Author: Kalantarian Kevo

Daily Sabah, Turkey
April 19 2015

Erdoðan: Politicizing 1915 incidents will hurt Armenian Diaspora the most

MEHMET ÇELIK@celikmehmet0
ISTANBUL

President Erdoðan lambasted the EP for ‘politicizing’ the 1915
incidents by labeling the loss of Armenian lives as ‘genocide.’ He
added that the Armenians will suffer most from the move and that
Turkey is ready to reconcile with Armenia

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoðan attended an inauguration
ceremony for various educational, medical, and sports facilities in
Turkey’s western province of Kocaeli, where he harshly criticized the
European Parliament’s (EP) adoption of a resolution urging all member
states to recognize the 1915 incidents as “genocide.”

The president refuted the EP’s decision, accusing them of using
Armenia against Turkey, saying “We know that their intention is not to
protect the rights of Armenians.”

Erdoðan said that Turkey is ready to open its archives to investigate
the matter and that the incidents should be investigated by
historians, not politicians. He also called on Armenia and other
countries to open their archives, if they had any. Erdoðan further
added that Turkey has no problems with Armenians, and the fact that
80,000 Armenians live in Turkey is a proof of that.

“I call on the world, especially Armenians, politicizing the matter
will harm Armenians the most,” Erdoðan said.

President Erdoðan also spoke on the issue of Nagorny Karabakh between
Armenia and Azerbaijan saying, “Our doors are still open to Armenia.
We are ready to establish all kinds of co-operation with them, as long
as they take positive steps towards the claims of so-called ‘genocide’
and the issue of Karabakh.”

The dispute over Nagorny Karabakh is rooted in the 1990s war, which
left at least 30,000 people dead as a result of attacks by Armenian
separatists, who seized the territory from Azerbaijan and drove out
the Azeri population.

The dispute between the two countries has not yet been resolved,
although a cease-fire has been established since 1994. The Karabakh
regions have been internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

The 1915 incidents have been a source of dispute, disagreement and the
reason for decades of strained relations between Turkey and Armenia.
Armenia claims that 1.5 million people were deliberately killed.
However, Turkey denies these claims, saying that the historical facts
do not reflect such an intention and that the deaths were a result of
deportations and civil strife.

The 1915 events took place during World War I when a portion of the
Armenian population living in the Ottoman Empire sided with the
invading Russians and revolted against the empire.

The Ottoman Empire relocated Armenians in eastern Anatolia following
the revolts, and there were Armenian casualties during the relocation
process.

Armenia demands a formal apology and compensation, while Turkey has
officially refuted Armenian allegations over the incidents, saying
that although Armenians died during the relocations, many Turks also
lost their lives in attacks carried out by Armenian gangs in Anatolia.
Furthermore, the Turkish General Directorate of State Archives last
week began to open the state archives over the 1915 incidents between
Turkey and Armenia to the public via Twitter, following scores of
unanswered calls by the Turkish side to open the archives.

Posted by the @devletarsiv Twitter account with the #Ermenimeselesi
(Armenian issue) hashtag, the documents aim to reveal the facts over
the decades-long dispute on the 100th anniversary of the incidents.

In a telegram sent by the governor of the eastern province of Bitlis
to the interior ministry dated Sept. 18, 1914 regarding the stance to
be taken by Ottoman Armenian citizens during the war, it reads: “The
recent decision and suggestion by Armenian thinkers is to stay calm
and bow to the state [Ottoman Empire] until the declaration of war, to
change the enemy party if war is declared, to stay calm and bow to the
state if our army gains ground and to arm themselves and hamper the
army’s route if it withdraws. This information is declared by the Muþ
Governorate to be from trustworthy intelligence. The Third Army
Command is [also] informed.”

Another published document also revealed that attacks by Armenian
rebels increased in February, 1920 and 28 Islamic villages were
destroyed with more than 2,000 Muslim villagers killed by Armenian
rebels. A subsequent letter to the Interior Ministry on March 7, 1915
stated that 30,000 Muslim men in the eastern provinces of Kars and
Ardahan were killed by Armenian rebels, and the letter also warned
against some Armenian soldiers in the Ottoman army refusing to fight
against the enemy, making themselves captives to the enemy side
deliberately in order to leak information.

Savaþ Eðilmez, who is the head of ASIMED, a Turkish foundation aimed
at fighting the “genocide” allegations, said yesterday that they are
going to organize conferences in some countries with photos and
documents.

“Our actions are aimed at telling the truth, not designed to defend
ourselves [i.e. Turkey]. We will attend a conference in the U.S. and
inform NGOs about the Armenian issue [the 1915 incidents]. We will
defend no one, including the Turkish side. We only aim to tell the
truth based on the sources,” said Eðilmez.

WHITE HOUSE SHOWS NO SIGNS OF SAYING ‘GENOCIDE’

Wall Street Journal
April 16 2015

The White House signaled Thursday that President Barack Obama won’t
use the word “genocide” to describe the killing of 1.5 million
Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Empire — continuing to break a
longstanding pledge.

As a candidate for office, Mr. Obama said he would use the word
“genocide” to describe the killings. In a strongly worded statement
in 2008, Mr. Obama said: “The Armenian Genocide is not an allegation,
a personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a widely documented
fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence.

He added: “As president I will recognize the Armenian Genocide.”

But since taking office, geopolitical concerns about the strategic
relationship with Turkey have kept the Obama administration from
fulfilling that 2008 promise. Turkey, a key U.S. ally in the Middle
East, has long opposed legislative efforts around the world to address
whether the killings were in fact genocide.

The White House has been under pressure to use the term this year —
the 100th anniversary of the killings — but a spokesman said Thursday
that there was no shift in its longstanding policy to eschew the
term genocide.

“The president and other senior administration officials have
repeatedly acknowledged as historical fact that 1.5 million Armenians
were massacred or marched to their deaths in the finals days of the
Ottoman Empire,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said.

“We’ve further stated that we mourn those deaths and that a full,
frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts is in the interest of
everybody, including Turkey, Armenia and the United States,” he added.

But Mr. Earnest said the longstanding position of the U.S. of avoiding
the term would likely remain in place when the White House puts out
a statement later this month.

“I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and
my view has not changed,” Mr. Obama said last year, without using term
“genocide.”

Turkey says the issue of whether the killings were genocide isn’t
for modern-day governments to decide, contests the number of deaths,
and argues those killed were casualties of a larger armed conflict.

On Sunday, Pope Francis referred to the mass killings as the “first
genocide of the 20th century,” angering Turkey.

TURKISH PREMIER SAYS EUROPEAN STANCE ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE REFLECTS RACISM

The New York Times
April 17 2015

By CEYLAN YEGINSUAPRIL 17, 2015

ISTANBUL — Turkey’s prime minister on Friday accused Europe of showing
signs of racism after the European Parliament passed a resolution
calling on his government to recognize the mass killings of Armenians
in the collapsing Ottoman Empire as genocide.

Although Turkey vowed to disregard the resolution, government officials
have lashed out at the European Parliament, the legislature of the
European Union, accusing it of contriving obstacles to relations
with Turkey. But the remarks by the prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu,
went further.

“The European Parliament should not take decisions that would result
in hatred toward a certain religion or ethnic group if it wants to
contribute to peace,” Mr. Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara. “This
issue is now beyond the Turkish-Armenian issue. It’s a new reflection
of the racism in Europe.”

The tensions came a week before Armenians across the world plan to
commemorate the 100th anniversary of what historians recognize as
the first genocide of the 20th century. Armenians say that as many
as 1.5 million Armenian Christians were systematically killed from
1915 to 1923 through mass slaughter, starvation and deportation into
the Syrian desert.

While Turkey acknowledges that atrocities took place, it refuses to
take responsibility for the deaths, claiming that a large number of
people — many of them Turks — were also killed as a result of civil
war and famine. Over the past century, all Turkish governments have
vehemently rejected the term genocide.

The debate over the characterization of the 1915 events gained momentum
after Pope Francis described them as genocide on Sunday in a Mass to
commemorate the killings. The statement caused a diplomatic uproar
from Turkey, which recalled its ambassador to the Vatican.

The European Parliament’s resolution on Wednesday calling on Turkey
to normalize relations with Armenia and recognize the genocide further
enraged the Turkish government.

In a call with Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament,
Mr. Davutoglu urged Europe to look in its own backyard by opening up
its archives on events affecting native tribes.

“If we open the books on European history, there will be questions
about what was done in Asia and Africa,” Mr. Davutoglu said. “What
happened to the original tribes there? Where are the Aborigines? Where
are the Native Americans?”

He continued: “We never had ghettos. Ghettos are a European product.

First there is ethnic discrimination, then there is genocide.”

After the European Parliament’s vote, Mr. Davutoglu’s chief adviser,
Etyen Mahcupyan, an ethnic Armenian, caused a bit of an uproar by
appearing to break with the government’s opposition to use of the
word genocide to describe what happened to the Armenian people.

“If you accept the events in Bosnia and Africa as genocide, it is
impossible to call what happened to the Armenians in 1915 something
else,” he said.

A day after his statement, the prime minister’s office announced that
Mr. Mahcupyan would be stepping down because he had reached retirement
age. But the timing led to speculation that he had been sidelined as
a result of his remarks.

“Mr. Mahcupyan’s comments were disappointing, but his retirement is
not related to them,” said an official at the prime minister’s office
who spoke on the condition of anonymity to comply with government
protocol. “At this stage, with the world siding against Turkey on
this matter, it does not surprise me that people would try and link
the two.”

ARMENIA TO FULLY EMBRACE EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION’S EMERGING MARKET OF SERVICES

Belarus News (BelTA)
April 16 2015

16 April 2015 17:17 | Economy

MOSCOW, 16 April (BelTA) – Armenia intends to join all the 43 sectors
of the common services market, which is emerging in the Eurasian
Economic Union, the press service of the Eurasian Economic Commission
told BelTA.

A draft executive order of the Council of the Eurasian Economic
Commission in favor of amending the list of sectors and subsectors
of services covered by the common services market of the Eurasian
Economic Union was approved at a session of the Board of the Eurasian
Economic Commission. The amendments have been made in view of Armenia’s
accession to the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty. In accordance with
the agreement dated by 10 October 2014 Armenia will fully join the
list of sectors of services covered by the common services market of
the Eurasian Economic Union.

The list of the common market of services for Armenia covers 43 sectors
of services. The formation of the common market has been in progress
in 23 of them since 1 January 2015 for all the Eurasian Economic
Union member states. A common market for 20 sectors (civil engineering
services, engineering services, cargo processing, warehousing services)
is being formed for Armenia, Belarus, and Russia.

The amendments will contribute to the possible reduction of the
cost of services for individuals, including in Armenia, taking into
account the growing competition between economic entities of the
Eurasian Economic Union member states on the common Eurasian market
of services. Conditions for the unhindered provision of services
will be enabled as part of the operation of the common market of
services in the Eurasian Economic Union member states. As a result,
business in the sphere of services will be diversified and new kinds
of business in the member states will be created.

Commenting on the executive order, Timur Suleimenov, Member of the
Board (Minister) for Economy and Financial Policy of the Eurasian
Economic Commission, said: “As far as Armenia is concerned, we have
received very positive decisions on the country’s accession to all the
43 sectors. In other words, Armenian colleagues are ready to undertake
obligations and respectively get the same degree of rights without
exemptions and transitory periods. It has to be stipulated by decisions
of the presidents. If the presidents discuss and confirm Armenia’s
initiative on 8 May, the common market will become operational once
the executive order comes into force.”

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT VOTES TO CALL ARMENIAN MASSACRE ‘GENOCIDE’

Deutsche Welle, Germany
April 16 2015

The European Parliament has approved a resolution “to recognize the
Armenian genocide” a century ago by Ottoman Turkish forces. Turkey
has dismissed the resolution, which commends recent comments by
Pope Francis.

The European Parliament approved a motion on Wednesday that
commemorates the massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians during World
War I in 1915, labeling it a “genocide.”

The non-binding resolution passed by a large majority with a show
of hands.

Before the vote, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he
would ignore the result, and that “it would go in one ear and out
the other.” Turkey is strongly opposed to qualifying the deaths as
genocide, saying that hundreds of thousands of both Turks and Christian
Armenians lost their lives in the struggle between the Ottoman forces
and the Russian Empire over eastern Anatolia during World War I.

Nonetheless, the resolution welcomed remarks by Erdogan and others
“offering condolances and recognizing atrocities against the Ottoman
Armenians.” It urges Ankara to go further and “recognize the Armenian
Genocide and thus to pave the way for a genuine reconciliation between
the Turkish and Armenian peoples.”

The resolution repeats language used in 1987, when the European
Parliament defined the killings as a “genocide.”

It comes days after the use of the term by Pope Francis sparked fury in
Ankara, with the Turkish government summoning the Vatican ambassador
in Istanbul. Wednesday’s resolution in Brussels defends the pope,
commending his weekend message.

During the debate in Brussels, conservative German MEP Elmar Brok
said there was a “moral obligation” to recognize and commemorate
such massacres.

“My own people committed genocides,” Brok said.

The German parliament is also set to discuss the issue later this
month.

A CENTURY AFTER ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, TURKEY’S DENIAL ONLY DEEPENS – THE NEW YORK TIMES

13:17 * 17.04.15

By Tim Argano

The crumbling stone monastery, built into the hillside, stands as a
forlorn monument to an awful past. So, too, does the decaying church
on the other side of this mountain village. Farther out, a crevice
is sliced into the earth, so deep that peering into it, one sees only
blackness. Haunting for its history, it was there that a century ago,
an untold number of Armenians were tossed to their deaths.

“They threw them in that hole, all the men,” said Vahit Sahin, 78,
sitting at a cafe in the center of the village, reciting the stories
that have passed through generations.

Mr. Sahin turned in his chair and pointed toward the monastery. “That
side was Armenian.” He turned back. “This side was Muslim. At first,
they were really friendly with each other.”

A hundred years ago, amid the upheaval of World War I, this village
and countless others across eastern Anatolia became killing fields
as the desperate leadership of the Ottoman Empire, having lost the
Balkans and facing the prospect of losing its Arab territories as well,
saw a threat closer to home.

Worried that the Christian Armenian population was planning to align
with Russia, a primary enemy of the Ottoman Turks, officials embarked
on what historians have called the first genocide of the 20th century:
Nearly 1.5 million Armenians were killed, some in massacres like the
one here, others in forced marches to the Syrian desert that left
them starved to death.

The genocide was the greatest atrocity of the Great War. It also
remains that conflict’s most bitterly contested legacy, having been
met by the Turkish authorities with 100 years of silence and denial.

For surviving Armenians and their descendants, the genocide became a
central marker of their identity, the psychic wounds passed through
generations.

“Armenians have passed one whole century, screaming to the world that
this happened,” said Gaffur Turkay, whose grandfather, as a young boy,
survived the genocide and was taken in by a Muslim family. Mr. Turkay,
in recent years, after discovering his heritage, began identifying as
an Armenian and converted to Christianity. “We want to be part of this
country with our original identities, just as we were a century ago,”
he said.

GERMAN JEWISH LEADER CALLS FOR RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

13:06, 17 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

The Central Council of Jews in Germany has called on the German
government to recognize the World War I mass murder of over one
million Armenians in what was then the Ottoman Empire as a genocide,
the World Jewish Congress reports.

“One hundred years ago, the government of the Ottoman Empire ordered
the deportation of one million Armenians. They were murdered directly,
or died of starvation and dehydration in the desert,” Central Council
President Josef Schuster told the newspaper ‘Der Tagesspiegel.’ He
added: “These terrible events should be called what they were:
a genocide.”

Schuster said the Armenian genocide later served Adolf Hitler and
his Nazis as a blueprint for the Holocaust.

The main German parties, CDU and SPD, have so far been reluctant to
use the term genocide because they fear a conflict with Turkey.

TURKISH OFFICIAL INSULTS ARGENTINA IN RESPONSE TO POPE’S ARMENIAN GENOCIDE REMARKS

The Frontrunner
April 14, 2015 Tuesday

The New York Times (4/14, Mackey, Subscription Publication, 9.97M)
reports that one day after Pope Francis called the mass killing of
Armenians a century ago “the first genocide of the 20th century,”
Turkey’s minister for European affairs, Volkan Bozkir, said that
Argentina, the country where Francis hails, “welcomed the leading
executors of the Jewish Holocaust, Nazi torturers, with open arms.”

Bozkir asserted that “in Argentina, the Armenian diaspora controls
the media and business.”

LATimes Calls On Obama To Recognize Armenian Genocide.

In an editorial, the Los Angeles Times (4/14, 3.49M) writes that
Turkey’s denial of “the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians” a century
ago “compounds the original crime,” adding that the US “has been
complicit in Turkey’s defiance.” The Times urges President Obama
to recognize the Armenian “genocide,” saying that the US-Turkey
relationship “is a very important one, and one worth nurturing and
protecting, but not at the expense of denying history.”

BARACK OBAMA ‘LAME DUCK’, BUT NOT FREE TO USE WORD ‘GENOCIDE’ – AGHASI YENOKYAN

10:58 â~@¢ 17.04.15

In an interview with Tert.am, political scientist Aghasi Yenokyan
voiced doubts that US President Barack Obama, even after a week of
series of victories in international recognition of the Armenian
Genocide, will use the word “genocide.”

Although Mr Obama is “lame duck president,” he needs a political
decision of his party. On the other hand, the US president will
attend a ceremony commemorating Armenian Genocide victims to be held
in Washington.

According to world mass media, Turkish FM Mevlut CavuÃ…~_oglu went to
Turkey to prevent the US president using the word “genocide.” With
respect to the possibility of the US president using the word
“genocide” in the context of the liturgy held by Pope Francis and
the European Parliament’s resolution, Mr Yenokyan said:

“I do not think it is up to the US president alone to decide. He needs
his party’s decision to use the word ‘genocide.’ I do not think that
the US has changed its position on the use of the word ‘genocide.’ Of
course, they use synonyms, but they are not the same as ‘genocide.'”

As regards analysts’ opinions about the Armenian factor’s role in
the situation surrounding Turkey and the Turkish foreign office’s
shock, Mr Yenokyan said that debates on the Armenian Genocide have
intensified this year in the context of the Armenian Genocide centenary
and relevant efforts. However, it does not concern the US.

The US president is reportedly expected to approve a US delegation
which is to attend events marking the Armenian Genocide centennial in
Armenia. US presidential runner Hillary Clinton is likely to arrive
as well as US presidential candidates normally seek Armenian voters’
favor.

“Barack Obama will not arrive in Armenia. As regards others, it is
more a speculation.”

As to the possibility of the US president’s attending a liturgy at
the Washington National Cathedral, Mr Yenokyan said:

“Some information is available on Barack Obama’s planned presence
at the commemoration ceremonies for Armenian Genocide victims in
Washington. This is a most important factor showing the United
State’s attitude.”

The Jews are said to have the best experience in having their Holocaust
internationally recognized. In the context of the past week’s
developments, Armenians can be said to be entering a higher-level
stage.

“The Pope’s remarks and recognition of the Armenian Genocide by a
number of states are new steps.”

As regards the inconsistency on the part of many states – for example,
Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit Armenia,
while Chairman of the State Duma Sergey Naryshkin is to be present
at events marking the Battle of Gallipoli – the expert said:

“It is natural they do not want to worsen their relations with Turkey.”

Mr Yenokyan does not share the opinion that the Pope’s remarks imparted
religious implications to recognition of the Armenian Genocide,
as a token of harmony between sister-churches.

“And I would like to remind you that it was Muslim and Arab states
that helped Genocide survivors. On the other hand, this is political
manipulation on the part of Turkey, which is now displaying rather
serious state and religious trends.”

DONALD BLOXHAM READS THE TESTIMONY OF RUBEN VARDANIAN

April 17, 2015 10:30
EXCLUSIVE

Donald Bloxham

Mediamax presents 100 Seconds project devoted to Armenian Genocide
Centennial. The project is based on testimonies of Genocide survivors
published by the National Archive of Armenia.

Donald Bloxham is a Professor of Modern History, Editor of the Journal
of Holocaust Education.

For 100 seconds project he reads an extract from Armenian Genocide
survivor Ruben Vardanian’s testimony.

National Archives of
Armenia Collection of Documents

Testimony of survivor Ruben Vardanian on the Massacre of the village
of Goms in Mush district of Mush province

At the end of Easter 10 to 15 policemen came to our village. They told
us that the government wanted us all. In the morning, they surrounded
the village and some of them broke in, gathered everyone, women and
children and drove them out. They shot those who tried to flee. Two
people were killed there. After starting off, the policemen killed
another four people who tried to flee. They also caught a man and
cut off his head with a sword.

After walking for some time we were returned back to our village which
was full of people from other villages. Turks from the town had come
who selected beautiful women and girls and took them away. Our friend
Rasul came, selected my mother, my three brothers and me and took us
to Baghesh to keep in his house. We stayed there for a month. Once
I went to our village with the Turkish children to look for food and
goods. All the houses in our village were destroyed; the wooden parts
were taken away. There were corpses in the church, around it and in
the yard; the Turks counted 80 corpses of women and children.

Producer: Ara Tadevosyan Filming: Peter Ross Post Production: Tumo LLC

The source of Ruben Vardanian’s testimony: National Archives of
Armenia, Armenian Genocide by Ottoman Turkey, 1915, Testimony of
survivors, Collection of documents, Yerevan-2013.

VivaCell-MTS is the general partner of 100 seconds project.