Category: News

The Armenian national team will play two friendlies in Los-Angeles, USA. The team will face Guatemala on May 28 and El Salvador – on June 1.

Head coach Varuzhan Sukiasyan has called up 11 players from abroad to take part in the upcoming matches:

Gael Andonian, Dijon FCO (France)

Hrayr Mkoyan, Esteghlal (Iran)

Hovhannes Hambardzumyan, FK Vardar (FYR Macedonia)

Henrikh Mkhitaryan Borussia (Dortmund, Germany)

Marcos Pizzelli Al Raed (Saudi Arabia)

Aras Ozbiliz, Rayo Vallecano (Spain)

Karlen Mkrtchyan FC Anji (Russia)

Gor Malakyan, Stal (Ukraine)

Edgar Manucharyan FC Ural (Russia)

Artur Sarkisov, FC Volga (Russia)

Gegham Kadimyan Karpaty (Ukraine)

Just days before the world marked the 101st remembrance of the Armenian Genocide, the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University conferred its second Ph.D. in Armenian Genocide Studies, the reports.

On April 19, Umit Kurt successfully defended his dissertation, “Destruction of Aintab Armenians and Emergence of the New Wealthy Class: Plunder of Armenian Wealth in Aintab (1890s–1920s).” In its pages, he produces a microhistory of the Armenians in the city of Aintab, located on the Syrian border in southeast Turkey, before, during, and after the genocide. Elucidating the economic dimensions of the genocide, Kurt describes how the Turks used the Abandoned Properties Laws to confiscate Armenian property in Aintab.

Among his many fellowships, speaking engagements and honors, Kurt was the Agnes Manoogian Hausrath fellow at Clark, and an Armenian Studies Scholarship from the Gulbenkian Foundation also supported his research. His research and teaching—he was a lecturer at Sabanci University in Istanbul as well as research fellow at Fresno State University—also has earned him a post-doctoral fellowship beginning in September at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University.

“I am so happy to finish my dissertation and be a part of newly emerging critical scholarship in Armenian and the Ottoman Studies,” Kurt said. “I believe my findings in the dissertation will make a concrete contribution to the existing state of art and pave the way for other scholars to dwell upon unfolding local traces of Armenian Genocide. I firmly believe that any study in this field cannot be done without having Armenian language skills.”

While writing his dissertation, Kurt also managed to publish articles in the Journal of Holocaust and Genocide Studies and International Journal of Middle East Studies. Berghahn Books published The Spirit of the Laws: The Plunder of Wealth in the Armenian Genocide (July 2015), which Kurt co-authored with Taner Akcam, Clark professor of history and Kaloosdian/Mugar Chair in Armenian Genocide Studies.

The 2015 Centennial of the Armenian Genocide afforded several opportunities for Kurt to present his research findings. He participated in the Strassler Center’s International Graduate Student Conference, lectured at UCLA, and presented at a conference in New York on the Armenian Genocide within the context of the Ottoman Empire and World War I.

At the 2016 Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day rally in New York on April 24, Kurt appearedwith elected officials, survivors, and others to speak before thousands gathered in Times Square.

Kurt received a bachelor’s degree from Middle East Technical University in the Department of Political Science and his MA in European Studies from Sabancı University.

The Strassler center’s first student to complete a Ph.D. in Armenian Genocide Studies was Khatchig Mouradian, who defended his dissertation, Genocide and Humanitarian Assistance in Ottoman Syria (1915-1917) in January.

Mouradian, former editor of The Armenian Weekly (2007-2014), is a visiting assistant professor at the Division of Global Affairs at Rutgers University and is the coordinator the Armenian Genocide Program at Rutgers’ Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights (CGHR). He is also an adjunct professor in the philosophy and urban studies departments at Worcester State University, where he teaches courses on urban space and conflict in the Middle East, genocide, collective memory, and human rights.

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System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian was so moved by the resilience of Armenian fighters in Nagorno-Karabakh, during a four-day war in April that he wrote a passionate new folk song, “Artsakh,” in deference to them. The song voices support for the people of Artsakh – the Armenian name for the region – and protests Azeri aggression.

“These people have lived on those lands for thousands of years,” the singer wrote in a statement. “They have struggle but also great beauty written on their foreheads. The whimsical appropriation of land by an empire (Stalin) placed them under Azerbaijan. They have since gained their independence and have lived a prosperous existence for the last 20 or so years. I do not believe in wars and ultimately borders but I deeply believe in self-determination and life without oppression. Therefore it is time for the world to recognize them as the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).”

“It’s a crazy provocation,” the singer tells “It’s a land that these people have lived on from the beginning of time, from time immemorial, with children springing from the rivers and generations coming from their mountains. There is a national liberation struggle embedded within their character, their public mask, if you will. It goes on through trying to create peace. We will ultimately win with culture and all this beautiful stuff.”

Tankian made a video for the song, on which he sings and plays guitar, this past weekend.

“Artsakh” lyrics, translated:

We’ve always lived on these lands,
Reaped and harvested these fields,
Generations sprung from your rivers,
Children born from your mountains,

The public mask of tradition,
The struggle for liberation or death,
The enemy’s gaze at your terrain,
Our smiles at your bosom,
At your bottomless will.

We’re going to sing with our fists
With the tricolor flag of justice,
Humanitarian love of peace
With the holy blessing of a child’s face,
We are going to prevail with culture
We are going to prevail with culture
We are going to prevail by being Armenian.

Moscow considers that the most important at this point is to prevent any violation of the ceasefire regime along the Nagorno Karabakh line of contact by working out practical mechanisms, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

“Of course, the most important now is to avoid new losses and prevent and ceasefire violations and work out practical mechanisms for that,” he said.

According to the Russian Foreign Minister, the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed on this some five years ago, when they met at the initiative of then President Dmitry Medvedev.

“They spoke for creation of a mechanism for investigation of border incidents and confidence-building measures. The OSCE was tasked with addressing the issue, but, unfortunately, no developments followed. We want the parties to return to that, the OSCE German presidency is also interested in intensifying its role and we welcome this willingness,” Lavrov said.

He said the Co-Chairs will meet in the near future.

Lavrov noted that “Moscow sees no reasons for panic connected with the initiative of the Armenian MPs on recognition of Nagorno Karabakh.”

“It’s not Armenia discussing the issue, it’s an initiative of two MPs, and the Armenian Government has to present an opinion on the draft law,” he said.

The Russian Foreign Minister noted that “although it;s difficult, it’s still possible to incorporate the ideas on the political settlement of the Karabakh issue in a document”

Asbarez – The Los Angeles City Clerk’s office in collaboration with the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (Empower LA), released the unofficial results of Sunday’s East Hollywood Neighborhood Council elections, which saw three Armenians re-elected to their positions.

Tereza Yerimyan, who is has served as president of EHNC since 2013, was re-elected along with Seta Panosian and Shahan Suzemelian, who ran as part of the East Hollywood Community slate, which included 11 other members. Of the 13 candidates 12 have won their bids and will be able to serve on the EHNC during the new term.

Yerimyan, who faced three opponents, received 320 votes, the highest number of votes than any other candidate. This will be the third term for Yerimyan and Suzemelian, and the second term for Panosian. The three will represent Hollywood’s Little Armenia neighborhood.

“I’m humbled to be re-elected and allowed to serve in the community that I’ve called home since my family and I immigrated here in 1992,” commented Tereza. “Elections give me an opportunity to meet the people I represent, which is absolutely amazing, because we all share a similar story. The uniqueness of Neighborhood Council elections is that anyone who is a stakeholder within the boundaries of the Council is allowed to vote, even if they’re not a citizen. This is unlike other City and State elections and it’s meant to give everyone a voice in the community they are an integral part of,” she continued.

Barring any challenges, the EHNC elections, along with other Neighborhood Council elections that took place around the City of Los Angeles, will be certified by the Los Angeles City Clerk’s office on Friday, May 6, 2016. The EHNC invites stakeholders to attend their next meeting, on Monday, May 16 at 6:30PM at the Armenian Youth Center on 1559 N. Kenmore Ave to celebrate the new board members and participate in the new business of the board.

By Harut Sassounian
The California Courier

Ergun Kirlikovali, a resident of Orange County, California, and former president of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations, has carried out a life-long Don Quixotic battle against recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Unfortunately for him, the more he denies the Genocide, the more he helps publicize it.

Here is the latest episode of Kirli’s ‘heroic’ actions which once again backfired on him and his obsessive denialism.

On April 24, as 60,000 protesters gathered in front of the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles, Kirli showed up with a handful of his denialist compatriots trying to cover up the tarnished image of their homeland! The Turks’ presence at the protest attracted the attention of the local news media, generating more publicity for the 101st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

To take credit for his anti-Armenian protest, Kirli had a cohort videotape his interview with KABC-TV, during which he once again denied the Armenian Genocide. Shockingly, in the midst of the interview, the KABC cameraman made derogatory remarks about Armenians, calling them “thug-like idiots.”

In its news coverage of the April 24 protest, KABC used a sound bite from Kirli’s 8-minute rant. However, no one would have known about the cameraman’s prejudicial comments, if it were not for Kirli posting the raw footage of his interview on Facebook, which got the anti-Armenian cameraman in hot water.

In response to complaints from the public, KABC promptly issued a statement apologizing for its freelance cameraman’s remarks and announcing the termination of his services with the TV station. However, KABC insisted that its story was “fair and accurate.” Many viewers disagreed, citing the inclusion of Kirli’s denialist views in the broadcast. In a phone conversation with KABC’s General Manager last week, I discussed the pitfalls of providing airtime to a denialist and the positive steps the TV station could initiate to educate viewers about the Armenian Genocide. Upset by the station’s conciliatory statement, Kirli posted on Facebook his “disappointment” with KABC’s apology and dismissal of the cameraman after complaints from “Armenian pressure groups.”

The Armenian National Committee of America — Western Region (ANCA) and Armenian Youth Federation — Western US (AYF) issued a joint statement contesting KABC’s decision to provide a platform to a notorious genocide denier and asked for a meeting with the TV station’s management. They justifiably contended that KABC would never interview a neo-Nazi while covering a Holocaust commemorative event.

Subsequently, KABC’s management agreed to meet with representatives of ANCA, AYF, and the Armenian Bar Association, and removed from the TV station’s website Kirli’s offensive words along with the questionable news story! After the meeting, Cheryl Kunin Fair, President and General Manager of KABC-TV, issued the following highly principled statement on May 2:

“ABC7 regrets what happened and apologizes for the pain this incident caused the Armenian community, especially on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. The actions of the cameraman in question, who no longer works for the station, and the resulting story that aired that day, were not an accurate reflection of ABC7′ s commitment to the Armenian community. While the cameraman’s comments did not air, we regret the inclusion in our story of a short bite from the interview denying the existence of the Genocide on historical grounds, which is counter to the position of a majority of historians today who do call it a Genocide, and see the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians as a premeditated and systematic campaign to exterminate an entire people. Efforts are underway in partnership with the ANCA, AYF, Armenian Bar Association and others to provide opportunities for public dialogue, internal education, and meaningful stories about and for the Armenian community and their efforts for Genocide recognition and education. We are committed to moving forward with these initiatives and we thank the ANCA and its partner organizations for their leadership in this dialogue and willingness to listen.”

KABC-TV should be commended for issuing such a reassuring statement, apologizing for the offense caused to the Armenian community, promising not to use the services of the bigoted cameraman, expressing regret for interviewing a genocide denialist, reaffirming the truth of the Armenian Genocide, and pledging to work with community organizations to educate the public on this critical issue. Without Kirli’s persistent denialist endeavors, none of these constructive steps would have been possible!

After the fight that broke out between the members of Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) another brawl occurred again last night in the Parliamentary Constitution Conciliation Committee. HDP Istanbul MP, ethnic Armenian Garo Paylan was at the center of events.

Speaking to ianet, Paylan said he was attacked for being Armenian.

 

“The Minister of Justice said ‘In the previous commission meeting, HDP MPs and advisors inflicted violence’. Then I said ‘No they didn’t’. That was the only sentence that came out of my mouth. Then the attack began,” Paylan said.

“I shared it on social media as well. Those interested can watch it and judge for themselves. They blame me for provocation but I have not done  that.”

“It is crystal clear that they are targeting me. Lots of MPs attacked me in a planned way. I was directly targeted and got kicked and punched around 100 times in 20-30 seconds.“Afterwards, they spoke racist words and hate speech against me,” the MP said.

“I will not report the incident. What can happen if I take this to their jurisdiction? I am leaving the evaluation to the conscience of the public.”

Paylan said there was hate speech directly related to his Armenian identity.

“What they can’t digest is this: A person of Armenian identity reveals their lies and stands upright. They want to see Armenians obeying them. I have been targeted as an Armenia putting up a fight for rights.”

– When a cousin of Diana Hekimian’s in San Francisco mentioned that she had found an old manuscript in the basement of her apartment building two months ago, Hekimian didn’t know what to think.

Then she saw the manuscript. With its faded type, handwritten notes, and photographs taped to the pages, “it looked like a very important document,” she said. So, she brought it to the Armenian Film Foundation for help figuring out what it was.

Hekimian, a founding member of the Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance and board member of the Armenian International Women’s Association, had actually just stumbled upon an original copy of one of the earliest reports of the 1915 genocide in Armenia: The Diyarbekir Massacres and Kurdish Atrocities. It was written by British Pro-Consul Thomas Mugerditchian and published in 1919.

People all over the world can get a personal glimpse into Mugerditchian’s life through the testimony of his daughter, Alice Mugerditchian Shipley, which is integrated into the Visual History Archive as part of USC Shoah Foundation’s Armenian Genocide testimony collection. The testimony was originally filmed by documentarian J. Michael Hagopian and collected by the Armenian Film Foundation.

The Mugerditchian family lived in comfort and prestige in Diyarbekir, Turkey, until World War I began and Alice, her mother and siblings were forced to flee. They attempted to stay alive in Kharpert (Harput) until finally deciding to escape through the mountains of Dersim and into Russian controlled Erzincan. Thomas Mugerditchian was still in Diyarbekir when he wrote his report and later served as a diplomat in Egypt. The family was finally reunited in California in 1921.

The Diyarbekir Massacres and Kurdish Atrocities is significant because it was one of the first written reports of violence committed against Armenian men, women and children in May 1914 leading up to the beginning of the Armenian Genocide in 1915, said Carla Garapedian, board member of the Armenian Film Foundation. The acts of violence and persecution against innocent civilians that Mugerditchian describes provide clues that a genocide was about to begin.

“You don’t suddenly attack a population,” Garapedian said.

Mugerditchian’s report is based on his own personal observations as well as accounts from four other witnesses.

The book’s content is truly harrowing. Mugerditchian describes babies being thrown off bridges, entire village populations marched off into the desert and massacred, and rivers flowing red with blood from murdered civilians.

Mugerditchian compiled his report, made four carbon copies (one of which is Hekimian’s) and sent it to the U.S. State Department. It was published in 1919. In 2013, it was translated to English from the original Armenian; it can be purchased on .

In 1983, Shipley wrote her own memoir, , about her family’s story of survival. Hagopian interviewed her for his collection of Armenian Genocide survivor and witness testimonies in 1985.

Hekimian hopes to donate the manuscript to an Armenian cultural institution or museum.

On this day we celebrate the World Press Freedom Day. On the 25th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration the EU wishes to recall the principle that “the establishment, maintenance and fostering of an independent, pluralistic and free press is essential to the development and maintenance of democracy in a nation, and for economic development”.

The right to freedom of opinion and expression includes freedom to seek, receive and impart information. It is a key component of democratic governance and development. People need to be fully informed to be able to form an opinion and participate in decision-making processes that affect their lives. Freedom of information also contributes to better governance as it enhances transparency in public affairs and can be used as a tool to make governments accountable for their actions, in particular when access to information results in the exposure of human rights violations or corruption practices.

Ensuring access to information can serve to promote justice and reparation, in particular after periods of grave violations of human rights.

The EU is committed to continue promoting and protecting freedom of opinion and expression worldwide, not only offline but also in relation to the cyberspace and other information communication technologies, as highlighted by the adoption in 2014 of the EU Human Rights Guidelines on Freedom of Expression Online and Offline.

It condemns the increasing level of intimidation and violence that journalists, Human Rights Defenders, media actors and other individuals face in many countries across the world when exercising the right to freedom of opinion and expression online and offline.

In addition to combating outright violence the EU is determined to fight against laws or practices that impose censorship, encourage self-censorship or provide legal penalties, including criminal, financial and administrative sanctions, as well as against the misuse of market powers and poor economic conditions.

The EU reaffirms its determination to promote and support, freedoms of opinion and expression as rights to be exercised by everyone everywhere, based on the principles of equality, non-discrimination and universality – through any media and regardless of frontiers.

This is your Right!

On  May 3 Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan and the first President of the Republic of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan held a meeting.

A range of issues related to the wide-scale military operations unleashed by the enemy from 2 to 5 April was discussed during the meeting.

President Sahakyan signified the consolidated stance of the political forces during these days of ordeal and their role in solving issues the nation faced.