Author: Kanayan Tamar

NATIONS THAT RECOGNISE THE ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’

Agence France Presse
April 12, 2015 Sunday 2:20 PM GMT

Vatican City, April 12 2015

Pope Francis on Sunday became the first pontiff to publicly utter
the word “genocide” to describe Turkey’s mass murder of Armenians
100 years ago, following the example of France, Russia and Canada.

Speaking at a mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica to mark the centenary of
the Ottoman killings of Armenians, the pope quoted a written document
signed by John Paul II in 2001, branding the killings as the “first
genocide of the 20th century”.

Immediately afterwards, Ankara summoned the Vatican envoy to Turkey
to request an explanation.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed between 1915
and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart, and have long sought
to win international recognition of the massacres as genocide.

Some 20 countries have recognised it as genocide as well as the
European Parliament.

But Turkey rejects the claims, arguing that 300,000 to 500,000
Armenians and as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians rose
up against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops.

– Recognition –

France was the first major country to recognise the genocide, while
denying it happened is illegal in Switzerland and Slovakia.

However, in December 2013 the European Court of Human Rights said
an arrest over denying the Armenian genocide constituted a breach of
freedom of expression. That decision is now under review.

In April 2014, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — then prime
minister — offered his condolences for the mass killings for the
first time.

In January this year, he said Turkey was ready to “pay the price”
if found guilty of the massacre.

According to Armenian sources, 200,000 people were killed in clashes
with Turks from 1894 to 1909.

In October 1914, the Ottoman Empire was drawn into World War I,
siding with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

On April 24, 1915, Turkey arrested thousands of Armenians suspected
of hostility to the government.

Two days later a special law was enacted authorising mass deportations.

The Armenian population of Turkey — now branded as “the enemy within”
— in the regions of Anatolia and Cilicia were forced into exile,
and they herded towards the Syrian desert.

Many Armenians were killed on the road and in detention camps.

The Ottoman Empire was dismantled in 1920, two years after the
establishment of a short-lived independent Armenian state in May 1918
that was eventually swallowed up by the Soviet Union and Turkey.

Uruguay recognised the Armenian genocide in 1965, as have the
parliaments of Russia in 1994, Greece in 1996, Italy in 2001,
Switzerland in 2003, Canada in 2004, the Netherlands in 2004, Sweden
in 2010 and Bolivia in 2014. Argentina’s senate recognised it in 2005.

In March this year, 44 US lawmakers introduced a resolution urging
President Barack Obama to recognise the mass killings as genocide.

Armenia is home to some 3.2 people. Eight million others live in the
diaspora, mainly in Russia, the Middle East, Canada, the United States
and France.

burs-ser/fg

EU URGES TURKEY, ARMENIA TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS

Journal of Turkish Daily
April 14 2015

14 April 2015

The European Union has urged Turkey and Armenia to normalize their
relations following a spat prompted by remarks made by Pope Francis
over the events of 1915.

EU foreign affairs spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic told reporters in
Brussels on Tuesday: “It is very important in our view for relations
to be normalized as soon as possible between Turkey and Armenia.”

“The (European) Commission encourages both sides to take extra measures
to open the way towards a complete reconciliation,” Kocijancic said.

Pope Francis said on Sunday that “the first genocide of the 20th
century” had struck Armenians – a move that prompted Turkey to
recall its ambassador in Vatican and also summon the Vatican’s envoy
in Ankara.

Turkey and Armenia disagree on what happened between 1915 and 1923,
with Armenia saying that 1.5 million were deliberately killed and
Turkey saying the deaths did not constitute genocide but were a result
of deportations and civil strife.

“In the context of Turkey’s status as a (EU) candidate country we are
following the issue of reconciliation and normalization of relations
with Turkey,” Kocijancic said.

The European Parliament is set to mark the centennial of said 1915
events in Brussels on Wednesday.

14 April 2015

AA

US CALLS FOR ‘FULL, FRANK’ RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN MASSACRES

01:10, 15 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

The U.S. on Tuesday called for a complete and fair acknowledgement
of the facts surrounding the 1915 events.

“The president and other senior administration officials have
repeatedly acknowledged as historical fact, and mourned the fact,
that 1.5 million Armenians were massacred or marched to their deaths
in the final days of the Ottoman Empire,” State Department acting
spokeswoman Marie Harf told a daily briefing.

“A full, frank and just acknowledgement of the fact is in all our
interests, including Turkey’s, Armenia’s and America’s,” she said.

“Nations are stronger and they progress by acknowledging and reckoning
with pretty painful elements of their past,” she said.

ARMENIAN INTELLECTUAL ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT GENOCIDE LITURGY IN VATICAN

14:22 * 14.04.15

The Armenian Genocide liturgy in Vatican was unprecedented as Pope
Francis’s call to recognize justice raised both a political message
and a demand for cause, say Armenian intellectuals.

“In his address, the Pope relied upon the key messages voiced by the
Armenian president in every speech of his. All that was this heard
from the mouth of a person whom the entire world was listening to,”
writer and publicist Razmik Davoyan told a news conference on Tuesday.

He said the Pope’s move to condemn the Genocide was something he
considered a moral duty not only for himself but also the world.

“This is a message calling for for unity. We know the implications
of voicing a call from Vatican. The biggest message was the one for
re-establishing the Armenians’ unity,” Davoyan added.

He further stressed the importance of leaving aside political and
party interests to consolidate over the idea of unity.

“We had such unity during the Nagorno-Karabakh movement, but the
strife for power broke that apart,” he added.

Davoyan said he thinks that Armenia now has a second chance to achieve
Turkey’s recognition of Genocide. “The Pope’s call is directly entering
into the political arena. It is a demand for cause and has political
approaches,” he said.

Vardan Devrikyan, a literary critic and a veteran of the
Nagorno-Karabakh war also attending the news conference, said he
found the liturgy a good occasion to introduce the Armenian culture
to the world.

“It was a great opportunity to demonstrate our culture and
our spiritual presence in Europe. The liturgy in Vatican was
unprecedented,” he noted.

EVENT IN THE NETHERLANDS DEDICATED TO THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

11:44, 14 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

On April 11, commemorative event dedicated to the Centenary of the
Armenian Genocide, organized by the Association of Armenian Women of
Gelderland, the Society of Young Armenians of Arnhem and the Armenian
Apostolic Church of Arnhem was held in Arnhem, the Netherlands.

A requiem mass was performed at the commemorative event, followed
by lighting of 100 candles symbolizing 100th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide. Several episodes of the program of Dutch Public
TV of 1983-1985, “Tower of Babel”, were shown that was dedicated to
the Armenian Genocide. “Navasard” choir performed musical pieces and
students from “Nor Aig” Sunday school recited verses dedicated to
the Armenian Genocide.

Manoshak Ohannesian, Minas Arsenian and Alice Tovmasian made statements
on behalf of the organizers of the event. Ambassador of Armenia to
the Netherlands Dziunik Aghajanian, addressed the attendees calling
for consolidation and patience, mentioning, “Our cause is still ahead
of us. We have demands, demands for justice which would require our
united efforts, persistence and patience to advance our permanent
fight, in order to put an end to impunity, the impunity that is
being nourished by denialist ideologies, political expediency,
governments acting solely on economic and strategic interests, those
that pronounce themselves as protagonists of human rights, yet do
not have the courage to call the crime by its name, to denounce it
completely, a phenomenon that does not allow unhindered implementation
of international commitments aimed at prevention of genocide.”

TURKEY AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SPEAK NOT THE SAME LANGUAGE – NALBANDYAN

YEREVAN, April 14. /ARKA/. Armenia’s minister of foreign affairs
Edward Nalbandyan said that Turkey and the international community
are on the different wavelength, in commenting Pope Francis’ statement
about the Armenian genocide during the holy mass on Sunday.

On Sunday the head of the Roman Catholic Church served a landmark
mass in the Armenian Catholic rite in St. Peter’s Basilica. In his
speech, Pope Francis used the world genocide in describing the mass
killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey a century ago. The Pope’s
statement provoked anger in Turkey. Turkey recalled the ambassador
to the Vatican, and called the Vatican ambassador to the foreign
ministry for consultation.

The Pope’s statement is a call to consolidate, to support the Armenian
people, to back the efforts of the international community to prevent
the future crimes against humanity, the foreign minister said.

It is the spiritual leader’s address to some 1.2 billion Catholics,
he said.

“If Turkey disagrees with this statement and with many countries
having recognized the Armenian genocide, and does not agree with the
opinion of the international organizations, than it is the problem of
Turkey, but not of the global community. This indicates that Turkey
and the international community do not speak the same language,”
Nalbandyan said.

This confirms Ankara continues it denial policy at a high level and,
hence, assumes responsibility for the crime committed by the Ottoman
Empire leadership, the Armenian foreign minister said.

Guided by universal human values, the Pope said that concealing or
denying the genocide would mean leaving the wound bleeding without
bandaging it, Nalbandyan said.

“Denial is opening the doors not to reconciliation, but to new crimes
against humanity,” the Armenian foreign minister said. -0–

MUSLIM CLERIC FETHULLAH GULEN TERMS MASSACRE OF ARMENIANS IN OTTOMAN TURKEY AS GENOCIDE

by Ashot Safaryan

Tuesday, April 14, 00:33

A letter, penned by U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen nearly 50 years
ago, has revealed the Muslim cleric recognizes the 1915-1916 killings
as genocide; a claim Armenia defends. Gulen is the ideological and
political opponent of Turkey President Recep Erdogan.

“…I can not continue without condemning the genocide perpetrated
against Armenians in 1915. I commemorate the victims of Genocide
with a deep respect,” said Gulen in the letter written to Archbishop
Shinork Kalusyan, the former Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul on May
6,1965. “I condemn with indignation and abhorrence the massacre of
children of your great Prophet Jesus Christ by some ignorant people
who think they are Muslim,” Yeni Safak quotes the letter.

“All nations and people are actually brothers and sisters because the
grandmother of all of us is Eve and the grandfather is Adam. Man is
mortal. Living as brothers is a need,” he said. Gulen was serving as
a preacher in K?rklareli when he penned these lines to Kalusyan.

DENIAL NOT OPENING THE DOOR TO RECONCILIATION: ARMENIAN FM

00:52, 14 Apr 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian answered the questions
of Adnkronos.com Italian website.

Question: What impression do you have from the Pope’s statement on
the ArmenianGenocide?

Answer: The address by Pope Francis I during the Sunday Mass service in
Rome marking the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide was an important
message of solidarity with the Armenian people, it was also a message
of support to the efforts of the international community for the
prevention of new crimes against humanity, new genocides.

Question: How would you comment Turkey’s displeasure with respect to
this statement?

Answer: These are the words of the spiritual leader of 1 billion 200
million Catholics of the world. If in Turkey they do not agree with
this approach, do not agree with the approach of many countries,
international organizations which have recognized the Armenian
Genocide, it is the problem of Turkey, and not of the international
community.

It shows that Turkey and the international community are talking in
different languages.

That is yet another proof that Turkey is continuing its policy of
denial on state level, thus assuming responsibility for the crime
committed by the authorities of the Ottoman Empire.

Led by universal noble values the Pope wisely said: “”Concealing
or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without
bandaging it.”

Denial is not opening the door to reconciliation, it is opening the
door to new crimes against humanity.

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 12 2015

Pope uttering `genocide’ angers Turks, Vatican ambassador recalled

Pope Francis called the mass killings of Armenians at the end of World
War I under Ottoman rule `the first genocide of the 20th century’
during his Sunday Mass, and immediately after it Turkey called its
ambassador to the Vatican back to Ankara for consultation.

Vatican Ambassador to Turkey Antonio Lucibello was summoned to the
Foreign Ministry on Sunday. The ministry’s deputy undersecretary,
Levent Murat Burhan, told Lucibello that Turkey is `greatly saddened
and disappointed’ by the pope’s characterization of the 1915 events as
genocide, a Foreign Ministry spokesman told journalists. Turkey also
called its ambassador to the Vatican back to Ankara for consultation.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt ÇavuÅ?oÄ?lu wrote on his Twitter account on
Sunday that the pope’s genocide remarks are `unacceptable.’

`The pope’s remarks, which are not based on historical and legal
facts, are not acceptable. Religious positions are not the place to
fuel malice and hatred with unfounded claims,’ said ÇavuÃ…?oÄ?lu.

The pope was the first guest at President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an’s
lavish palace when he visited Turkey last November.

At the start of his Sunday Mass in the Armenian Catholic rite in St.
Peter’s Basilica honoring the centenary, Pope Francis said,
`Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding
without bandaging it.’

It is claimed that the pope has close ties to the Armenian community
from his days in Argentina and he has said it is his duty to honor the
memory of the innocent men, women, children, priests and bishops who
were `senselessly’ murdered.

The pope also called on all heads of state and international
organizations to recognize `the truth’ of what transpired and oppose
such crimes without ceding to ambiguity or compromise, in a subsequent
message directed to all Armenians.

Pope Francis’s remarks acknowledging the 1915 events as genocide came
at the 100th anniversary of the mass killings of Armenians at the
hands of the Ottoman Empire. Armenia has been preparing to commemorate
the tragic events on April 24 with the attendance of a number of world
leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ankara denies claims that the events of 1915 amount to genocide,
arguing that both Turks and Armenians were killed when Armenians
revolted against the Ottoman Empire during World War I in
collaboration with the Russian army, which was then invading Eastern
Anatolia.

Pope Francis is not the first pope to utter the word `genocide.’ Pope
John Paul II also described the Armenian killing as `the first
genocide of the 20th century’ in a joint statement with Armenian
Apostolic Church Supreme Patriarch Kerekin II in 2001. Pope Francis
had used the word “genocide” back in 2013 during a Vatican audience
with an Armenian delegation and prompted a strong protest from Ankara.

‘Not acceptable’

Following the pope’s remarks, main opposition Republican People’s
Party (CHP) Adana deputy and veteran diplomat Faruk LoÄ?oÄ?lu issued a
statement on Sunday criticizing the pope for his genocide remarks.

LoÄ?oÄ?lu said the pope’s remarks are not only damaging to
Turkish-Armenian relations but also `provocative and destructive’ at a
time when tensions between the Christian and Islamic world are rising.

`The pope’s repeating this claim one more time without referring to a
source, reason or an international court decision is not
understandable, acceptable or forgivable,’ said LoÄ?oÄ?lu. Accusing the
pope of resorting to populism that may lead to grave consequences,
LoÄ?oÄ?lu said the pope is taking sides and neglecting historical facts.

LoÄ?oÄ?lu also urged the Turkish government to recall its ambassador to
the Holy See until the pope corrects his genocide remarks.

Opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) parliamentary group deputy
chairman Yusuf HalaçoÄ?lu criticized the ruling Justice and Development
Party (AK Party) government and said that despite the pope being the
first guest at President ErdoÄ?an’s palace, `Turkey is not capable of
preventing the pope from making a political statement against Turkey.’

HalaçoÄ?lu said religious leaders or politicians do not have the right
to make a grave accusation such as genocide against a country.

Turkey’s ambassador to the Holy See canceled a planned news conference
for Sunday, presumably after learning that the pope would utter the
word “genocide” over its objections.

The pope uttered the word `genocide’ during an Armenian rite Mass in
St. Peter’s Basilica marking the 100th anniversary of the mass
killings, alongside the Armenian Catholic patriarch, Nerses Bedros XIX
Tarmouni, Armenian Christian church leaders and Armenian President
Serzh Sarksyan, who sat in a place of honor in the basilica.

Pope Francis also said that the killing of Armenians was the first of
three massive and unprecedented genocides last century that was
followed by the Holocaust and Stalinism. He said the mass killings in
Cambodia, Rwanda, Burundi and Bosnia had followed.

The pope said the human family seems to be refusing to learn from its
mistakes and even today there are those who attempt to eliminate
others with the help of a few and the complicit silence of those who
stand by. Pope Francis has frequently denounced the `complicit
silence’ of the international community in the face of the modern-day
ethnic and religious killings by extremists.

During Sunday’s Mass, the pope pronounced a 10th-century Armenian
mystic, St. Gregory of Narek, a doctor of the church to honor the
Armenian community. Only 35 people have been given the title.

RFi, France
April 12 2015

Armenians welcome Pope’s genocide statement, Turkey protests

By Sarah Elzas

Turkey summoned the Vatican ambassador to Ankara on Sunday after Pope
Francis used the word “genocide” to describe the massacres of
Armenians by Ottoman forces during World War I. In a statement on
Twitter Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu accused the Pope of
“inciting resentment and hatred with baseless allegations” but
Armenians have welcomed the statement.

In a mass at St Peter’s Cathedral to mark the centenary of massacres
attended by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, the Pope called the
massacre of the Armenians between 1915 and 1917 “the first genocide of
the 20th century”.

This was carefully worded, quoting a statement made in 2001 by Pope
John Paul II and the Armenian Patriarch.

While the Pope did not use his own words, it was the first time the
term “genocide” has been pronounced in connection with Armenia in
Saint Peter’s.

Gaidz Minassian, a political scientist at the University of Paris,
welcomed the statement Sunday.

“It’s very important, not just on a symbolic or moral level, it’s a
political act,” he told RFI.

For Armenians “it’s a psychological victory” and shows there is an
international consensus that Turkey must recognise the concept of the
genocide.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million people were killed between 1915 and
1917 and have pushed for the massacres to be recognised as genocide.

Turkey says 300,000-500,000 Armenians died, along with the same number
of Turks, in an Armenian uprising against the Ottoman rulers.

The Pope described the “immense and senseless slaughter” of the
Armenians and said there was a duty to “honour their memory, for
whenever memory fades, it means that evil allows wounds to fester”.

Minassian says the comments will help Turkish citizens “to do the
right thing” in pushing their government to recognise the genocide,
which he calls “an act of freedom to show people that history belongs
to them and not to the state.”

Pope Francis had been under pressure to use the term “genocide”
publicly, despite a risk of alienating Turkey, which is seen as an
important ally in the fight against radical Islam.

But historian Samim Akgonul says Turkey needs the West, more than the
West needs it.

“Turkey is an important ally and always has been, during the Cold War,
the two Gulf Wars, and today the Middle East issues,” he told RFI. “On
the other hand, Turkey is very isolated.”

The Pope’s comments were widely reported in Turkey.

Akgonul says this is not surprising, as using the word genocide in
connection with Armenians is no longer taboo, as it used to be.

“Twenty years ago, the word could not be pronounced,” he told RFI.
Today there are conferences on the issue, and even a commemoration of
the centenary planned on Istanbul’s Taksim Square on 24 April.

Last year, for the first time, then Turkish prime minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan offered condolences to the descendants of the Armenians
who died in 1915.

A historian at the University of Strasbourg who has been involved in
the movement to get Turkey to recognise the genocide, Akgonul sees
public opinion changing gradually but steadily.

“We are in an era where it is difficult to construct one, single
official history,” he said. “Today people are informed from everywhere
… so it is difficult to construct a dogma on historical facts. The
younger generation, especially, is aware that in the history of Turkey
and its nation-building, there have been tragedies.”

He predicts that that Turkey will change.

“I think that in one decade, Turkey will officially take steps to
repair this historical trauma,” he said.