Author: Kalashian Nyrie

APRIL 24 NOT ONLY DAY OF COMMEMORATION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS,
BUT ALSO DAY OF AWAKENING OF ARMENIAN PEOPLE’S SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS: USD
LEADER
YEREVAN, APRIL 22. ARMINFO. April 24 is not only a day of
commemoration of the Armenian Genocide victims, but also a day of
awakening of the Armenian people’s self-consciousness. Leader of the
Union Self Determination party Paruyr Hairikyan said at a
press-conference today.
He said that in 1965 the Armenian people for the first time remembered
its rights, demanding not only to mark at the state level the Day of
genocide, but also to release the seven political prisoners and to
return the Armenian lands seized by Turkey after the Genocide. A year
later in 1966 the party Union Self Determination currently headed by
P.Hairikyan was formed which was fighting and still fights for the
rights of every citizen of the country. In connection with the
aforementioned, it is not clear to Hairikyan how can high ranking
officials state that the process of Genocide recognition must be stage
by stage – at first recognition, then condemnation, and then
compensation to the victims and only after this the return of the
territories can be in question. It must be a package solution and
everything must be returned and compensated at once, as in 1915 not
only the Armenians but also the Armenian statehood were killed,
Hairikyan thinks. Hairikyan himself is a successor of the genocide
victims, the brother of his grandfather Abraham Hairikyan was killed
by Turks in 1915.

TURKEY: A Nation at the Crossroads
If not now, when?
INTERNATIONAL PEN
Writers in Prison Committee
April 22, 2005
Laws affecting Freedom of Expression
On 6 February 2002, Law No. 4744 – the ‘Mini-Democracy Package’ – was
adopted by the Turkish government. This changed some of the laws that
had previously seriously curtailed freedom of expression, but the
changes were not always positive. Many of the laws are still being
modified. The Human Rights Association of Turkey, evaluating the first
three months of 2003, recently concluded that these amendments were
‘partial’ and their piecemeal nature still rendered the ‘constitutional
and legal system of Turkey’ not fully democratic. It called for ‘radical
democratic change and transformation’.
The association in particular reported that certain radio and TV
stations had been subjected to 180-day suspension orders, that journals
had been temporarily closed down, and that fresh cases against
individuals for having ‘expressed their thoughts’ numbered 50. It cited
the Anti-Terror legislation along with Articles 312 and 159 of the
Turkish Penal Code as continuing to give rise to many unjust prosecutions.
The culprit laws cited by the Turkish Human Rights Association outlaw
the following activities, in vague, over-broad language:
* Producing ‘separatist propaganda’: Turkey’s Anti-Terror
legislation, specifically Article 8, remains a major stumbling block for
any writers wishing to explore the issue of Turkey’s ethnic minorities.
Support for the Kurds, particularly if using words such as ‘Kurdistan’
can result in imprisonment for ‘separatist propaganda’.
* ‘Incitement to hatred on the basis of class, religion or race’ if
such incitement endangers the ‘public order’, or ‘insulting a segment of
the population or people’s honor’: Article 312.2 of the Turkish Penal
Code has again been used against those writing about Turkey’s ethnic
minorities.
* ‘Insulting the Turkish nation’: Article 159 of the Turkish Penal
Code prohibits statements deemed insulting to the State or its organs –
whether the military, the judiciary, or government offices. Those
criticizing alleged human rights abuses committed by the army, or
critiquing the legal system, can find themselves on the wrong side of
this law.
More information on the campaign and how you can take action can be
accessed by clicking on the links below.
Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions.

Ratzinger on Turkey’s candidacy to join EU
BY JOHN L. ALLEN JR., Vatican Correspondent
([email protected])
The Word from Rome
National Catholic Reporter
August 13, 2004
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican’s doctrinal agency,
has come out against Turkey’s candidacy to join the European Union.
In an interview with the French publication Le Figaro, Ratzinger said
that Turkey has always been “in permanent contrast to Europe,” and
that it should look instead to play a leadership role in a network
of Islamic states.
“In the course of history, Turkey has always represented a different
continent,” Ratzinger said, giving as an example the Ottoman Empire,
which once invaded Europe as far as Vienna.
“Making the two continents identical would be a mistake,” he said. “It
would mean a loss of richness, the disappearance of the cultural to
the benefit of economics.”
Ratzinger comes from Germany, where Turks make up the most numerous
component of a growing Islamic minority. He said Turkey “could try
to set up a cultural continent with neighboring Arab countries and
become the leading figure of a culture with its own identity.”
The comments echo those of then-Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, at the
time the Vatican’s foreign minister, in a May 2003 interview with
Corriere della Sera.
Tauran said that in the current European Union, “All the countries
share the same patrimony of values that are dear to Europe.” Rather
than adding Turkey, he suggested that it might be “more opportune”
to consider membership for Ukraine and Moldavia, two countries with
an Orthodox Christian heritage.
It should be noted, however, that neither Ratzinger nor Tauran
expressed the Holy See’s official position. When diplomats put the
question to senior Vatican officials in the Secretariat of State,
they are always told that the Holy See is “not necessarily opposed”
to Turkey joining the EU. The two caveats usually mentioned are:
the need for guarantees of religious liberty, including the country’s
Christian minority; and the need for Europe to formally acknowledge
its Christian roots.
Within broader circles of Catholic opinion, the pro-Turkey argument
usually is that Turkey, where secularism is enshrined by law and
policed vigilantly by the military, is the last, best chance for the
emergence of a moderate Islam. There are powerful national movements,
sometimes numbering in the millions, of faithful Muslims interested
in reconciling Islamic values with modernity. (One example would
be Fethullah Gulen and the “Turkish Islam” movement). The West,
according to this view, should be doing everything in its power to
ensure that the Turkish experiment does not fail.
The other view holds that Europe is already fatally confused about
what it represents, and adding a nation with a scant five percent
of its land mass in Europe, which represents a different cultural,
historical and religious tradition, would simply add to the fog. If
Turkey joins, why not Israel, as has sometimes been suggested? Why
not any of a number of African nations? The urgent European project,
according to this line of reasoning, is not willy-nilly expansion,
but the recovery of a sense of what Europe stands for – what do
Europeans believe? What are the values for which, if necessary,
they would be willing to lay down their lives?
At a practical policy level, the prospect of Turkish membership poses
several challenges:
* Turkey’s population is already 71 million and is
disproportionately young. By 2025, it would surpass Germany as the
largest single member-state in the EU. How could the union admit
Turkey, under its current rules, without Turkey becoming the 800-pound
gorilla in the room?
* Can the totalitarian style of rule to which
Turks are accustomed really be tweaked sufficiently to bring it into
compliance with the “Copenhagen criteria” on human rights and religious
freedom, without letting loose the contagion of Islamic fundamentalism?
* Would adding Turkey to the EU exacerbate the
immigration problem that many European nations already perceive? Under
EU rules, a migrant who reaches Turkey would theoretically be entitled
to move freely practically anywhere in Europe.
Obviously, these are complicated questions that require some political
heavy lifting. The EU is scheduled to decide in December if Turkey
should become a formal candidate for membership, and certainly the
Vatican will be watching. Comparing Ratzinger’s interview with what
one hears from the Secretariat of State, however, it seems less clear
what the Vatican will be saying.
CAPTION: “In the course of history, Turkey has always represented a
different continent. Making the two continents identical would be a
mistake. It would mean a loss of richness, the disappearance of the
cultural to the benefit of economics.” Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger Head
of the Vatican’s doctrinal agency

Chirac calls on Armenian president to improve ties with Turkey
Agence France Presse — English
April 22, 2005 Friday 6:44 PM GMT
PARIS April 22 — French President Jacques Chirac urged Armenia Friday
to improve its ties with Turkey, the country Yerevan blames for the
genocide of hundred of thousands of its people 90 years ago.
“The president asked President (Robert) Kocharian (of Armenia) about
the development of his dialogue with Turkey” in particular on the
genocide issue, a French presidential spokesman said after a meeting
between the two leaders.
The two men hald talks for an hour before leaving the Elysee Palace
to lay a wreath at a paris monument commemorating the victims of the
massacre, conducted under the Ottoman empire.
Chirac “hoped that Armenia would develop this dialogue with Turkey with
a view to improving relations” with Ankara, the spokesman said, and
encouraged Kocharian “to look for elements of improvement with Turkey.”
He pointed out that French support for Turkish membership of the
European Union was conditional on Ankara’s sharing the values of
the EU, and membership “naturally required a duty of remembrance”
on the genocide issue, the spokesman said.
The talks also touched on the disputed Caucasus enclave of
Nagorno-Karabakh, where long-simmering tensions have flared recently,
sparking fears that the escalation of hostilities along a ceasefire
line between Armenian and Azeri forces could lead to a new war.
Armenia has controlled Karabakh and seven surrounding regions which
make up 14 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territory
since the two former Soviet republics ended large-scale hostilities
with a ceasefire in 1994.
Chirac said that “France was very attached to a lasting solution of
the problem and supports the principles of settlement that have been
worked out,” the spokesman said.
The two presidents discussed the idea of staging an ” Armenian cultural
year in France” in 2007.
Armenia will this weekend mark the 90th anniversary of what it calls
the genocide perpetrated between 1915 and 1917.
Some 1.5 million people may have died in the massacres, though Ankara
puts the figure at between 250,000 and half a million.
The French parliament adopted a controversial law in 2001 which states
that “France publicly recognises the Armenian genocide.”
France has a large community of Armenians, estimated at around 400,000.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ROBERT KOCHARIAN MET WITH OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIR
Pan Armenian News
22.04.2005 07:55
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Today Armenian President Robert Kocharian met
in Paris with OSCE Minsk Group French Co-Chair Bernard Fassier
to discuss the current process of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement. The Armenian leader also met with the French Minister
of Industry, President of Credit Agricole Bank and head of Alcatel
company. During the meetings the parties discussed the programs of the
Armenian-French economic cooperation and, in part the possibility of
launching the activities of the companies in Armenia as well as the
prospects of cooperation in tourism.

DELEGATION OF EUROPEAN COMMISSION ARRIVED IN ARMENIA ON
WORKING VISIT
YEREVAN, APRIL 19. ARMINFO. A delegation of European Commission (EC)
headed by EC director on cooperation with Southern Mediterranean and
Near and Middle East countries Richard Veber and Head of directorate
of Caucasian and Central Asian countries Kurt Yul arrived in Yerevan
on a working-visit.
The delegation met with AEPLAC (Armenian-European Economic Policy and
Legal Advice Center) leadership. They will also meet with Armenian
Prime-Minister Andranik Margaryan. A sitting of Armenian-European
subcommission on trade and investment issues will take place Apr 20.
Wide spectrum of issues including Armenian trade-and-investment
regime, customs and tax policy, as well as issues of fulfillment of
the National plan of actions within the framework of cooperation and
partnership upon the Program of new European neighborhood will be
discussed during the sitting. -r-
To note, the European Union will examine a Plan of actions within
the framework of EU-Armenia cooperation Apr 25. -r-

Unity
Yerkir/arm
April 15, 2005
To commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, a joint
exclusive issue by Aztag, the official ARF publication in Beirut, and
Yerkir, ARF Armenia Supreme Body’s official publication in Yerevan,
will be delivered to their readers soon.
The issue will contain over forty articles, studies and analyses by
authors from Armenia and Diaspora. This joint endeavor comes to prove
again that the Homeland and the
Diaspora are united in their quest of commemorating the innocent
victims and restoring the historic truth as well as their aspiration
to build a free and fair Armenia, a homeland to all Armenians.

ARMENIANS OF IRAN TO STUDY BY ARMENIAN BOOKS
Pan Armenian News
18.04.2005 05:39
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian Ministry of Education is preparing
manuals for the Armenians residing in Iran, According to the
information provided by Oyanish, the Center of National Studies, the
work was started last year and the manuals of History and Geography
are ready to date. The textbooks will be delivered among 10 thousand
pupils studying in 23 Armenian schools in Iran. The books written
by Armenian authors have been printed in Iran with the financial
assistance of the Iranian government, Day.az reports.

Armenian Genocide 90th Anniversary Commemorative Committee of California
2495 E. Mountain Street
Pasadena, CA 91104
Contact: Lena Kaimian
Phone (310) 360-0091
April 18, 2005
Armenian Genocide 90th Anniversary Commemoration Events in California
Los Angeles, CA – Below is a listing of pan-Armenian community events
being held in Sacramento and the Los Angeles area sponsored and
organized by the 24 members of the Armenian Genocide 90th Anniversary
Commemorative Committee of California. Also, please find a listing
of other pan-community commemorative events throughout California.
Sacramento
Monday, April 18 – Sunday, April 24
Exhibit of Armenian Genocide Memorials Worldwide
Photographer Hrair “Hawk” Khatcherian
Eureka Room, State Capitol, Sacramento
Thursday, April 21
Armenian Genocide Legislation and Commemorative Events at the State Capital
State Capitol, Sacramento
9:00 a.m. California State Senate Session (4th Floor of Capitol Annex-Room 4203)
9:30 a.m. California State Assembly Session (4th Floor of Capitol Annex-Room 4202)
11:00 a.m. Community Rally on the Capitol Steps
The California State Senate and State Assembly will be voting on
legislation commemorating the Armenian Genocide and the Armenian
community is welcome.
Los Angeles
Saturday, April 23
March and Demonstration
Beginning at TCA Arshag Dickranian School – 1200 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles
Ending at Turkish Consulate – 4801 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles 3:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 23
Memorial Services
Armenian Martyrs Memorial
Bicknell Park – 850 Via San Clemente, Montebello 8:00 p.m.
Requiem and candle lighting vigil will take place.
Saturday, April 23
“My Son Shall Be Armenian” – A film by Hagop Goudsouzian
KCET – Channel 28
9:00 a.m.
Sunday, April 24
Requiem Mass at All Armenian Churches
St. Mary’s Armenian Church – 500 S. Central Avenue, Glendale (818) 244-2402
St. Peter Armenian Church – 17231 Sherman Way, Van Nuys (818) 344-4860
The “Wall of Survivors” exhibit will be at the churches
listed above. Descendents of survivors of the Armenian Genocide are
welcome to sign to commemorate their surviving family member(s)
memory by signing this wall in their honor.
Sunday, April 24
Public Gathering
Glendale High School – 1440 East Broadway, Glendale 4:30 p.m.
Federal, state and local elected officials will be attending.
Additional California Pan-Community Commemorative Events Fresno
Saturday, April 23
Flag Raising Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide
Fresno City Hall – 2600 Fresno Street, Fresno
10:00 a.m.
Sunday, April 24
Ecumenical Service
Pilgrim Armenian Congregation Church – 3673 N. 1st Street,
Fresno (559) 229-2915
6:30 p.m.
San Diego
Saturday, April 23
Voices of Rememberance: Commemoratioon of the First Genocide of the 20th Century
St. John Garabed Armenian Church – 4473 30th Street, San Diego (619) 284-7179
7:00 p.m.
Book reading, genocide documentary, and musical performances
Sunday, April 24
10:00 a.m. Requiem Mass
12:00 noon – Building a Better Future, Honoring the Victims of the Armenian Genocide
St. John Garabed Armenian Church – 4473 30th Street, San Diego
(619) 284-7179
San Francisco (contact Dork Alahaydoian at 415-517-9091)
Saturday, April 23
Solidarity March and Commemorative Event
5:30 p.m. – March begins at Civic Center Plaza (Polk and McAllister)
7:30 p.m. – March ends at St. Mary’s Cathedral – 1111
Gough (at Geary), San Francisco
Speaker: Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown
Sunday, April 24
Mt. Davidson Cross Service
Mt. Davidson Cross, San Francisco
3:00 p.m.
South Bay Commemoration
St. Andrew Armenian Church – 11370 S. Sterling Road, Cupertino
(408) 257-6753
7:00 p.m.

Zaman, Turkey
April 18 2005
Genocide Claims and Mr. Oskanyan!
ERHAN BASYURT
04.18.2005 Monday – ISTANBUL 16:07
The so-called Armenian “genocide” allegations are on the agenda
again. Turkey has been slandered for 90 years through an unfair and
partial propaganda.
I say unfair because the Armenians do not use of any legal channels
they have but only try to pressure Turkey politically.
Unfortunately, Turkey ignored revealing the facts for many long
years. Statements made from time to time were not satisfactory. For
the first time, the government, the opposition and parliament, with
one voice, are challenging these baseless allegations. There were
similar attempts in the past; however, these were done by diplomats
or scientists, solely on their own.
Turkey invited a commission consisting Turkish and Armenian historians
to investigate the issue in detail by opening the Ottoman as well as
military archives. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter
to Armenian President Robert Kocharian calling for the establishment
of a “commission of historians.” The Turkish Grand National Assembly
(TBMM) sent a letter to the British House of Commons asking it to
declare that the “Blue Book” written by Arnold Tonybee, which supports
Armenian allegations, is a product of propaganda.
Tonybee himself confesses that the book is a propaganda product.
Britain had prepared a similar book during World War I against the
Germans. The reason behind this was to make things difficult for Turkey
and Germany in the international arena, to get US support during the
war and to prepare the ground for the collapse of the Ottoman Empire,
and hence, establish two Armenian states in Anatolia.
Prof. Hikmet Ozdemir who is conducting researches on the Armenian
issue at the Turkish Institute of History (TTK) revealed in his
interview published in Aksiyon Weekly News Magazine that around 1914,
just before World War I, Britain prepared some maps that gave Izmir
to the Greeks, established the Armenian Kingdom of Celicia around
Cukurova and an Armenian Republic in Van. Ozdemir has proven these
with original documents written at that time. It is also a fact that
Russia incited the Armenians in eastern Anatolia.
It is also known that Armenians started to seek new ideals, incite
many rebellions, murder many Muslims and sabotage military deliveries
under the influence of nationalism and with external support. As a
result, the Ottoman Empire implemented forced emigration against the
Armenians. This implementation known as “Emigration” took place in 1915
and it was also applied by many countries in the world including the
US and Russia. It is a fact that many people lost their lives during
the emigration; there were serious tragic events due to attacks by
gangs and epidemics. But if it is taken into account that over 400,000
Ottoman soldiers also died from epidemics in the same period, and
those who were responsible for these deaths were tried and punished,
it will be better understood that these deaths and tragedies were not
intentional but resulted from the helplessness of the Ottoman Empire.
Erdogan and the calls he made in parliament are very important
because of this reason. The Armenians, who do not have any proof to
back their “genocide” claims, are not comfortable with this call.
Just as Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan said to the Mediamax
News Agency: “Turkey is not only trying to rewrite its own history
from the beginning in a disrespectful manner, but it also trying to
encourage other countries to do likewise.”
Why does Armenia, which has been involved in ethnic cleansing acts
in Nagorno-Karabakh and has forced over 1,000,000 Azeris out of their
own lands, oppose the establishment of a commission of historians and
opening of the Armenian state archives and those of the Tasnak Party?
It is because they are afraid that their stabbing of the Ottomans in
the back, by cooperating with the Russians and the British, and also
the fact that the emigration implemented by Ottoman Empire was not
genocide, but a precautionary measure, will be revealed.
If it were the reverse, Oskanyan would not have wasted his breath but
would have used his unilateral right to apply to the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) with the documents that he has.