Category: News

Heirs of Vartkes Serengulian, one of the seven Armenians represented in the Ottoman Parliament, are willing to hand his mandate to the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, Serengulian’s granddaughter told .

On her way to exile, Vartkes Serengulian’s wife received his last letter dated June 20, 1915, in which he described the “desperate conditions” and expressed doubt they would ever meet again.

In the same letter Serengulian informed he had applied to Talaat Pasha, as he was the only person that could help.

However, despite good relations with Vartkes Serengulian, Talaat ordered to arrest him and send to Urfa, where he was tortured and killed.

“In his last letter Serengulian asked his wife not to marry again for their sons not to call another man dad,” his granddaughter Izabella Serengulian said.

Hripsime Serengulian decided to settle in Tbilis together with her two sons. An expert in French, she started work at a rich Armenian family. She letter worked at an Armenian school and earned with needlework she had learnt in Erzrum as a child.

“She always had a needle in her hand. She would not tell much. She had burnt part of the documents in 1937, but carefully concealed the mandate,” Izabella said.

She now wants to hand it to the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute.

Those trying to eliminate our nation failed to succeed, as we are living a new revival today, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan says.

He believes it’s important for Armenia to draw lessons from the genocide to prevent any future crime not only against Armenians, but also the world at large.

Speaking to reporters at Tsitsernakaberd Memorial, Shavarsh Kocharyan said “recognition of the Armenian Genocide by any country is important, but the utmost objective is to reach recognition by Turkey.”

“Recognition by every country reminds the humanity that the threat of genocide is still there. “If uncondemned, a crime against humanity leads to new crimes,” Kocharyan said.

With the recent constitutional referendum Turkey further distanced itself from the European Union, which is a serious challenge to Armenia, he said

He noted that the ‘football diplomacy’ [initiated by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan] made it clear whether Turkey was striving to move towards the EU or not.

“Erdogan’s rejection of the policy meant Turkey was distancing itself from Europe and moving towards autocracy, and the constitutional changes were the last stone Erdogan and his party put on the road to Europe,” Kocharyan said.

Former Obama UN Ambassador Samantha Power on Monday apologized for not using the term “genocide” to describe the Ottoman Turks’ massacre of Armenians, reports.

“I am very sorry that, during our time in office, we in the Obama administration did not recognize the #Armenian Genocide,” Power said in a series of tweets.

I am very sorry that, during our time in office, we in the Obama administration did not recognize the Genocide

— Samantha Power (@SamanthaJPower)

Power, who served as Obama’s UN ambassador from 2013 to 2017, blamed “ongoing Turkish denial” for leaving an “open wound.”

“Almost every Armenian-American family was touched in some way by the genocide,” Power said.

Former President Barack Obama had promised during his campaign to use the label to describe the mass killings by Ottoman forces of the Armenian in the 1910s, but reversed course in office.

To date, Power is the only Obama official to express regret over the decision not to use the term genocide.

The Armenian Assembly of America has reacted to President Trump’s Statement:

Today, as the Armenian Genocide is commemorated around the world, the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) stands in solidarity with Armenians and non-Armenians alike in remembering the victims of the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan stated that “Like the genocide of the Armenians before it, and the genocide of the Cambodians which followed it – and like too many other such persecutions of too many other peoples – the lessons of the Holocaust must never be forgotten.” Reagan’s statement reflects America’s values and is a powerful reminder that words have meaning.

“We appreciate President Trump for recognizing Armenians who lost their lives and using the Armenian term for the Armenian Genocide, yet his statement today demonstrates the need for the FBI and the Congressional Intelligence Committees to do thorough investigations of all the evidence on surreptitious Turkish influence on the U.S. government,” stated Armenian Assembly Co-Chairs Anthony Barsamian and Van Krikorian.

“At a time when Christians and minority communities continue to be in imminent danger and under constant attack, the President’s statement fails to stand up for human rights and is inconsistent with American values, and represents the same kind of capitulation to Turkish authoritarianism which will cost more lives,” the Co-Chairs added.

The Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe joins the calls for PACE President Pedro Argument to step down.

Addressing the Assembly, member of the Armenian delegation Samvel Farmanyan said it is the only “wise” way out of the current political crisis.

“It’s clear to us that you have lost your trust not only in the EPP Group, but also within all political forces represented in this Assembly,” Farmanyan said.

He described it a crisis, noting that there should be wise and politically correct way out.

“It’s quite evident for all of us that you should step down,” Samvel Farmanyan stated.

Pedro Agramunt’s recent visit to Syria has stirred outrage among legislators at PACE. The reaction has been ambiguous first of all because Agramunt’s visit to Syria had not been sanctioned by the Assembly or any of its structures.

“This visit was a mistake,” Pedro Agramunt said in his opening remarks. He expressed apology for the mistake and assured his visit does not indicate his support for “Assad’s regime.”

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, has joined thousands of Armenians to rally outside the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles to mark the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

“One hundred and two years ago, the Ottoman Empire began a gruesome campaign against the Armenians, murdering 1.5 million men, women and children. The very first genocide of the 21st Century, the Armenian Genocide, is a wound which will never truly heal,” Rep. Schiff said in a Facebookpost.

“Today, we march today to commemorate, to remember, and to demand justice,” he added.

Schiff blasted Republican President Donald Trump for failing to recognize the events as a “genocide.”

“Today, we received a disappointing statement from yet another president, refusing to acknowledge the murder of 1.5 million Armenians from 1915-1923 for what it was – a genocide,” FOX 11 quotes Schiff as saying.

“President Trump now joins a long line of both Republican and Democratic presidents unwilling to confront Turkey, and by refusing to do so, he has made the United States once again a party to its campaign of denial,” he added.

“Today, we remember and honor the memory of those who suffered during the Meds Yeghern, one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th Century,”

“Beginning in 1915, one and a half million Armenians were deported, massacred or marched to their deaths in the final years of the Ottoman Empire. I join the Armenian community in America and around the world in mourning the loss of innocent lives and the suffering endured by so many,” he stated.

Şişli Provincial Organization of HDP has been holding “April 23,5 commemoration” for 5 years. This year, the police on winterfered with the commemoration on the occasion of 102nd anniversary of Armenian Genocide. The commemoratias held in the office of HDP, reports.

Speaking at the commemoration, Nor Zartonk spokesperson Norayr Olgar stated that genocide is continuing today in Kurdish cities: “Peace is impossible without confrontation. Victims of the genocide are everywhere.”

Melis Tantan from Şişli Provincial Organization stated that they want to relieve the suffering caused 102 years ago and the social trauma to some extent. Stating that the genocide hasn’t ended in 1915, Tantan said:

“The genocide continues with the changed names of old Armenian neighborhoods and with schools and streets named after Talat Pasha, who is one of the perpetrators of the genocide. The genocide continues with the murders of Hrant Dink, Sevag Balıkçı and Maritsa Küçük and the impunity in such cases.”

Khloe Kardashian has marked the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian genocide with a powerful post.

The 32-year-old posted a picture of her and her sisters at the centenary of the genocide in Armenia to social media.

She wrote: “Today marks the 102-year anniversary of the Armenian genocide. In 1915, the Ottoman Empire committed mass extermination of 1.5 million Western Armenians. I am proud to be an Armenian!!!

“It is our duty to not be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation no matter their race or creed. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. It saddens me that history books don’t acknowledge such torture but my voice will be used to bring awareness to my people for being survivors!!!”

Khloe then shared a quote from Armenian-American novelist William Saroyan, writing: “‘I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump has avoided uttering the term “genocide” to define mass killing of ethnic Armenians at the hands of Ottomans in 1915, emulating his predecessor in describing the killings as “Meds Yeghern” — the Great Tragedy.

“Today, we remember and honor the memory of those who suffered during the Meds Yeghern, one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century,” Mr. Trump said in a statement.

“Beginning in 1915, one and a half million Armenians were deported, massacred, or marched to their deaths in the final years of the Ottoman Empire. I join the Armenian community in America and around the world in mourning the loss of innocent lives and the suffering endured by so many,” the statement released on Monday said.

Calling the 1915 killings as the “dark chapter of human history,” Mr. Trump said “we also recognize the resilience of the Armenian people,” as many of them built new lives in the United States.

“We must remember atrocities to prevent them from occurring again. We welcome the efforts of Turks and Armenians to acknowledge and reckon with the painful history, which is a critical step toward building a foundation for a more just and tolerant future,” the president concluded.