Author: Kalantarian Kevo

REVUE DE PRESSE N°1 – 15/04/15 – COLLECTIF VAN

Publie le : 15-04-2015

Info Collectif VAN – – Le Collectif VAN
[Vigilance Armenienne contre le Negationnisme] vous propose une revue
de presse des informations parues dans la presse francophone sur les
thèmes concernant le negationnisme, le racisme, l’antisemitisme,
le genocide armenien, la Shoah, le genocide des Tutsi, les crimes
perpetres au Darfour, la Turquie, l’Union europeenne, l’occupation
de Chypre, etc… Nous vous suggerons egalement de prendre le temps
de lire ou relire les articles mis en ligne dans la rubrique Info
Collectif VAN et les traductions regroupees dans notre rubrique
Actions VAN. Par ailleurs, certains articles en anglais, allemand,
turc, etc, ne sont disponibles que dans la newsletter Word que nous
generons chaque jour. Pour la recevoir, abonnez-vous a la Veille-Media
: c’est gratuit ! Vous recevrez le document du lundi au vendredi dans
votre boîte email. Bonne lecture.

Genocide armenien : Signez la Petition#Remember24April1915 Info
Collectif VAN – – Une petition en huit langues,
a l’initiative de l’UGAB, l’EGAM et DurDe, est mise en ligne sur
le site Remember24April1915. En la signant, vous encouragez les
associations et militants turcs des droits de l’homme qui organisent
les commemorations du genocide armenien a Istanbul, Turquie. Le
Collectif VAN apporte son soutien a cette petition et a la delegation
antiraciste europeenne qui se rend a Istanbul le 24 avril 2015. Notre
Association est par ailleurs partenaire officiel des evenements
organises, en cette annee du Centenaire, par l’Association turque
des Droits de l’Homme (IHD), en souvenir du 24 avril 1915, date de
la rafle de 250 intellectuels armeniens a Constantinople. L’IHD,
qui a lance cette annee la Plateforme ‘100e Anniversaire – Mettre
fin au negationnisme’, porte depuis plus d’une decennie le combat en
faveur de la reconnaissance du genocide armenien en Turquie, contre
le negationnisme de l’Etat turc, et a ouvert la voie de la verite,
de la justice et des reparations. Soutenons les democrates turcs
et kurdes qui lancent toutes ces initiatives, sources de progrès et
d’evolution au sein de la societe civile turque.

ARTE – 28′: 100 ans après, pourquoi la Turquie nie le genocide
armenien Info Collectif VAN – – 28′, le
rendez-vous quotidien d’actualite sur ARTE, revient sur le tabou turc
du genocide armenien. Pour en discuter, Elisabeth Quin et son equipe
ont recu Selcuk Demir, secretaire general de l’alliance des juristes
franco-turcs, Franck Papazian, co-president du Conseil de Coordination
des organisations armeniennes et Guillaume Perrier, journaliste et
specialiste de la Turquie. Le Collectif VAN vous invite a revoir
l’emission du 14 avril sur le plateau de 28′.

Chretiens : Groupe religieux le plus persecute au monde Info Collectif
VAN – – Les graves persecutions vecues par des
millions de chretiens dans le monde violent de manière flagrante
les articles 18, 19 & 20 de la Declaration universelle des droits
de l’homme. Aujourd’hui, les chretiens sont consideres comme les
croyants les plus persecutes au monde, une realite que plus personne
ne peut ignorer aujourd’hui, tellement sont nombreux les faits
d’actualite concernant la persecution des chretiens. L’Index Mondial
de Persecution est un outil indispensable pour mieux comprendre
les contextes de cette persecution en 2015. Cette annee, il met
en evidence une intensification generale de la persecution contre
les chretiens dans le monde avec deux principales tendances: Pour
la première fois, on compte trois pays dans la zone de persecution
absolue. Presque tous les continents sont concernes: Afrique, Asie,
Amerique, Europe. Chaque annee, depuis 1997, Portes Ouvertes elabore
l’Index Mondial de Persecution, un classement des 50 pays où les
chretiens sont le plus persecutes en raison de leur croyance. Cet
outil permet de mieux connaître les besoins du terrain, d’agir en
consequence et de faire connaître au grand public la condition de
millions de personnes opprimees en raison de leur foi chretienne. Le
Collectif VAN vous soumet ici un extrait du rapport 2015 publie sur
le site Portes Ouvertes.

France Culture/Sur les docks : Une famille armenienne a Lyon Info
Collectif VAN – – Sur les Docks se rend a Lyon,
a Bron, a Decines traditionnellement terre d’accueil des Armeniens
depuis les annees 20, et rencontre 3 generations marquees par le
double exode de 47 : Margot Jordikian, qui a fait le voyage sur le
Rossia quand elle avait 13 ans ; Patricia Sarikouyoumdjian, sa nièce,
nee en Armenie sovietique, et Haïg, le fils de Patricia, ne a Lyon,
aujourd’hui un joueur de Duduk renomme que sa quete musicale conduit
souvent en Armenie. Le Collectif VAN vous propose d’ecouter et de
voir ces reportages mis en ligne sur France Culture.

Le genocide armenien : retour sur les origines d’une extermination
La persecution des Armeniens, commencee au debut de l’Empire ottoman,
debouche en 1915 sur l’elimination de 1,5 million de personnes.

Rencontre avec Yves Ternon, historien specialiste du negationnisme
et de l’etude des genocides, qui vient de publier avec Raymond H.

Kevorkian Memorial du genocide des Armeniens (Seuil), un ouvrage
qui ambitionne de refleter la totalite des connaissances concernant
ce genocide.

Survivante du genocide armenien, Theolinda a encore peur cent ans
après La centenaire fait partie des très rares rescapes des massacres
commis dans l’Empire ottoman a etre encore en vie. Le petit pavillon
de Theolinda, en banlieue parisienne, semble faire la sieste en cet
après-midi printanier. Dans sa cuisine, la vieille dame armenienne
somnole, enveloppee par la chaleur du radiateur cale contre son
fauteuil.

Chef d’oeuvre negationniste du MAF de Turquie Communique de Presse du
ministre turc des Affaires etrangères, Mevlut Cavusoglu, concernant
les declarations prononcees a propos du genocide armenien par le Pape
Francois pendant la liturgie au Saint-Siège le 12 avril 2015. Un chef
d’oeuvre negationniste.

La Turquie expulse des Britanniques, candidats au djihad La Turquie
a expulse ce mardi neuf Britanniques arretes en tentant de se rendre
en Syrie pour y rejoindre vraisemblablement l’Etat islamique (EI).

Caricatures sur le genocide des Armeniens Alors que les observateurs
attendaient une Turquie tournee vers le modernisme et du > professe par le ministre des Affaires etrangères Mehmet
Davutoglu, cette Turquie d’Erdogan s’est penchee vers >.

Genocide rwandais: ouverture du dernier procès en appel au Tribunal de
l’Onu Le dernier procès en appel devant le Tribunal penal international
pour le Rwanda (TPIR) s’est ouvert mardi a Arusha, en Tanzanie, siège
de cette Cour creee en 1994 par l’Onu pour juger les responsables du
genocide de 800 000 personnes cette annee-la au Rwanda.

Erdogan condamne le pape Francois après ses propos sur l’Armenie Le
president turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan a condamne mardi le pape Francois
qui a presente le massacre de populations armeniennes en 1915 comme le
“premier genocide du XXe siècle”. C’est la première fois qu’un pape
prononce publiquement le mot de “genocide” a propos du massacre des
Armeniens, utilisant la un terme employe par certains pays europeens,
dont la France, et sud-americains mais qu’evitent les Etats-Unis et
d’autres pays afin de preserver de bonnes relations avec un important
allie.

REACTION FROM POPE FRANCIS’ ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’ COMMENTS: ANGER, INDIFFERENCE

Business Insider
April 14 2015

Tuvan Gumruku and Ece Toksabay, Reuters

(Reuters) – When Pope Francis became the first pontiff to publicly
call the 1915 Armenian massacre a genocide this weekend, the reaction
from Ankara was swift and irate: it summoned the Vatican ambassador
for a dressing down and recalled its own envoy.

Reaction in the Turkish media on Monday ranged from indignant to
indifferent, depending on how close the newspaper is to the government.

The response on Turkish street corners was muted, with many Turks
dismissing the spat as empty politics and voicing a desire to leave
history in the past.

Francis sparked the diplomatic row on Sunday by calling the massacre of
up to 1.5 million Armenians “the first genocide of the 20th century”,
prompting Turkey to accuse him of inciting hatred.

Muslim Turkey agrees that Christian Armenians died in clashes with
Ottoman soldiers beginning in April 1915, when some Armenians lived
in the empire ruled from Istanbul, but denies hundreds of thousands
were killed and that this amounted to genocide.

“The pope’s statements, which are far from historical and judicial
facts, cannot be accepted,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said
on Twitter. “Religious offices are not places to incite hatred and
revenge with baseless accusations.”

The fact that Vatican City is the world’s smallest state may have
precluded further repercussions. When France’s parliament voted in
2011 to make Armenian genocide denial a crime, Turkey withdrew its
ambassador, suspended joint military maneuvers and stopped political
contacts for a while.

Sitting on a ferry off the western port of Izmir, a man who declined to
give his full name said it was time to stop bickering about the past.

“Every year, it’s the same thing. April comes and all the Western
politicians are talking about genocide. There is no such animosity
between the people of these two countries,” said Ibrahim, 48, taking a
sip of tea. “We must leave history behind us and focus on the future.”

Armenia and its large diaspora in the United States argue that Turkey
has not fully owned up to its wartime past.

“If you ask any ordinary Armenian or Turk, I am positive we do not
care about this as much as people think we do,” said Dursun Okan,
a 27-year-old banker.

Still others saw the pope’s remarks as interference by foreigners
and wondered whether the United States, a traditional ally of Turkey,
would eventually use the word “genocide”.

Unlike almost two dozen European and South American states that use
the term, Washington avoids it and has warned legislators that Ankara
could cut off military cooperation if they voted to adopt it.

“I believe Obama will call it a genocide as well, considering the
influence of the Armenian population in the United States,” said
Serhat, a university student in Ankara. “It would surprise me if no
one else called it a genocide.”

Pope Francis appeared to refer to his use of the term “genocide”
on Monday, saying in a sermon that “today the Church’s message is
one of the path of frankness, the path of Christian courage.”

(Editing by Tom Heneghan)

TURKEY’S ERDOGAN: ‘I CONDEMN THE POPE’ OVER ARMENIA GENOCIDE COMMENT

Assyrian International News Agency AINA
April 14 2015

Posted 2015-04-14 19:18 GMT

Turkey’s President Erdogan takes part in a welcoming ceremony in Kiev
(Thomson Reuters).ISTANBUL (Reuters) — Turkish President Tayyip
Erdogan said he condemned Pope Francis on Tuesday for comments that
the 1915 mass killing of Armenians was genocide and warned him not
to make such a statement again.

The pope became the first head of the Roman Catholic church to publicly
call the killing of as many as 1.5 million Armenians “genocide” on
Sunday, prompting a diplomatic row with Turkey, which summoned the
Vatican’s envoy and recalled its own.

Muslim Turkey agrees Christian Armenians were killed in clashes with
Ottoman soldiers that began on April 15, 1915, when Armenians lived
in the empire ruled by Istanbul, but denies hundreds of thousands
were killed and that this amounted to genocide.

“We will not allow historical incidents to be taken out of their
genuine context and be used as a tool to campaign against our country,”
Erdogan said in a speech to a business group.

“I condemn the pope and would like to warn him not to make similar
mistakes again.”

While other Turkish politicians, and now Erdogan, have lashed out at
the pope, some ordinary Turks have dismissed the row as empty politics
and voiced a desire to leave history be.

Erdogan’s comments are likely to put a focus on whether the United
States, a traditional ally of NATO-member Turkey, will eventually
use the term “genocide” for the mass killings.

Unlike almost two dozen European and South American states that use
the term, Washington avoids it and has warned legislators that Ankara
could cut off military cooperation if they voted to adopt it.

Pope Francis appeared to refer to his use of the term “genocide”
on Monday, saying in a sermon that “today the Church’s message is
one of the path of frankness, the path of Christian courage”.

Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Writing by David Dolan and Louise Ireland.

AZERBAIJAN BLACKLISTS NYT REPORTER FOR VISITING NAGORNO-KARABAKH

Interfax, Russia
April 10 2015

: BAKU. April 10

A New York Times reporter has been declared persona non grata in
Azerbaijan for visiting Nagorno-Karabakh without the go-ahead from
Azeri authorities, according to the Azeri Foreign Ministry.

“Seth Kugel, who has written an article for the New York Times, has
made an illegal visit to occupied territories of Azerbaijan, thereby
violating the law of the Azerbaijani Republic ‘On the State Frontier.’
This man’s name will be put on the list of personae non gratae,”
ministry spokesman Hikmet Haciyev said in a statement.

Kugel’s article “distorts the objective situation in the occupied
territories” and shows disrespect for the New York Times audience and
for refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, Haciyev said.

“The publication of such an article in the New York Times is
regrettable. The article, sponsored by the Armenian lobby, fails to
mention instances of plundering of Azeri property in the occupied
territories and destruction of items of the cultural legacy of the
Azeri people, including destruction of monuments and Islamic worship
sites,” the spokesman said.

Moreover, the lands that “are under occupation” are “used for the
production and sale of drugs, illegal trade in weapons, and the
training of terrorists,” he said.

Kugel’s article, “A Warm Welcome in the Caucasus Mountains,” appeared
in Wednesday’s issue of the daily. Kugel shared his impressions of a
trip to Nagorno-Karabakh and assessed it from a tourist’s point of
view.

TURKEY ANGRY AT POPE COMMENTS ON MASSACRE OF ARMENIANS AS ‘FIRST GENOCIDE OF THE 20TH CENTURY’

ITV, UK
April 12 2015

Pope Francis described the massacre of as many as 1.5 million Armenians
as “the first genocide of the 20th century” at a 100th anniversary
Mass, prompting Turkey to summon the Vatican’s Ankara envoy.

The Holy See’s ambassador has been summoned by Turkish authorities
to express their unease over the comments.

It is the first time a pope has publicly pronounced the massacre as a
“genocide”.

Turkey has long refused to call the event a genocide and has insisted
that the toll has been inflated, and that those killed were victims
of civil war and unrest.

At the start of the Armenian rite Mass in the Vatican, Pope Francis
described the mass killing as “the first genocide of the 20th century”,
which was followed by “Nazism and Stalinism”.

It is necessary, and indeed a duty, to honor their memory, for whenever
memory fades, it means that evil allows wounds to fester.

Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding
without bandaging it

– Pope Francis

Pope Francis also urged for reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia,
and between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Caucasus mountain
region Nagorno-Karabakh.

TURKEY RECALLS VATICAN AMBASSADOR AFTER POPE CALLS ARMENIAN KILLINGS GENOCIDE

Guelph Mercury.com, Canada
April 12, 2015 Sunday

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis on Sunday called the slaughter of Armenians
by Ottoman Turks “the first genocide of the 20th century” and urged the
international community to recognize it as such, sparking a diplomatic
rift with Turkey at a delicate time in Christian-Muslim relations.

Armenian President Serge Sarkisian, who was on hand to mark the 100th
anniversary of the slaughter at a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica,
praised the pope for calling a spade a spade in an interview with
The Associated Press. But Turkey, which has long denied a genocide
took place, recalled its ambassador to the Holy See in protest.

“The pope’s statement, which is far from historic and legal truths,
is unacceptable,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted.

“Religious positions are not places where unfounded claims are made
and hatred is stirred.”

Francis, who has close ties to the Armenian community from his days
in Argentina, defended his pronouncement by saying it was his duty
to honour the memory of the innocent men, women and children who were
“senselessly” murdered by Ottoman Turks.

“Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding
without bandaging it,” he said at the start of a Mass in the Armenian
Catholic rite honouring the centenary.

In a subsequent message directed to all Armenians, Francis called on
all heads of state and international organizations to recognize the
truth of what transpired to prevent such “horrors” from happening
again, and to oppose such crimes “without ceding to ambiguity or
compromise.”

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by
Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed
by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.

Turkey, however, has insisted that the toll has been inflated, and
that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest, not genocide.

It has fiercely lobbied to prevent countries, including the Holy See,
from officially recognizing the Armenian massacre as genocide.

Turkey’s embassy to the Holy See cancelled a planned news conference
for Sunday, presumably after learning that the pope would utter the
word “genocide” over its objections. Instead, the Foreign Ministry
in Ankara summoned the Vatican’s envoy, and then announced it was
recalling its own ambassador to the Vatican for consultations.

In a statement, it said the Turkish people would not recognize the
pope’s statement “which is controversial in every aspect, which is
based on prejudice, which distorts history and reduces the pains
suffered in Anatolia under the conditions of the First World War to
members of just one religion.”

Francis’ words had a more positive effect in St. Peters, where the
head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Aram I thanked Francis for his
clear condemnation and recalled that “genocide” is a crime against
humanity that requires reparation.

“International law spells out clearly that condemnation, recognition
and reparation of a genocide are closely interconnected,” Aram said
in English at the end of the Mass to applause from the pews, where
many wept.

In an interview with the AP after the Mass, the Armenian president,
Sarkisian, praised Francis for “calling things by their names.”

He acknowledged the reparation issue, but said “for our people,
the primary issue is universal recognition of the Armenian genocide,
including recognition by Turkey.”

He dismissed Turkish calls for joint research into what transpired,
saying researchers and commissions have already come to the conclusion
and there is “no doubt at all that what happened was a genocide.”

Several European countries recognize the massacres as genocide, though
Italy and the United States, for example, have avoided using the term
officially given the importance they place on Turkey as an ally.

The Holy See, too, places great importance in its relationship with the
moderate Muslim nation, especially as it demands Muslim leaders condemn
the slaughter of Christians by Muslim extremists in neighbouring Iraq
and Syria.

But Francis’ willingness to rile Ankara with his words showed once
again that he has few qualms about taking diplomatic risks for issues
close to his heart. He took a similar risk by inviting the Israeli and
Palestinian presidents to pray together for peace at the Vatican – a
summit that was followed by the outbreak of fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Francis is not the first pope to call the massacre a genocide. In his
remarks, Francis cited a 2001 declaration signed by St. John Paul II
and the Armenian church leader, Karenkin II, which said the deaths
were considered “the first genocide of the 20th century.”

But the context of Francis’ pronunciation was different and
significant: He uttered the words during an Armenian rite Mass in St.

Peter’s marking the 100th anniversary of the slaughter, alongside
the Armenian Catholic patriarch, Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Armenian
Christian church leaders and Sarkisian, who sat in a place of honour
in the basilica.

The definition of genocide has long been contentious. The United
Nations in 1948 defined genocide as killing and other acts intended
to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, but many
dispute which mass killings should be called genocide and whether the
terms of the U.N. convention on genocide can be applied retroactively.

Reaction to the pope’s declaration on the streets in Istanbul was
mixed. Some said they supported it, but others did not agree.

“I don’t support the word genocide being used by a great religious
figure who has many followers,” said Mucahit Yucedal, 25. “Genocide
is a serious allegation.”

US DEPARTMENT OF STATE REFUSED TO RECOGNIZE THE “ARMENIAN GENOCIDE”

APA, Azerbaijan
April 14 2015

[ 15 April 2015 00:51 ]

State Department spokesman Marie Harf again did not say the word
“genocide”

Baku-APA. The US State Department on Tuesday condemned the events in
the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the last century, but again
refused to recognize “genocide”, APA reports quoting RIA Novosti.

“The US president and other senior administration officials have
repeatedly acknowledged destruction of 1.5 million Armenians in the
last days of the Ottoman Empire as historical fact and stressed that
full acknowledgment of this responds interests of all, including
Turkey, Armenia and the United States”, – said State Department
spokesman Marie Harf, answering reporters’ question to comment on
the statement of Pope Francis that it was “the first genocide” of
the 20th century.

However, again Harf did not say the word “genocide”. But when
reporters asked her to respond to the words of Pope Francis, said:
“Nothing more than what I have said.”

IRAN EXPORTED AROUND 400 MILLION CUBIC METERS OF GAS TO ARMENIA IN ONE YEAR

14:20 15/04/2015 >> ECONOMY

Yadollah Baiburdi, the head of the 8th substation of the gas export
organization of Iran, summarizing the gas export volumes over the past
year (March, 2014 – March, 2015), reported that Iran has exported 382
million cubic meters of gas to Armenia over the past year, Iranian
information agency IRNA reports.

According to the Iranian official, Iran exported 9 billion 19 million
cubic meters of gas to Turkey and 294 million to Azerbaijan over the
mentioned period.

In a recent interview to the program R-Evolutia on Armenia TV, the
IRI ambassador to Armenia, Mohammad Reisi, spoke about the possibility
of transporting Iranian gas through the territory of Armenia.

“Iran has got the biggest gas supplies in the word. Naturally, Iran
must look for new markets to export its gas. Iranian gas supply to
Europe has not been considered yet, but if there are such discussions,
Armenia can also be considered as a short, secure and economically
beneficial variant,” he said.

In response to the question whether the agreement signed between
Armenia and Russia in the field of gas can become an obstacle for the
Armenian-Iranian energy projects, Ambassador Reisi said, “A contract
with 20 years’ term has been signed between Iran and Armenia. Taking
into consideration the agreement signed between Armenia and Russia,
the contract signed by Armenia and Iran undergoes no changes, it is
still in force.”

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRINCE CHARLES

13:02, 15 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Ara Papian, Head of Modus Vivendi Centre, has addressed an open letter
to His Royal Highness Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales.

The full text of the letter is below:

Your Royal Highness,

There is unequivocal truth in that the lives of kings and princes
are full of responsibilities. Paying respect to the memory of the
subjects of their own country is, without doubt, one of the most
commendable responsibilities. Hence, Your and Prince Harry’s planned
visit to Istanbul this year on April 24-25 and participation in the
commemorative ceremony of the Centenary of the Gallipoli Campaign,
which is dedicated to the memory of the victims of around 35 thousand
British subjects, is perfectly understandable. However, the issue is
not as straightforward as it appears to be at first sight.

The military actions in Gallipoli or Canakkale, as Turks refer to it,
commenced on 18 March, 1915. Consequently, Turkey has traditionally
been commemorating it on 18 March. It would be wise to question as
to why this year Turkey has decided to commemorate it on 24 April? No
notable event has taken place on April 24 in the Gallipoli Campaign.

If the change in the calendar for the commemoration by Turks is
conditioned by the fact that Turkey wishes to give importance to
the intended landing of the British-French navy on the shores of the
peninsula (although it is not clear why Turkey would give importance
to it), then it should be noted that this took place on April 25. The
change in the calendar by the Turkish authorities (the change of
Canakkale celebration from 18th to 24th of April ) pursues only one
aim – to obscure and even ridicule the memory of the victims of the
Armenian Genocide, which has always been commemorated on 24 April.

Sir, By making such changes in the calendar, the Turkish authorities
are using You as a means to their end in a distorted game of
propaganda.

By participating in the theatrical performance organised by the Turkish
authorities on April 24, the day of the commemoration of the victims
of the Armenian Genocide, you will not only disrespect the memory
of the British victims of Gallipoli, but you will also forever stain
the British throne and Bonae Memoriae of your ancestor George V.

After all, the liberation of the Armenian people from the oppression
of the Ottoman Empire was one of the principal reasons and officially
announced objectives of the British Empire, its Monarch and the
Government, in joining the First World War. At the time, the British
Empire failed to carry out its mission, and as a result, millions
of innocent victims paid with their blood. At least now, do not
desecrate the memory of your soldiers, who fell for the freedom of the
Armenians, and the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide. A
representative of the British monarchy should not be coerced into
being a puppet in the political games of a state with such an agenda.

In fact, recognizing their own culpability in the massacres of the
Armenians, which was a result of their failure to land onshore during
the Gallipoli Campaign, the Government of George V, together with
Russia and France, made a joint statement on 24 April, 1915 and
promised to bring to justice those responsible for the Armenian
massacres. Alas, neither Your country, nor Russia or France kept
their promise. I find it necessary to mention, that the righteous
offsprings of my homeland did not forget the promises of the great
powers, and a considerable number of the perpetrators of the Armenian
Genocide received their deserved punishment.

Sir, Your Highness and Prince Harry are visiting Istanbul to take part
in the Anzac Day Commemoration, which has always been remembered on
April 25. I do believe that it is Your duty to remember the British
subjects. However, it must be acknowledged that is also Your duty to
remember the Armenians, who became victims of the policy of the British
Empire. If the British Empire had not prevented the collapse of the
Ottoman Empire on various occasions, the Armenians would have not
been massacred; instead they would happily live in their millennial
homeland and would not mourn their losses every year on April 24. If
you are going to take part in the commemorative ceremony in Istanbul
on the dawn of the 25th of April, then it is your duty to also pay
tribute to the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

The flight from Yerevan to Istanbul will only require 3 hours and
40 minutes, given the two-hour time zone difference between the
two cities.

UN CHIEF WON’T CALL 1915 SLAUGHTER OF ARMENIANS ‘GENOCIDE’

The Times of Israel
April 14 2015

Secretary-general brands murder of estimated 1.5 by Ottomans ‘atrocity
crimes,’ but doesn’t follow Pope Francis’s lead

By Edith M. Lederer

NITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon considers the
slaughter of Armenians by Ottoman Turks 100 years ago “atrocity
crimes,” but he isn’t supporting Pope Francis’ description of the
killings as “the first genocide of the 20th century,” the UN spokesman
said Monday.

Turkey denies the killings were genocide and in response to the pope’s
comments on Sunday Ankara recalled its Vatican ambassador and accused
Francis of spreading hatred.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed
by Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed by
scholars as genocide. But Turkey insists the death toll has been
inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that Ban took note of
the pope’s comments and is fully aware of “the sensitivities related
to the characterization of what happened” in 1915 and the April
24 commemoration of the 100th anniversary of “the tragic events”
by Armenia and others around the world.

He said the secretary-general firmly believes that the commemoration
and continuing cooperation between Armenians and Turks “with a view
to establishing the facts about what happened should strengthen our
collective determination to prevent similar atrocity crimes from ever
happening in the future.”

Dujarric said in response to a question that Ban did not envision an
international commission to examine the facts, saying: “There’ve been
discussions with the countries concerned, and communities concerned
and I think it’s important that those discussions continue.”

He sidestepped several questions on whether the secretary-general
agreed with the pope’s characterization, and whether Francis was
right to raise the issue.

“The UN has sought to strengthen the capacity of the international
community to prevent such atrocity crimes from ever occurring,”
Dujarric said.

The pope made the pronouncement during a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica
commemorating the centenary that was attended by Armenian church
leaders and President Serge Sarkisian. Francis said it was his duty
to honor the memory of the innocent men, women and children who were
“senselessly” murdered by Ottoman Turks.

Earlier Monday, the European Union urged Turkey and Armenia to
normalize ties.

The two countries signed an agreement in 2009 to open their borders
and establish diplomatic relations but it has not been implemented.

EU foreign affairs spokesperson Maja Kocijancic said the EU encourages
the countries “to consider additional, meaningful steps that would
pave the way toward full reconciliation.”