Author: Kanayan Tamar

GERMAN HISTORIAN SAYS THERE IS PROOF POPE BENEDICT XV TRIED TO STOP ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

09:48, 11 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Just before the world commemorates the 100th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide, well-known German historian Michael Hesemann
announced the discovery of 2000 pages of hitherto unpublished documents
on, what he calls “the greatest persecution of Christians in history”
in the Vatican Secret Archives.

In this in-depth analysis with ZENIT, the historian discusses his
findings, what’s often not realized about the Armenian genocide,
and its victims, items which he discusses in his new book.

He also speaks about the Holy Father’s recent visit to Turkey, why
he didn’t speak on the subject, and what people should realize about
the tragedy which happened then, and what’s happening now.

ZENIT: What compelled you to start going through the documents? What
did you feel you had uncovered?

Hesemann: Actually, I was fascinated by the Armenian genocide after
reading a letter written by the Cologne Archbishop–and I am from the
Archdiocese of Cologne-, Cardinal von Hartmann, who in 1913 wrote a
letter to the German Chancellor of the Reich requesting German support
to prevent a new Armenian Genocide after the withdrawal of the Russian
troops from Northeastern Turkey. And his words were very impressive.

He confirmed the Armenian genocide of 1915/1916 and compared it with
the early persecutions of Christians like the Diocletian persecution
of early 4th century.

He said because Germany was such a close ally to Turkey it would also
cause shame on the German name for future generations if it wouldn’t
do anything to stop it. I immediately realized how right he was and
that he was a voice of justice in the middle of this horrible World
War I. And then I asked myself: What did Germany do after World War
I and even today to tell the world what it knew about these horrible
events, just to prevent that history repeats itself – nothing indeed!

Then in 1939, Adolf Hitler met with his leading generals in his
“Berghof” near Berchtesgaden, his headquarters in the mountains, and
announced his plans for Poland: the completely recklessly slaughter
of the Polish elite and all the other atrocities. He ordered to
proceed with the utmost, merciless brutality, since “history is
always written by the victors’ and, anyway, “Who is talking about
the Armenian Genocide today?” So obviously the denial or the cover
up of the Armenian Genocide made Hitler’s brutality in Poland and
eventually the Holocaust possible? It seems so. If you do not tell
the story, history will always repeat itself. So I thought it was my
responsibility as a historian who has access to the Vatican Secret
Archives since 2008 to look for more documents. I became curious
and in some way fascinated by the subject. I wanted to know what
really happened.

So I found documents and documents and documents, more than 2000
pages, most of them never before published, researched, or evaluated
by any historian. Of course, I educated myself on any aspect of the
Genocide, read the works of all the leading contemporary historians
in this field like Kevorkian, Dadrian and others and just realized
that I am entering a brand new territory, adding a new aspect to
their important work. The sources we have on the Armenian Genocide
are, of course, the German documents, both coming from the officers
and diplomats stationed in the Ottoman Empire, which we find in the
Archives of the German foreign office. Another important stock were the
American diplomat’s reports and, of course, the brilliant report by the
American Ambassador in Constantinople, Henry Morgenthau. Of course we
also have intelligence reports from both the British and the French
and the reports of the Italian diplomats in Turkey. But the Vatican
documents are an excellent, first class new source of information.

ZENIT: Why did these massacres happen?

Hesemann: Well, the massacres happened after the Turks searched the
Armenian’s homes for weapons and used any weapon they found as an
“evidence” for a conspiracy or planned revolt, which, of course, was
nonsense – people on the countryside needed to have their guns for
self-defense. Then all men were arrested, tortured, lead outside the
towns or villages and were massacred. Well, how can you resettle the
people if you kill all the men? This is the end of future generations.

Without men, you can’t have families.

Then all the women, the elderly and the children were sent on foot
to the new destination, hundreds of miles through the mountainous
highlands of Anatolia, often enough with no food and water at all.

Sometimes they were not even allowed to drink from the rivers they
passed. They were raped and robbed, by mountain tribes, released
prisoners and their own police guards, and of the few which survived
those death marches – often enough only 5 percent – many were left
completely nude, dirty and ashamed, under the hot Turkish sun and in
the cold of the nights.

Still some 350,000 who arrived in the Syrian Desert were put into
concentrations camps, with no food and very little water and deadly
epidemics going around. And those who survived for another half a year
were sent on new death marches deeper into the desert or were just
massacred.So at the end, maybe a couple tens of thousands survived.

Many of them orphans. Benedict XV later donated two orphanages to
give at least some of them shelter.

If you read the eyewitness testimony, this is really heartbreaking.

You read even of nuns who were raped and all their clothes were
stolen. Many of them went mad afterward because they couldn’t handle
all these terrible experiences. Mothers threw their children into
gorges, into rivers, to kill them, so they wouldn’t have to suffer
as much as they suffered. Suicides were in the daily order.

For a couple of months, the populations of Mosul and other cities
were warned by the government, the Muslim population of course,
not to drink any water from the river because it was polluted by the
thousands of corpses which were drafting down the Euphrates and the
Tigris rivers. All of this is very well documented. But it is still
officially denied by the Turkish government.

ZENIT: Can you elaborate on this?

Hesemann: For example, if you read a book by the department of Tourism
of the Republic of Turkey “2,000 years of Turkish history”- a strange
title since Turkey has more than 5000 years of documented history – you
read the following quote: “The Ottoman government decided to immigrate
the Armenians who were involved in the uprising to a safer place,
namely Syria and Lebanon … The immigration process was carried out
in a successful way as most of the Armenians were safely transferred
to Syria”, you can only call this a cynical lie!

And as passionately, the Turkish government tries to do everything
to suppress the treatment of the Armenian genocide in the schoolbooks
of the free world, or to prevent recognition of the Armenian genocide
as genocide.

Of course, the term genocide can be discussed, but according to
the definition by the United Nations any mass killing of a group or
population, also if it is a religious group, is termed “genocide”.

Because in the end, Armenians weren’t killed because they were
Armenian, but because they were Christians. Armenian women were even
offered to be spared if they convert to Islam. They were then married
into Turkish households or sold on slave markets or taken as sex
slaves into brothels for Turkish soldiers, but at least they survived.

A whole group of Islamized Crypto-Armenians was created by this offer
to embrace Islam. But at least it shows that the Armenians were not
killed because they were Armenians, but because they were Christians,
and for the same reason the Syrian Christians were killed too.

ZENIT: So based on the statistics, how should it be considered?

Hesemann: It was both: A genocide by definition of the United Nations
and, at the same time, the greatest persecution of Christians in
history, when altogether 2.5 million were killed – 1.5 million
Armenians and about one million Syrian and Greek Christians.

ZENIT: What is your view on Pope Francis’ visit to Turkey and on how
he addressed the Armenian subject?

Hesemann: He was not the first Pope in history to speak about the
Armenian genocide because Benedict XV and John Paul II did so, too.

But I am very grateful that Pope Francis even before he became Pope,
in his book with Rabbi Skorka, for example, mentioned the Armenian
genocide. Even in the first months of his pontificate, in May 2013,
when he received one of the Armenian Patriarchs, he called the
events of 1915-1916 a genocide, which caused a lot of unrest and a
very unfriendly reaction from the Turkish side, as did John Paul
II’s remarks on the Armenian genocide did. So I am very grateful
that he continued the long row of Popes who openly spoke about the
Armenian genocide.

I was a little bit disappointed that he didn’t bring it up when he
met Erdogan because his visit took place on the eve of this year
commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Then
again, he was a guest and he didn’t want to provoke an even more
hostile situation for the Christians, […] the still persecuted
Christian minority in Turkey. So from a diplomatic point of view,
he did the right thing.

ZENIT: Is the Holy Father doing anything in April to commemorate
the anniversary?

Hesemann: Yes, indeed. Pope Francis announced that on April 12 he will
celebrate Holy Mass in the Armenian rite in commemoration of what
happened 100 years ago. I hope that he will find clear words in his
homily on that occasion. And I hope that he will follow the invitation
of the Armenian president and the Armenian Patriarch Catholikos
Karekin II to come to Armenia. Even if he won’t come to Armenia on
the 24th of April, he might come later this year. Sometimes, truth
and solidarity with the martyrs are more important than diplomacy.

Everyone who reads the Vatican documents on the events of 1915/6
gets a very clear idea about what happened. Even Pope Benedict XV,
who was a very careful diplomat, stressing neutrality, wherever he
could, could not remain silent and protested three times, two times
in personal letters to the Sultan and one time in his speech during
a consistory. Indeed, his attempt to stop the Armenian genocide by
public protests is one of the most impressive examples in history
how the Vatican’s diplomacy tried everything humanly possible to
stand up for those persecuted brothers and sisters and save innocent
victims of one of the biggest crimes in history. At the same time,
it’s also a very frustrating example that Vatican diplomacy cannot
change the minds of fanatic ideologists who just demonstrated that
“conscience”and “compassion” are foreign words for them.

ZENIT: As we are now approaching the 100-year anniversary, is there
anything you think people should realize or take away in a way they
have not already?

Hesemann: One thing should be learned: Nobody should ever turn around
and look away if he hears about atrocities in any part of the world.

If you are ignorant today, you will bear the consequences tomorrow. So
it’s better to act and react now.

Hitler believed he was on the safe side, but he wasn’t. So I hope that
the atrocities of 100 years ago wake up Christians and responsible
people from the world of politics, of art, science, and moral [realms],
of all fields of life to look what is happening to Christians in the
same area today.

When I saw reports and videos of what is going on the ISIS controlled
areas, I had a deja vu. I have to admit that when I studied these
files, pictures, and everything from the Armenian genocide, I wondered
sometimes if some of my sources were not just exaggerating. It
sounded so unreal, all those atrocities, this violence, these
reports about crucifixions and mountains of skulls of decapitated
men and so on. And then all this happens in front of my eyes in the
news. So history repeats itself: If you don’t learn from history,
if you aren’t aware of what happened in the past, we allow people
to commit the crimes again. That is why every crime has to be
[prosecuted]. So that people learn that crimes don’t pay off. In
1915, the German chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg knew everything about
the Armenian genocide, since he received all those careful reports
from his diplomats. But he was not willing to stop the slaughter,
but, instead, declared: “We have to keep Turkey as an ally on our side
until the war is over, even if the Armenians perish over it.” Because
of this, Germany is guilty, too, of what it allowed to happen. Today,
we shall not follow Germany’s example and ignore what is happening
in order to not jeopardize diplomatic or trade relations. We should
stop ISIS and end the slaughter of Christians right now!

And finally: As a Catholic, I believe that everyone can be forgiven
if you confess your sins. But that is the first condition. I
don’t want any revenge or punishment for Turkey. Not at all. I want
reconciliation. Reconciliation between the Armenian and Turkish people,
but the condition for this, for forgiveness, is the truth. If I go
to confession and deny my sins, it is worthless and I won’t find
forgiveness. Forgiveness I will only find if I honestly confess what
truly happened. Only the truth can set us free!

The historical facts are so crystal clear. They are as clear as those
of the Holocaust, or any other event that you’d find in any history
book…so many documents, sources, clear statistics, clear evidence
that 1.5 million Armenians and another 1 million Syrian and Greek
Christians were murdered. You cannot deny it. You cannot excuse it.

You can only, and that it’s overdue, admit it. This is the first
step for reconciliation. Any historians looking at all the evidence
would come to the same conclusion of what happened, unless they were
being paid or put under pressure. But facing the evidence we have,
there’s no other conclusion possible. It was genocide. It was the
biggest persecution of Christians in history. If you still deny it,
you protect the perpetrators, you side up with murderers. And you
allow that it will happen again.

ZHAMANAK: COMPANY THAT PURCHASED AIR ARMENIA’S SHARES HAS FINANCIAL PROBLEMS

11:26 11/03/2015 >> DAILY PRESS

The company that purchased shares of Air Armenia airline has financial
problems. The air company is unlikely to resume flights in late March,
Zhamanak writes.

The English company East Prospect Fund has bought 49 percent of
the shares of Air Armenia. According to the newspaper, this company
planned to make investments after concluding a big transaction. But
it failed to carry out this transaction and therefore was unable to
make investments.

Source: Panorama.am

EMIGRATION FROM ARMENIA SURGES BY 12 PERCENT TO 47,000 PEOPLE- FORMER CENTRAL BANK HEAD

YEREVAN, March 10. / ARKA /. Emigration from Armenia in 2014 increased
by 10-12% from the previous year to more than 47,000 people, a former
head of the Central Bank Bagrat Asatryan told a news conference today,
adding that emigration rates serve usually as a clear indication of
the deteriorating economic situation of a country.

“The difference between Armenians who left the country last year and
those who came back amounted to more than 47,000, up from 42,000 in
2013,’ he said.

According to official data, 5, 510,900 people arrived and left the
country in 2014, up from 4,983,900 in 2013.

In 2014 some 2,734,596 people arrived in Armenia (an increase of 10.4%
from the previous year), and 2,776,268 left it (an increase of 10.7%).

According to official data of the National Statistical Service, on
January 1, 2015 Armenia’s permanent population stood at 3,010,600,
by 6,500 less than on January 1, 2014.-0-

ZHAMANAK: TSARUKYAN DEMANDS TO RETURN PROPERTY BOUGHT WITH HIS PERSONAL FUNDS

11:56 10/03/2015 >> DAILY PRESS

Gagik Tsarukyan demands that Prosperous Armenia headquarters return the
property that was purchased with his personal funds, Zhamanak writes.

“This demand disappointed headquarters’ workers because, as Prosperous
Armenia territorial organizations’ representatives said, for the most
part, MPs elected from these districts had acquired this property.

Representatives of the Nor Nork office said that such demand was
made to them. Asked whether it is possible to maintain the office
or it will be closed down, they replied that they know nothing,”
the newspaper notes.

Source: Panorama.am

SENATE AND HOUSE MEMBERS CONDEMN SUMGAIT, BAKU MASSACRES

Monday, March 9th, 2015

Senator Gary Peters; Representatives Judy Chu, Katherine Clark, Jim
Costa, Robert Dold, Frank Pallone, Adam Schiff, and Brad Sherman
commemorated the 27th anniversary of the Sumgait pogroms against
Armenians.

Senator Gary Peters; Representatives Katherine Clark, Jim Costa,
Robert Dold, Frank Pallone, Adam Schiff, and Brad Sherman are the
Latest to Speak Out on Ongoing Azerbaijani Aggression Against Armenia
and Nagorno Karabakh

WASHINGTON–Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) was joined by Congressional
Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Robert Dold (R-IL)
and Representatives Katherine Clark (D-MA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Adam
Schiff (D-CA), and Brad Sherman (D-CA) in commemorating the brutal
massacres of Armenians in the Azerbaijani cities of Baku, Sumgait
and Kirovabad from 1988-1990 and condemning the ongoing violence and
intimidation fostered by the government of President Ilham Aliyev,
reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). They add
their voices to Rep. Judy Chu, who was the first to offer impassioned
remarks on the topic on the House floor last week.

“Armenian Americans from Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey,
and California and across America thank these bold legislators for
adding their voices to those of their Congressional colleagues in
commemorating the Azerbaijani government fomented pogroms against
the Armenian populations of Sumgait, Baku and Kirovabad,” stated
ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “Their powerful words help
commemorate the lives of those who were lost, while also helping to
protect those who survived – by both condemning Azerbaijan’s ongoing
aggression and supporting the freedom and security of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic.”

“I wish to recognize the victims of the mass murder of Armenians 27
years ago during the state-sponsored pogroms in Sumgait, Azerbaijan,”
began Senator Peters. “True democracies must respect the rights of
the minority, allow citizens to peacefully speak freely, and protect
the human rights of all residents. The people of Nagorno Karabakh
and the victims of this senseless massacre played a critical role in
promoting a democracy movement which helped to end the Soviet Union.”

Congressman Pallone explained, “We have a shared responsibility to
speak out when groups of people are targeted with oppression and
violence just because of their ethnicity. Along with my colleagues
on the Congressional Armenian Issues Caucus, I continue my efforts
to try and shed light on these events so that those lives lost are
not forgotten. We will continue to promote mutual understanding and
security through the Caucasus region. It is my hope that we can all
join together in condemning acts of violence in the past, and renew
our commitment to vigilance in the future.”

In a statement shared with the ANCA, Rep. Dold noted, “The massacres
that took place 27 years ago in Sumgait serve as a reminder of the
struggle for freedom and liberty around the world. Today I stand
in solidarity with the Armenian community and the people of Nagorno
Karabakh who mourn the loss of friends and family. The United States
must continue to work with the people of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh
to ensure their future safety and peace.”

Congressman Schiff reminded his colleagues of Pres. Ilham Aliyev’s
pardon and praise for the killer of an innocent Armenian soldier in
his sleep. “Time has not healed the wounds of those killed and hurt
in the pogroms in Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku. To the contrary,
hatred of Armenians is celebrated in Azeri society, a situation most
vividly exemplified by the case of Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani army
captain who savagely murdered an Armenian army lieutenant, Gurgen
Margaryan with an axe while he slept. The two were participating in a
NATO Partnership for Peace exercise at the time in Hungary. In 2012,
Safarov was sent home to Azerbaijan, purportedly to serve out the
remainder of his sentence. Instead, he was pardoned, promoted, and
paraded through the streets of Baku in a sickening welcome home. And as
we speak, Azerbaijan continues its dangerous and provocative behavior
along its border with Armenia and in Karabakh.”

“I am proud to stand today with the Armenian-American community,
including many of my constituents in Massachusetts, in remembrance
and mourning of this unspeakable tragedy,” stated Rep. Clark. “Like
the persecution of too many others before it, the lessons of the
Sumgait Pogrom must not be forgotten. We have a moral obligation to
promote tolerance and justice, and we have a duty to recognize the
atrocities that have kept us from our common goal.”

Reminding colleagues of Azerbaijan’s ongoing attacks on Armenia and
Nagorno Karabakh, Rep. Costa stated, “In November 2014, Azerbaijani
armed forces shot down a Nagorno-Karabakh helicopter participating
in a training exercise near the cease-fire line, killing the three
crew members on board. This aggression is completely unacceptable and
further hurts efforts to achieve a peaceful resolution. Today, I ask
my colleagues to stand with the proud people of Nagorno Karabakh in
recognizing the anniversary of these tragic events. Let today serve
as a reminder for each and every one of us to continue advocating
for human rights and democratic freedoms around the world.”

Congressman Sherman noted his meeting last month with Marat
Khoudabakhshiev, “whose family barely survived pogroms perpetrated
27 years ago today against the Armenian residents of then-Soviet
Azerbaijan. He recounted how Azerbaijanis who had lived alongside
Armenians for generations suddenly turned violent against them,
causing Armenian families like his to flee their homes for safety.”

Rep. Sherman explained, “Recognizing the ethnic-cleansing of the
Armenians from Azerbaijan is an important step. However, we need to
do more-we need to demonstrate to Azerbaijan that the United States is
committed to peace and to the protection of Artsakh from coercion. As
the current government of Azerbaijan grows even more hostile towards
Armenians, we must call for an end to all threats and acts of violence
by Azerbaijan’s government against the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh.

Congress should strengthen Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act by
removing the President’s ability to waive U.S. law prohibiting aid
to Azerbaijan because of its continuing blockade against Armenia and
Nagorno Karabakh.”

Khoudabakhshiev was part of a delegation of survivors of anti-Armenian
attacks in Baku, who travelled to Washington, DC last month to share
their eye-witness accounts with legislators and speak out in support
Artsakh independence. In addition to Congressional meetings, the
delegation participated in the ANCA sponsored Capitol Hill program,
titled: “Nagorno Karabakh – A Generation After Anti-Armenian Pogroms:
The Challenge of Promoting Peace and Developing Democracy,” which
featured powerful remarks by Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte, a lawyer,
lecturer, and author of ‘Nowhere, A Story of Exile,’ and Dr. Alina
Dorian, an internationally respected public health expert and advocate
who has worked for decades to strengthen and expand public health
programs in Nagorno Karabakh.

The full text of statements submitted for the Congressional Record
commemorating the Sumgait, Baku and Kirovabad pogroms are provided
below.

Senator Gary Peters (D-MI): Madam President, I wish to recognize
the victims of the mass murder of Armenians 27 years ago during the
state-sponsored pogroms in Sumgait, Azerbaijan.

The citizens of Nagorno Karabakh peacefully petitioned to be
reunited with Soviet Armenia and spoke out against the arbitrary
borders established by Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union. This
democratic exercise of free speech expressing a natural desire for
self-determination was met with 3 days of violence and brutality
against Armenian civilians, who were hunted down in their homes.

Security forces in Soviet Azerbaijan turned a blind eye, allowing the
mass murder of Armenians in a futile attempt to defeat this movement.

The massacres of Armenians did not stop in Sumgait but were followed
in other Azerbaijani towns such as Kirovabad in November 1988 and the
capital Baku in January 1990. The U.S. Congress strongly condemned
these massacres at that time. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians
fled Azerbaijan, many finding their home in my State of Michigan,
where there is a monument to the victims of the Sumgait massacres.

True democracies must respect the rights of the minority, allow
citizens to peacefully speak freely, and protect the human rights of
all residents. The people of Nagorno Karabakh and the victims of this
senseless massacre played a critical role in promoting a democracy
movement which helped to end the Soviet Union.

Today, I remember the victims and ask my colleagues and the
Americanpeople to join me in honoring their memories.

Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA): Mr. Speaker, Twenty-seven years ago,
as the lines of the Soviet Union were fading, the people of
Nagorno-Karabakh were united in a call for a say in their own futures
and greater independence from Azerbaijan. This peaceful movement
for self-determination and freedom was followed by premeditated and
government-sponsored attacks.

Over the next two years, the Armenian population in the territory of
Artsakh was repeatedly victim to brutal and racially motivated pogroms,
darkly reminiscent of the days of the Armenian Genocide.

Hundreds were murdered, thousands were displaced, and the Armenian
community – both in Artsakh and in exile – continues to bear the
scars from the brutal attacks in Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku.

When the people of Nagorno-Karabakh officially declared independence
on December 10, 1991, they were met with full-scale war lasting until
1994. Even today, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh are still forced to
live under constant ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan.

As we commemorate the somber anniversary marking the struggle of the
Nagorno-Karabakh people, we wish for the peaceful resolution of this
conflict and hope that its citizens will be free to determine their
own future.

Rep. Catherine Clark (D-MA): Mr. Speaker, February 27 marked the 27th
anniversary of harrowing violence against the Armenian community in
Sumgait, Azerbaijan.

I am proud to stand today with the Armenian-American community,
including many of my constituents in Massachusetts, in remembrance
and mourning of this unspeakable tragedy.

In February of 1988, anti-Armenian rallies through Azerbaijan gave way
to waves of ethnically-motivated violence, death and destruction. In
the aftermath of these terrible events, Azerbaijan’s Armenian community
all but disappeared, with thousands displaced, culminating in a war
against the people of Nagorno Karabakh.

That war resulted in almost 30,000 dead on both sides. Hundreds of
thousands of refugees were forced to flee their homes. And to this
day, those who lost their lives or were displaced by this violence
still seek resolution and justice.

Many displaced Armenian families have sought refuge in America,
and are now making vital contributions in the Fifth District of
Massachusetts. Proudly, our diverse District is home to one of the
largest Armenian communities in the nation. Together, our community
is a thriving example of strength and perseverance in the face of
extreme adversity.

Like the persecution of too many others before it, the lessons of
the Sumgait Pogrom must not be forgotten.

We have a moral obligation to promote tolerance and justice, and we
have a duty to recognize the atrocities that have kept us from our
common goal.

Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA): Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the
twenty-seventh anniversary of the pogroms against people of Armenian
descent in Sumgait, Azerbaijan. My district is home to thousands of
Armenian-Americans, many who are the sons and daughters of survivors.

As they know well, Azerbaijani rioters started a murderous rampage
in response to peaceful protests on February 27, 1988, that forever
changed Armenia. During those three days, scores of Armenians were
killed, hundreds were wounded, and thousands were forced to leave
their homes and livelihoods behind.

As we recognize this tragedy, we should also take this time to commend
the people of Nagorno Karabakh on being the first to demand their
right to freedom and self-governance from the Soviet Union. Although
a small nation, Nagorno Karabakh sparked the democracy movement that
ended decades of dictatorial rule in the USSR and eventually led to
the fall of the Soviet Union.

Sadly, the Azerbaijani government continues to act as an aggressor
today. In November 2014, Azerbaijani armed forces shot down a
Nagorno-Karabakh helicopter participating in a training exercise near
the cease-fire line, killing the three crew members on board. This
aggression is completely unacceptable and further hurts efforts to
achieve a peaceful resolution.

Today, I ask my colleagues to stand with the proud people of Nagorno
Karabakh in recognizing the anniversary of these tragic events. Let
today serve as a reminder for each and every one of us to continue
advocating for human rights and democratic freedoms around the world.

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ): Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the
Sumgait pogroms-violent riots that resulted in the murder of hundreds
of Armenians. This was perhaps one of the most gruesome atrocities in a
series of hostile acts against the Armenian people. In 1988, Armenians
living in the town of Sumgait in Azerbaijan were burned alive, thrown
from windows and senselessly murdered by Azerbaijanis. Hundreds
of people were killed, raped, and maimed simply because they were
Armenians.

The police forces turned a blind eye towards the situation and allowed
the crimes to continue for three days without intervention. Since then,
Azerbaijan has sought to cover up these crimes and rewrite history.

As we prepare to observe 100 years since the Armenian Genocide,
these more recent acts of violence against Armenians remind us that
the work towards peace in the region continues.

Today, we recognize the anniversary of the Sumgait pogroms and to
call attention to the work we have ahead of us. We have a shared
responsibility to speak out when groups of people are targeted with
oppression and violence just because of their ethnicity.

Along with my colleagues on the Congressional Armenian Issues Caucus,
I continue my efforts to try and shed light on these events so that
those lives lost are not forgotten. We will continue to promote mutual
understanding and security through the Caucasus region.

It is my hope that we can all join together in condemning acts
of violence in the past, and renew our commitment to vigilance in
the future.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA): Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the
27th anniversary of the pogrom against the Armenian residents of the
town of Sumgait, Azerbaijan. On this day in 1988, and for three days
following, Azerbaijani mobs assaulted and killed Armenians. When the
violence finally subsided, hundreds of Armenian civilians had been
brutally murdered and injured, women and young girls were raped, and
some victims were tortured and burned to death. Those that survived
the carnage fled their homes and businesses, leaving behind all but
the clothes on their backs. The Sumgait Pogroms came in the wake of
a pattern of anti-Armenian rallies throughout Azerbaijan, aided and
encouraged by high ranking officials in the Azeri government, and
touched off a wave of violence culminating in the 1990 Pogroms in Baku.

In a pattern all too familiar to the Armenian people, the Azerbaijani
authorities made little effort to punish those responsible, instead
attempting to cover up the atrocities in Sumgait to this day, as well
as denying the role of senior government officials in instigating
the violence.

The Sumgait massacres led to wider reprisals against Azerbaijan’s
Armenian ethnic minority, resulting in the virtual disappearance of a
once thriving population of 450,000 Armenians living in Azerbaijan,
and culminating in the war launched against the people of Nagorno
Karabakh. That war resulted in thousands dead on both sides and
created over one million refugees in both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Time has not healed the wounds of those killed and hurt in the pogroms
in Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku. To the contrary, hatred of Armenians
is celebrated in Azeri society, a situation most vividly exemplified
by the case of Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani army captain who savagely
murdered an Armenian army lieutenant, Gurgen Margaryan with an axe
while he slept. The two were participating in a NATO Partnership for
Peace exercise at the time in Hungary. In 2012, Safarov was sent home
to Azerbaijan, purportedly to serve out the remainder of his sentence.

Instead, he was pardoned, promoted, and paraded through the streets
of Baku in a sickening welcome home. And as we speak, Azerbaijan
continues its dangerous and provocative behavior along its border
with Armenia and in Karabakh.

Mr. Speaker, this April we will mark the 100th Anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide, an event the Turkish government, Azerbaijan’s
closest ally, goes to great lengths to deny. We must not let such
crimes against humanity go unrecognized, whether they occurred
yesterday or 27 years ago or 100 years ago. Today, let us pause to
remember the victims of the atrocities of the Sumgait pogroms. Mr.

Speaker, it is our moral obligation to condemn crimes of hatred and
to remember the victims, in hope that history will not be repeated.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA): Mr. Speaker, earlier this month I met with
a constituent, Marat Khoudabakhshiev, whose family barely survived
pogroms perpetrated 27 years ago today against the Armenian residents
of then-Soviet Azerbaijan. He recounted how Azerbaijanis who had
lived alongside Armenians for generations suddenly turned violent
against them, causing Armenian families like his to flee their homes
for safety.

Over three days, February 26th to 28th, 1988, a pogrom was perpetrated
against the Armenian residents of Sumgait in then-Soviet Azerbaijan.

Armenians were attacked and killed in their apartments and on the
streets. Although official figures reported 30 deaths, it is believed
that hundreds were murdered and injured as a result of the pogrom.

The violence against the Armenians in Sumgait was prompted by a vote,
which took place one week prior by the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh,
to unify the region with Armenia-the beginning of the Karabakh
movement. In the days immediately after this vote Azeri civilians
and local officials in the city of Sumgait held rallies calling for
“death to Armenians”.

On the night of February 27, 1988, Armenian residents in Sumgait were
targeted and indiscriminately raped, mutilated and murdered. Calls for
help from Armenians were ignored by local police and city officials.

Journalists were shut out from the area. The violence raged on for
three days before Soviet troops were able to put an end to the pogrom.

Witnesses of the horrific massacres later testified that the attacks
were planned, as civilians had gathered weapons and the exits of the
cities were blocked in advance to prevent Armenians from escaping. The
homes of Armenians were marked so that the Azeri mobs could easily
target them.

Unfortunately, the perpetrators of the pogrom succeeded in their
ultimate goal-driving out Armenians. Fearing more violence, Armenian
families fled Sumgait. Later that year, another anti-Armenian pogrom
occurred in Kirovabad, Azerbaijan from November 21st to 27th, which
also forced hundreds of Armenians to flee the region. In January of
1990 violent mobs targeted the Armenian community of Azerbaijan’s
capital, Baku.

This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the commemoration of
the first genocide of the 20th century, the Armenian Genocide. It is
imperative that we honor the memory of Armenians killed in the pogroms
of Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku, as well as the Armenian Genocide. If
we hope to stop future massacres, we must acknowledge these horrific
events and ensure they do not happen again.

Recognizing the ethnic-cleansing of the Armenians from Azerbaijan is
an important step. However, we need to do more-we need to demonstrate
to Azerbaijan that the United States is committed to peace and to
the protection of Artsakh from coercion. As the current government
of Azerbaijan grows even more hostile towards Armenians, we must
call for an end to all threats and acts of violence by Azerbaijan’s
government against the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh.

Congress should strengthen Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act
by removing the President’s ability to waive U.S. law prohibiting
aid to Azerbaijan because of its continuing blockade against
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. In 1992, Congress prohibited aid to
Azerbaijan because of its continuing blockade against Armenia and
Nagorno Karabakh. However, in 2001, Congress approved a waiver to
this provision, and administrations have used the waiver since then
to provide aid to Baku. Azerbaijan should not be provided aid from
the United States as long as they continue a policy of threats and
blockades against Artsakh.

I urge the Administration to remove all barriers to broad-based
U.S.-Nagorno Karabakh governmental and civil society communication,
travel and cooperation.

STUDENTS PROTEST TALK BY SPEAKERS WHO DENY ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

The Varsity, The University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper, Canada
March 9 2015

Silent protest targets talk at Best Institute

By Tamim Mansour

Students from the Armenian Students’ Association together with the
Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) of Canada and the Armen Karo Student
Association, an organization that promotes Armenian studies in Canadian
universities, protested a panel discussion held by the Federation of
Canadian Turkish Associations on February 27.

Justin A. McCarthy, a professor from the University of Louisville, and
Bruce Fein, a prominent lawyer, were the two speakers invited to the
panel. Both have denied that the 1915 Armenian Genocide was a genocide,
in opposition to the stance taken by international organizations such
as the International Association of Genocide Scholars and Genocide
Watch, a non-profit organization dedicated to building a movement to
prevent and stop genocide.

The Armenian Genocide was conducted by the Ottoman Empire on the
Armenian population that lived in the area presently known as Turkey.

It is estimated that between one million and 1.5 million Armenians
died as a result of the genocide.

Amir Hassanpour, an associate professor in the Department of Near &
Middle Eastern civilizations, identified a clear distinction between
genocide and other forms of killing. “[It] is not based on the
number of killings. It is based on ‘the intent’ of perpetrators,”
Hassanpour says.

When asked why there are people who continue to deny the Armenian
Genocide, Hassanpour says that it is because of the seriousness of
the crime. “This is a serious international crime, and nationalists
everywhere try to sanitize their history,” he says.

He also explains that governments were concerned with the financial
consequences of recognition of genocide in the form of reparations
to victims.

The protestors sat in the audience during the talk. At the first
mention of genocide by Fein, the group stood up and turned their
backs to the speaker in silence. Many of the other audience members
were upset by the protest.

One commented that the protest was “strategically planned to disrupt
this” while another called it “disrespectful”.

Organizers discussed with campus police what actions could be taken,
and were told that the silent protest did not prevent the speaker
from carrying on.

Some protestors were asked to move out of the line of sight of other
audience members seated at the back.

After about 10 minutes, Fein resumed his speech.

When it was clear from Fein’s talk that he was denying the nature of
the genocide, the protestors walked out from the panel discussion to
cheers and applause from the other audience members.

Rosalie Minassian, a fourth-year political science student and
president of the Scarborough chapter of the Armenian Students’
Association, was one of the leaders of the protest. According to
Minassian, all Armenians at the protest were descendants of genocide
survivors.

“They are using the University of Toronto as a guise to bring
legitimacy to genocide denial,” she says.

Minassian also says that this went directly against the Canadian
government’s official recognition of the Armenian Genocide in 2004.

After the walk-out, the protestors made their way to the Anti-Racism &
Cultural Diversity Office to submit a petition and lodge a complaint
against the event. The petition called for the university to distance
itself from the organizers and speakers of the panel. It was put
online two days before the talk, garnering over 2,000 signatures.

According to Minassian, a letter demanding the cancellation of the
event was also sent to a number of university administrators.

Althea Blackburn-Evans, U of T director of media relations, says that
the event was held by an external organization that rented space from
the university.

“Events that such external organizations host are not University
activities; the University does not affirm or condemn any assertions
made at such events,” Blackburn-Evans says.

She adds that such events are governed by the university’s policies.

“There is a clear statement that all reservations for use of university
space are subject to the university’s policy concerning freedom of
speech,” she says. “The university upholds the principles of freedom
of speech and of the freedom of individuals and groups from physical
intimidation and harassment.”

NAREK THERAPY: ARMENIANS READ MEDIEVAL MONK’S VERSES AS CURE FOR AILMENTS

HEALTH | 09.03.15 | 16:01

Satenik Tovmasyan
ArmeniaNow intern

It may be inexplicable after all, but Dr. Armen Nersisyan says reading
a book written by a medieval Armenian monk has proved to have a
healing effect on body and mind.

The Book of Lamentations, a long mystical poem in 95 sections written
by Saint Gregory of the Monastery of Narek (951-1003 AD), is familiar
to virtually all Armenians, yet few can say they fully understand
this piece of literature that uses Old Armenian, Grabar.

Giving up his professional scope of activity, Dr. Nersisyan,
a professor of psychiatry, spent the past 20 years of his life
researching and promoting the so-called Narek therapy, which uses
the book (often referred to as simply Narek in honor of the author)
for medical purposes.

Dr. Nersisyan claims that the effectiveness of Narek treatment is
based on the patient’s faith in the power of word and prayer.

“It cures only those who believe in the biblical efficacy. Narek
placates people’s souls, gives relief to their emotions and feelings,
as well as has a soporific effect. While hearing Narek, the patient
feels calmness and relief, which can be temporarily disturbed by
tension or anxiety. Unconscious thoughts and emotions may arise
causing physical and spiritual anxiety. Finally, all this leads to
repentance, contributing to the relief of physical and spiritual pain,”
Dr. Nersisyan says.

The researcher adds that to get a stronger effect people should not
just read, but also listen to the book. “This is a therapy method
based on verbal impact, that’s why patients should listen to rather
than just read the prayers for the sake of their quick recovery.”

According to the specialist, in some ways Narek therapy is much
more effective than psychoanalysis, which is a longer and very often
ineffective method. “People sometimes mistake Narek for hypnotherapy,
actually they are completely different things.

The latter impacts people’s subconscious, while the concept of Narek’s
word requires a sober mind.”

Dr. Nersisyan gives a list of many diseases which can be fully or at
least partially treated using the method, depending on the patients’
attitude. Among them, he says, are schizophrenia, Hepatitis C,
periodic disease, stress symptoms and depression.

Here is what a 27-year-old man suffering from schizophrenia wrote after
therapy sessions. “At first I had terrible headaches and would stop
listening as I could not stand the constant critical voices inside me,
but after some attempts I pulled through and now I feel much better.”

There are numerous testimonies given by patients, that’s why Dr.

Nersisyan says he is going to write a book which will consist of his
patients’ testimonies that he says once again prove the wizard power
of Narek.

Remarkably, last month Pope Francis declared St. Gregory of Narek
a doctor of the Universal Church. Also in February Narek’s name was
included in Rome’s martirology (the list of popular saints) as a monk
and teacher.

According to the representative of the Catholic Church, Fr. Petros
Vardabyan, Narek’s prayers aren’t the only ones in their kind. The
church breviary also contains other prayers that have a healing effect.

Fr. Petros says, however, that Narek should not be turned into a
fetish. “Only God and faith in God can cure people and not the book
or a person,” he says.

HUNDREDS ATTEND AMERICA WE THANK YOU’S LAUNCH OF NEAR EAST FOUNDATION’S TRAVELING EXHIBIT

Monday, March 9th, 2015

Capacity crowd assembles for premiere of traveling Exhibit, “They
Shall Not Perish: The Story of Near East Relief” in LA Public
Library’s Rotunda.

Community is encouraged to visit Exhibit by April 30th LOS ANGELES–On
Friday March 6, the intrigue and excitement was palpable in the
Rotunda of the Los Angeles Public Library where over 300 community
members, elected officials and special guests congregated as the
Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region’s “America
We Thank You: An Armenian Tribute to Near East Relief” Committee,
in sponsorship with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles
Councilmember Paul Krekorian and the Los Angeles Public Library,
premiered Near East Foundation’s traveling Exhibit, “They Shall Not
Perish: The Story of Near East Relief.”

The evening’s opening reception honoring the legacy of NER–the
United States’ oldest Congressionally-sanctioned non-governmental
organization, which for the first time in American history, expressed
the collective generosity and humanitarianism of the American
people–included remarks from AWTY co-chairs Hermineh Pakhanians
and Vanna Kitsinian Esq., Los Angeles Councilmember Paul Krekorian,
Los Angeles City Librarian John F. Szabo, and Director and Curator
of Near East Relief Historical Society, Molly Sullivan Esq., who
traveled from New York to attend the evening’s celebratory premiere.

NCA-WR Leadership and Staff, and ‘America We Thank You’ committee
members, with LA Councilmember Paul Krekorian, City Librarian John
Szabo, Near East Relief Historical Society Curator and Director
Molly Sullivan, Esq., and Principal Librarian of Research & Special
Collections Ani Boyadjian Boghigian

“One hundred years ago, an unprecedented American-led relief effort
thwarted the Turkish scheme of completely annihilating the Armenian
race, as it brought to the world’s attention the harrowing facts of
the brutal slaughter of 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children,
the criminal act for which the very word ‘genocide’ was even coined,”
remarked AWTY co-chair, Vanna Kitsinian, Esq. “Our premiere of this
compelling Exhibit–which illustrates the historical moment when
American and Armenian histories so pivotally intersected–in the
nation’s second largest city, home to the largest concentration of
Armenian-Americans, is one of the ways we are continuing to spread
awareness of Near East Relief’s historical legacy from 1915-1930
as it rescued and rehabilitated the destitute Armenian refugees and
impoverished orphans whose livelihood has thus ensured our existence
as a thriving Armenian Nation today. After months of collaboration
with the Near East Foundation, the successor of Near East Relief,
we are proud that Near East Foundation chose us to premiere its
traveling Exhibit,” added Kitsinian.

“The Near East Relief ensured the survival and sustenance of the
Armenian people through its network of 400 orphanages, hospitals,
clinics, clothing distribution centers, and vocational schools that
provided shelter, nourishment, clothing, medical treatment, and a
means for our ancestors to build and re-build their lives that were
devastated by Genocide,” stated AWTY co-chair Hermineh Pakhanians.

“This heroic feat was funded by the $117 million the Near East Relief
raised from concerned citizens in America and throughout the world from
1915-1930, a staggering figure which is equivalent to almost $3 billion
today. This story is a testament of how the American people, not just
the government or politicians, but average American citizens, changed
the course of history, and our committee’s purpose is to acknowledge
this American benevolence and generosity,” added Pakhanians.

Attendees view the exhibit

Special guests Leslie Diane Coogan Mitchell and Keith Coogan, daughter
and grandson respectively, of the most famous American child actor
in the 1920’s, Jackie Coogan, were in attendance and received great
applause when acknowledged by AWTY co-chairs during the program.

In 1924, the Near East Relief launched the “Children’s Crusade,”
wherein every school child in the United States was encouraged to
participate in collecting donations, clothing and non-perishable food
for shipment to children overseas, and the child actor Jackie Coogan,
arguably Hollywood’s first humanitarian piloted his “Milk Train”
across the United States which made stops in every major U.S. city
to collect the cans and cases of milk, boxes and packages of food,
and money raised, which totaled over $1 million for shipment overseas.

Jackie Coogan’s tour received unprecedented media coverage in the U.S.

through newspapers, magazines, and newsreels.

One of the Exhibit’s panels is dedicated solely to Jackie Coogan and
alongside archival photographs, narrates his invaluable contribution
to Near East Relief’s fundraising efforts spearheaded by the children
of America for the orphaned Armenian children.

“This extraordinary exhibit will give thousands of Angelenos the
opportunity to learn about America’s generous humanitarian support
for the Armenian people in our time of great need,” said Los Angeles
City Councilmember Paul Krekorian. “I’m incredibly proud that the
City of Los Angeles provided funding for and co-sponsored the Exhibit,
and I look forward to bringing my family and friends to see it. There
is no better way to learn about the bond shared by the American and
Armenian people as we kick-off our local commemoration of the Armenian
Genocide Centennial,” said Krekorian.

“The Los Angeles Public Library believes in telling and celebrating
stories,” said City Librarian John F. Szabo. “We serve the largest
and most diverse population of any in the nation, and we are proud
to host this Exhibit and share this heroic story,” added Szabo.

“The Exhibit begins with a story of great sadness, but it grows to
encompass stories of unparalleled courage, generosity, and hope,”
remarked Director and Curator of Near East Relief Historical Society,
Molly Sullivan, Esq. “Each viewer becomes a part of the Exhibit as
they learn about this vital historical period, and go on to share
this knowledge with their friends and family,” continued Sullivan.

Ani Boyadjian Boghigian, Principal Librarian of Research & Special
Collections, was thanked in the remarks by the AWTY co-chairs and
Councilmember Krekorian for being instrumental in facilitating the
Exhibit’s premiere at LA Public Library, whose 5,500 daily patrons
will have the opportunity to view the Exhibit until April 30, 2015.

“On the eve of the Armenian Genocide Centennial, as we remember and
honor the martyred lives of our 1.5 million ancestors who suffered
the perils of forced deportation and tragic death, we also pay
special tribute to all those who heard the Armenian pleas for help,
and responded swiftly and generously on an unprecedented and almost
unimaginable scale. On behalf of every Armenian life Near East Relief
rescued, we collectively echo, “America, We Thank You,” remarked
ANCA-WR Executive Director Elen Asatryan. “We highly encourage our
Armenian-American community in Southern California to take their family
and friends and visit the Los Angeles Public Library’s Central branch
from now until April 30 to witness firsthand this exceptional Exhibit
in honor of such a magnanimous story,” added Asatryan.

After the program, guests continued to peruse the impressive
Exhibit, with its 28 color panels measuring an impressive six feet
by three feet, which is comprised of high-quality scans of official
correspondence, biographies of missionaries and relief workers who
lived, volunteered and served on the ground, and includes treasured
archival photographs, some of which have only recently been accessed,
offering new insight to NER’s impactful legacy in saving a people
under the threat of total annihilation.

Also on display were original Near East Relief orphan identification
cards belonging to the grandparents of several “America We Thank You”
committee members alongside an original Near East Relief service
medal. Orphan identification cards would include the orphan’s photo,
capture an orphan’s name, his/her birthplace, birth date, parents’
names if known, the orphanage to which they were assigned, their
orphan number, the trade they specialized in and were signed by the
orphanage’s director and the local Near East Relief representative.

Near East Relief medals recognized and honored the invaluable service
of relief workers and volunteers.

The Near East Relief commissioned leading artists of the day to design
impactful posters depicting the suffering and plight of the Armenian
victims, which were circulated throughout the United States and the
world to raise awareness and inspire the donation of funds for the
relief efforts.

Guests were invited to participate in a silent auction featuring
originals of two of these iconic posters printed in 1918.

Noted during the program was the support of guests in attendance
including State Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, Los Angeles County
Superior Court Judge Zaven Sinanian, Montebello Mayor Jack Hadjinian,
Los Angeles Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, Glendale City Clerk Ardashes
Kassakhian, Glendale City Councilmember Ara Najarian, Rolling Hills
Estates Councilmember Frank Zerounian, Glendale Community College Board
Trustee Dr. Vahe Peroomian, Pasadena Student Trustee of the Pasadena
City College Board Marshall Lewis, and the representatives of various
religious denominations who were also in attendance, including the
Armenian Prelacy, Diocese, Evangelical Church, Presbyterian United
Congregational Church, and Catholic Archdiocese and Tustin Presbyterian
Church, representative of Great House of Cilicia central executive
board and leaders of community organizations including the A.R.F.,
Armenian Relief Society, Armenian Bar Association, Armenian Missionary
Association of America, Organization of Istanbul Armenians, Armenian
Educational Foundation, Hamazkayin and Homenetmen.

Anoush Catering graciously catered hors d’oeuvres, and Remedy Liquor
donated wine and refreshments for the evening’s reception, which was
open to the public and free of charge.

The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the
largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy
organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination
with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the
Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country,
the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community
on a broad range of issues.

GEORGIA, ARMENIA INK FIRST JOINT PROGRAM DOCUMENT IN 15 YEARS

March 9, 2015 – 18:43 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Ministries of Justice of Armenia and Georgia,
Hovhannes Manukyan and Thea Tsulukiani inked a memorandum of
understanding.

The document, signed during Armenian delegation’s visit to Georgia last
week, envisages cooperation in the notarial system, stage registration
of juridical persons, enforcement of legal acts and registration of
the acts of civil status, Justice Ministry press service reports.

Welcoming conclusion of the memorandum, the Ministers noted that
this was the first joint program document signed over the past
fifteen years.

At the briefing following the memorandum signing ceremony, the
officials stressed the importance of collaboration between the two
friendly countries. In addition, the ministers emphasized the exchange
of experience as a key priority in the justice system.

Mid-Atlantic Knights and Daughters of Vartan
Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of America (Eastern Region)
Media Contact: Taleen Babayan
Email: [email protected]

100th ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE TO BE HELD IN
TIMES SQUARE SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 1:45 PM -4 PM *

NY, NY-The 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide will be held in
Times Square (43rd St. & Broadway) on Sunday, April 26 from 1:45 – 4
pm. This historic event will pay tribute to the 1.5 million Armenians
who were massacred by the Young Turk Government of the Ottoman Empire
and to the millions of victims of subsequent genocides worldwide.

The Divine Liturgy and Times Square program will begin with church services
at 10 am at St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral, located at 630 Second Avenue at
34th Street. His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian will serve as
celebrant and His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan as homilist. The
procession to Times Square will start at 12:00 pm and the program, which
will feature speakers from the political, media and scholarly fields, will
begin at 1:45 pm. Guest artist is acclaimed musician Sebu Simonian from the
Los Angeles-based indie pop band Capital Cities. Dr. Stephen Smith,
Executive Director of the USC Shoah Foundation, will serve as keynote
speaker. The Areni Choir will be singing the Armenian and American national
anthems as well as God Bless America.

For parishes organizing transportation to New York, buses should drop off
passengers at Second Avenue and park on 35th Street (between First and
Second Avenues). Buses will depart for Times Square following services and
park on 42nd Street (between 6th Avenue and Broadway). Passengers will be
picked up from Times Square (at 43rd Street and Broadway, between 4:30 pm
and 5 pm). Sandwiches will be available after services. All events will
move forward, rain or shine.

For more information on the procession, buses, floats and volunteers,
please contact: Edward Barsamian (procession), 347-556-2666, Leo Manuelian
(buses), 917-418-3940, Sona Manuelian (buses), 551-427-8763, Edward
Boladian (floats) 917-885- 0221, Tigran Sahakyan (volunteers) 212-444-8003

The 2015 Genocide Commemoration in Times Square is organized by the
Mid-Atlantic Knights and Daughters of Vartan in affiliation with the
Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of America (Eastern Region).

This event is free and open to the public. For more information please
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