Author: Vorskanian Yeghisabet

Zaman, Turkey
April 27 2005
No ‘Genocide’ Word Spoken at Partnership Council
By Selcuk Gultasli
Published: Wednesday 27, 2005
zaman.com
Despite the attempts from France, the so-called Armenian “genocide”
did not come to the agenda at the 44th session of the Turkey-European
Union (EU) Partnership Council meeting on Tuesday, April 26.
At the EU Foreign Ministers meeting on April 25, French Foreign
Minister Michel Barnier requested the so-called Armenian “genocide”
come to order at the Partnership Council meeting. However, the
Armenian issue was discussed at a breakfast attended by Turkish
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, EU Term President Luxembourg’s Foreign
Minister Jean Asselborn, and the EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli
Rehn. Asselborn reportedly said they found Turkey’s proposal to form
a joint commission positively and the EU Commission do not use the
word “genocide”. Providing detailed information about Ottoman
History, Gul explained why the so-called genocide allegations are
fictitious. “Do not insult the pride of the nations,” stressed Gul
referring to the issue that it is being used as petty political
gestures. He called attention to the Azeri and Nagarno-Karabakh land
that was occupied by the Armenians and the one million Azeris that
now fell into immigrant status.

Armenpress
ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR TO US MEETS MILLENNIUM CHALLENGES CORPORATION CEO
WASHINGTON, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS: Armenian ambassador to Armenia, Tatoul
Margarian, met on April 26 with Paul Applegarth, Chief Executive Officer of
the Millennium Challenge Corporation and other senior officials of the
Corporation.
During the meeting ambassador Margarian noted that cooperation with the
Corporation is one of the priorities of the Armenian government and stressed
the need for soonest accomplishment of development, approval and launch of a
package of proposals submitted to the Corporation by Armenia.
Paul Applegarth in turn praised the Armenian government for submitting a
well-developed package, which he said is on the whole in line with the
requirements of the Corporation and could be used as a basis for advancing
the joint cooperation between the Armenian government and the Millennium
Challenges Corporation, which is supposed to start next week when a team of
Corporation’s experts are due to arrive in Armenia to discuss here the
program.

Windsor Star (Ontario, Canada)
April 25, 2005 Monday
ARMENIANS MARK 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF KILLINGS
YEREVAN, Armenia – Hundreds of thousands of Armenians on Sunday
marked the 90th anniversary of the mass killings of Armenians in the
Ottoman Empire, vowing to press their case to have the killings
recognized by Turkey and the world as genocide.
Waving flags and carrying flowers, people streamed through the
Armenian capital and marched up to a massive hilltop granite memorial
to hear speeches and prayers. Weeping mourners filed into the
circular block memorial, laying carnations on a flat surface
surrounding a burning flame. A choir in black sang hymns as the crowd
filed past, some carrying umbrellas against the sun.
The country observed a minute of silence at 7 p.m., local time, and
Yerevan residents were to place candles on window sills in memory of
the victims.
Ottoman authorities began rounding up intellectuals, diplomats and
other influential Armenians in Istanbul on April 24, 1915, as
violence and unrest grew, particularly in the eastern parts of the
country.
Armenia says up to 1.5 million Armenians ultimately died or were
killed over several years as part of a genocidal campaign to force
them out of eastern Turkey. Turkey acknowledges that large numbers of
Armenians died, but says the overall figure is inflated and that the
deaths occurred in the civil unrest during the collapse of the
Ottoman Empire.

AZG Armenian Daily #074, 26/04/2005
Armenian Genocide
90TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MARKED IN TBILISI
Georgia together with all other countries of the world that have major
Armenian community commemorated April the 24th. The Georgian parliamentary
delegation headed by Beso Jugheli laid a wreath at the Tbilisi Pantheon of
Khojivank where eminent Armenian writers rest. Many Armenians of Tbilisi and
Armenian deputy Van Bayburtian took part in the ceremony. First time ever a
representative of the Georgian Orthodox Church, head of Borzhomi diocese
Archbishop Serafim honored the ceremony with his presence.
A commemorative ceremony took place at the Havlabar Armenian Surp
Etchmiadzin church with the participation of Armenian ambassador to Tbilisi
Georgi Khosroyev. Regnum agency informs that the Armenian community held a
protest rally before the Turkish embassy on April 24. Protesters demand both
Turkey and Georgia to recognize the genocide of 1915.

Génocide arménien. Editorial
Non négociable
Par Gérard DUPUY
lundi 25 avril 2005 (Liberation – 06:00)
La terre ne leur sera jamais légère. Le souvenir des victimes
arméniennes, massacrées il y a quatre-vingt-dix ans par familles et
par villages entiers, hantera encore longtemps la mémoire des
vivants. L’histoire avait connu bien des massacres auparavant, mais
jamais de cette ampleur et avec ce caractère délibéré, méthodique, qui
justifie l’emploi du mot de génocide. Le rappel de cet épisode noir
interfère certes avec la question européenne parce que cet
anniversaire coïncide avec la campagne référendaire, mais aussi
parceque la construction européenne est née d’une utopie d’une saine
simplicité :plus jamais ça ! Avant d’accuser la dénégation entêtée
des Turcs, il faut balayer devant sa porte. C’est ce qu’a fait, la
semaine dernière, le rapporteur d’un texte invitant le Bundestag à
stigmatiser ce génocide, après d’autres Parlements européens.
Il a suggéré que l’Allemagne, en tant qu’alliée des Turcs à l’époque,
reconnaisse une part de responsabilité, au moins indirecte, dans
celui-ci. Les alliées franco-britanniques devraient également admettre
quelque implication – non seulement à cause de la désastreuse équipée
de Gallipoli, dont on aaussi célébré ce week-end l’anniversaire, mais
pour la manière dont ils se sont longuement appliqués à dépecer
l’«homme malade» ottoman. De Mossoul à Pristina, de Chypre au Liban ou
en Palestine, les conséquences en courent encore.
L’UE couronne les efforts d’une entreprise commencée avec la fin de la
guerre civile européenne, ce qui est devenu encore plus vrai depuis
son élargissement. En y faisant acte de candidature, les Turcs doivent
admettre que certaines choses ne sont pas négociables, et notamment
cette déclaration de paix, prospective et rétrospective. L’Europe
s’est construite sur, et en partiecontre, elle-même. Demander aux
Turcs de faire à propos des Arméniens le même effort sur eux-mêmes,
c’est les soumettre au sort commun, comme ils le demandent.

Middle East Online, UK
April 25 2005
Lebanese eye new era of self-reliance

Bekaa Valley residents are looking ahead to new era of Lebanese
self-reliance as Syrian troops leave.

By Joseph Barrak – ANJAR, Lebanon
As the last Syrian soldiers trickle out of Lebanon after 29 years of
domination, residents of the Bekaa Valley are looking ahead to a new
era of Lebanese self-reliance and control of law and order.
After the Syrians with their dreaded intelligence services have gone,
they say they hope friendship and trade will replace domination and
fear.
“I cannot even find words to express our happiness, but it does not
mean that we do not want good relations with Syria,” said Ali Hamdan,
a trader in mobile telephones along the main highway leading to
Syria.
Syrian troops were packing up and heading out of Lebanon on Monday,
restoring an air of independence to the tiny country which has been
in the military and political grip of Damascus for 29 years.
The last soldiers are due to leave Lebanon after a farewell ceremony
on Tuesday in Rayaq airbase in eastern Bekaa where Syria had recently
regrouped its troops ahead of the complete pullout requested by the
United Nations.
Lebanese troops took up positions in the main eastern cities of the
Bekaa Valley ahead of the final Syrian pullout and erected
checkpoints along the highway to Syria.
The Lebanese army has also deployed inside the border town of Anjar,
the notorious headquarters of the Syrian forces in Lebanon which was
declared a “military zone” Monday afternoon.
“We want our own army to protect us, we have had enough of foreign
armies. It is time for us to become really independent,” said Ali
Hassan, referring to the deployment of various foreign forces since
Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war.
“We have bad memories because the Syrians controlled the country
through the mukhabarat (intelligence services).
“We were constantly afraid, a lot of people went missing, some were
tortured, but we hope that this is all history now,” explained a
neighbor who asked not to be identified.
The man smiled as he added: “Once they leave, we can talk more
freely. We will tell you all about it. We waited for 29 years, we can
wait for a few more hours.”
Salim Nassar was ecstatic.
He finally recovered his house which had been occupied by Syrian
forces for over two decades on a hilltop overlooking the commercial
town of Shtaura.
“I had to rent an apartment in a nearby building and pay the rent for
20 years. Today, I took my son to see his ancestral home, which he
was never been able to approach,” he said.
Nazira, the manager of a clothing shop on the main highway, said that
“since Hariri’s assassination two months ago, we have not seen a lot
of tourists or Syrians because they are afraid to come here.”
“We hope that the Syrian withdrawal will be followed by stability and
that tourists, including Syrians will return,” she said.
“We want prosperity for the Syrians as much as for us. We want to
have good neighboring relations, based on trade and not intelligence
and security.”
Her friend, Samira, said: “We are extremely happy to see the Syrians
leave, and I suppose they are very happy too. I am sure they would
rather be home, with their own people.”
In Anjar, Syrian troops toured shops and restaurants to bid farewell
to their old neighbors for decades in this sleepy all-Armenian town.
“We are very happy because we will get back the tourists who have
been afraid to come here. We have great fish, good Arabic coffee and
beautiful Islamic archeological ruins,” said restaurant manager
Raffi.
In a shop in Anjar, Syrian soldiers shook hands with the owner, staff
and other curious bystanders.
“God be with you,” said the owner.
“Come back to buy from us,” said the employee, before adding in a low
voice to a journalist, “as a civilian, of course.”

Kathimerini, Greece
April 25 2005
Armenian genocide
Speaking at a remembrance ceremony yesterday marking 90 years since
some 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks, Interior
Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos said a similar disaster could be
prevented through tolerance. `It is not certain we will not see a
similar phenomenon unless we decide to tolerate those who truly
caused it, since they have not assumed their responsibilities,’ said
Pavlopoulos.

Israel sets Holocaust damages at $240 billion
New Feature
The Associated Press
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Thursday, April 21, 2005 INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
JERUSALEM An Israeli government report that claims to be the first of
its kind has set material damage to the Jewish people during the
Holocaust at some $240 billion to $330 billion.
Although previous studies have estimated the value of looted Jewish
property, the Israeli government calculation includes lost income and
wages, as well as unpaid wages from forced Jewish labor.
The report estimates the value of plundered Jewish property at $125
billion, at current prices. It estimates the loss of income at $104
billion to $155 billion, and unpaid wages of forced laborers at $11
billion to $52 billion.
The new document is an extrapolation of information drawn from more
than 100 sources and involves no original research, said Aharon Mor, a
Finance Ministry official who headed a committee that spent seven
years compiling the report.
Six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, but the property of 9
million was looted or destroyed, the report said. The contents of
apartments and homes, real estate, bank accounts, businesses,
insurance policies, personal effects, gold, stocks and bonds, foreign
currency, jewelry and works of art were among the valuables plundered.
Some studies estimate that no more than 20 percent of the looted
Jewish assets, both private and communal, were restored to their
owners after the Holocaust. The restitution of private property, which
accounted for at least 95 percent of the total plundered assets, “is
the weakest link in the restitution process,” the report said. “A
great deal still needs to be done in this area.”
More than $8 billion of one-time payments to Jews and non-Jews were
negotiated in settlements between 1998 and 2001, and a substantial
part was paid and distributed, the report says.
But this represents just a small fraction of the Jewish material
damage during the Holocaust, and “there is much to be done in order to
achieve a measure of justice” for survivors and their heirs, the
report said.
“Restitution can successfully be dealt with only by exceptional legal
measures,” the report said. “In most countries, special, fast, and
simple legislation is badly needed.”
At the beginning of 2004, 1,092,000 Holocaust survivors were still
living worldwide, about half of them in Israel. About 10 percent of
survivors die each year, the report said.
“Any systematic delay in establishing settlement and disbursement
processes or resolving disputes is therefore not just another
bureaucratic hurdle, but the difference between a dignified closing to
a tragic period in their lives and unrequited sense of the permanent
denial of justice; between assistance for the needs of old age and
unabated suffering,” the report said.
The restitution process has been under way since 1948.

Los Angeles Daily News
April 24 2005
Armenians want justice for 1915
Events mark anniversary of massacre
By Naush Boghossian, Staff Writer
GLENDALE — An Armenian writer once joked that all Armenians recite
two facts to non-Armenians upon introduction:
Armenia was the first nation to accept Christianity as its national
religion. And 1.5 million Armenians were massacred by the Turks in
1915.
Audiences would laugh heartily, recognizing a collective reflex to
teach others about one fact that is a source of pride for Armenians,
and another that is a deep, unhealed wound.
Sunday marks the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide — a
historical event that the Turkish government blames on civil war
rather than an orchestrated massacre.
But likely fueled by that denial, Armenian-Americans are mounting an
unprecedented 45 events — rallies, marches, lectures and protests —
throughout Los Angeles this year, designed to draw recognition.
And partly fueled by the knowledge that the number of survivors is
dwindling, there have been record levels of support from Congress and
the Senate.
Knar Kitabjian, 23, of Arleta decided to participate in a 215-mile
walk from Fresno to Sacramento — a tribute to the hundreds of
thousands of Armenians who perished in forced death marches.
“When I was walking, what made me want to continue was just the fact
that I felt my grandfather walking under the horrible circumstances,
and I kept on going because nobody knows what he had to go through,”
said Kitabjian, whose grandfather was just 7 when he was forced to
walk through the desert.
“It’s forgotten, and I feel it’s my responsibility to do whatever I
can so it can be recognized. We need closure and we need justice to
be served.”
One major step is for the U.S. government to formally recognize the
killings as a genocide, a goal that has eluded the Armenian-American
population despite repeated attempts to get a bill through Congress.
“It doesn’t jibe with the American dream,” said Arbi Nahabedian, 30,
of Glendale. “We’ve both reaped the benefits and contributed to the
American way of life, but there’s this moral or ethical dream that
our adopted country recognizes this event with us, not just for
Armenians, but for all genocides.”
Thirty-two members of the Senate and 178 members of the House
co-signed a letter urging President George W. Bush to formally
characterize the killings as genocide — the highest numbers ever.
“I think it’s a moral imperative for the country to recognize the
Armenian Genocide. If we’re not willing to recognize it as a
genocide, I think it undermines our credibility as a government,”
said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, who for years has been at the
forefront of that cause. “I am completely convinced that it’s only a
matter of time.”
But how has one event that took place 90 years ago had such a
powerful hold on a group of people, to become the unifying cause for
which they will all fight?
Much like the parents of a murdered child not being able to achieve
closure because the killer has not been brought to justice, Armenians
are unable to move through the grieving process.
“It’s a powerful instrument of identity, which has really stunted the
psychological and in some ways the intellectual growth of
post-genocidal generations. Recognition and justice would have a
tremendous positive impact on that psychological retardation,” said
Richard Dekmejian, professor of political science at USC and director
of the USC Institute of Armenian Studies.
“Armenians need recognition for the grievous loss they suffered in
order to move on.”
The younger generation, most of whom were born in the United States,
have joined the fight without missing a beat, but they have taken up
different ways of showing their support.
In recent years, it is not uncommon to see Armenian flags on cars in
the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood areas the week of April 24.
“It’s not to be outrageous. It’s more to show that they wanted to
take us down, but we’re still here and we’re still united,” said
Glendale resident Garni Arakelian, 18, who’s placed a small Armenian
flag in the back window of his Honda Accord.
“And it’s a way of showing respect to the older generation that we
remember.”
But both young and old have a sense that the fight for recognition
has become much larger than one event in history, as genocides
continue to take place throughout the world.
“You don’t forget the past so you don’t repeat it in the future. And
we’ve been repeating it. Rwanda, Darfur,” Dekmejian said. “This
pattern of human pathology has got to be stopped at some point if
we’re going to live together in this world.”

Long Beach Press-Telegram, CA
April 24 2005
2,000 Armenians march for genocide recognition
By Press-Telegram wire reports
LOS ANGELES – About 2,000 Armenians marched to the Turkish Consulate
in Los Angeles Saturday to demand that Turkey recognize the killing
of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks as a genocide,
police said.
The march, organized by the Armenian Youth Federation, began in
Hollywood at 3 p.m. and arrived at the Turkish Consulate at 4801
Wilshire Blvd. about an hour later, said Sgt. David Brown of the Los
Angeles Police Department.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress