Author: Khondkarian Raffi

Fresno Bee, CA
April 24 2010

Fresno commemorates Armenian genocide
500 turn out at City Hall for memorial.

Posted at 06:33 PM on Saturday, Apr. 24, 2010
By George Hostetter / The Fresno Bee Buzz up!

An estimated 500 people gathered at Fresno City Hall on Saturday
morning to commemorate the 95th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

A handful of speakers honored the memory of Armenians murdered in the
genocide, praised the strength of those who survived and promised that
the worldwide Armenian community will never rest until the Turkish
government formally acknowledges its responsibility for the deaths of
1.5 million civilians from 1915-1923.

April 24 is considered the start of the Ottoman Empire’s assault on
Armenian leaders. The Turkish government describes the deaths as a
consequence of wartime.

Fresno City Council Member Andreas Borgeas, who said he married into
an Armenian family, was the master of ceremonies. He told the
audience, "Today we are gathered to pay homage to those that gave the
ultimate sacrifice and celebrate those that were able to survive —
and to those of us that are members of the diaspora, to make certain
that we educate the next generation."

Keynote speaker Raffi Hamparian, an activist with the Armenian
National Committee Western Region, said there are few living
survivors. "I urge you never to forget," Hamparian said.

Democratic Rep. Jim Costa of Fresno said he told a top Turkish
official several years ago that "modern day Turkey ought to recognize
the wrong, right the wrong and move on."

Costa also emphasized that the Armenian genocide is well documented.

The event was hosted by the Armenian National Committee Central
California and the Fresno Armenian American Community.

Hygo Ohannessian, chair of the Armenian National Committee of Central
California, said Saturday’s walk from the Fresno County Hall of
Records to City Hall was a symbolic re-enactment of the genocide’s
death marches.

"We want to make sure that the world does not forget, and that Turkey
cannot deny what they did to our people," Ohannessian said.

Knar Kahkejian, 21, of Fresno said Saturday’s event was solemn but also joyous.

"We’re very proud to be Armenian," Kahkejian said. "We’ve had some bad
times, but we’re still around, and we’ve kept our culture. That’s the
most important thing."

Aram Atikian, 63, of Fresno said the large turnout and heartfelt
response will inspire the local Armenian community.

"It’s a very significant day," Atikian said. "We’ll get together
again. We’ve recharged our batteries to go another year."

909534/fresno-commemorates-armenian-genocide.html

ARMENIA MOURNING FOR THE VICTIMS OF 1915 GENOCIDE

Tert.am
24.04.10

April 24 may sound a usual calendar day for any other nation but
not for Armenians. It bears special symbolism – one of irretrievable
losses and unforgettable anguish that still has its living witnesses
to tell their tragic stories in person.

Scores of Armenians – men and women, children and grown-ups,
blue-collared and high-ranking officials – are now heading for
Tsitsernakaberd at this morning hour of the day and despite the
drizzling rain.

Erected on a hilltop in the outskirts of Yerevan, it stands as
a reminder of as many as almost 2 millions of Christian Armenians
massacred and death-marched in the desert of Deir el-Zor in the break
up of the Muslim Ottoman Empire in 1915.

Our correspondent in Tsitsernakaberd says there are already flowers
around the eternally-flamed memorial since early morning: it has become
a tradition for the young wing members of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation to march with torches to this memorial complex in the
evening of April 23, put flowers there and wait for the dawn.

He also says that the flow of people moving to the memorial is getting
thicker and thicker as more people join in.

Armenians gather in Tsitsernakaberd on this symbolic day of mourning
and sorrow from the capital Yerevan and all the marzes (provinces)
to pay tribute of their fellow Armenians massacred and deported from
their homeland only for being Armenians.

This year the Armenians are commemorating the 95th anniversary of the
Genocide – the greatest man-made atrocity in the early 20th century.

Several governments across the world have so far recognized the
Armenian Genocide while Turkey has avoided doing it. Consecutive
Turkish governments have for decades pursued denialist policies saying
that those massacred were the victims of a wider conflict.

US Congress Committee on Foreign Affairs adopted a resolution
(H.Rep.#252) on March 4 this year that called on President Barack Obama
to call those massacres as genocide. Days later a similar document
was adopted by the Swedish parliament and another one is set to be
brought on parliamentary vote in the Israeli Knesset on April 28.

In an attempt to keep his campaign pledge and at the same time not
to insult Ankara US President Barack Obama used a carefully-chosen
but an improper term – Mets Yeghern (Great Calamity) – in his April 24
commemoration speech last year, in fact breaking his election pledge to
"recognize the Armenian Genocide."

Whether he will do it this time, is anybody’s guess given the recent
developments on Armenia-Turkey normalization process: the ratification
of the Armenia-Turkey Protocols was suspended with an April 22 decision
by Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan.

Citing Turkey’s attempts to link the normalization to the progress
in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement as the main reason for Yerevan’s
decision Sargsyan said in a televised address Armenia did not withdraw
its signature from the Protocols but rather suspended the ratification
and would wait until Turkey ratifies them.

Ankara has already responded to Yerevan’s move with Turkish Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying
that it is up to Armenia to decide what to do with the ratification
process and that Turkey would ratify the Protocols "unless there are
relevant circumstances" for it.

PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr.Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Director
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:

PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon

Watch our latest videos on YouTube here:

"OUR PEOPLE SHOULD SPEAK UP CLEARLY FOR THEIR JUST CAUSE AGAINST TURKISH
DENIAL", SAID ARAM I

The 24th of April this year was the 95th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide. Armenians in Lebanon made a pilgrimage to Antelias and demanded
that Turkey recognize the genocide.

The pilgrimage began on Friday 23 April in the morning, with the gathering
in Antelias of all Armenian students in Lebanon. In the Memorial Chapel, the
students lit candles in memory of the Martyrs. Then through different
activities they paid tribute to the rich Armenian intellectual resources and
cultural heritage, which, in 1915, the Ottoman Turks attempted to destroy
when they removed the Armenians from their ancestral land.

In the same evening youth organizations met in Antelias. Through vespers,
candle-lighting vigils and cultural activities, they renewed their
commitment to the memory of the martyrs and the Armenian cause.

On Saturday, 24 April, in the morning, His Holiness Aram I presided over the
liturgy for the one-and-a-half million Martyrs and preached the sermon.
Bishop Kegham Khatcherian, Prelate of Lebanon, celebrated liturgy in front
of the Memorial Chapel. At the end of the liturgy, the Ambassador of Armenia
to Lebanon, representatives of all Armenian organizations, officials and the
people laid wreaths and flowers in front of the Chapel.

The pilgrimage ended with a march organized by the Committee for the
Commemoration of the 95th Anniversary of the genocide from Antelias to Bourj
Hammoud. Thousands of marchers walked silently on the highway, which had
been closed to traffic, waving Lebanese and Armenian flags and carrying
banners demanding accountability from Turkey and the international
community.

##
View the photos here:
tos/Photos474.htm
*****
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the history and
the mission of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician
Catholicosate, the administrative center of the church is located in
Antelias, Lebanon.

ARMENIAN PRESIDENT: THE CURRENT PHASE OF THE ARMENIAN-TURKISH NORMALIZATION PROCESS IS EXHAUSTED

ArmInfo
2010-04-22 20:03:00

ArmInfo. We consider the current phase of the Armenian-Turkish
normalization process exhausted, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan
said during his Televised Address on the Process of Normalization of
Relations between Armenia and Turkey.

The President said: "Fellow Armenians;

A year has passed since the Armenian-Turkish-Swiss joint statement on
steps to normalize the relations between Armenia and Turkey. During
this period, the two Protocols aimed at normalization of the relations
have been publicized, discussed in the public domain, and signed. The
documents have for quite a lengthy time now been in the parliaments
of Armenia and Turkey, awaiting ratification. Armenia has all
along demonstrated her commitment to the process of normalization
of relations, to the point of including the Protocols in the agenda
of the National Assembly. We have made clear to the whole world that
our position is nothing but firmly constructive. We have stated that,
if Turkey ratified the Protocols, as agreed, without preconditions
and in a reasonable timeframe, failure by the Armenian Parliament to
ratify them would be precluded.

Now, the time has come to gauge the notion of a "reasonable timeframe"
and whether a conduct is "without preconditions." These criteria were
set forth by not only Armenia, but also all the mediators involved
in the process, all of our international partners. For a whole year,
Turkey’s senior officials have not spared public statements in the
language of preconditions. For a whole year, Turkey has done everything
to protract time and fail the process. Hence, our conclusion and
position are straightforward:

1. Turkey is not ready to continue the process that was started and
to move forward without preconditions in line with the letter of
the Protocols.

2. The reasonable timeframes have, in our opinion, elapsed. The
Turkish practice of passing the 24th of April at any cost is simply
unacceptable.

3. We consider unacceptable the pointless efforts of making the
dialogue between Armenia and Turkey an end in itself; from this moment
on, we consider the current phase of normalization exhausted. My
Fellow Armenians;

During this period, I have discussed and continue discussing the future
of the process launched with Turkey with Presidents Nicolas Sarkozy of
France, Barack Obama of the United States, Dmitri Medvedev of Russia,
as well as our colleagues in a number of European organizations. We
are grateful to them for supporting our initiative, encouraging the
process, and exerting efforts to secure progress. The matter of the
fact is that our partners have urged us to continue the process,
rather than to discontinue it.

Out of respect for them, their efforts, and their sincere aspirations,
we have decided after consulting our Coalition partners and the
National Security Council not to exit the process for the time being,
but rather, to suspend the procedure of ratifying the Protocols. We
believe this to be in the best interests of our nation.

Armenia shall retain her signature under the Protocols, because we
desire to maintain the existing momentum for normalizing relations,
because we desire peace. Our political objective of normalizing
relations between Armenia and Turkey remains valid, and we shall
consider moving forward when we are convinced that there is a proper
environment in Turkey and there is leadership in Ankara ready to
reengage in the normalization process. While announcing to the world
the end of the current phase of the process, which was launched
with the September 2008 match between the national football teams
of Armenia and Turkey, I express gratitude to President Abdullah Gul
of Turkey for political correctness displayed throughout this period
and the positive relationship that developed between us.

Fellow Compatriots;

In two days, we will commemorate the 95th anniversary of the first
genocide of the 20th century, the remembrance day of the Armenian
Genocide. Our struggle for the international recognition of the
Genocide continues. If some circles in Turkey attempt to use our candor
to our detriment, to manipulate the process to avoid the reality of
the 24th of April, they should know all too well that the 24th of
April is the day that symbolizes the Armenian Genocide, but in no
way shall it mark the time boundary of its international recognition.

We express our gratitude to all the states, organizations, and
individuals that support us in deploring and preventing crimes against
humanity. We are also grateful to all those Turkish intellectuals
that struggle for the restoration of historical justice and share our
grief. On this eve of the 95th anniversary, we call upon everyone to
remember that the memory of one and a half million innocent victims
exterminated under a state-orchestrated program merely for being
Armenian continues to pose before mankind the demand for recognition
and condemnation.

Fellow Compatriots;

We are stronger today than ever before and stand straight as always.

Henceforth, our efforts for a better Armenia, a better region,
a better world, and a more solid unity of Armenians worldwide will
only multiply. Rest assured that results will be visible all along.

God bless us!"

POLITICAL FORCES DEMAND FROM RA PRESIDENT THAT HE TERMINATE ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROCESS

PanARMENIAN.Net
April 22, 2010 – 18:54 AMT 13:54 GMT

A meeting of 14 political parties opposing to the Armenian-Turkish
Protocols was held in Yerevan on April 22. The meeting participants
adopted a joint statement, presenting their stance on the
Armenian-Turkish rapprochement.

The statement specifically reads that the meeting participants demand
from the RA President that he terminate the process of ratification
of the Armenian-Turkish Protocols and withdraw signature under the
Protocols. "We demand from the Armenian parliament that it adopt a
draft law defining a criminal liability for the Armenian Genocide
denial." If their demands are not met, the political forces opposing
to the Protocols are ready to struggle against the threats to Armenia’s
national interests by all means within the RA laws.

RUSSIAN, ARMENIAN PRESIDENTS HOLD TALKS ON RELATIONS

People’s Daily
April 21 2010
China

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev held talks with his visiting Armenian
counterpart Serzh Sargsyan on Tuesday.

The two leaders in one-on-one talks mainly discussed the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue, bilateral relations, as well as some regional
and international issues, news agencies reported.

Medvedev said the frequent meetings between him and Sargsyan " is
very important for strengthening confidence and mutual understanding,"
and "for strengthening the spirit of strategic partnership."

The Russian leader suggested regular exchange of views between the
two countries on a series of international issues.

Sargsyan thanked Medvedev for launching a research and innovation
center in the Armenian capital of Yerevan. He also said the
intergovernmental commission between the two countries works very
effectively.

The Armenian leader also thanked Russia for providing a loan of 500
million U.S. dollars in 2009, saying his country has already felt
the benefits brought by the loan.

One of these effects was the growth of Armenian economy by 5.5 percent
in first three months this year, he said.

Upon proposal by Russia, Moscow, Yerevan and Baku established a regular
meeting mechanism between leaders of the three countries in Nov. 2008.

BAKU SUSPENDS EXERCISES WITH U.S.

news.am
April 20 2010
Armenia

Regular Azerbaijani-U.S. exercises are suspended indefinitely,
spokesman for Azerbaijani defense ministry Lieutenant-Colonel Eldar
Sabiroglu told Trend News. However, he did not specify the reasons,
saying that no additional information is available.

The leader of Azeri Great Creation Party Fazil Mustafa considers
that Azerbaijan’s "unilateral rejection of scheduled joint military
drills is most likely Baku’s response to recent anti-Azerbaijani
policy carried out by the U.S.,"APA reports.

Mustafa deems that pro-Armenian position of Washington on Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity, and non-recognition of Azerbaijan’s right to
voice its stance on the energy summit aroused significant indignation.

Baku should undertake adequate steps on the matter.

According to APA, Azerbaijan puts forward an initiative to unilaterally
reject participation in exercises scheduled earlier for March 2010.

TURKISH 10-POINT DOCUMENT TO HELP FACE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Armen Hareyan

HULIQ.com
April 20 2010
SC

Turkey has prepared a 10-point document in which its officials and
embassy workers are thought how they can face the Armenian genocide
related questions, BBC’s Russian language service reports today.

The document is prepared by the Foreign Ministry of Turkey. It has
ten points, BBC explains, which list the rules and recommendations
that the Turkish embassy workers can use to address questions about
the Armenian Genocide.

It is not clear if BBC has obtained the copy of the documents. It
has not yet published it. However, BBC give some insights of what’s
in the ten-point document released by the foreign ministry of Turkey.

According to this insight Turkish officials should emphasize the
importance of Turkish-Armenian relations, as well as focus on Turkey’s
proposal to establish the historical commission to discuss the mutual
history between Armenia and Turkey.

Political analysts polled by HULIQ said if Turkish diplomats focus
on the normalization process it won’t make the desire effect because
the public and the interested parties already see how Turkey drags
the normalization process linking it to Azerbaijan. Turkey speaks
of normalization, but refuses to ratify the protocols it signed more
than 6 months ago with Armenia. While Turkey says it is committed to
the spirit of the protocols, the process is not moving forward.

These guidelines are also meant for the Turkish officials that will
make foreign trips while on a government assignment.

Armenians around the world prepare to commemorate the 95th anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide. Scholars, studying the history of genocide
say 1.5 million Armenians were systematically killed and deported
in ethnic cleansing effort during the last days of Ottoman Empire
between 1915-1921. Turkey denies this charge.

WILL TURKEY SUPPORT AZERBAIJAN IN CASE OF WAR? DAVUTOGLU AVOIDS DIRECT ANSWER

Tert.am
20.04.10

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met on April 19 with
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov with Armenia-Turkey rapprochement and the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict settlement on the agenda.

Davutoglu is also said to have informed his Azerbaijani colleagues
about the meetings the Armenian and Turkish high-ranking officials
held in Washington in the framework of the World Nuclear Security
Summit on April 12-13.

At a press conference after the meeting with Mammadyarov Davutoglu
gave an evasive answer to a question over whether Turkey would support
Azerbaijan should the war resume.

"We do not want the situation get tenser in the region. Let’s build
together a Caucasus where all the parties will mutually respect each
other’s territorial integrity," local Turkish daily Radikal quotes
Davutoglu as saying.

Turkish foreign minister also said that Turkey wanted to see all
borders open in the South Caucasus.

"We hope that the South Caucasus will see a new era when all
the borders will be open, all relations normalized, stability
established and when there will be mutual trust. We hope that the
[Nagorno-Karabakh] process initiated by the [OSCE] Minsk Group will
be accelerated and will reach its final objective," said Davutoglu.

ARMENIAN AND RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS MEET IN MOSCOW ON APRIL 20

ArmInfo
2010-04-20 12:29:00

ArmInfo. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan will meet with his
Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on April 20 during his short
working visit to Moscow.

As Interfax reports quoting its sources in Kremlin, a number of
pressing issues of the Armenian-Russian allied partnership and Karabakh
conflict settlement will be discussed during the meeting.

"The contacts of the Russian and Armenian presidents in 2009-2010,
also during S. Sargsyan’s working visits to RF (in April and
October 2009 and January 2010), within the frames of bilateral
events, confirmed the mutual interest in further deepening of the
Russian-Armenian cooperation", the source said. According to it,
relations in the governmental, parliamentary, departmental formats
are traditionally active. Presidents will also discuss Russia-Armenia
economic cooperation, primarily in energy sphere.

"Russian companies fully meet the needs of Armenia in natural gas and
nuclear fuel supplies, and implementation of big projects in gas and
nuclear power are successfully going on", the source emphasized.

The source emphasized that Russia currently firmly secured in the
positions of the republic’s key foreign political partner. Despite some
reduction of mutual goods turnover as a result of the global crisis,
progressive implementation of priority investment programmes is going
on, and accumulated Russian capital investments in Armenia’s economy
reach almost $2,4 bln, that makes up about 60% of all the foreign
investments in the country. Energy, banking, telecommunication,
mining and building sectors are the primary branches for allocation
of the Russian capital. At the height of the global economic crisis,
a state credit was allocated to the republic in June 2009 to the sum
of $ 500 mln, and Russian humanitarian aid to the Armenian population
is going on. Medvedev and Sargsyan will also discuss the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict settlement. The Russian party, also with account
of its status of OSCE MG cochairman, does not weakens its activity
of mediatory efforts, due to which certain progress was achieved in
coordination of the basic principles of settlement. Russia intends
to further assist Yerevan and Baku in search of mutually acceptable
solutions, and in case of achievement of a compromise agreement, it
will appear a guarantor of settlement", the Kremlin source emphasized.

Today’s meeting of Medvedev and Sargsyan will become the third one in
2010. Earlier, the presidents met twice – in Moscow and Sochi. The
second meeting was held with participation of Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev, and the matter concerned the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement. Medvedev and Sargsyan met in 2009 seven times.