,” he said. “We wanted to optimise his
condition and try and take every safeguard against the illness which
affected him against Medina.
“I was told Glasgow University was the place to go. When I first
contacted Niall, he advised me to do it through Sportscotland, but
they told me it wasn’t part of their remit to work with professional
boxers. I went back to Niall who then agreed to work with us.
“It’s been tremendous, being able to use all the technology they have
at the university. From Scott’s viewpoint, though, the best thing has
been the nutritional advice. He can have Frosties for breakfast now
instead of plain cornflakes and he’s also allowed to snack on jelly
babies, wine gums or raisins after training sessions to keep his
carbohyrdate levels up.
“Scott has always been fit, but now we are training him more
thoroughly than ever before.”
According to Dr Macfarlane, Harrison is as well conditioned as any
physical specimen who has passed through his science and medicine
department at the university. “We have had Ethiopian distance runners
here,” said Macfarlane, “and I’d say the best comparison I can make
for Scott is with them. His endurance levels and aerobic performance
are tremendous. He could easily be a 10,000 metre runner and if he
was, he would probably be Olympic finalist standard.
“When Peter came to me, he wanted to make sure they were never
blind-sided again by the kind of illness which caused the loss to
Medina first time around. Our technology, allied to his natural
fitness and dedication, has hopefully helped.”
The champion himself is delighted with the results of his work with Dr
Macfarlane and ready to step up another level against Abelyan in four
weeks time. “I feel there has been a 20 per cent improvement in me
since I started working with Niall,” he said. “I have no problems
making the weight now, I can throw more punches than ever in a round
and I’m faster than I was before. You’ll see an even better Scott
Harrison against Abelyan next month.”

ArmenPress
April 30 2004
ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY DENIES DAILY’S CLAIMS
YEREVAN, APRIL 30, ARMENPRESS: Armenian defense ministry has
denied a report in the local daily Haykakan Zhamanak which cited in
its Thursday issue from a report of the US-based Strategic
Forecasting Inc (Stratfor) to claim that according to logistical
agreements between the U.S. military and the Armenian armed forces,
reached earlier this week, Armenian authorities have allowed the US
to deploy its military planes on Armenian airfields.
The agreement in question was announced following a visit to
Armenia by a senior U.S. military official. Gen. Charles Wald, who,
according to Stratfor, walked away from Yerevan with an agreement to
allow U.S. landing rights on Armenian airfields.
A statement released by Armenian defense ministry on Thursday
evening said the Armenian-US agreement does not envisage deployment
of US war planes on Armenian airfields and that the daily’s claims
were the result of a wrong translation. It said the core of the
agreement is to satisfy logistical and other demands of the other
side at its request having in mind Armenia’s policy and priorities.

USA/Armenia: VOA starts daily Armenian-language TV programme
Voice of America press release
3 May 04

Text of press release by Voice of America on 3 May
Washington, DC, 3 May 2004: Voice of America (VOA) debuted a daily
Armenian-language TV feed today, aimed at providing daily TV stories
to viewers in Armenia and the extensive Armenian diaspora throughout
the Middle East and Europe. For this venture, VOA has partnered with
Armenia TV, which will air the feeds during its weekday newscasts and
present a 30-minute block of VOA television material every Saturday.
“VOA has been an important source of news and information for
Armenians since 1951, and this move to television will help us reach
an even greater audience,” said VOA Director David S. Jackson. “This
is especially important as Armenia faces continued challenges as it
develops toward a more open and democratic civil society.”
VOA’s Armenian service recently ceased its radio broadcasts in order
to focus on providing television news reports and features. The
Armenian Service will be able to build upon its already large radio
audience to reach an even greater number of viewers throughout
Armenia.
A recent survey showed that 97 per cent of Armenians use television
each week as a source of news about current events. Armenia TV reaches
52 per cent of viewers between the ages of 25 and 50 in Armenia alone
and is one of the first private TV companies in Armenia to have such
an extensive reach via satellite. Armenia TV is also available via
satellite subscription in Western Europe and the Middle East,
including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland, Holland,
Bulgaria, Romania, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece, Lebanon, Syria and
Israel.
Amerikai Dzain Herustahandes (VOA TV Magazine) is included in each
weekday news programme, broadcast at 3 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. local time
(1000 and 1330 UTC) to audiences in Armenia. A compilation of each
week’s reports will air Saturdays at 11 p.m. local time (1800
UTC). Programmes as well as previews of upcoming shows will soon also
be available on the Internet at
The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a
multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the US
government. VOA broadcasts 1,000 hours of news, information,
educational and cultural programming every week to an estimated
worldwide audience of 87m people. Programmes are produced in Armenian
and 43 other languages.
For more information, call the Office of Public Affairs at (202)
401-7000, or E-mail [email protected].

Calcutta Telegraph, India
April 27 2004
Surya Sekhar loses to 13-year-old Norwegian
Dubai: Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran slipped to joint second place
yet again after drawing with GM Artashes Minasian of Armenia in the
seventh round of Dubai international chess championship on Monday.
GM Pavel Eljanov of the Ukraine shot into sole lead following a
hard-fought victory over GM Alexei Federov of Belarus.
Surya Sekhar Ganguly lost to 13-year-old Magnus Carlsen of Norway. IM
D.V. Prasad also ended up on the losing side against Goran Dizdar of
Croatia. Eljanov, on six points, is closely followed by top seeded
Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu of Romania, Shakhriyaz Mamedyarov of
Azerbaijan, Moldova’s Viorel Iordachescu, Alexander Goloshchapov of
Ukraine, Carlsen, Minasian, Sasikiran and P. Harikrishna. They have
5.5 points each.
With just two rounds remaining, a pack of eight players share the
third spot with five points apiece.
The Indian IM norm aspirants suffered a setback in their quest as
Parimarjan Negi and Manthan Chokshi went down fighting against
Russian GM Alexey Kuzmin and Armenian GM Karen Asrian, respectively.
P. Harikrishna was in his elements in beating GM Zahar Efimenko of
Ukraine from the white side of a King’s Indian defence.
In the late middle game, the Ukrainian fell prey to a well-disguised
pawn sacrifice by the Indian and found himself a pawn less. Not
giving any chances thereafter, Harikrishna traded queens at the
opportune juncture and romped home in 47 moves. Sasikiran maintained
a minuscule advantage for the major part of the game against Minasian
but could not really convert that with his white pieces as his
opponent posted stiff resistance.
The middle game arising from a Torre attack was on expected lines and
pieces got exchanged at regular intervals leaving Sasikiran with a
better-placed knight against bishop. However as it turned out in the
end, black had just about sufficient replies to maintain the balance.
The draw was agreed to in 49 moves.
The big winner of the day was Carlsen who looks set to become the
youngest GM after his spectacular victory over Surya Sekhar who
played the black side of a Trompowski opening.
Women GM Aarthie Ramaswamy lost to Shanava Konstantine while her
husband GM R.B. Ramesh was held to a draw by Nadera Barlo.
The other Indians in the fray had good results with Abhijeet Gupta,
IMs Deepan Chakravarthy and Rahul Shetty scoring over A.R. Saleh
Jasiom, Asylguzhin Radik and Janahi Zeyaad, respectively.

Lowell Sun, MA
April 25 2004
Their horror remembered, their culture celebrated
Local Armenians honor the 1.5 million killed in genocide
By STEPHANIE COYNE, Sun Correspondent
LOWELL Thomas Magarian was an infant when his mom and dad were
murdered.
He lost four of his eight brothers and sisters when they were killed
along with his parents.
Luckily he doesn’t have any recollection of those horrible days, when
1.5 million Armenians were murdered some eight decades ago.
What he does remember is growing up in an orphanage in Beirut.
He smiles as he recalls a beautiful tree growing over a spectacular
Armenian church next to the home for children whose parents died in
the Armenian genocide.
Magarian is one of the few remaining survivors of the killings that
began on April 24, 1915, and lasted until 1923.
Yesterday, families of the victims gathered alongside Magarian, of
Tyngsboro, and another survivor, Bedros Shamshoyian of Lowell, to
remember Armenian Martyrs’ Day, the beginning of a period when the
Armenians were either killed or forced into exile from their
homeland.
Nearly 100 people attended the event, which began with a parade down
Merrimack Street to the steps of City Hall.
Tom Vartabedian emceed the ceremony, which paid tribute to the lives
lost and declared continued efforts to persuade the world to
recognize the Armenian genocide as a crime against humanity by the
Turkish government.
“We observe this anniversary not because it will bring back the dead
or restore our desecrated church and not because our people were
violated and dehumanized,” said Vartabedian, of Haverhill. “But
because we cling to the hope that maybe through education and
understanding, similar atrocities can be avoided.”
Many families with ancestors from the Armenian genocide attended
yesterday’s event to show commitment to keeping their history alive
and pay respect to the lives that were lost.
Sona Gevorkian and her husband Allen brought along their two
children, Datev, 2, and Tsoline, 1, to show their support in getting
the genocide recognized by the world. Turkey continues to deny any
involvement.
“My grandparents were survivors and I grew up hearing my
grandmother’s stories about the genocide,” said Sona, of Bedford.
“We’re trying to get it recognized for me it’s a personal thing as
well as a national thing.”
Angele Dulgarian of Chelmsford felt the same way.
She lost both grandparents and an uncle during those years of death
and destruction.
Dulgarian has attended the annual event honoring the Armenian victims
for the past 17 years and said she will continue to do so as long as
possible.
“We want to memorialize what happened,” she said. “We don’t want to
forget and we want future generations to know their history.”
Dro Gregorian, president of the Armenian Youth Federation through
Saint Gregory’s Armenian Church in North Andover, reaffirmed that
statement.
“The survivors of the genocide have rebuilt their communities and
churches and have kept their culture alive,” said Dro, of Chelmsford.
“As young grandchildren of survivors we vow to continue to keep our
rich history, religion and culture alive.”

Los Angeles Times, CA
April 25 2004
Armenians Mark Genocide

Events including a protest and rally commemorate the 1915 start of
violence against the ethnic group that took 1.5 million lives.
By David Pierson, Times Staff Writer
Thousands of Armenian Americans throughout the Los Angeles area
commemorated a grim chapter in their history – the killing of 1.5
million of their countrymen and women by the Turks between 1915 and
1922 – with protests, prayers, a blood drive and even a rock concert.
The events included a solemn ceremony in Montebello, a raucous
protest along Wilshire Boulevard and a rally in east Hollywood that
some said was more a display of national pride than a somber
remembrance of the Armenian genocide.

Despite the diversity of events, Armenian American organizers across
town said they were pleased that their history is being honored and
taught to the younger generation.
Ashot Dermenjian held his daughter Alyssa’s hand as he walked up to
the plaque at a towering Montebello memorial, a cluster of pillars
reaching skyward. The cream-colored structure was surrounded by
flowers Saturday as hundreds paid their respects. Officials,
including Mayor James K. Hahn and City Councilman Antonio
Villaraigosa, addressed the crowd.
Dermenjian said a prayer and made the sign of the cross. “This is her
first time here,” Dermenjian said of his 10-year-old daughter. “I’m
going to bring her every year now. They have to know what their
ancestors went through.
“The sad thing is, I don’t know anything about my family past my
grandfather. I don’t know what they did, where they are from or what
kind of work they were in.”
The Wilshire Boulevard Turkish Consulate was fenced off and guarded
by LAPD officers Saturday as a boisterous crowd of hundreds of
teenagers and young adults outside expressed their passion by
chanting to passersby.
Urged on by members of the local chapter of the Armenian Youth
Federation, they held up placards and shouted: “1915, Never Again” to
passing cars.
“This can happen to any people if the denial keeps going on,” said
Armen Soudjian, a 19-year-old college student carrying a video camera
to make a documentary about the protest.
The Hollywood resident said he would attend a rock concert at the
Greek Theatre that night held by System of a Down, a popular Armenian
American rock group who chose the performance date for its historic
importance.
“No matter what you’re doing today,” Soudjian said, “we’re all still
here for that one cause” – official recognition by Turkey of what
Armenians call the Armenian genocide. Turkish officials deny that the
genocide occurred.
In Glendale, home to more than 40,000 Armenian Americans, the civic
auditorium displayed modern artwork reflecting the atrocities of the
genocide, old articles from the New York Times and a telegram from
1915 written by the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, Henry Morgenthau,
advising the State Department of the killings.
Alongside the paintings, the Red Cross set up a blood bank at the
event because “89 years ago, so much blood was shed for no good. Now
we can give it to anyone who needs it,” said one of the event’s
organizers, Stepan Partamian.
Partamian, who is host of an Armenian television show in Glendale,
said many Armenians suffer from an identity crisis because the
diaspora dispersed them to so many countries after they fled
persecution. He said April 24, the day historians say the killings
began, unites Armenians of different backgrounds, whether their
families fled to Lebanon, Egypt, Iran or any other country.
How to commemorate the day is another matter. In Armenia, people make
a pilgrimage to Tsitsernakaberd, a hilltop where a giant memorial
stands.
“They climb up there, they leave flowers out of respect and there are
no speeches,” said Partamian, a 42-year-old Glendale resident.
That more solemn approach is in stark contrast to the raucous
demonstrations around Los Angeles, especially in east Hollywood,
where some protesters complained that the event resembled the
atmosphere of a national soccer game.
“People honking? That’s inappropriate,” said 18-year-old Hovsep
Hajibekyan, sitting at the entrance of the Hollywood and Western
subway station. “It’s disappointing. This is a day to go to church
and be with family.”

Edmonton Sun (Alberta, Canada)
April 24, 2004 Saturday Final Edition
REMEMBERING REGRETTABLE HISTORY
BY PAUL STANWAY, EDMONTON SUN FREELANCE
Armenians around the world today commemorate the beginning of what
they view as the darkest period in their long history, which is
saying something for a people who have been subject to almost
constant invasion and persecution.
On Wednesday the House of Commons voted overwhelmingly (153 to 68) in
favour of a motion that “acknowledges the Armenian genocide of 1915
and condemns this as a crime against humanity.”
The history of Armenia is a litany of tragedy and suffering,
endlessly repeated. But it is also a story of survival, against all
the odds and in the face of every possible indignity and handicap we
humans are capable of imposing upon one another.
The Armenians are the oldest Christian nation on earth, a forgotten
remnant of the ancient world from a time before Islam conquered the
Near East. You may not think you know any Armenians, but unless
you’ve never heard of Cher (full name Cherylin Sarkissian), tennis
great Andre Agassi or chess master Gary Kasparov, you are wrong.
They are all children of the great diaspora that followed the
massacre of Turkish Armenians in 1915 – the “crime against humanity”
deplored by a majority of our MPs. It began on April 24, 1915 with
the arrest of Armenian professionals and intellectuals, and ended two
years later with Turkey’s Armenian population having been reduced
from around three million to fewer than 200,000.
What happened to the missing Armenians is still a matter of hot
debate for our NATO ally, Turkey, which vehemently denies systematic
slaughter. Hundreds of thousands fled to Russian Armenia, and
thousands of others eventually made their way to Europe and North
America, but somewhere between 600,000 and two million died as a
result of forced relocation, starvation and the actions of Turkish
troops and civilians.
The actual number seems less important than the fact a brutal
slaughter took place, documented by eyewitness accounts from
survivors, and from credible reports by mostly American diplomats and
aid workers on the scene. There was no Auschwitz, no Treblinka, and
the weapons of choice seem to have been the bayonet and the knife,
but the massacre of the Armenians was in no way less systematic and
inhuman than the Holocaust. An entire population was driven from land
it had occupied since the beginning of recorded history, and those
who were not killed were left to starve or die of exposure.
There is no little irony in the fact Adolf Hitler used this genocide
as a prototype for his own final solution, apparently noting that 25
years later no one remembered what had happened to the Armenians. But
at the time he was wrong. The story of the Armenians received wide
publicity in the years between the world wars, particularly in the
U.S., Canada and Britain.
There was even a time when the Turkish authorities themselves
acknowledged what had happened. Several of those responsible were
tried for their crimes by Turkish courts and executed. But as a
valuable ally during the Cold War years, as NATO’s bulwark against
Soviet Central Asia, there was a concerted attempt to forget and
finally to deny Turkey’s past.
What’s the point of remembering a regrettable slice of the past?
Apart from simple honesty, humanity is the accumulation of its
history and it is impossible to learn from events if we deny they
happened. In Turkey’s case, denying the massacre of the Armenians
guarantees the memory will fester.
Some Turkish leaders in 1915 were openly critical of their
government, others bravely refused to implement genocidal policies,
while ordinary Turks were summarily executed for trying to help their
Armenian neighbours. The present Turkish government would do better
to remember their example than to deny history.

cgi?WAISdocID=7832582351+0+0
+0&WAISaction=ret rieve
HONORING THE 89TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
______

HON. MARTIN T. MEEHAN
of massachusetts
in the house of representatives
Thursday, April 22, 2004
Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 89th anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide, in which 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and
children were brutally massacred by the Ottoman Turk regime. The
Armenian Genocide was one of the darkest tragedies in human history,
one that must never be forgotten.
On April 24, 1915, nearly three hundred Armenian intellectuals and
political leaders were rounded up, deported and executed under the
orders of the Ottoman Turk Regime, marking the beginning of the first
genocide of the 20th century. Later that day, 5,000 more Armenians were
slaughtered in their homes and on the streets. For 5 years, the brutal
regime carried out the systematic destruction of the Armenian people
through forced labor, concentration camps, and death marches, until
millions were dead or exiled.
[[Page E630]]
As we look back on the bloodshed and atrocities committed against the
Armenian people, we must recognize the event for the genocide that it
was. As Henry Morgenthau, Sr., the former Ambassador to the Ottoman
Empire stated, “I am confident that the whole history of the human
race contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and
persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the
sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915.”
To deny this truth is to tarnish the memories of the millions of
Armenians who lost their lives to ethnic cleansing. As a member of the
Congressional Armenian Caucus, I have joined my colleagues in sending a
letter to President Bush urging him to acknowledge the Armenian
Genocide during his April 24th commemoration address. By drawing
attention to the legacy of this genocide, we can strengthen our resolve
to prevent future human tragedies of this kind.
I am proud to represent a large and vibrant Armenian community in the
Fifth Congressional District of Massachusetts. Every year, survivors
and their descendants make public and vivid the hidden details of the
Armenian Genocide as they participate in commemoration ceremonies
across the Merrimack Valley. In my hometown of Lowell, the Armenian-
American Veterans Honor Guard will lead a procession to City Hall for a
flag raising ceremony in recognition of the 89th anniversary of the
genocide. The commemoration offers participants an opportunity to
remind the world of the tragedy that befell Armenians of the Ottoman
Empire.
I am honored to add my voice to those of my colleagues today in
commemorating the Armenian Genocide. We will never forget the truth.

Hellenic Resources Network
Monday, 8 March 2004
Background Paper on the Pontian Genocide
Misc. Docs. Directory
From: Akis Haralabopoulos [email protected]
GENOCIDE of the PONTIAN GREEKS
Pontus means “sea” in Greek and is located in the south-eastern littoral of
the Black Sea. Its connection with Hellenism stretches back to pre-historic
times to the legends of Jason and the Argonauts quest for the Golden Fleece
and to Heracles obtaining the Amazon Queen’s girdle. The coastal region was
colonised by the Ionians, especially the city of Miletus which founded
Sinope (785 BC), Trapezunta (756 BC) and the numerous other cities along the
coast from Heracleia to Discurias in the Caucasus. The Hinterland was
gradually Hellenised and this was completed after Alexander’s conquests. Its
contribution to Hellenism in those 2800 years has been enormous: Diogenes
hailed from Sinope and Strabo from Amaseia, it was here that Xenophon found
a safe haven, that the great Comneni dynasty reigned, the home of Cardinal
Bessarion and the Hypsilandis family; it was also the last Greek territory
to fall to the Turks (in 1461). Many famous churches, monasteries and
schools are a testament to the resilience of Hellenism. The Pontians are a
distinct Greek people with their own dialect, dances, songs and theatre.
For the Pontian Greeks all ended in tragedy in the years 1914-22. Of the
700,000 Greeks living in Pontus in 1914, 300,000 were killed as a result of
Turkish government policy and the remainder became refugees. Three millenia
of the Greek presence was wiped out by a deliberate policy of creating a
Turkey for the Turks. The Pontian people were denied the right to exist, the
right of respect for their national and cultural identity, and the right to
remain on land they had lived on for countless generations.
The turning point in the treatment of Greeks in Turkey was the alliance
between Germany and the Sultan that commenced after the Treaty of Berlin
1878. Germany regarded Anglo French protection of Christians as an obstacle
to its interests and convinced the Turkish authorities that the Greeks were
working for the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Germany opened the Berlin
Academy to Turkish military officers and General Gotz was appointed to
restructure the Ottoman armed forces. The successful national movements in
the Balkans posed a threat that the same would occur in Asia Minor. After
the Balkan Wars the Young Turks decided that Asia Minor would be a homeland
for Turks alone and that the Greeks and Armenians had to be eliminated. The
outbreak of World War I made this possible and Germany willingly sacrificed
the Christian minorities to achieve its aim in the Middle East. However, it
is the German and Austrian diplomats reports that confirm that what took
place was a systematic and deliberate extermination of the Christian
population. Genocide. Not security or defence measures, not relocations of
population (why forcibly relocate populations?) not war, not retaliation in
response to the activities of Pontian guerillas or Russian invasion but
GENOCIDE.
Terrorism, labour battalions, exiles, forced marches, rapes, hangings,
fires, murders, planned, directed and executed by the Turkish authorities.
This can be corroborated by the German and Austrian archives now made
public:
24 July 1909 German Ambassador in Athens Wangenheim to Chancellor Bulow
quoting Turkish Prime Minister Sefker Pasha: “The Turks have decided upon a
war of extermination against their Christian subjects.”
26 July 1909 Sefker Pasha visited Patriarch Ioakeim III and tells him: “we
will cut off your heads, we will make you disappear. It is either you or us
who will survive.”
14 May 1914 Official document from Talaat Bey Minister of the Interior to
Prefect of Smyrna: The Greeks, who are Ottoman subjects, and form the
majority of inhabitants in your district, take advantage of the
circumstances in order to provoke a revolutionary current, favourable to the
intervention of the Great Powers. Consequently, it is urgently necessary
that the Greeks occupying the coast-line of Asia Minor be compelled to
evacuate their villages and install themselves in the vilayets of Erzerum
and Chaldea. If they should refuse to be transported to the appointed
places, kindly give instructions to our Moslem brothers, so that they shall
induce the Greeks, through excesses of all sorts, to leave their native
places of their own accord. Do not forget to obtain, in such cases, from the
emigrants certificates stating that they leave their homes on their own
initiative, so that we shall not have political complications ensuing from
their displacement.
31 July 1915 German priest J. Lepsius: “The anti-Greek and anti-Armenian
persecutions are two phases of one programme – the extermination of the
Christian element from Turkey.
16 July 1916 German Consul Kuchhoff from Amisos to Berlin: “The entire Greek
population of Sinope and the coastal region of the county of Kastanome has
been exiled. Exile and extermination in Turkish are the same, for whoever is
not murdered, will die from hunger or illness.”
30 November 1916 Austrian consul at Amisos Kwiatkowski to Austria Foreign
Minister Baron Burian: “on 26 November Rafet Bey told me: “we must finish
off the Greeks as we did with the Armenians . . . on 28 November. Rafet Bey
told me: “today I sent squads to the interior to kill every Greek on sight.”
I fear for the elimination of the entire Greek population and a repeat of
what occurred last year” (meaning the Armenian genocide).
13 December 1916 German Ambassador Kuhlman to Chancellor Hollweg in Berlin:
“Consuls Bergfeld in Samsun and Schede in Kerasun report of displacement of
local population and murders. Prisoners are not kept. Villages reduced to
ashes. Greek refugee families consisting mostly of women and children being
marched from the coasts to Sebasteia. The need is great.”
19 December 1916 Austrian Ambassador to Turkey Pallavicini to Vienna lists
the villages in the region of Amisos that were being burnt to the ground and
their inhabitants raped, murdered or dispersed.
20 January 1917 Austrian Ambassador Pallavicini: “the situation for the
displaced is desperate. Death awaits them all. I spoke to the Grand Vizier
and told him that it would be sad if the persecution of the Greek element
took the same scope and dimension as the Armenia persecution. The Grand
Vizier promised that he would influence Talaat Bey and Emver Pasha.”
31 January 1917 Austrian Chancellor Hollweg’s report: “. . . the indications
are that the Turks plan to eliminate the Greek element as enemies of the
state, as they did earlier with the Armenians. The strategy implemented by
the Turks is of displacing people to the interior without taking measures
for their survival by exposing them to death, hunger and illness. The
abandoned homes are then looted and burnt or destroyed. Whatever was done to
the Armenians is being repeated with the Greeks.
Thus, by government decree 1,500,000 Armenians and 300,000 Pontian Greeks
were annihilated through exile, starvation, cold, illness, slaughter,
murder, gallows, axe, and fire. Those who survived fled never to return. The
Pontians now lie scattered all over the world as a result of the genocide
and their unique history, language (the dialect is a valuable link between
ancient and modern Greek), and culture are endangered and face extinction.
A double crime was committed – genocide and the uprooting of a people from
their ancestral homelands of three millenia. The Christian nations were not
only witnesses to this horrible and monstrous crime, which remains
unpunished, but for reasons of political expediency and self interest have,
by their silence, pardoned the criminal. The Ottoman and Kemalist Turks were
responsible for the genocide of the Pontian people, the most heinous of all
crimes according to international law. The international community must
recognise this crime.