Category: 2021

The Municipal Council of Paphos, Cyprus, has renamed the Talaat Pasha Street into Street of Justice after examining requests from the Armenian and Pontian Greek communities.

Given the leading role of Talaat Pasha in the planning and execution of the genocides of Armenians and Pontian Greeks, and aware of the weight of its responsibility before the present and future generations, the Council, unanimously decided to remove the name of Talaat Pasha from a street name and rename it into Street of Justice by a majority vote.

The Council thus sends a strong message to the local community and the international community that people who committed genocide have no place in the bright pages of history.

“The struggle we are waging for justice in Cyprus is an element that must unite Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots at this historic juncture. It is noteworthy that there are many Turkish and Turkish Cypriot intellectuals and progressives who also describe Talaat Pasha as a horrible politician and a ruthless man,” reads a post on the Municipality’s Facebook page.

Talaat Pasha (1874-1921) served as Minister of the Interior of the Ottoman Empire and ordered the deportation and slaughter of minorities, mainly Armenians and Greeks. He was assassinated in 1921 by Armenian Soghomon Teilirian in Germany, where he had escaped in 1918.

From the very start of this war, Garo Ghazarian and Karnig Kerkonian, Co-Chairs of the Armenian Rights Watch Committee (ARWC), prominent Armenian lawyers in the United States, have supported colleagues in Armenia every day since 27 September 2020, Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan said as he hailed it as an example of true cooperation between Homeland and Diaspora in the field of human rights.

Mr. Ghazarian is based in Los Angeles and Mr. Kerkonian, in Chicago.

“Throughout the war, they played an unparalleled role in protecting human rights in Artsakh and Armenia, by assisting the Human Rights Defenders in Armenia and Artsakh in compiling, monitoring, reporting, documenting and analyzing war crimes by Azerbaijan, and by cultivating strong ties with international human rights organizations in the United States and other countries.,” the Ombudsman said in a Facebook post.

“Thanks to their efforts, cooperation was fostered with other Armenian organizations in the Diaspora too, they being the bridge between the Armenian Diaspora, on the one hand, and Armenia and Artsakh, on the other.,” Tatoyan added.

He said Mr. Ghazarian and Mr. Kerkonian, through their dedicated efforts and true professionalism, have raised and continue to raise public awareness through the Armenian Bar Association of the United States about the hostilities, the true objectives of the Azerbaijani authorities, including Azerbaijani war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Artsakh and Armenia.

“During this time, they also led a series of widely-broadcast public discussions not only on legal matters related to the war, but also on its geopolitical and historical implications. Thanks to their devoted public activities and engagements, not only the Armenian Diaspora, but also the international community, was accurately informed about the war. Their efforts and contributions have been simply invaluable,” the Human Rights Defender noted.

To this day, he said, Garo Ghazarian and Karnig Kerkonian continue to support the Human Rights Defenders Offices of Armenia and teh Republic of Artsakh by providing their assistance around the clock in all human rights matters and issues (i.e. official letters to international bodies, follow-up work on the return of prisoners of war, recording of Azerbaijani war crimes, and a host of other issues).

“It is especially important that they, as long-time practicing lawyers in the United States, utilize their practical knowledge and experience to support us. They are our partners, and as partners, they also did absolutely the same selfless service during our crisis in April of 2016, during July of 2020, and indeed during all other periods of hostilities and crisis in years past,” Arman Tatoyan emphasized.

He added that the lawyers continue to undertake measures to protect the rights of Armenians in other countries of the world, from the Middle East to Europe, from South America to the United States of America and other countries.

“Their support over the years is a genuine example of what cooperation between Armenia and Artsakh and the Diaspora should be like,” the Ombudsman concluded.

Artashes Tumanian, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to the Islamic Republic of Iran was received by Seyed Rasool Mohajer, Deputy Foreign Minister on Economic Diplomacy, the Armenian Embassy in Iran informs.

During the meeting, the Ambassador briefed the Deputy Minister on the current state of Armenia – Iran economic relations. Projects in infrastructure, trade and investment were pointed out.

The sides discussed the objectives, challenges and capabilities for developing bilateral and multilateral economic relations in the aftermath of Artsakh war.

Mr. Mohajer affirmed the willingness of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran as well as his readiness to contribute in implementing of Armenia – Iran economic plans and projects.

The Armenian Orphanage in Tuzla where the slain journalist Hrant Dink grew up will be turned into Camp Armen Youth Center, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) President Ekrem Imamoglu said in a twitter post.

Mayor Imamoglu said that the plan studies have started after the Municipality voted unanimously in 2017 to rebuild the camp as youth center.

The orphanage was built in 1962 by the Gedikpaşa Armenian Protestant Church, as a former building on the site could not host the increasing number of Armenian students arriving from various parts of Anatolia.

Known as the orphanage where Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist who was murdered in 2007, and his wife, Rakel Dink, studied, it was expropriated by the Turkish state in 1987 on the basis of a 1936 bill preventing minority foundations from acquiring property.

Although the Turkish government signed a historic decree in 2011 to return property taken away from minority foundations, the camp was omitted, alongside hundreds of other properties.

Fatih Ulusoy, the land owner, had initially tried to demolish Kamp Armen in May 2015, but the controversial plan was later shelved as Ulusoy said he would donate it to the Gedikpaşa Armenian Protestant Church and School Foundation.

Efforts to demolish the camp received widespread attention once the news broke on social media. The demolition was subsequently stopped when many people, including activists and leading figures from the Armenian community, rushed to the area to protest the demolition work.

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s municipal council on May 12 unanimously accepted the construction plan regarding the orphanage, which will be rebuilt taking the original building into account. The Kamp Armen area was taken under “Social and Cultural Facility Area” category in line with the Gedikpaşa Armenian Protestant Church and School Foundation’s will. 

The prominent Armenian-Turkish journalist, was shot dead at the age of 52 in broad daylight by an ultranationalist outside his office in Istanbul’s Sisli district on Jan. 19, 2007.

Ogun Samast, then a 17-year-old jobless high-school dropout, confessed to the killing and was sentenced to almost 23 years in jail back in 2011.

The case grew into a wider scandal after it emerged that security forces had been aware of a plot to kill Dink but failed to act.

While crowds gather each year at the spot that Dink was killed to commemorate him, this year’s commemoration will be held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.