Author: Khondkarian Raffi

ARMENIA HAILS CONGRESSIONAL PANEL’S VOTE ON GENOCIDE BILL
By Ruzanna Khachatrian and Ruzanna Stepanian

Radio Liberty, Czech rep.
Oct 11 2007

Armenia’s political establishment on Thursday welcomed the genocide
resolution approved by a U.S. congressional panel the previous day to
describe the World War I-era killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey
as genocide.

Opening the parliament session, Speaker Tigran Torosian expressed
gratitude to the American congressmen for showing "high moral
qualities" and withstanding "various pressures."

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. Congress’ House of
Representatives on Wednesday approved Resolution 106 by 27 votes to 21.

The text of the resolution opposed by the Bush administration
and various Turkish lobbyist groups in the United States says the
killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians was a genocide that should be
acknowledged fully in U.S. foreign policy towards Turkey, along with
"the consequences of the failure to realize a just resolution."

The measure is likely to be sent on to a vote in the full
Democratic-led House, where a majority has already signed on to the
resolution. A parallel measure is in the Senate pipeline.

Armenian lawmaker David Harutiunian highly evaluated the huge work
done by the Armenian organizations and said the resolution was unlikely
to bring in any "essential change" in the Armenia-Turkey relations.

"Even if there is some change, it will be of a very temporary nature.

I said a few years ago that Turkey would itself recognize the genocide
in the next ten or fifteen years and I have the same conviction today,"
he told RFE/RL.

Armen Rustamian, from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, thinks
the resolution will be instrumental in changing Turkey’s approaches
to the matter.

"I think it will make Turkey revise its stereotypes and show a serious
approach to the Armenian genocide issue. I am sure gradually Turkey
itself will understand that this resolution marks the beginning of
Turkey’s modernization and reform," Rustamian told RFE/RL.

"Similar recognitions increase the Armenian people’s trust towards
the international community and towards the idea of justice. In this
sense, it is, of course, praiseworthy. I don’t think there will be
any tangible consequences," Stepan Safarian of the opposition Heritage
faction commented.

And Mher Shahgeldian, of the opposition Orinats Yerkir party, said:
"It is already a wave that will sooner or later gain even greater
momentum in the world."

Armenian Assembly of America (AAA) Armenia and Karabakh country
director Arpi Vartanian called the approval of Resolution 106 a "moral
victory" taking into account the huge pressure and threats from Turkey.

"The same resolution was discussed and voted on two years ago with 40
for and 7 against votes. But Turkey had not mounted such a large-scale
campaign back then. That’s why I would call it a great victory,"
Vartanian told RFE/RL.

Vartanian is optimistic about the prospect of the resolution in the
full House, but at the same time does not rule out that its passage
may be thwarted under huge Turkish pressure.

"Great efforts are being made to thwart the resolution, but we, too,
must continue our efforts to ensure its passage," she said.

ARMENIAN INDEPENDENCE CELEBRATED IN CORDOBA

Panorama.am
21:30 09/10/2007

Celebrations for the occasion of 16 years of Armenian independence were
held by the Armenian community of Cordoba, Argentina. The celebrations
were sponsored by the Armenian embassy of Argentina.

Nearly 400 Cordoba natives were present at the events, including
political figures, benefactors, businessmen, artists, and journalists.

According to the foreign ministry news department, Armenian community
president Rafael Simonyan and Armenian embassy representative Khoren
Derderyan gave welcoming remarks. During ceremonies, a film dedicated
to Armenia was shown. Songs by the "Mkhitar" choir were included in the
film. Performances by the "Dziran" and "Torgom" choirs also took place.

During the ceremonies, a book presentation for "El Grito Armenio"
(Cry of Armenia), by Mariano Marivya, was held.

BUSH TO CONGRESS: DON’T CROSS TURKS ON ARMENIANS
by Frank James

Baltimore Sun
blog/2007/10/bush_to_congress_dont_cross_tu.html
O ct 10 2007

Much of the world acknowledges the genocide of as many as 1.5 million
Armenians by Ottoman Turks between 1915 and 1923 , a genocide that’s
often called the first in a century of genocides–the 20th century.

But it’s taboo to talk about the genocide in Turkey where many Turks
deny the mass murders ever happened.

And apparently, because of increasing pressure from Turkey, it’s now
taboo as well for the U.S. Congress to pass a resolution calling on
Bush Administration foreign policy to take account of the Armenian
genocide.

President Bush came as close as a president comes to publicly begging
Congress not to pass the resolution.

House Resolution 106, which is to be considered this afternoon by
the House Foreign Affairs Committee, starts thusly:

Calling upon the President to ensure that the foreign policy of the
United States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity
concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and
genocide documented in the United States record relating to the
Armenian Genocide, and for other purposes.

That language seems straightforward enough. But the Turkish government
so fiercely opposes the resolution that U.S. officials have clearly
been warned that the resolution’s passage could jeopardize Turkish
cooperation on Iraq.

That would be disastrous for U.S. troops in Iraq since much of the
materiel and oil that keeps them going passes through Turkey, the
U.S.’s longtime and NATO member.

So worried is the Bush Administration, that President Bush appended
some remarks about his opposition to the resolution to comments he
made this morning on the South Lawn on a completely different matter,
improvements to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act:

Bush said:

On another issue before Congress, I urge members to oppose the Armenian
genocide resolution now being considered by the House Foreign Affairs
Committee. We all deeply regret the tragic suffering of the Armenian
people that began in 1915. This resolution is not the right response
to these historic mass killings, and its passage would do great harm to
our relations with a key ally in NATO and in the global war on terror.

To drive home the message he sent Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
and Defense Secretary Robert Gates out to underscore the difficulties
that would be created for U.S. efforts in Iraq if Turkey decides to
stop cooperating with the U.S. SEC. RICE: We have just come from
a meeting with the president and from a meeting with our team in
Iraq and in the field, and we just wanted to make a brief comment
about the Armenian Genocide Resolution that is before the House
of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee today. And we are
all in agreement that the passage of this resolution would be very
destabilizing to our efforts in the Middle East, very destabilizing to
our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, because Turkey, as an important
strategic ally, is very critical in supporting the efforts that we
are making in these crucial areas.

I just want to note that General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker
brought up the issue of this Armenian Genocide Resolution, as did
Admiral Fallon, and ask that we do everything that we could to make
certain that it does not pass.

I’m going to turn to Secretary Gates. But let me just say that this is
not because the United States fails to recognize the terrible tragedy
of 1915, the mass killings that took place there, that President Bush
had spoken about this issue repeatedly throughout his presidency. We
have encouraged the Turkish government to work with the Armenian
government to put together a way to overcome and reconcile these
horrible — this horrible past and these terrible differences. We
believe that there is some improvement in Turkish- Armenian relations.

So this is not to ignore what was a really terrible situation. And
we recognize the feelings of those who want to express their concern
and their disdain for what happened many years ago. But the passage
of this resolution at this time would indeed be very problematic
for everything that we are trying to do in the Middle East because
we are very dependent on a good Turkish strategic ally to help with
our efforts.

And maybe I could turn to Secretary Gates for a couple of comments.

SEC. GATES: Just a word or two. The reason that the commanders raised
this issue as our heavy dependence on Turkey in terms of resupply in
Iraq — about 70 percent of all air cargo going into Iraq comes —
goes through Turkey; about a third of the fuel that they consume goes
through Turkey or comes from Turkey. They believe clearly that access
to airfields and to the roads and so on in Turkey would be very much
put at risk if this resolution passes and the Turks react as strongly
as we believe they will.

Just one other small fact is that, as you know, we’re airlifting these
MRAPs, these Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, right now into
Iraq; 95 percent of those MRAPs going into Iraq right now are flying
— are being flown in through Turkey. And so our heavy dependence on
the Turks for access is really the reason the commanders raised this
and why we’re so concerned about the resolution.

Since what’s on the table in the House is a resolution that doesn’t
need a presidential signature, not a bill making law, the president
can’t exercise a veto like he has recently on legislation he has
found objectionable.

All he can do is jawbone Congress and raise the prospect of the U.S.

military being punished if Turkey retaliates, which the administration
clearly believes is likely judging by the urgency it attaches to
this issue.

To many minds, the situation the U.S. finds itself in with Turkey is
akin to being blackmailed.

"Is Turkey blackmailiing the U.S.?" a reporter asked White House
Press Secretary Dana Perino at today’s press briefing.

"Absolutely not," she said.

Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
[email protected]
Internet:

PRESS RELEASE
October 10, 2007

Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE ADOPTS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

— Clears Way for Full House Consideration of the Human Rights
Measure

WASHINGTON, DC – With a vote of 27 to 21, the influential panel of
the U.S. House of Representatives took a major step toward ending
U.S. complicity in Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide,
adopting H.Res.106, the Armenian Genocide, over in intense campaign
of threats and intimidation by the Turkish government and its
lobbyists in Washington, DC, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA).

The Committee decision opens the way for full house consideration
of the measure.

"The Foreign Affairs Committee’s adoption today of the Armenian
Genocide Resolution represents a meaningful step toward reclaiming
our right – as Americans – to speak openly and honestly about the
first genocide of the 20th Century, free from the gag-rule that
Turkey has, for far too long, sought to impose on nation’s elected
officials," said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA.
"As Americans, we must always remain free to speak openly about
human rights and should never outsource our nation’s foreign policy
– or our morality – to another nation."

Voting in support of the measure were Representatives Gary Ackerman
(D-NY), Howard Berman (D-CA), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Steve Chabot
(R-OH), Jim Costa (D-CA), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), William Delahunt
(D-MA), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Eni F. H. Faleomavaega (D-SM*), Elton
Gallegly (R-CA), Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), Gene Green (D-TX),
Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Ron Klein (D-FL), Tom Lantos (D-CA),
Donald Manzullo (R-IL), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Donald Payne (D-NJ),
Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Edward Royce (R-CA), Linda Sanchez (D-CA),
Brad Sherman (D-CA), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Christopher Smith (R-NJ),
Diane Watson (D-CA), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), and David Wu (D-OR),

Voting against the measure Gresham Barrett (R-SC), Roy Blunt (R-
MO), John Boozman (R-AR), Dan Burton (R-IN), Russ Carnahan (D-MO),
Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), Luis Fortuno (R-PR),
Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX), Bob Inglis (R-SC), Connie Mack (R-FL),
Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Brad Miller (D-NC), Mike Pence (R-IN), Ted
Poe (R-TX), Illeana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), David Scott (D-GA), Adam
Smith (D-WA), Thomas Tancredo (R-CO), John Tanner (D-TN), and
Robert Wexler (D-FL). Representatives Ron Paul (R-TX) and Joe
Wilson (R-SC) did not vote.

"We want to thank Chairman Lantos, who scheduled this measure for
consideration by the Foreign Affairs Committee and voted for its
passage, Representatives Adam Schiff and George Radanovich, the
lead authors of this legislation, Representatives Brad Sherman and
Ed Royce, who spearheaded the panel’s adoption of the legislation,
Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone and Joe Knollenberg, who
generated the broad-based bipartisan support for H.Res.106 and
Armenian American Congresswoman Anna Eshoo – all of whom have
worked tirelessly as the resolution moves toward passage by the
full House of Representatives."

Introduced on January 30th by Rep. Adam Schiff along with
Representative George Radanovich (R-CA), Congressional Armenian
Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI),
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Rep. Thaddeus
McCotter (R-MI), the Armenian Genocide resolution calls upon the
President to ensure that the foreign policy of the United States
reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning
issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide
documented in the United States record relating to the Armenian
Genocide. The resolution is cosponsored by 226 Members of Congress
from 39 states. A similar resolution in the Senate (S.Res.106),
introduced by Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sen.
John Ensign (R-NV) currently has 31 cosponsors, including Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and presidential candidate
Hillary Clinton (D-NY).

Over the past nine months, Armenian Americans and human rights
advocates have joined with Members of Congress in educating their
colleagues about the Armenian Genocide and the importance of proper
recognition of this crime against humanity. The ANCA has mounted
several national grassroots initiatives including the highly
successful "Click for Justice" and "Call for Justice" campaigns as
well as the "End the Cycle of Genocide" Advocacy Days, cosponsored
with the Genocide Intervention Network.

Expanded coverage will follow.

#####

NOTE TO THE EDITOR: Photos sent under separate cover.

A CASINO IS A PUBLIC PLACE

Lragir
Oct 9 2007
Armenia

The Republican Party is aware of its propaganda resource and rejects
black PR by any political force. Republican Member of Parliament
Armen Ashotyan declared this tolerance on October 9 at the Tesaket
press club and also spelled out his definition of black PR. Political
criticism of the Republican Party against other forces is not black PR,
he says. "If I say I disagree with this activist’s idea because of
this or because of that, it is not black PR. If I say this activist
was seen in one place or another at three, four, five o’clock in the
morning, it is black PR," Armen Ashotyan said.

The reporters wanted to make sure if it is black PR if one Republican
activist or another is said to visit a casino at three o’clock
at night.

"If casinos, or any other types of entertainments, were out of
law, going to casinos would be illegal, so a reprimand would be
appropriate. But if it is not illegal, I am sorry to say that it is
a violation of the constitutional provision on private life which
is often ignored by some media and political activists declaring
themselves to be democratic," Armen Ashotyan answers. Perhaps it should
be added to his answer that everyone has the right for private life
but casinos are public places, consequently, it is not a trespassing
on private life to say that one activist or another visited a casino,
especially that there is every reason to doubt that those activists
frequenting casinos are trespassing on public money, in other words,
on the private contribution of each taxpayer.

ONLY 1.5% OF YOUNG PEOPLE OF ARMENIA ENVOLVED IN PUBLIC JOBS
Author: Arev Hakobian

Noyan Tapan News Agency
Oct 8 2007
Armenia

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. Only 1.5% of over 800 thousand young
people living in Armenia is involved in public jobs. This statement
was made by Atom Mkhitarian, the Chairman of the Youth Organizations’
Association of the World Armenian Congress (WAC), at the press
conference held on October 5. He mentioned that this index makes
20-25% in Poland and 85% in Denmark. According to Atom Mkhitarian,
only 40-45 out of over 400 youth organizations registered in Armenia
do active work.

In the observation of Arthur Poghosian, the RA Deputy Minister of
Sport and Youth Affairs, 20% of the Armenian young people is envolved
in the active public life as many young people are active, however,
they are not members of non-governmental or youth non-governmental
organizations. He also mentioned that the sum provided for the
implementation of youth programs by the state budget is increasing
year after year. Thus, if 37 million drams were allocated for this
purpose in 1998, in 2007 the sum made 342 million drams (about 972
thousand U.S. dollars). According to Arthur Poghosian, the policy
of the government in this sphere has recently been directed at the
settlement of youth problems in regions, in particular. Youth regional
centers have been created in 10 regions for that purpose.

Another five community youth centers are envisaged to be created in
Goris, Ararat, Stepanavan, Aparan, and Talin.

It was also mentioned that the RA draft Law on "The young" has been
submitted to the National Assembly for consideration.

CIS DEVELOPMENT DOCTRINE APPROVED
Lilit Poghosyan

Hayots Ashkharh Daily
Oct 6 2007
Armenia

On October 5 the Armenian delegation, under the leadership of President
Robert Kocharyan, arrived in Dushanbe, the capital city of Tajikistan,
to participate in the regular CIS summit.

The principal mission of this particular meeting was the discussion,
coordination and adoption of the CIS Development Doctrine with a
prospect of making the current economic, political and humanitarian
integration more effective. The document was elaborated by the
intergovernmental working group, with the participation of the Deputy
Foreign Ministers and approved by the Foreign Ministers in a council
session convened the previous day.

The concept paper was approved by the CIS leaders first in a narrow
circle, i.e. with the participation of the Presidents, and then – in
an enlarged session. At the same time, they adopted an action plan
aimed at it implementation of the document. The key element of the
summit was the establishment of a new intergovernmental agency, the
Institute of Coordinators of CIS Countries which is vested with the
right to follow the process of the implementation of program activities
and report on the results, Together with those pivotal issues, there
are around 2 dozen issues of mutual interest included in the summit
agenda, e.g. regulation of migration processes, anti-terrorism,
prevention of drug trafficking, prospects of economic cooperation etc.

Let’s note that all the leaders of the CIS countries, apart
from the Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko, present at the
summit. Mr. Yushchenko is currently engaged in very important tasks –
the regulation of the post-electoral processes. The representatives
of the three Caucasian Republics participated in the summit in full
staff. In the meantime, neither during the enlarged session nor in
the subsequent the press-conference there was any referral to the CIS
interstate conflicts: the Russian-Georgian and the Armenian-Azerbaijani
relations, which are, mildly speaking, unfriendly.

There were absolutely no discussions around the actual problems
regarding Armenia and the Caucasian region. The discussions were
mostly devoted to the common concerns of the CIS countries, their
problems and the ways towards their settlement.

The Presidents congratulated the Tajikistani President Emamoli Rahmokov
on the occasion of his 55th birthday which coincided with the opening
day of the summit.

This summit was not an ordinary one for the CIS Executive Secretary
Vladimir Roushaylo either. Having held the same post for 3 years,
Mr. Roushaylo ended his term of office and, receiving the approval
of the leader’s of CIS countries, he handed over the administration
to Sergey Lebedev, his legal successor.

During the enlarged session, special attention was paid to the issue
of conducting a coordinated migration policy, because employment
migration is an urgent issue not only for the CIS countries, but also
the other states and peoples of the world, as Norsultan Nazarbaev, the
President of Kazakhstan mentioned in his speech. And it is necessary
to make efforts on the state and interstate level to ensure more or
less favorable working conditions and life standards for the former
USSR citizens residing in foreign countries, as well as create relevant
legal bases for the protection of their rights.

ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Oct 5 2007

Special Representative of Europarliament offers to replace France in
OSCE MG by European Union

ArmInfo. Special Representative of the European Parliament on South
Caucasus Isler Beguin offers to replace France in OSCE Minsk Group by
the European Union, he said during hearings on South Caucasus in the
Europarliament’s Committee on Foreign Relations, the "Trend" reports.

"The European Union should participate more closely in settlement of
conflicts in the South Caucasus. This concerns Nagorno Karabakh
conflict as well", Beguin said. "I am French, however, I think that
the mandate of France in Minsk Group should be passed to the European
Union", Beguin said. He thinks that EU, thus, will be able to
regulate the conflict at a high level. He also paid attention to the
fact that the Turkish-Armenian border is closed. According to him,
this is a factor which deepens the problem. Special Representative of
the European Parliament on Nagorno Karabakh conflict Lydia Paulfer
expressed concern over two issues. "Armenia remained aside of
Baku-Tbilisi-Jeyhan oil pipeline and other regional projects. This
circumstance may lead to the country’s instability in a long-term
perspective. Moreover, extension of Azerbaijan’s military budget will
tense the situation in the region", L. Paulfer said. As deputy
Chairman of the Europarliament on South Caucasus, Slovakian
parliamentarian Duka-Zolyomi said, each conflict is specific and
requires an individual approach. He thinks that Russia, in many
cases, plays a role of a power which destabilizes the situation in
the region. It was also noted that Kosovo cannot become a precedent
for other conflicts.

Deputy of the Europarliament from German socialists Vural Oger blamed
Armenia for occupation of Nagorno Karabakh and its adjacent regions.
He demanded of EU to take an unambiguous position. "Azerbaijan is
important for Europe in the energy policy and this is limited not
only to availability of energy resources", Oger said.

POLICE OF TURKEY DESTROY FILE ON DINK MURDER SUSPECT

ArmInfo Agency, Armenia
Oct 4 2007

ArmInfo. The Police of Turkey have destroyed the important file on
the murder of Hrant Dink.

The Turkish newspaper "Zaman" reports with reference to the Turkish
private NTV station that the police file on a prime suspect in
the murder case of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink has been
destroyed on grounds that the file was a "state secret". The Istanbul
court, which is currently trying 19 suspects in the murder of Dink,
who was shot outside his newspaper’s office by an ultranationalist
teenager in January 2007, had not demanded to see the police files
on Erhan Tuncel, a former police informant facing trial for having
incited the gunman to kill Dink.

The newspaper says that the court’s request was turned down by the
Intelligence Department, where Tuncel’s file is stored, which said
the document was destroyed to protect state secrets. Yet, the source
reports that the prosecutors carrying out the investigation had seen
the police file on Tuncel, a former informant who worked for the
Trabzon police. However, the file was apparently destroyed before the

court had a chance to see the document. Erdal Dogan, a lawyer
representing the Dink family, said this was a "legal scandal." The
court rejected Dogan’s request for the file a second time, saying it
was "confidential." Dogan said their demands would continue. "This
secret cannot be hidden from the court even though it is a state
secret. This is a violation of the Law of Procedures," he said.

According to the source, prior to the second hearing of the trial,
tape recordings of a phone conversation between police officer Muhittin
Zenit and Tuncel were leaked to the media. The conversation suggests
that Zenit knew about the plot to murder Dink earlier.

However, the request of Dink’s family lawyers to start an investigation
into police officer Zenit in Monday’s hearing was overruled. The
controversy over Tuncel’s file is likely to deepen concerns over a
possible cover-up by state authorities in the murder.

Dink’s lawyers have complained that the murder has not been properly
investigated and have expressed fears for the independence of the
court, reflecting concerns about the possible involvement of Turkey’s
so-called "deep state." The "deep state" is a term coined to describe
hard-line nationalists in the bureaucracy and security forces who
are prepared to subvert the law for their own political ends.

The newspaper says that there were also reports in the Turkish press
suggesting that the teenager accused of killing Dink was probably
attempting to mislead the judges in hopes of winning a reduction
in his sentence when he told the court during Monday’s hearing that
he regretted his actions and claimed he had carried out the slaying
under the influence of drugs. "Blood tests taken immediately after
his arrest less than 24 hours after the murder revealed that he had
not taken drugs prior to the crime", the source says.

WILLIAMS REPUDIATES GENOCIDE IN VISIT TO ARMENIAN MEMORIAL

Ekklesia, UK

Oct 3 2007

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has said on a visit
to the Armenian genocide memorial that violence targeted against whole
communities is ‘one of the greatest disgraces of the twentieth century’
and must be utterly repudiated in the twenty-first.

Speaking during a ceremony last week at the Genocide Memorial at
Tsitsernakaberd in Yerevan, during his visit to Armenia, he said that
such atrocities had scarred the international community.

He declared: "This ceremony reminds us of one of the greatest disgraces
of the twentieth century … the history of brutal massacres of whole
peoples on ethnic and religious grounds; the turning away of the rest
of the world and the denial of the suffering of the victims throughout
the 20th century – this has been one of the most regular and terrible
features of international conflict."

During the ceremony, which included commemoration of the victims of
Darfur, Dr Williams said that the world needed to understand the past
and to face up to unpleasant truths:

"My most earnest prayer is that as our new century begins we shall
somehow learn to put behind us both the cruelty and the denial;
both the terrible violence that puts whole populations at risk,
that wipes out new generations that is merciless towards women and
children but also that we will learn how to tell the truth about our
past, that to stand by the side of those who suffer most and how to
build together in which such atrocities are not possible."

"In Yad Vashem in Jerusalem the text from scripture is written ‘O
Earth, cover not their blood.’ So we pray that God will help us keep
our eyes open to the reality of injustice and of suffering, that the
blood will not be covered and that also we will be given forgiveness
and strength for our journey ahead."

Dr Williams’ visit to the region included a meeting in Syria with
President Assad and also with the Grand Mufti, Shaikh Ahmad Hassun,
in Damascus.

The Armenian genocide is a matter of considerable controversy.

Churches across the world have joined other human rights campaigners
in highlighting and condemning it. But mention of the events has been
punishable by imprisonment in Turkey.