Author: Sonya Jalatian

German opposition parties have called on the government to recognize the massacre committed by imperial troops in Namibia as genocide. This comes ahead of the 100th anniversary of the end of German rule there, reports.

The opposition Greens and Left party have thrown their support behind a bid by human rights organizations to persuade Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government to recognize the mass killings of people who belonged to Herero and Nama ethnic groups between in the early 1900s as genocide.

“Between 1904 and 1908 the German empire carried out the first genocide of the 20th century,”Gysi told the DPA news agency. “The people of Namibia are still suffering from the after-effects up to this very day,” he added.

“This chapter of Germany’s colonial history must not be left untreated. As the legal successor, the Federal Republic holds the responsibility,” Cem Özdemir co-chairperson of the Greens, told DPA.

Özdemir was speaking after the Greens on Wednesday brought a motion in the German parliament calling on the government to recognize the mass killings as an act of genocide.

On Monday, a delegation from the Namibian activists’ group “Volkermord verjährt nicht” (Genocide doesn’t have a statute of limitations), are to meet with German President Joachim Gauck in Berlin and present him with a petition calling on the grand-coalition government to Return of Namibian skulls highlights German colonial brutalityrecognize the massacre as genocide. Numerous members of the Bundestag are among the signatories.

The issue has been a bone of contention between Namibia and Germany for years, and in 2004, the then-German development minister, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, came the closest to apologizing for the killings, saying during a visit to Namibia that the “atrocities were what one today would describe as genocide.”

The pressure to get the mass killings recognized as genocide has gained momentum ahead of the July 9th centenary of the end of German colonial rule in what was then German South-West Africa, as well and following a Bundestag debate in April, in which parliamentary President Norbert Lammert referred to the massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during World War I as genocide.

Cristiano Ronaldo is being considered as one of the three over-23 players for Portugal at the 2016 Olympic Games, reports.

The Real Madrid forward, 30, has enjoyed a glittering career at club level but silverware on the international scene has eluded him, with a runners-up medal at Euro 2004 the closest he’s come to winning a trophy with the Seleccao.

Portugal booked their spot in next summer’s Olympics due to the Under-21 side reaching the last four of June’s European Championship finals and, on Tuesday, they could win the tournament with a victory over Sweden’s Under-21s.

Portugal Football Association (FPF) president Fernando Gomes says that planning for Rio 2016 is still in the early stages but admitted Ronaldo could feature at the Games.

“It’s a possibility,” Gomes told Globo Esporte when asked about Ronaldo being involved in the Olympics.

“We can take three players aged over 23. Ronaldo is one of our current options but we have not thought too much about it yet.”

Sixteen teams will compete for the gold medal in the men’s football event in Rio, with the three other European entrants confirmed as Germany, Sweden and Denmark.

Should Ronaldo still be at the Santiago Bernabeu heading into the 2016-17 campaign, Madrid are likely to heavily object to Ronaldo’s participation in the Olympics due to the close proximity to La Liga’s start date in August.

Barring injury, Ronaldo is also likely to be involved in the Euro 2016 finals, assuming Portugal remain in the top two teams of their qualification group.

Portugal currently sit top of Group I with half of their matches played, ahead of Denmark, Albania, Serbia and Armenia.

Mayors of 12 German cities visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial today, accompanied by Deputy Mayor of Yerevan David Ohanyan, to pay tribute to the memory of the 1.5 victims of the Armenian Genocide.

The guests laid flowers at the Eternal Fire and visited the Armenian Genocide Museum Institute, where they watched the exhibitions and left notes in the guest book.

The football team of Mayors of 12 cities from Hessen has arrived in Armenia to hold a friendly match with the team of the Yerevan City Hall.

A white gunman opened fire Wednesday night at a historic black church in downtown Charleston, S.C., killling nine people before fleeing and setting off an overnight manhunt, the police said, the New York Times reports.

At a news conference with Charleston’s mayor early Thursday, the police chief, Greg Mullen, called the shooting a hate crime.

“It is unfathomable that somebody in today’s society would walk into a church while they are having a prayer meeting and take their lives,” he said.

The police said the gunman walked into the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church around 9 p.m. and began shooting.

Eight people died at the scene, Chief Mullen said. Two people were taken to the Medical University of South Carolina, and one of them died on the way.

The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund delegation, led by Executive Director Ara Vardanyan and comprising trustees, representatives of affiliates worldwide, benefactors, and associates, visited Artsakh’s Askeran Region on May 22 to unveil two newly built community centers, in the villages of Khachmach and Shosh.

The construction of the Khachmach community center has been made possible by the financial support of the fund’s Lebanese, Brazilian, Dutch, Greek, and Cypriot affiliates as well as the government of Artsakh. The two-story facility, which houses the mayor’s office, a health clinic, a 150-seat events hall, and a computer room, will serve the 233 residents of the village.

The Shosh community center was built through the co-sponsorship of the fund’s French affiliate and the government of Artsakh. Encompassing the mayor’s office, a health clinic, a library, a computer room, and an events hall, the structure is poised to help improve life in the community, which has a population of 610.

The festive opening ceremonies were headed by the Artsakh Prime Minister Ara Harutyunyan.

Another project in Shosh, the community school, which was built with the sponsorship of the fund’s Toronto affiliate, enjoys the continued support of Toronto Armenians. A few months ago, the campus underwent extensive renovations and has a brand new look a decade after its construction.

Within the framework of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund Board of Trustees’ annual meeting in Yerevan, a delegation led by Executive Director Ara Vardanyan and comprising trustees, representatives of affiliates worldwide, benefactors, and associates began a string of project-site visits and opening ceremonies of newly completed projects in Artsakh and Armenia. The events, which were kicked off in Artsakh on May 20, will continue through May 25.

The delegation traveled to Artsakh via the Vardenis-Martakert Highway. A large-scale construction project, the highway will be fully paved this year, as planned for the second phase of implementation.

On May 21, the delegation held opening ceremonies for the newly built community centers of Patara and Khantsk, villages in the Askeran Region. The construction of Patara’s community center was made possible by the financial support of the fund’s French affiliate, with additional support from the government of Artsakh. The two-story community center houses the mayor’s office, a medical clinic, a library, and a computer room, with an adjacent events hall. Currently the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund is building additional community centers and schools in Artsakh with the sponsorship of the French-Armenian community.

The construction of the Khantsk community center was co-sponsored by the fund’s Montreal affiliate and the government of Artsakh. Also a two-story, multifunctional structure, the Khantsk community center houses the mayor’s office, a health clinic, a library, a computer room, and a game room, as well as an adjacent events hall with a seating capacity of 150.

The community centers of Patara and Khantsk, like scores of other similar structures built by the fund across Armenia and Artsakh, are breathing new life into towns and villages, by addressing many core community needs.

Following the Khantsk event, the delegation visited the village of Ivanyan, in the Askeran Region, where the fund is building a kindergarten with the co-sponsorship of the Toronto affiliate and the government of Artsakh. The approximately 420-square-meter kindergarten is designed to accommodate up to 70 children. With sponsorship of Toronto-Armenians also a community center is being constructed next to the kindergarten.

On the evening of May 21, the delegation will attend a concert at Stepanaker’s Sayat Nova music college. The concert is organized by the college in honor of the guests.

The Sayat Nova music college, which recently underwent a complete renovation with the support of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, hosts different educational and cultural events. Last year it hosted a visit by world-renowned soprano Montserrat Caballe who also gave a concert in Stepanakert.

In recognition of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia on May 17, U.S. Ambassador Richard M. Mills, Jr. met with Armenian civil society representatives who advocate for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights in Armenia.  During their meeting, the Ambassador heard from the civil society representatives about their work to ensure that the legal and human rights of LGBT Armenian citizens are fully protected.

The United States remains unwavering in its commitment to advance LGBT equality at home and around the world.  Both former Secretary Clinton and Secretary Kerry have made strong statements condemning discrimination and violence against LGBT persons, recognizing that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The U.S. Embassy has supported NGOs who advocate for equal rights for all Armenians through its Democracy Commission Small Grants program.

 

The Canadian Senate reaffirmed on May 13 its recognition of the Armenian Genocide by reiterating support for Motion 44, first approved in June 2002, Horizon Weekly reports. 

Armenia can pay tribute to victims of past atrocities and ensure protection under the rule of law for future generations by joining the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Coalition for the ICC said today.
Armenia is the May focus of the Coalition’s Campaign for Global Justice, which encourages states to join the Rome Statute—the founding treaty of the only permanent international court to try individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
In a letter this week to President Serzh Sargsyan, the Coalition urged Armenia to take the necessary steps to join the 123 other ICC member states and help end to impunity.
“As a country of a nation who has survived through genocide, Armenia should be a pioneer in spreading jurisdiction of international justice and in particular that of ICC,” said Artak Kirakosyan, chairman of Civil Society Institute Armenia. “It’s high time to remove the political and legal barriers to ratifying Rome Statute by the Republic of Armenia.”
Although Armenia signed the Rome Statute in 1999, its constitutional court ruled in 2004 that the Statute was incompatible with the Armenian constitution and could not be ratified. However, a constitutional review begun in 2013 could pave the way for necessary amendments to allow for ratification. In March this year, the president approved a reform strategy that provides for such an amendment, however the actual constitutional amendment process may not commence before 2016.
“By joining the ICC, Armenia can pay homage to victims of the past, present, and future and ensure that ‘never again’ becomes a reality by helping to put an end to impunity for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes,” said Kirsten Meersschaert Duchens, the Coalition’s regional coordinator for Europe.

The head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, whose patriarchal offices are located in Baghdad, has published a reflection on the Armenian genocide and the current persecution of Christians by the Islamic State, according to the Catholic World News.

“How come the world did not deal with that horrible incident of massacres, in an appropriate way, a hundred years ago?” asked Patriarch Louis Raphaël I Sako.

“And today, after a hundred years, despite the evolution of the media, why is the world is not seriously reacting neither towards the dramatic uprooting of 120,000 Iraqi Christians from their towns and homes, nor towards the Syrians’ tragedies and the crimes committed against the Copts and Ethiopians who were killed and slaughtered like sheep in Libya?”