Category: News

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cut short a trip on June 9 to the United States, where he had gone to attend the funeral ceremony of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

According to information from presidential sources, however, Erdogan and other government representatives, decided to depart for Turkey without participating in the full funeral ceremony for the late boxer in Louisville, Kentucky.

The president participated in funeral prayers for Ali and also had a fast-breaking meal (iftar) with Meskhetian Turks.

Erdogan reportedly attempted to a put a piece of cloth from the Kaaba on Ali’s coffin during the funeral prayers but was refused permission to do so.

But according to another report, the president and Diyanet head Mehmet Görmez were rejected when they asked to read a piece from the Quran, which led the president to cut his program short.

Meanwhile, a short quarrel also erupted between U.S. secret service officials and Turkish presidential body guards, reportedly because a secret service official wanted to stand in the same place as presidential bodyguards as Erdogan was getting into his car.

Before arriving in the U.S., funeral organizers had removed Erdogan from the list of speakers on the grounds that there would not be sufficient time.

Former world heavyweight champion Ali, whose record-setting boxing career, flair for showmanship and political stands made him one of the best-known figures of the 20th century, died on June 3 aged 74.

He will be laid to rest on June 10.

Asbarez- A ballet titled “Meran Vor Aprink” (They Died So We May Live), dedicated to the Armenian Genocide, was honored with television’s prestigious Emmy Award at the 45th Annual Emmy Awards 2016 Ceremony. The Emmys were presented to the film’s Executive Producers, Diane and Charles Paskerian.

The Emmy Award is presented for outstanding achievement in television by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), San Francisco Northern California Chapter, including Hawaii, Reno, and Sacramento, Oregon. This year there was a record number of 757 English and 179 Spanish entries in 67 categories. “Meron Vor Abrink” was listed under the Arts/Entertainment-Program/Special category.

Davit Karapetyan, Principle Dancer with the San Francisco Ballet, was so inspired when he saw San Francisco’s Armenian Genocide Memorial “Mount Davidson Cross” for the first time, he envisioned choreographing a 100th Genocide Ballet Dance Video as a “Tribute to the Survival of our Ancestors through creative dance and music. We agreed to raise necessary funds for talent and crew….and the “creative process began!”

The ballet took over a year to produce, with original choreography by Davit Karapetyan, fourteen San Francisco Ballet dancers including Karapetyan, Vanessa Zahorian, and a crew of 23. Writing, editing, and development input was done by Diane and Charles Paskerian. Filming took place at Baker’s Beach and the Mount Davidson Cross.

The video project was enthusiastically endorsed by the Bay Area Centennial Committee and the Council of Armenian American Organizations of the Bay Area. The Council is charged with maintaining and supporting the Armenian Genocide Memorial Cross at Mount Davidson, the home of the Annual San Francisco Easter Sunrise Service for almost 100 years, and supporting Armenian Genocide education. The historical cross is the tallest Armenian Genocide Monument in the World.

The ballet may be viewed in the Youtube video below:

US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassador James Warlick, has confirmed that the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia will meet in late June to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijan’s Trend news agency reported Friday.

No further details of the upcoming meeting are known, the agency said citing Warlick.

Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev held their last meeting on May 16.

Photo: Getty Images

 

President Barack Obama has officially endorsed Hillary Clinton as the Democratic Party presidential nominee, the BBC reports.

His endorsement came after meeting Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders who has been battling Mrs Clinton for the nomination.

Speaking in a video tweeted out by Mrs Clinton, Mr Obama said she may be the most qualified person “ever” for the role of president.

Leading liberal politician Elizabeth Warren also endorsed Mrs Clinton.

“I am ready to get in this fight and work my heart out for Hillary Clinton to become the next president of the United States,” the Massachusetts senator told MSNBC, “and to make sure that Donald Trump never gets any place close to the White House.”

President Obama and Mrs Clinton are set to start campaigning together soon.

“I want those of you who’ve been with me from the beginning of this incredible journey to be the first to know that ‘I’m with Her.’ I am fired up and cannot wait to get out there and campaign for Hillary,” Mr Obama said in the video.

“Secretary Clinton and Senator Sanders may have been rivals during this primary, but they’re both patriots who love this country and they share a vision for the America that we all believe in.”

On 10 June Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan visited Belgian city of Mechelen.

The President met with the Mayor of the city Bart Somers, Deputy Mayor Marc Hendrickx and a group of officials.

Issues related to the cooperation between Mechelen and Artsakh were discussed during the talks.

President Sahakyan noted that establishing and developing ties between cities and regions of Artsakh and other countries were among the pivotal directions of bilateral cooperation especially in economic, cultural, scientific-educational and humanitarian spheres.

An official reception in honor of the President was organized in Mechelen city administration attended also by representatives of a range of Armenian organizations.

On the same day the President visited the Mechelen cross stone-monument devoted to the Armenian Genocide victims and laid a wreath there.

Bako Sahakyan signified the existence of such memorials in various countries emphasizing their role in the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide and perpetuating the memory of innocent victims.

 

By Bhavana Gopinath
Kitchissippi Tme

The trauma of genocide threads through Aram Adjemian’s life: he grew up in the shadow of the Armenian genocide, he pursued the topic academically, he met his wife at a genocide conference, and it is the subject of his first book, The Call from Armenia: Canada’s Response to the Armenian Genocide. It documents Canadians’ interest in the Armenian people through missionary involvement, the consequent fundraising for Armenian relief, governmental action, and Armenian immigration and support in Canada.

Aram has been studying genocide for several years. Back in 2002, he attended the first seminar on Genocide and Human Rights hosted by the Zoryan Institute. In 2003, he started his master’s in history at Concordia University, where renowned genocide scholar, Frank Chalk, became his thesis advisor. His 2007 thesis was entitled Canada’s Moral Mandate for Armenia: Sparking Humanitarian and Political Interest, 1880 to 1923.

The 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide was commemorated on April 24, 2015. As part of several cultural and educational initiatives to mark the event, the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC) commissioned Aram to write about Canada and Armenia. He took this opportunity to expand upon his thesis research. The resultant The Call from Armenia contains original research and information in the form of hundreds of archival photographs, parliamentary and governmental documentation, and illustrations.

Aram has presented his book across Canada and in Ottawa to parliamentarians and the Armenian community.  On May 27, Aram made a presentation at a reception organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia to Canada. H.E. Mr. Armen Yeganian, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to Canada presided, and presented Aram with a certificate for service to the nation.

Canada’s response to the crisis in Armenia was one of the defining events of Canadian history in the aftermath of World War I. It was a young country’s demonstration of its responsibility, influence, and humanitarian outlook.  Aram points out that this is a typical Canadian reaction — Canada continues to provide aid to many displaced peoples even to the present day.

Aram is originally from Montreal. During his childhood, his Armenian grandparents and parents rarely talked about the genocide; while he was aware that his grandparents had been affected and traumatized, he doesn’t recall his grandmother talking much about it. However, he grew up immersed in Armenian culture, and sensed the lingering trauma of the genocide that his Armenian friends and relatives endured even after decades.

“It is a hard thing to live with,” says Aram. He came to understand that the emotional scars from genocide can be trans-generational.

In 2007, the year Aram completed his thesis, the journalist Hrant Dink was assassinated. Hrant was the chief editor of a bilingual (Armenian and Turkish) Istanbul-based newspaper and a proponent of stronger ties between Turks and Armenians. That incident, Aram says, was a “rude awakening,” with the realization that the issues he addressed in academia still prevailed in real life. In the aftermath of that assassination, Aram has been involved with Armenian and Turkish dialogue groups that formed with the aim of fostering greater understanding. Aram hopes that conversations between ordinary Turks and Armenians will help bring about some degree of amity between the two nations.

Aram met his wife Hoori Hamboyan, a lawyer with the Department of Justice, at Zoryan Institute’s Genocide conference. He describes Hoori as a “very compassionate” person who has always been interested in social justice and helping the vulnerable. Their backgrounds make them both deeply mindful about how genocide-related trauma can transmit through generations so they try to provide a balanced perspective when educating their three children about their heritage.

Talking about the genocide and understanding the other person’s perspective is a necessary step to healing, and for the trauma of genocide to taper off for future generations. While more study is needed, he hopes that his book can provide some information and understanding to that end.

The ANCC is providing copies of the book to those who are interested. It will also soon be available at Octopus Books, and Ottawa Public Library will add it to its catalogue shortly.

Photo: AFP

 

A huge monument has been discovered buried under the sands at the Petra World Heritage site in southern Jordan, the reports.

Archaeologists used satellite images, drone photography and ground surveys to locate the find, according to the study published in the American Schools of Oriental Research.

The large platform is about as long as an Olympic swimming pool and twice as wide.

Researchers say it is unlike any other structure at the ancient site.

The study, by Sarah Parcak of the University of Birmingham, and Christopher Tuttle, executive director of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers, describes the find as “hiding in plain sight”.

Petra dates back to the fourth century BC, when it was founded by the Nabataean civilization, who inhibited parts of what is now Jordan, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

Surface pottery suggests the platform was built in the mid-second century BC, when Petra was at its peak.

It is thought the structure may have had a ceremonial purpose.

The survey also revealed a smaller platform was contained inside the larger one, which was once lined with columns on one side with a vast staircase on the other.

An Azerbaijani civilian – a woman who had crossed the international border into Armenia on 7 June – was repatriated today under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). She was handed over to Azerbaijani officials at the international border, on the road between Ijevan in Armenia and Gazakh in Azerbaijan.

The ICRC, acting as a neutral intermediary, helped the Armenian and Azerbaijani authorities carry out the repatriation. ICRC representatives visited the woman before she was sent back to Azerbaijan to assess her treatment and the conditions in which she was being held.

Based on its mandate under the Geneva Conventions, the ICRC has been present in the region since 1992 in connection with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

 is displaying a large-scale electronic billboard in Foxboro, Mass., thanking Germany for recognizing the Armenian Genocide, the reports.

Titled “Truth Vs. National Interest,” this billboard illustrates, on the left side, the German flag and, on the opposite side, the dome of the U.S. Capitol building, where the United States Senate and House of Representatives come together to debate and discuss national and political issues.

Peace of Art president Daniel Varoujan Hejinian stated that “with this billboard, we express gratitude on behalf of our organization for Germany’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide; simultaneously, we are  calling on the United States to follow Germany’s act of courage, and set aside its commercial interest for the sake of the truth.”

During World War I, Imperialist Germany was an ally of the Ottoman Empire and had its share of guilt in the implementation of the Armenian Genocide, by justifying and encouraging the crime against humanity.  In 1918, Hans von Wangenheim, the German ambassador in Constantinople, said in an interview with an American journalist, “I do not blame the Turks for what they are doing to the Armenians… They are entirely justified.”  It has been argued that this justification was the motivation for Hitler to organize the mass extermination of Jews during World War II.

The recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Germany this month was the answer to a question asked 75 years ago by Adolf Hitler: “Who today remembers the annihilation of the Armenians?”

The Presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan could hold a trilateral meeting, and work on this matter is underway, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday, Sputnik News reports.

“Work in this direction is being carried out. We are not excluding that such meetings could take place. If this gets finally confirmed, we will provide information,” Peskov told journalists, answering a question about reports that the three leaders would be meeting in St. Petersburg.