Author: nina hovnanian

Daily Sabah, Turkey
July 31 2014

SENATE PANEL CLEARS NEW US ENVOY TO TURKEY

Ragıp Soylu

WASHINGTON, D.C. ` The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved
the nomination of John R. Bass, a career diplomat and former executive
secretary of state, to be the new ambassador to Turkey in an
unscheduled evening meeting on Tuesday.

Bass’ nomination was cleared by the committee along with 12 other
names, the Senate’s Executive Agenda indicates. Congressional sources
said that Bass’ approval in the Senate would likely be left for after
Congress’ summer holiday, which starts Aug. 2 and lasts for a month.

Meanwhile the last possible blockage on Bass’ nomination was removed
on Monday after Republican Senator Ted Cruz lifted his hold on all the
State Department nominees following his meeting with Federal Aviation
Authority officials, which banned all U.S. flights to Israel for two
days last week and drew furious reaction from the senator.

Still, there are some people who don’t like Obama’s choice for the
American envoy in Ankara. The American National Committee of Armenia
(ANCA), the official Armenian lobby on Capitol Hill, issued a
statement regarding the nomination of Bass and said that his Senate
testimony proves that he is retreating even further from the truth
about the Armenian Genocide. “It is simply unacceptable. The United
States must be represented in Ankara on April 24 of 2015 by a clear
and compelling voice for truth,” the statement read.

Currently the U.S. does not have ambassadors in more than a quarter of
the countries in the world, according to a McClatchy article. Partisan
divisiveness in the Senate has put Obama administration in a tough
position in a time of major crises flaming up in the Middle East and
Ukraine that require hard choices and constant attention.

Turkey’s current ambassador, Francis Ricciardone, will retire next
month and a quick replacement is a must, according to experts.

After minutes of intense congressional questioning, John Bass was
forced to say that Turkey is drifting toward authoritarianism under
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an. U.S. Senator John McCain put Bass
under pressure at a Congressional hearing in Washington during a terse
back and forth over Turkey’s human rights record.

McCain grilled Bass for two minutes at the hearing beginning with the
question: “Do you believe that many of the actions that [ErdoÄ?an has]
taken, suppressing social media, YouTube and Twitter, and restrictions
on Internet freedom and independent media, is a drift toward
authoritarianism?”

As Bass hesitated, McCain added, “You are putting your nomination in
jeopardy by not answering the question.” Bass deferred to answer the
question for two minutes, as McCain remained insistent on a “yes” or
“no” answer. Bass finally said, “It’s a drift in that direction, yes,
Senator.”

“Thank you. It took 3 minutes and 25 seconds,” McCain said in response
to Bass, who eventually agreed with McCain’s negative views of
ErdoÄ?an.

Bass served as U.S. ambassador to Georgia from 2009 to 2012 and is
currently the executive secretary of state. He has worked on Turkey,
Cyprus and NATO-Russia negotiations during his time with the U.S.
State Department.

OMCT World Organisation Against Torture
July 31 2014

Azerbaijan: Prominent human rights defender Leyla Yunus, IPD Director
and a member of OMCT General Assembly, sentenced to three months
pre-trial detention

New information
AZE 002 / 0414 / OBS 031.1
Arbitrary detention / House arrest /
Harassment
Azerbaijan
July 31, 2014

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint
programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), has received new
information and requests your urgent intervention in the following
situation in Azerbaijan.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the
arbitrary arrest and acts of harassment of Ms. Leyla Yunus, Director
of the Institute for Peace and Democracy (IPD) and a member of OMCT
General Assembly, and her husband, Mr. Arif Yunusov, Head of the
Conflictology Department of IPD.

According to the information received, on July 30, 2014, Ms. Leyla
Yunus was travelling to a press conference in the capital of Baku when
three men in civilian dress stopped her car and forced her driver to
change direction; the men confiscated the cell phones of Ms. Yunus and
the driver. Ms. Yunus was secretly driven to Department of Serious
Crimes, where prosecutors interrogated her for six hours. It was not
until several hours later that the Office of the Prosecutor General
telephoned Ms. Yunus’ husband and informed him that Ms. Yunus had been
detained. Mr. Yunusov went to the Prosecutor’s office and was
subsequently interrogated and detained as well.

Police eventually charged Ms. Yunus with “treason” (Article 274 of the
Criminal Code), “large-scale fraud” (Article (178.3.2), “forgery”
(Article 320), “tax evasion” (Article 213), and “illegal business”
(Article 192); Mr. Yunusov was charged with “treason” and “fraud”. The
Court, however, never explained the basis for the charges, the
punishments for which ranges from heavy fines to life in prison.

The Nasimi District Court subsequently sentenced Ms. Yunus to three
months pre-trial detention while Mr. Yunusov is under house arrest due
to his health condition.

The Observatory expresses its concern about the arbitrary arrest and
harassment of Ms. Leyla Yunus and Mr. Arif Yunusov, and calls upon the
authorities in Azerbaijan to put an end to any kind of harassment –
including at the judicial level – against them as it seems to only aim
at sanctioning their activities. The Observatory is also concerned by
Ms. Yunus’ health in detention as she suffers from severe diabetes.

Background information:

On April 28, 2014, Ms. Leyla Yunus was reportedly invited as a witness
on the criminal case of journalist Rauf Mirqadirov[1] to the
Investigation Department of Serious Crimes of the Office of Prosecutor
General of Azerbaijan. That evening, however, Ms. Yunus and Mr.
Yunusov were detained at the Baku Heydar Aliyev airport where
authorities confiscated their passports and seized a laptop and paper
records while denying Ms. Yunus and Mr. Yunusov the right to see their
lawyer. They were trying to fly to Paris via Doha. An attempted search
of the Yunus apartment later that night resulted in the
hospitalization of Mr. Yunusov for a pre-stroke condition.

The next morning, April 29, 2014, Mrs. Yunus was taken to the
Investigation Department of Serious Crimes of the General Prosecutor’s
Office and interrogated for nine hours, including about joint projects
of the IPD and Armenian NGOs as well as her relations with journalist
Rauf Mirqadirov. During her questioning, Ms. Yunus alleged that she
knows Mr. Mirqadirov only as a friend and good journalist. Later that
night, police searched the offices of the IPD as well as the Yunus’
private residence, confiscating several computers, books, and print
materials.

As of today, the passports of Ms. Yunus and Mr. Yunusov have not been
returned yet.

Moreover, the day before her arrest, on July 29, 2014, Ms. Leyla Yunus
wrote a letter to the President of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev,
criticising the arrest of many critics of his regime and human rights
defenders.

Action requested:

Please write to the authorities in Azerbaijan, urging them to:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and
psychological integrity of Ms. Leyla Yunus, Mr. Arif Yunusov as well
as of all human rights defenders in Azerbaijan;

ii. Immediately and unconditionally release Ms. Leyla Yunus from
pre-trial detention and Mr. Yunusov from house arrest, since their
detention is arbitrary as it only aims at sanctioning their human
rights activities;

iii. Remove all travel restrictions placed upon Ms. Leyla Yunus
and Mr. Arif Yunusov;

iv. Put an end to any kind of harassment – including at the
judicial and investigatory levels – against Ms. Leyla Yunus, Mr. Arif
Yunusov, her relatives and more generally against all human rights
defenders in Azerbaijan;

v. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human
Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United
Nations on December 9, 1998, especially:

– Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right,
individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive
for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental
freedoms at the national and international levels”;

– Article 5, which underscores the right of every individual to
form, join, and participate in non-governmental organizations; and

– Article 12.2, which provides that the State shall “take all
necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent
authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others,
against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure
adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a
consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of his or her rights”;

vi. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights
standards and international instruments ratified by Azerbaijan.

Addresses:

· Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan,
Office of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 19
Istiqlaliyyat St., Baku AZ1066, Azerbaijan, Fax: (+994) 12 492 06 25,
(+994) 412 92 28 68, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

· Mr. Zakir Garalov, Prosecutor General of the Republic of
Azerbaijan, Prosecutor’s Office, 7 Nigar Rafibeyli St., Baku,
Azerbaijan, Fax: (+994) 12 492 06 82, (+994) 12 492 26 63, E-mail:
[email protected], [email protected]

· Mr. Eldar Mahmudov, Minister of National Security, Ministry of
National Security of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Parliament Avenue 14,
Baku AZ1006, Azerbaijan, Fax: (+994) 12 493-76-22, E-mail:
[email protected]

· Mr. Ramil Usubov, Minister of Internal Affairs, Ministry of
Internal Affairs of the Azerbaijani Republic, Fax: (+994) 12 492 45 90

· Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, E-mail:
[email protected]

· Mr. Fikrat F. Mammadov, Minister of Justice in Azerbaijan,
Inshaatchilar Prospekti, 1 Baku, Azerbaijan, e-mail:
[email protected]; Fax (+994) 12 430 09 81

· H.E. Mr. Murad N. Najafbayli, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of
Azerbaijan to the United Nations in Geneva, Route des Fayards 237,
CH-1290 Versoix, Switzerland, Fax: (+41) 22 901 18 44, E-mail:
[email protected]

· Embassy of Azerbaijan in Brussels, Avenue Moliere 464, 1050
Brussels, Belgium, Fax: (+32) 2 345 91 85

Please also write to the diplomatic missions or embassies of
Azerbaijan in your respective country as well as to the EU diplomatic
missions or embassies in Azerbaijan.

***

Geneva-Paris, July 31, 2014

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this
appeal in your reply.

The Observatory, an OMCT and FIDH venture, is dedicated to the
protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete
support in their time of need.

________________________________

[1] Mr. Rauf Mirqadirov was deprived journalist accreditation in
Turkey without any formal reason, deported to Azerbaijan and arrested
on his arrival to Baku on April 19, 2014 on charges of spying for
Armenia. This procedure permits to avoid a process of extradition and
leaves no opportunity for appeal.

Properties

Date: July 31, 2014
Activity: Human Rights Defenders
Type: Urgent Interventions
Country: Azerbaijan
Subjects: Arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances, Human RightsDefenders, Threats, intimidation and harassment

OMCT International Secretariat
PO Box 21, 8, rue du Vieux-Billard, CH-1211 Geneva 8, Switzerland
Phone: + 41 22 809 4939
Fax: + 41 22 809 4929
E-mail: [email protected]

OMCT Europe
Rue Stevin 115
1000 Brussels
Tel. / Fax: +32 2 218 37 19
E-mail: [email protected]

Global Post
July 31 2014

Azerbaijan accuses rights activist of spying for Armenia

Azerbaijani authorities alleged Thursday that a prominent human rights
activist charged with treason fraud, Leyla Yunus, collaborated with
the spy agencies of arch-enemy Armenia.

“It is established that in 2002 Leyla Yunus and her husband Arif
Yunus… had trained the journalist Rauf Mirkadirov in espionage and
has since organised several of his trips to Armenia,” the Azerbaijan’s
prosecutor general’s office said in a statement.

It alleged that Arif Yunus, an independent political analyst, had
joined several of the trips where they met with Armenian intelligence
officials.

It charged that Mirkadirov, who was arrested and charged with treason
in April, helped Leyla and Arif Yunus pass on to Armenian intelligence
photographs of maps showing the location of military units, airfields
and other strategic sites.

Leyla Yunus, 57, an award-winning campaigner, was charged on Wednesday
with treason, tax evasion, large-scale fraud and falsifying documents,
according to her lawyer Dzhavad Dzhavadov.

Her 59-year-old husband was charged with treason and fraud.

A fierce critic of Azerbaijan’s poor rights record, Leyla Yunus is
head of one of Azerbaijan’s leading rights groups, the Institute for
Peace and Democracy in Baku.

She has won several foreign prizes and honours for her work.

Leyla Yunus has long worked with Armenian activists advocating the
reconciliation of the two countries, which have been locked in a
decades-long conflict over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region.

The prosecutor general’s office also accused Yunus of carrying out
propoganda activities aimed at getting Azerbaijan to recognise
Armenia’s possession of Nagorny Karabakh following a 1988-1994
conflict that left more than 30,000 dead.

Any dissent in Azerbaijan is usually met with a tough government response.

Rights groups say the government has been clamping down on opponents
since President Ilham Aliyev’s election to a third term last year.

Human Rights Watch called Thursday for the immediate release of Leyla
Yunus and her husband from pre-trial detention and for the changes
against them to be dropped.

“The context leading up to these recent charges, including the
harassment they have endured over the past four months, make it clear
that the charges against Leyla and Arif Yunus are bogus and intended
to silence them,” said HRW’s deputy chief for Europe and Central Asia,
Rachel Denber.

“The authorities should immediately end this campaign of intimidation
against Azerbaijan’s leading human rights defenders and allow them to
work unimpeded,” she said in a statement.

The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muiznieks,
on his Twitter account called the charges against Yunis a reminder of
the difficulties rights defenders face in Azerbaijan and urged the
government to comply with its human rights obligations.

eg-rl/rmb

The Malay Mail Online
July 31 2014

Turkish-German director chooses tricky Armenian subject matter

July 31, 2014

Photo: Director Fatih Akin said he could not find any actor to play
slain Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.– Reuters pic

ISTANBUL, July 31 — Prominent Turkish-German director Fatih Akin
revealed he dropped plans to make a film about murdered Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink, killed in 2007 in a crime yet to be fully
resolved, because no Turkish actors wanted to play the lead role.

In an interview with Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos, Akin said instead
he chose to make a still potentially controversial film, “The Cut”,
which deals with the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman
Empire during World War I which are widely seen as a genocide.

He said he had finished a script based on Dink’s work for Agos, but he
had to drop the project after the Turkish actors he approached for the
role found it “too harsh”.

“I couldn’t persuade any Turkish actors to play Hrant’s role. All of
them found the script too harsh. That’s why I had to cancel the
project,” he said, without naming the actors.

“I did not want any actor to get hurt. But it was important to make a
‘Turkish film’ about Hrant. An American or French actor could not play
Hrant. We have to deal with this issue ourselves.

“But obviously time is not yet ripe for it.”

Dink, 52, was shot dead in broad daylight by a teenage
ultranationalist outside the offices of the Agos newspaper. Akin’s
difficulties in making a film about his life underline the continued
sensitivity of the case.

He had campaigned for reconciliation between Turks and Armenians, but
incurred the wrath of Turkish nationalists for saying the 1915
massacre amounted to a genocide.

Armenians say up to 1.5 million people were killed during World War I
as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart, a claim supported by several
other countries but long disputed by Turkey.

Akin however said Turkey was now ready for a film like “The Cut”,
which tells the story of an Armenian man who survives the 1915
killings and embarks on a journey across the world to find his
daughter.

“The Cut”, starring French actor Tahar Rahim, will premiere at the
71st Venice International Film Festival in late August.

Dink’s assassination sent shockwaves through Turkey and grew into a
wider scandal with accusations of a state conspiracy. A 17-year-old
dropout was found guilty of the murder but the Dink family have always
insisted that higher forces were involved.

Turkey’s top court however ruled earlier this month that the
investigation into the killing of Dink had been flawed, paving the way
for potential further trials against new suspects. — AFP

Russian military hold “sniper duels” in Armenia

Thursday 31 July 2014 14:30
Photo: Photolure

Yerevan /Mediamax/. The rifle division of the Russian military base
has launched three-day special training on the new method of “tactical
sniper duel” in Armenia.

The special course is held in Kamhud high-mountain training and
educational complex.

During the trainings, the crew will be introduced to the situation and
will be divided into two groups. One of the groups will act as the
rival’s subversive group and the other one as the sniper group. Both
groups will have to learn to choose positions for fire damage, to
camouflage in high-altitude mountain landscapes and hot climate, as
well as to start precision fire at detected targets.

Deadline for applications: 30 September 2014

The Armenian Communities Department of the Calouste Gulbenkian
Foundation has opened a call for proposals to develop electronic and
on-line children’s learning games, language programmes,
apps, interactive books, cartoons and any other electronic means to
encourage children and young adults to learn and maintain Armenian in
the diaspora. Western Armenian will be privileged in the first
instance, but Eastern Armenian programmes, specifically in the
diasporan context, will be considered, as well as programmes in both
dialects.

The proposals should include the track record of the applicant(s) in
this domain, description of the educational activity, the target group
(age, linguistic proficiency, bilingualism, etc.), a time line when it
will be ready, a budget, dissemination strategy, technical information
(including suggested platform(s) and operating system(s),
upgradability potential), names of the technical and
linguistic/pedagogical teams developing the programme, and any other
information that is relevant to the application. The programmes must
be freely available on line or through other electronic dissemination
means. The initiatives can be new programmes or Armenian version of
popular existing programmes. Awards granted will vary in range based
on proposals received (the total budget allocated to this initiative
is 250,000 USD).

The deadline for applications is 30 September 2014. Winning bids will
be announced in November 2014.

Applications should be sent to [email protected], clearly indicating
in the subject line ‘Electronic learning proposal’.

A leopard family in the south of Armenia gives birth to two cubs

by Karina Manukyan
Thursday, July 31, 15:30

A leopard family in the Arevik National Park in the south of Armenia
has given birth to two cubs, Head of WWF Armenia Karen Manvelyan told
journalists on Thursday.

“Due to WWF trail cameras, we have trailed three leopards (one male
and two females) in the park. A few days ago the leopardesses were
supposed to give birth to cubs but we have failed to see that as some
people have stolen four WWF trail cameras. We don’t think they were
poachers. The cameras were located 30 km from one another, so, they
must have been stolen by people who knew where exactly they were
located. They surely had evil intent in mind,” Manvelyan said, noting
that the police have already been informed of the incident.

US Embassy urges Armenian businessmen to refrain from contacts with
Russian companies

by Arthur Yernjakyan

Thursday, July 31, 15:36

The Embassy of the United States in Armenia has sent Armenian
businessmen messages urging them to refrain from contacts with Russian
companies as this implies additional reputational risks, President of
the Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia Arsen Kazaryan
told journalists on Thursday.

He said that such messages are being distributed all over the world.
“Let’s not panic. I don’t think our companies will suffer in any way.
Our subsidiaries of Russian banks cannot be affected by the sanctions
as they are separate legal entities, earning money and paying taxes in
the territory of Armenia. Our businessmen have not frozen their plans,
are not worried about the sanctions and continue working as usually,”
Kazaryan said, noting that Armenia is interested in improved relations
between the world community and Russia.

In its message the US Embassy calls on all companies to consider the
reputational risks they may face as a result of joint business with
sanctioned physical and legal entities from Russia and to stop any
contacts that are contrary to the sanctions imposed by the United
States and other countries. The Embassy warns that non-Russian
companies may also face sanctions if they provide material support to
sanctioned companies and individuals.

ÛBFDEE0-18A6-11E4-A2D60EB7C0D21663

Department of State’s religious freedom report not unbiased – opinions

15:28 * 31.07.14

The US Department of State’s 2013 Religious Freedom Report on Armenia
is estimated as biased and untrue by religious circles and national
minority representatives.

What particularly raises controversies is the allegation that minority
religious groups face discriminations against the backdrop of wide
privileges granted to the Armenian Apostolic Church.

“Religious organizations are obliged to preserve and protect their own
belief instead of engaging themselves in soul hunting. Nobody prevents
them from pursuing their own belief. Such a statement could have been
made only by individuals, circles and groups that are interested in
destabilizing of Armenia and contributing to the Armenian nation’s
internal splitting. What is mentioned there is absolutely untrue,”
Archimandrite Komitas Hovnanyan told Tert.am, expressing his strong
disagreement with the findings.

He said he is more than convinced that increased privileges to
religious organizations are a major national security threat. “There
are, so to say, religious minorities whose propaganda is based on
plans to split the state institution. The youth, for instance, are
called upon to avoid serving in the military, using weapons or
protecting their country,” he noted.

Commenting on what the report described as privileges to the Armenian
Apostolic Church, Mr Hovnanyan said, “The Armenian Apostolic Church
does not actually have any privileges at all. It just follows that the
publications on the Armenian Church contain no wrong records. The
history of Armenian church is taught in schools by secular [teachers]
not priests,” he added.

Hovnanyan said he believes that countries publishing such reports
pursue specific interests, adding that Armenian state in turn is
obliged to protect its own interests in such circumstances. “We must
not let anyone speculate the concepts of freedom of conscience or
speech by distorting their meaning. Freedom of conscience implies
freedom of individual, not violence and coercion into adopting a
belief of which the nation is not a follower,” he added.

Alexander Amaryan, the president of the Rehabilitation Center for
Victims of Destructive Sects, agreed that granting wide privileges to
the non-traditional religious groups is a threat to national security.

“All the data the Department of State publishes in the report are
provided by local rights institutions which submit biased reports in
an effort to extort grants. No other country is as tolerant as
Armenia, as the laws here never place restrictions on religious
organizations,” he added.

Amaryan said he thinks that restrictions exist in Europe not in
Armenia, adding that the national churches in all countries enjoy
certain privileges. “They all have begun assisting religious
organizations and later complain about intolerance. That’s a bluff,”
he said, describing the findings as an attempt to exert pressure on
the Armenian authorities.

Aziz Tamoyan, the president of Armenia’s Yezidi community, also
disagreed with the allegation that ethnic and religious minorities
experience discrimination in the country. “We are free; nobody
prevents us from preserving our national holidays and traditions. On
the contrary, we here have our own schools, and it is thanks to
Armenia that our culture develops around the world,” he said, adding
that the Armenian Apostolic Church demonstrates respect for the
Yezidis’ traditions.

“Why doesn’t [the United States of] America care about the
disappearing Yezidi and Asyrian populations in the north of Iraq? Let
them think of measures to prevent their Yezidis from changing their
religion, as they are physically exterminated by Muslims,” Tamoyan
noted.

The Jewish community’s president, Rima Varzhapetyan, also denied the
reports about restrictions or violations against minority groups in
Armenia.

Asked whether the community is concerned about the privileges granted
to the national church, Varzhapetyan replied, “The Armenian Apostolic
Church has always proven that it is very tolerant and progressive.”

According to Avetik Iskhanyan, Chairperson of the Helsinki Committee
of Armenia, the report is based on objective evaluations.

“Religious tolerance is really quite a serious issue in Armenia, as
the media all the time conduct a one-sided propaganda. In secondary
schools, the history of Armenian church is taught in an effort to
conduct an anti-propaganda against other religious organizations. The
children who receive such kind of education develop intolerance to
other religious organizations,” he noted.

Asked whether it isn’t normal that the Armenian Apostolic Church has
privileges as opposed to other religious groups, Ishkhanyan said,
“International standards allow for granting privileges to a church,
but that should not amount to a discriminatory attitude to other
religious organizations. Our laws give the Apostolic Church
monopolistic rights,” he added.

Asked whether higher privileges for other religious organizations
would not be a national security threat, Ishkhanyan said he thinks
just the other way about. “Religious intolerance is a real threat to
Armenia’s security, as it splits up the nation on religious grounds,”
he noted.

“Representatives of other religious organizations are oppressed in
Armenia, because they never see themselves as full-fledged citizens.
This is really a national security threat, because identifying an
Armenian with the Armenian Apostolic Church really splits up the
nation.”

Armenian News – Tert.am

Armenian National Committee of Australia calls on Australian
government to reverse Foreign Minister’s error

16:09, 31 July, 2014

YEREVAN, JULY 31, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian National Committee of
Australia (ANC Australia) has labelled a recent
statement by Australia’s Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop on the
Armenian Genocide “unacceptable”, and called on the Australian
government to reverse this error in judgment. As reports “Armenpress”,
in reference to Armenia Online, ANC Australia calls into question
Australia’s recent policy change and calls on the Australian
government to review its position.

ANC Australia Chairman, Greg Soghomonian, remarked: “The Australian
Foreign Minister must immediately reverse this critical error of
judgment and listen to the will of the Australian Parliament in
recognising and honouring the victims of the Armenian Genocide.” It
was noted that such actions not only denigrate the memory of genocide
victims but also disrespect Australia’s very own history and the
heroic of ANZAC prisoners of war who witnessed this crime against
humanity.
In a letter addressed to the Australian Turkish Advocacy Alliance,
Julie Bishop extraordinarily denies the historical reality of the
first genocide of the 20th century by stating “we, do not however,
recognise these events as ‘genocide’.”

Bishop’s statement comes in stark contrast to fellow senior government
ministers who have actively called for the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide by the Australian Parliament. As recently as April of this
year, Treasurer Joe Hockey stated: “Today we gather to remember the
1.5 million people who perished in the genocide… there is no other
word for it.”

Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and Immigration Minister,
Scott Morrison, along with ranking members from Labor, the Greens,
minor parties and Independents have in the recent past called on the
Australian Parliament to officially recognise the events of 1915 as
genocide.