Author: Kanayan Tamar

LEBANON DEFENSE MINISTER HOSTS ARMENIAN COUNTERPART, ITALY ARMY CHIEF, STL HEAD

The Daily Star, Lebanon
April 14 2015

BEIRUT: Defense Minister Samir Moqbel held separate meetings Tuesday
with the Italian Army chief of staff, the head of the Special Tribunal
for Lebanon, and Armenia’s defense minister.

Moqbel discussed with Lt. Gen. Claudio Graziano military coordination
between the two countries and the activities of UNIFIL’s Italian unit
in south Lebanon, a ministry statement said.

Later in the day, Moqbel met with Ivana Hrdli?kov?, the newly-elected
head of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon investigating the 2005
assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Hrdli?kov? was accompanied by STL deputy chief Judge Ralph Riyashi,
the statement added.

Moqbel’s last visitor was Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian,
who was accompanied by the country’s ambassador to Lebanon and a
military delegation.

Ohanian told reporters that the meeting was “unique and very
important,” saying the discussion was focused on a new defense pact
between the two countries.

The Armenian official invited Moqbel to visit Armenia to continue
talks over possible military cooperation.

KANYE WEST PLONGE DANS UN LAC EN ARMENIE POUR SES FANS

ARMENIE

Kanye West qui plonge dans le lac de Erevan au cours d’un concert. Le
rappeur est sur place depuis mercredi afin de commemorer les cent
ans du genocide. Il voyage en compagnie de son epouse Kim Kardashian,
dont les ancetres sont armeniens et qui prevoit de travailler sur un
documentaire sur l’histoire de son pays d’origine.

>

C’est cette dernière qui raconte sur son compte Instagram comment
Kanye West a voulu faire un concert gratuit a Erevan, la capitale du
pays, et qui a attire des milliers de personnes. >,
a explique Kim Kardashian, heureuse de cette >.

mercredi 15 avril 2015, Stephane (c)armenews.com

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.

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

LA REACTION D’EDOUARD NALBANDIAN A LA PRISE DE POSITION DU PAPE

Genocide

L’Armenie a critique la reaction publique de la Turquie vis-a-vis des
propos du pape qui a reconnu officiellement le “premier genocide du
XXe siècle”.

Le ministre des Affaires etrangères, Edouard Nalbandian, a declare que
le pape Francois a prononce un “important message de solidarite et de
soutien au peuple armenien” a la basilique Saint-Pierre dimanche. Le
souverain pontife a egalement exprime son soutien aux efforts
internationaux visant a prevenir de nouveaux crimes contre l’humanite,
a releve Nalbandian dans des commentaires ecrits publies lundi.

Nalbandian a assiste a la messe avec d’autres membres d’une importante
delegation gouvernementale armenienne dirigee par le president Serge
Sarkissian. Les principaux membres du clerge de l’Eglise apostolique
armenienne, les dirigeants des organisations de la diaspora armenienne
ainsi de fidèles armeniens catholiques etaient egalement presents.

Sarkissian a remercie Francois Ier pour la liturgie au cours de leur
courte conversation qui a suivi la ceremonie de 2h30 retransmis en
direct par la television d’Etat.

Le gouvernement turc a, lui, condamne le pontife et a rappele son
ambassadeur au Vatican en signe de protestation.

“Ce sont les mots du chef spirituel de 1,2 milliard de catholiques
dans le monde”, a declare Nalbandian. “Si la Turquie est en desaccord
avec lui, qui rejoint le point de vue de nombreux pays et structures
internationales qui ont reconnu le genocide armenien, c’est le problème
de la Turquie et non de la communaute internationale.”

“Cela montre que la Turquie et la communaute internationale parlent
des langues differentes”, a charge Nalbandian. “C’est une preuve
supplementaire que la Turquie poursuit sa politique negationniste au
niveau de l’Etat, assumant ainsi la responsabilite du crime perpetre
par les autorites ottomanes.”

mercredi 15 avril 2015, Claire (c)armenews.com

THE KARDASHIANS AND POPE FRANCIS BRING ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’ BACK TO FOCUS AFTER A CENTURY

International Business Times AU
April 14 2015

By Honey George

IN PHOTO U.S. television personality Kim Kardashian (L) and her
sister Khloe Kardashian (C) attend a flower laying ceremony at the
Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial Museum in Yerevan April 10,
2015. Kim Kardashian, visiting her ancestors’ homeland of Armenia,
placed flowers on Friday at a memorial to the 1915 mass killings of
Armenians by Ottoman soldiers. REUTERS/Vahan Stepanyan

The century old Armenian genocide is back into focus. Kim Kardashian
has brought this small landlocked country South of the Caucasus
into prominence. Kardashians with their media savvy have brought the
much-wanted focus to the upcoming Genocide Remembrance day on April 24,
2015. Pope Francis also referred to the Armenian Massacre as Genocide
resulting in strong protests from Turkey.

The Armenian Genocide has not been hogging the limelight in spite
of the UN recognition due to efforts by Turkey which disputes such
claims. Most of the Armenian genocide descendants have kept the issue
alive but have not been able to get international recognition as
the Rwandan massacre or the Holocaust. Hanush Hakobyan, the Minister
for the Armenian Diaspora feels that the Kardashians would help in
getting better press for the country. “Majority of the people do not
know where Armenia is. If Kim Kardashian writes or says anything it
would be amazing PR,” he said.

For the majority of the people in this conservative nation, the
Kardashians were a world away. However, today frenzied crowd followed
every move of Kim and Khloe as they were accompanied by Kim’s Husband,
rapper Kanye West and their daughter North. Local media have displayed
pictures of Kim and Khloe Kardashian paying their tributes at the
Genocide memorial on Friday.

Pope Francis referencing the 2001 declaration of Pope John Paul put
the Armenian Genocide on par with Holocaust and Stalinist massacres.

According to CNN, the pope said, “Our Human family has lived through
three unprecedented tragedies and the first genocide of the 20th
century struck the Armenian people.” Turkey has lodged a strong
protest and has summoned its ambassador for “consultations” after
the comments by the Pope.

The massacre of Armenian Christians during the end of First World War
is considered to be the first Genocide of the twentieth century. The
United Nations unanimously passed the convention on the Prevention
and Punishment of Crime of Genocide in 1948 with the massacres in
Armenia as the template. Turkey, on the other hand, dismisses the
allegations of massacres and continue to hold the position that both
Armenians and Turkish Muslims were killed in a communal flare-up.

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.”

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.

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–

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.