Author: Kanayan Tamar

STOCKHOLM COMMEMORATES GENOCIDE VICTIMS

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 24, 2012 – 18:04 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – On April 24, Sweden’s Armenian Diaspora marched
the streets of Stockholm in commemoration of Armenian Genocide victims.

As the speaker of the Union of Armenian Associations in Sweden
Vahagn Avedian told PanARMENIAN.Net an Armenian church in Stockholm
is hosting a liturgy for innocent victims of Genocide, to be followed
by a photo exhibit.

“The exhibit will feature works of Scandinavian artists who witnessed
the Genocide in 1915. The event highlights letters and other materials
carrying eyewitness accounts of the massacres. The historic documents
were showcased in Yerevan’s Genocide Museum in 2011, with Stockholm
exhibit to last through April 27,” Avedian said.

In the evening of April 24, a special event, hosting 300 people,
will take place. Suzanne Khardalian’s “Grandma’s Tattoos” centering
on Genocide survivors will be screened.

BERLIN HOSTS PROTEST RALLY AT GENOCIDE ORCHESTRATORS’ TOMBS

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 24, 2012 – 19:06 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – On April 24, Berlin hosted several events in
commemoration of Armenian Genocide victims.

As Germany’s Armenian community representative, Freie Universitat
Berlin Jirayr Kocharian told PanARMENIAN.Net on April 24, Berlin’s
Armenians hosted a protest rally at the Turkish mosque, burial site
of Genocide orchestrators Cemal Pasha and Behaeddin Shakir.

“Turkish nationals were among those who helped us organize the event.

The event, covered by German media, hosted Greek, German, Kurdish,
Assyrian nationals as well as representatives of 60 organizations,”
Kocharian said.

According to him, a liturgy for Genocide victims will be held at 6
pm local time to be followed by a cultural event and a lecture.

Also, ritual wreaths were laid at Turkish embassy in Frankfurt.

PROSECUTOR GENERAL OF RUSSIA TO PAY A WORKING VISIT TO ARMENIA

ARMENPRESS
24 April, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, APRIL 24, ARMENPRESS: A delegation headed by Prosecutor
General of Russia Yury Chaika will pay a working visit to Armenia on
April 25.

The prosecutors of the two countries will discuss issues on development
of cooperation between the offices of the prosecutor general of Armenia
and Russia, as well as will sign a cooperation program for 2012-2013,
the Office of the Prosecutor General in Armenia told Armenpress.

During the working visit Yury Chaika will hand to his Armenian
counterpart an award decreed by the Russian President – Order of Honor.

ANCA CHAIRMAN: OBAMA COMPLETED HIS SURRENDER TO TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 24, 2012 – 18:47 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – U.S. President Barack Obama, once again, used
euphemistic language and verbal gymnastics to characterize the murder
of 1.5 million Armenians in his annual April 24 remembrance day
statement, breaking his pledge as Senator and Presidential candidate
to properly recognize the Armenian Genocide as President, the Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA) comments.

“President Obama today completed his surrender to Turkey, shamefully
outsourcing U.S. human rights policy to a foreign state, and tightening
Ankara’s gag on American recognition of the Armenian Genocide,”
said ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian. “The President’s capitulation to
Turkey – on this, the last April 24th of his term – represents the
very opposite of the principled and honest change he promised to
Armenian Americans and to all the citizens of our nation.

President Obama’s pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide stands
today as a stark lie, a painful promise etched on the hearts of
all who had hoped and worked for change, but who, today, have been
betrayed by a politician who failed to live up to his own words.”

In his April 24, 2012 statement, Obama said in part, “Today, we
commemorate the Meds Yeghern, one of the worst atrocities of the 20th
century. In doing so, we honor the memory of the 1.5 million Armenians
who were brutally massacred or marched to their deaths in the waning
days of the Ottoman Empire. As we reflect on the unspeakable suffering
that took place 97 years ago, we join millions who do the same across
the globe and here in America, where it is solemnly commemorated by
our states, institutions, communities, and families.”

PRIME MINISTER SARGSYAN RECEIVED DIASPORA WRITERS

ARMENPRESS
24 April, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, APRIL 24, ARMENPRESS. The Head of the Cabinet of Armenia
received a group of Diaspora writers from France, Lebanon, Cyprus,
and Israel who have arrived to Armenia to participate in Pan Armenian
writers’ 6th forum.

The Information and public relations department of the Government told
Armenpress that the interlocutors envisaged the issues on Armenian
language and literature in Diaspora. The guests expressed willingness
to continue to act as ambassadors of the mother tongue in favor of
the heritage preservation and development. Earlier, a few Diaspora
writers were awarded with medals by Armenian Prime Minister.

97TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MARKED IN LONDON AND TEHRAN

news.am
April 24, 2012 | 16:20

Members from the Armenian community in Great Britain organized several
events to observe 97th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

First, the British Armenians marched in downtown London, condemned
Turkey’s denialist policy, and called upon the UK authorities to
recognize the Genocide. Around 800-900 people took part in the event.

Afterward, members of the British Armenian community headed toward
10 Downing Street, the headquarters of Her Majesty’s Government, and
on behalf of the community presented the petition for the Armenian
Genocide’s recognition.

Genocide remembrance events were held in Iran, too. A requiem mass
was offered in Tehran’s Saint Sargis Church, on Monday evening,
which was followed by the placing of flowers to the Genocide Memorial.

And on Tuesday, Divine Liturgy and requiem services were offered in
all Tehran churches in memory of the Armenian Genocide victims. Also,
a protest meeting was held, at the courtyard of Saint Sargis Church,
to condemn the Genocide.

JERUSALEM POST OP-ED URGES OBAMA TO RECOGNIZE GENOCIDE

ARMENPRESS
24 April, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, APRIL 24, ARMENPRESS: Ahead of President Obama’s speech
at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington on Monday, The
Jerusalem Post published an op-ed piece by Rafael Medoff entitled “The
speech Obama should give at the Holocaust Museum, reports Armenpress
citing Asbarez.

“One major mistake was our government’s hesitancy to acknowledge,
loudly and clearly, that the Jews were being singled out for mass
annihilation. During my years in the United States Senate, I said
the US should publicly recognize that Turkey perpetrated genocide
against the Armenians. Presidents, of course, face a unique array of
pressures and considerations, and during my first years in office, I
chose to use the Armenian term ‘Meds Yeghem,’ rather than ‘genocide,’
out of sensitivity to Turkey’s objections. But failing to acknowledge
genocide paves the way for future genocides. I cannot be a party to
that. From now on, I will not hesitate to state clearly that what
the Armenians suffered was genocide,” writes Medoff.

ON ARMENIAN REMEMBRANCE DAY, OBAMA AGAIN AVOIDS THE WORD “GENOCIDE” DESPITE CAMPAIGN PROMISE TO CONTRARY

Apr 24, 2012 8:40am

On the fourth Armenian Remembrance Day of his presidency, President
Obama has for the fourth time in a row broken his promise to the
Armenian community to use the word “genocide” in describing what
happened at the hands of the Turks roughly a century ago.

As a senator, and then as a presidential candidate, Barack Obama often
talked about how bold he was to call the slaughter of an estimated
1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire just what
it was: a genocide.

“America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian
Genocide and responds forcefully to all genocides,” he said. “I intend
to be that president.” In a January 2008 letter to the Armenian
Reporter, Mr. Obama said he shared “with Armenian Americans – so
many of whom are descended from genocide survivors – a principled
commitment to commemorating and ending genocide. That starts with
acknowledging the tragic instances of genocide in world history.”

In 2006, Mr. Obama noted, “I criticized the secretary of state
[Condoleezza Rice] for the firing of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John
Evans, after he properly used the term ‘genocide’ to describe Turkey’s
slaughter of thousands of Armenians starting in 1915. I shared with
Secretary Rice my firmly held conviction that 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.”

Asserted Mr. Obama, back then: “The facts are undeniable. An official
policy that calls on diplomats to distort the historical facts is an
untenable policy.”

That was then, this is now. As previous presidents have concluded, Mr.

Obama has decided that distorting the historical facts is better than
alienating ally Turkey, which disputes that term. And that policy
has been, at least in the short term, quite tenable.

The president in his statement today said “I have consistently stated
my own view of what occurred in 1915. My view of that history has not
changed. A full, frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts is in
all of our interests. Moving forward with the future cannot be done
without reckoning with the facts of the past. …Some individuals have
already taken this courageous step forward. We applaud those Armenians
and Turks who have taken this path, and we hope that many more will
choose it, with the support of their governments, as well as mine.”

CANDLELIGHT MARCH IN HAGUE ON THE 97TH ANNIVERSRAY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

armradio.am
24.04.2012 15:18

The Garegin Nzhdeh Youth Union of the Netherlands organized
a candlelight procession in Hague on the occasion of the 97th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

The participants marched from the Het Plain Square in front of the
Dutch Parliament to the Turkish Embassy.

A mass was offered in the front of the Turkish Embassy in memory of
the 1.5 million victims.

RAFFI HOVHANNISIAN: RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IS A MATTER OF HONOR AND DIGNITY

arminfo
Tuesday, April 24, 15:12

Armenia must be more daring in demanding the recognition of the
Armenian Genocide and must respond to Turkey’s preconditions with fair
claims – for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide is a matter of
honor and dignity, the leader of the Heritage party Raffi Hovhannisian
said while visiting the Armenian Genocide Memorial on Tuesday.

He said that all those countries that have recognized the Armenian
Genocide have proved their humanism.

Regarding the prospects of the international recognition of the
Armenian Genocide, Hovhannisian believes that the Armenians worldwide
must be more consolidated in their efforts to attain this goal.