North Shore Sunday, MA
April 29 2006
See no evil
By Barbara Taormina/ Staff Writer
Friday, April 28, 2006 – Updated: 07:01 PM EST
People might not always know how to define genocide, but they know it
when they see it.

And yet, there have always been problems with the Armenian
genocide, a brutal stretch of early 20th century history during which
1.5 million Armenians were beaten, shot, hung and herded on long
death marches into the Syrian desert by a Turkish government bent on
seizing a strategic piece of land and creating a Pan-Turkish empire.

Armenian genocide

The Turks talk back

The Turks say it never happened. They admit the Armenians
suffered a huge death toll between 1915 and 1918, but they say the
deaths were due to a civil rebellion and the vast destruction left in
the wake of World War I. Despite the photographs, the news reports,
the eyewitness accounts and the stories of survivors, the Turks have
fought the charge of genocide since the United Nations accepted the
term and declared it an international crime in 1948.

Those denials were stepped up last week as Armenians the world
over held commemorative services to mark the 91st anniversary of the
genocide and to remember those who died and those who survived. And
in Massachusetts, people are watching the debate on the Armenian
genocide play out on a local, state and federal level.

Apo Torosyan, an Armenian artist and filmmaker who now lives in
Peabody, says Turkey has buried the truth of what happened to the
Armenians because they don’t want the national stigma.

“They are trying to cover up their shame,” says Torosyan, whose
grandparents died of starvation during the genocide. “I would be very
ashamed. This was a very systematic murder.”

Torosyan and others also feel the Turkish government is
determined not to acknowledge anything that could leave it open to a
flood of lawsuits seeking billions of dollars in reparations.

And because Turkey now plays a strategic role in a turbulent part
of the world, few people, particularly those in the U.S. government,
want to rock the boat by demanding that Turkey accept responsibility.

Torosyan understands that politics have dictated how the story of
the Armenian genocide is being told. But like others, he believes
denial is the final act of any genocide. And like others he believes
the truth about Armenia and those who died will eventually be
acknowledged and accepted.
The politics of denial

As a kid, Mary Foley remembers people she didn’t know would
sometimes visit her home to talk with her parents.

“My mother used to tell me go into the bedroom and play,” recalls
Foley, the sister of former Peabody Mayor Peter Torigian

As she grew older, Foley realized the visitors were Armenian
immigrants looking for clues or scraps of information about people
who may have escaped Turkey and survived the genocide.

Foley’s father left Armenia for the United States in 1912, the
year before the killings and deportations started. Her mother, who
was a child at the time, lost her family and managed to survive with
the help of Turkish families who took in and hid Armenian orphans.

But those Turks who helped took a huge risk, says Foley. Homes
were searched and if any Armenians were found, the entire household
would be killed.

Years later, when she was 94 and suffering from Alzheimer’s
disease, Foley says her mother would sometimes call out in Armenian,
“They came, they came, they came.” The tears would roll down her
cheeks as she relived the terror of hiding from Turkish death squads.

“These aren’t stories that people can make up,” says Foley. “How
could the Turks deny these things happened?”

But Foley knows that politics have interfered with the way
history is being remembered and told. For years, American political
leaders have been walking a fine line between acknowledging the
suffering of the Armenians and placating the Turkish government by
going easy on the blame. It’s a difficult balancing act.

Just ask Deval Patrick, a Democratic candidate for governor, who
took a visible seat at an Armenian memorial service at the State
House last week. Patrick made sure he had time to attend after the
Boston Herald reported he had ties to lobbyist Bernie Robinson, whose
Washington-based firm, the Livingston Group, has been working for the
Republic of Turkey on its campaign to deny or downplay the Armenian
genocide.
According to the watchdog group Public Citizen, the Turks have paid
the Livingston Group more than $9 million to fight a congressional
amendment recognizing the Armenian genocide and to help steer $1
billion in U.S. aid to Turkey, even though American troops are barred
from using Turkish soil as a staging area for Iraq.

Patrick’s Democratic opponent Tom Reilly wasted no time racking
up a few political miles with the incident.

“Anyone who would try and undermine the history and the truth of
what happened to the Armenian population, I certainly would be
disappointed in that. I certainly would not want to have anything to
do with that,” Reilly said.

On a national level, the Armenian sidestepping has been
bi-partisan. Both presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush have
refused to sign on to the Armenian Genocide Resolution, which would
formally recognize the suffering of the Armenians.

“There are congressmen and senators who support the Armenian
people,” says Foley. “But on the whole, America likes to ignore it
because the Turks have been allies for many years.”

Not only did the United States have military bases in Turkey
during the Cold War, the country’s strategic location and its role as
a moderate Muslim country make it a critical ally to American
interests in the Middle East.

“It’s wrong, but no one want to make enemies of the Turks,” says
Foley.

And while the American stand against acknowledging the Armenian
genocide is difficult, Torosyan says it’s not only the national
response that Armenians find troubling.

Israel, which also depends on alliance with Turkey, has also
refused to formally recognize the genocide, says Torosyan.

The Israeli position has been that the question of the Armenians
should be left to the historians, not the politicians.
Spinning the story

Denying or rewriting history takes some effort, but it seems the
Turks are doing their best and succeeding, at least inside of Turkey.

“This history has been fabricated by the Turkish government,”
says Torosyan. “Their history has been written by the politicians,
not the historians. They are rewriting history to their own benefit,
not to the benefit of humanity.”

According to Torosyan, the Turkish government archives have been
purged and all documents that trace the official program of
deportation and killing are gone.

“It’s like a jigsaw puzzle where all the pieces in the middle are
missing,” says Torosyan. “There are a few pieces on the sides, but
that’s all that’s left.”

As for events that captured the world’s attention, the Turkish
government has done its best to spin them. For example, the Turks say
episodes during which Armenian professionals and intellectuals were
rounded up and killed were a necessary step to quell an internal
rebellion.

The Turks also brush off the post-war trials of those who led the
Armenian genocide. Although several key Turkish leaders were tried
and executed for their role in the Armenian genocide, the Turks now
say those trials were political showmanship, the result of political
infighting between the pre- and post-war government.

And the Turks don’t appear satisfied with rewriting just their
own history books.

Late last year, the Assembly of Turkish American Associations, a
student and two teachers sued the Massachusetts Board of Education,
claiming it had censored history and interfered with the right of
speech. The state has curriculum guidelines for teaching students
about human rights and genocide. But it has refused to include in its
material links to Turkish government-sponsored Web sites that deny
the Armenian genocide.

According to Harvey Silverglate, a Boston civil rights lawyer
representing the plaintiffs, the suit isn’t about being on one side
or the other – it’s about censorship. Silverglate says students
should be able to look at different historical sources and come to
their own conclusions about what happened to the Armenians.
Members of the state board of education have argued that the Web
sites in question are not academic sites.

Torosyan agrees and says those Web sites are just Turkish
propaganda. He believes the information that has survived speaks for
itself.

“Denials are denials,” he says. “You could never have a
curriculum that denies the Holocaust. People have a right to speak up
and not tell lies and not tell man-made history.”

But Torosyan, who is a member of the International Association of
Genocide Scholars, is also doing his part to contribute to the
history through his artwork and through two short films, “Discovering
My Father’s Village – Edinick” and “Witness,” both of which feature
survivors of the Armenian genocide and an analysis of events.

The Turkish government hasn’t taken kindly to those who buck
their trend of retelling the story. In recent years, there have been
several high-profile cases of writers and journalists who have been
imprisoned for publishing accounts of the Armenian genocide.

Torosyan, who had a display of his artwork at the annual memorial
service in Peabody for Holocaust survivors this week, explained the
cost of telling his stories to those who stopped by his exhibit.

“This,” he said as he pointed to copies of his films, “is why I
can never go back.”

Boston Herald report Kevin Rothstein contributed to this story.
E-Mail Barbara Taormina at [email protected].

Voice of America
April 29 2006
Bush and Aliyev Discuss Oil and Democracy
By Scott Stearns
Washington
28 April 2006

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev (left) with President Bush
President Bush welcomed the leader of Azerbaijan to the White House
for talks Friday about democratic reforms and energy supplies.
The former Soviet republic has substantial oil and natural gas
reserves that the Bush Administration sees as central to reducing
European dependence on Russian supplies. Azerbaijan has also been an
important Muslim ally in the fight against terrorism, with troops in
Iraq and Afghanistan.
But the nation also has human rights and governance issues, with the
U.S. State Department saying President Ilham Aliyev’s administration
engages in corruption, political repression, and mistreatment of
prisoners.
President Bush sought to address both sides of that relationship in
his Oval Office meeting with President Aliyev, thanking him for
supporting U.S. military operations while pushing for further
democratic reforms at home. “We talked about the need for the world
to see a modern Muslim country that is able to provide for its
citizens, that understands that democracy is the wave of the future,
and I appreciate your leadership, Mr. President,” he said.
President Aliyev has been waiting for this White House meeting since
his widely criticized 2003 election. He denies allegations of
corruption and vows to continue reforming Azerbaijani politics. “I
consider this instrumental in the future development of Azerbaijan as
a modern, secular, democratic country. We share the same values. We
are grateful for United States assistance in promotion of political
process, process of democratization of our society and very committed
to continue that cooperation in the future,” he said.
Energy was also on the agenda. A 17-hundred-kilometer long pipeline
from the Caspian Sea through Georgia and Turkey is expected to bring
millions of barrels of Azerbaijani crude oil to market when it comes
on line later this year.
President Bush says Azerbaijan has a very important role to play in
helping the world achieve energy security.
President Aliyev thanked the U.S. leader for his support. “We are
very grateful for the leadership of the United States in promotion of
the energy security issues in the region, in assisting us to create a
solid transportation infrastructure which will allow for the
development of full-scale Caspian oil and gas reserves and deliver
them to the international markets,” he said.
President Aliyev said the men also discussed the disputed region of
Nagorno-Karabakh, which has been controlled for more than 10 years by
its majority ethnic-Armenian population.

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS General Newswire
April 28, 2006 Friday 7:18 PM MSK
Karabakh will never be part of Azerbaijan – Armenian minister (Part 2)
STEPANAKERT April 28
Nagorno-Karabakh will never be a part of Azerbaijan, said Armenian
Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian.
“I don’t know what status the Nagorno-Karabakh republic will have,
but I know for sure what it will not be, namely, Nagorno-Karabakh
will never be within Azerbaijan. This is absolutely impossible,”
Oskanian said speaking at the Nagorno-Karabakh State University in
Stepanakert.
Oskanian is on a working visit to Stepanakert to hold consultations
with the leadership of the self-proclaimed republic.
“The wheel of history cannot be turned backwards, and all that
Azerbaijan is saying about granting Nagorno-Karabakh a highest
possible level of autonomy within its borders should not be taken
seriously,” he said.
The Armenian diplomatic corps sees its task in ensuring international
recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence, although this is
“quite a difficult problem,” Oskanian said.
The foreign minister also called the creation of a comprehensive
security system for the Armenian people an important component of
Armenia’s foreign policy. In this context, he particularly mentioned
strategic partnership with Russia, with which Armenia has a bilateral
agreement on mutual assistance in case of aggression against either
party.
Talking about possible compromises that Armenia could agree to in the
negotiations on settling the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh, Oskanian
said “no concessions can be made” as regards Nagorno-Karabakh’s
sovereignty, security, and permanent land communication with Armenia.
Armenia is open to discussing any other issues concerning the
consequences of the conflict on condition that Azerbaijan recognizes
the Nagorno-Karabakh people’s right to self-determination, Oskanian
said.
The only reason why Nagorno-Karabakh is not involved in the
negotiating process between Baku and Yerevan is Azerbaijan’s refusal
to maintain dialogue with Nagorno-Karabakh, the minister said.
Nagorno-Karabakh is formally a province of Azerbaijan populated
mostly by ethnic Armenians, control over which Baku lost in a bloody
conflict with Yerevan in the 1990s.

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS General
Georgian authorities slam protest against Russian base’s withdrawal
TBILISI April 28
The people who joined this week’s picket protesting the withdrawal of
military hardware from Russia’s military base in Akhalkalaki are
representatives of “destructive forces”, the Georgian Foreign
Ministry said in a commentary on Friday.
“There are destructive forces in the region of Javakhetia that are
not interested in the area’s revival and are doing everything
possible to destabilize it,” the commentary said.
The authorities are building new roads and infrastructure in the
region, it reads. “This does not meet the interests of the forces
that staged a rally outside the Russian military base in
Akhalkalaki,” it reads.
“The situation in the country is under control. The Russian bases
will be withdrawn from Georgia as agreed,” the commentary reads.
Several dozen residents of the Akhalkalaki district blocked a local
motorway on Wednesday, preventing Russian trucks from leaving for
Armenia.
Akhalkalaki residents fear they will lose their jobs, because most of
them work at the base, Georgian Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burjanadze
said.

Interfax News Agency
Russia & CIS General
Policemen killed in Moscow on duty to receive awards
MOSCOW April 28
Awards will be presented posthumously to the police officers who died
in Moscow on Friday while protecting an Armenian family.
“Senior officials of the Moscow central interior affairs department
said that the police officers who died heroically protecting an
Armenian family would receive awards,” Viktor Tsoi, Moscow mayor’s
spokesman, told Interfax.
“A woman who lives on Kirovogradskaya Street, 17/1 called the police
at 7:08 a.m. and said that she could hear somebody crying for help in
a neighboring apartment. Twenty-eight-year-old Senior Lieutenant
Andrei Ashurkov and 39-year-old police officer Sergei Rebrikov
arrived at the scene,” Tsoi said.
The burglars who were robbing the Armenian family’s apartment on the
ground floor saw a police car pulling up outside the building and
decided to stage an ambush, the press secretary said.
“The police officers were shot point blank by criminals wearing
masks, who fled immediately after the crime,” Tsoi said.
“None of the family members was injured,” he said.

National Public Radio (NPR)
SHOW: All Things Considered 9:00 PM EST
April 28, 2006 Friday
Georgia May Face Breakaway by Armenians
ANCHORS: MELISSA BLOCK
REPORTERS: IVAN WATSON
MELISSA BLOCK, host:
Relations between Russia and the small former Soviet Republic of
Georgia have been getting steadily worse. A revolution swept a
pro-Western government to power in Georgia two years ago. Recently,
Moscow agreed to withdraw a military base from a community in
southern Georgia. The U.S. has stepped in with aid money to prevent
ethnic passions from flaring in the area. NPR’s Ivan Watson traveled
to the mountains of southern Georgia and filed this report.
IVAN WATSON reporting:
When the snow melts in Alkhankalaki, it turns the road running
through the town’s main market into one long, muddy puddle. Russian
soldiers in green uniforms wander through the market alongside locals
who almost all speak Armenian. The street signs are written in
Armenian, too, along with Russian and Georgian, and Armenian dance
tunes blare from bootleg music shops.
(Soundbite of music)
WATSON: For a moment, it’s hard to tell what country you’re in.
That’s because most of the residents are ethnic Armenians who can’t
even speak the Republic’s official language, Georgian. Some of them,
like this schoolteacher named Ofelia Ambartonmien(ph), say they’re
suffering from an identity crisis.
Ms. OFELIA AMBARTONMIEN (Resident, Georgia): (Foreign language
spoken)
WATSON: Who are we, she asks. We were educated in Russian schools. We
are also ethnic Armenians. But we live in Georgia. It’s very
difficult, she adds, to understand what our identity is. To
complicate matters, the locals here often appear to have stronger
ties to Russia than to the Georgian government in Tbilisi. That’s
partly because the Russian military base on the edge of town is the
single largest employer in an otherwise impoverished region. And now
it’s due to be closed. Nearly everyone you talk to in Alkhankalaki
opposes that decision.
(Soundbite of men speaking foreign language)
WATSON: There’s no other work here aside from the Russian base,
complain these young, unemployed Armenian men, who spend their days
hanging out in a local gambling hall.
Mr. ARMEN POGASIEN(ph) (Resident, Georgia): (Foreign language spoken)
WATSON: The Russian soldiers are like peacekeepers. They protect us,
says 29- year-old Armen Pogasien. We don’t want a conflict with the
Georgians, he adds. Some here complain that the Georgian government
in Tbilisi discriminates against the Armenians here. Nonsense, says
Alexander Rundeli(ph), a Georgian political scientist.
Mr. ALEXANDER RUNDELI (Georgian political scientist): Armenian
minority is brainwashed quite seriously by, you know, Russians
standing there, you know, staying there as military base.
WATSON: But high unemployment and the presence of a disaffected
ethnic minority are dangerous ingredients in the Caucasus, which has
already had its share of separatist ethnic conflicts. Artur Shambert
Sumyan(ph) is an ethnic Armenian and a former adviser to the Georgian
president. He says dark forces are at work, promoting a separatist
movement among the Armenians here.
Mr. ARTUR SHAMBERT SUMYAN (Former advisor to president of Georgia):
(Through Translator) We need to be very careful right now. The
Russians will leave in 2008. Neighboring countries are trying to
create problems between Armenians and Georgians, and we have to make
sure that doesn’t happen.
WATSON: Tbilisi is already struggling with two separatist regions
which broke away from Georgia in the ’90s and are, to this day,
supported by Russia. The U.S. is keen to help the Georgian government
avoid making the same mistake with its ethnic Armenian minority. Matt
Bryza of the U.S. State Department says the U.S. is giving Tbilisi
aid money and advice to help boost the local economy after the
Russian military leaves.
Mr. MATTHEW J. BRYZA (Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for
European and Eurasian Affairs): Well, yeah, we’re watching it, we’re
concerned, but we’re also actively involved in trying to improve the
situation.
WATSON: U.S. aid money will help build a new highway through
Alkhankalaki, but the ethnic tensions have not gone away. Last month,
Georgian TV reported that the murder of an ethnic Armenian in another
town triggered a riot here, as several hundred Armenians stormed a
university and a courthouse. Artur Shamberg Sumyan, the former
adviser to the Georgian president, is calling for calm.
Mr. SUMYAN: (Foreign language spoken)
WATSON: He says the world’s oldest Christians are Georgians and
Armenians. If a fight breaks out between these two ancient peoples,
he adds, it will mean the death of Christianity in the Caucasus.
Ivan Watson, NPR News.

MILITARY BASE IN ARMENIA ALSO SEUCRES DEFENCE FROM UNAUTHORISED
SHOOTING OF IRANIAN ROCKETS FOR RUSSIA
Yerevan, April 29. ArmInfo. The Iranian nuclear program threatens
national security of Russia. Colonel Anatoliy Tsyganok, head of RF
Forecasting Center at the Institute of Political and Military
Analysis, said this at “Caucasus 2005” international conference in
Yerevan, today.
He emphasized that the destruction fire of the Iranian and Pakistani
rockets didn’t reach the South Federal region of Russia and Ural. He
believes that Russia should strengthens the air defense in South,
taking into account the “probable unauthorized shooting of the Iranian
rockets.” In this context, he emphasized the importance of the Russian
military base in Armenia, which is aimed to control mainly the
Armenian-Turkish border. “The Institute of the Political and Military
Analysis recommended RF Foreign Ministry to support economic sanctions
against Iran, we should express our solidarity with the international
community in aversion of spreading nuclear weapons,” Tsyganok said. He
added that Russia should change the foreign political vector in the
region of the Near East, making development of relations with Israel a
priority issue.
Tsyganok said in the interview to ArmInfo that the economic sanctions
against Iran envisage embargo on several goods, including high
technologies and high tech goods, as well as stopping Tehran-Paris and
Tehran-London flights. He added that after adoption of the sanctions
Iran may develop “Peaceful Atom” project independently. Besides, Iran
may join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Russia dominates freestyle events at European Wrestling Championships

AP Worldstream; Apr 29, 2006
Russia’s Olympic champions dominated the men’s freestyle events at the
European Wrestling Championships on Saturday, winning gold in all three divisions.
Two-time Olympic champion Bouvaisa Saytiev extended his long history of top
finishes with a 5-0 win over Rouslan Kokaev of Armenia in the 74-kilogram
class.
Athens Games gold medalist Khadjimurad Gatsalov needed just 52 seconds to
floor Shamil Gitinov of Armenia in the 96-kilogram category.
Earlier, Mavlet Batirov, competing in his first event since winning gold in
Athens two years ago, rallied from a period down to defeat Tevfik Odabasi of
Turkey in the 60-kilogram division for his second European title.
“I had ‘died’ but I waited for the second wind. When it happened I had a
chance to crash my opponent,” said Saytiev, who was exhausted after a tough
quarterfinal against Emzarios Bentinidis of Greece.
Saytiev has won every major international event he has entered since 1995,
winning six world and as many European titles. His only loss came in 2000,
when he was beaten by America’s Brandon Slay in Sydney in one of the biggest
upsets in Olympic wrestling history.
Gatsalov was two points behind in the first period before he proved his
class.
“To save my reputation, I had to become very active and try to resolve all
the questions in advance,” Gatsalov said.
The championships wraps up on Sunday with four more freestyle events.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

From: [email protected]
Subject: Demonstration of Russian Chauvinism and Fascism
DEMONSTRATION OF RUSSIAN CHAUVINISM AND FASCISM

Aravot.am
28 April 06
The head of `Center of Right and Freedom’ organization Vardan Haroutiunian
marks in this way the attack on the Armenians in Moscow.

After murder of the Armenian young man in Tsalka our nationalists suggested
to send forces to Georgia. But how do you explain that such extreme calls
aren’t summoned when 6 Armenians have been attacked in Moscow during this year?
The last ones were the murder of Vahan Abrahamiants and beating of the
producer Michael Dovlatian.
It is very sorrowful when people are killed. Following the replies of murder
and beating in Moscow we can come to a conclusion that it is very essential
for us who and where has killed an Armenian. We are indignant, curse, make
summons of war and keeping our dignity and honor only in the case when the
Armenian is beaten, offended or killed by a Georgian, Turkish or Azerbaijani. But
if it has happened in our everlasting friend Russia the reaction is other.
Even public attempts are made to observe the cases of murder and violence of
Armenians in the context of their negative, rude and wild behavior in Russia.
It becomes clear that those affirmations that we are in war with our
neighbors except the one are right. Our malevolence and unpleasantness towards them
is so great that we consider each encroachment upon us as a hostile action
towards Armenia and Armenian people. We have created for us the character of
friend Russia that treat us as it likes and it isn’t known what profits we have
from its friendship. And today, against the background of violence and murder
in Russia we create a figure of everlasting enemy from our neighbors to pass
it to our children as a complex.
Do you exclude that these attacks are usual hooliganism?
It is excluded, that these incidents are hooliganism. These are crimes made
on national ground. These attacks are made not only on the Armenians but on
other nations, too. Russia follows the path of fascism. And the murder of the
Armenian boy, Tajik girl, Negroes should be observed in this context. The
legal proceedings on the case of Tajik girl murder and light punishments simply
prove that Russia turns into fascist country. And our malevolence and
hostility in case of Georgia is so subjective and emotional is so unfair and
groundless that can’t bear any critic. We simply don’t want to see any positive
thing in our neighbors, understand their problems. We try to interpret any
fight, any incidents with the participations of drunken Armenians as our `national
interests’ according to which the policy of Georgian authorities is
anti-Armenian. We try to use Javakq as a club against Georgia and cry about their
anti-Armenian policy. And there is no conversation about relations with
Azerbaijan in the remote future. But is there any difference between Russian
chauvinist who kill an Armenian boy in the Metro and the Azerbaijani officer who kill
the Armenian officer by ax? And compare what different replies we get about
both cases.
Our National Security Service replied to our anti0Georgian declarations and
their authors were warned that it isn’t permitted to feel animosity. What
should our state do in case of Russian incidents?
The state is obliged to defend its citizens and compatriots. Not only the
union of the Armenians of Russia but the RA Embassy to RF should make an
official declaration, and take some steps. But I don’t call to fall into agiotage
and take such steps as it is done in case of Georgia. And now, Anti-Russian. I
try to condemn any hysteria but I don’t understand why our country and
community use double standards. Whether the geographic place of murder is
important in this case.
Are the Russian incidents Anti-Armenian or attitudes towards `Caucasian
nations»?
Tatars or Tajiks aren’t Caucasian nations but encroachments are also used
upon them. These are demonstrations of Russian chauvinism and fascism, which
are addressed not only to the Caucasians but also to any nation.
Anna Israelian

Azad-Hye, Dubai, 30 April 2006: Kuwait is one of the most relaxed Arab
countries about press freedom. Journalists exercise self censorship and
avoid tackling officially unacceptable policies.
Nevertheless, Kuwait has a lively media. This is why when the Armenian
Prelacy headed by Archbishop Gorun Babian approached Kuwaiti media through
press conference on the 24th April 2006, the immediate result was the
publication on the next day of series of articles and reports on the
Armenian Genocide, in a way that formed a sort of surprise to the ordinary
reader.
Journalist Leila Al Sarraf signed the following article in “Al Qabas” daily
(25th April 2006), translated into English:
Prayer in the Armenian Orthodox Prelacy Gorun Babian: “Turkey’s blockade of
Armenia is against humanity”
Archbishop Dr. Gorun Babian, Head of the Armenian Church in Kuwait, said
that the whole world should recognize the Armenian Genocide which was
committed by the Turks 91 years ago. He described the Genocide as an act
against the whole humanity, not only against the Armenians. He made his
remarks during a press conference that took place in the Armenian Prelacy on
the occasion of the annual commemoration of the Armenian Genocide,
underlining that the Armenians demand from the world and the Turkish
government acknowledgement and condemnation of the Genocide.
Archbishop Babian added: “The Turkish government is proud of its war
criminals. It shamelessly erects monuments of those criminals in various
Turkish cities. Is it fair to reward the criminals and to deprive the
oppressed? The Christian faith urges us to forgive, but the wrong doer
should first confess his mistakes. The Turkish government has not
acknowledged the enormity of the mistake it has done by committing the
Genocide”.

Archbishop Gorun Babian demanded the recognition of the Genocide and the
right for compensation. He also called to establish good relations with the
Turkish government and the lifting of the Turkish blockade against Armenia,
which is in fact a criminal offence against humanity. On the other hand, the
Head of the Armenian Youth Organisation said that “In school we teach our
children how to demand the Armenian rights and we do not instruct any kind
of hatred against the Turkish people. 91 years have passed without the
Turkish government recognizing the Genocide, although more than 200
political, legal, governmental entities have recognized it”, he concluded.
At the end of the press conference Archbishop Gorun prayed, with the members
of the church, for the souls of the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide.

END OF THE ARTICLE
Besides “Al Qabas”, other Kuwaiti dailies covered the press conference.
Ousama Abu Al Khair from “Al Raielam” referred to the declaration of the
Ruler of Mecca in 1917 (Sherif Mecca Al Housein Bin Al Ali), in which he
officially asked all the Arab tribes and his allies to protect the refugee
Armenians and to grant them the much required peace and support. A copy of
this declaration appears in many sources.
Journalist Abu Al Khair mentions that the Armenians demand from the Turkish
government recognition of the Genocide and compensations, the way Germans
did regarding the Jewish Holocaust caused by the Nazis. Armenians also
demand the opening of the borders and the normalization of the relations
between Armenian and Turkey and the lifting of the inhumane blockade.
Journalist Boushra Mohammed of “Al Anbaa” daily refers to the gratitude of
the Armenians towards the Kuwaiti government for the policy of tolerance and
the endorsement of peaceful co-existence amongst the nations. The religious
and cultural tolerance in Kuwait allows the Armenians to lead flourishing
community life.
Journalist Rima Al Baghdadi of “Al Seyassah” daily quoted Archbishop Babian
saying that all Armenians who have survived the Genocide are living proofs
that the Genocide really took place and had many tragic faces. Every
Armenian family has a story related to the Genocide. Every one has lost
beloved ones. More than half of the Armenian population was destroyed.
Hitler made a statement before invading Poland in 1939 in which he said:
“who remembers today the destruction of the Armenians?”
“Arab Times” English language daily’s Francis A. Clifford Cardozo posted the
following report on 25 April 2006
Armenians celebrate 91st anniversary;
“Genocide committed by Turkey a crime against humanity”
KUWAIT CITY: The genocide committed by Turkey against Armenians is a crime
against humanity, says Archbishop Goriun Babian, the Armenian Prelacy of
Kuwait and Arabian Gulf countries. Armenians all over the world commemorate
genocide victims on April 24 and this year celebrate the 91st anniversary.
Addressing a press conference at the Armenian Church on Sunday, Archbishop
Babian added that “what angers the Armenians most is the fact that Turkey
has not acknowledged the crimes committed against the Armenians.
This is the main reason why we have not been able to reach a peaceful
agreement with Turkey and as result the Armenians are continuing to
struggle.” As part of the celebrations, the Armenian Youth Federation on
Sunday organized a cultural programme at the church followed by a lecture
focusing on the genocide. A high mass will be held at 11.30 am on Monday
preceded by special prayer service for the martyrs.
Archbishop Babian went on to add that Armenians are grateful to Arabs
because they took them under their wings and extended them their hospitality
when they were being targeted by the Turks, adding a decree was issued by
the Sharif of Makkah in order to safeguard the rights of Armenians. “I am a
living testimony of the Armeninian genocide. Both my parents survived the
genocide and moved to Lebanon at the age of 5. I lost many members of my
family during the genocide,” added the Archbishop.
Goriun said Turkey sentenced to death in absentia three of its top leaders
who were involved in the genocide and that other perpetrators got 15 years
in jail.
Links:
Al Qabas:
ebsite/NewspaperPublic/ArticlePage
.aspx?ArticleID =160632
Website/NewspaperBackOffice/Issues/
25-4-2006/13-l ocal.pdf
-25-april-2006.pdf
Al Raielam:
< .htm>
local.htm
Al Seyassah:
< ril/25/09.pdf>
ssah/PDF/06/April/25/09.pdf
< -april-2006.pdf>
g1/alseyassah-25-april-2006.pdf

Arab Times:
< t/view.asp?msgID=7704> ne.com/arabtimes/kuwait/view.asp?msgID=7704
< -april-2006.pdf>
g1/arab-times-25-april-2006.pdf

Photos:
1- Press conference in the Prelacy of Kuwait on 24th April 2006
2- Archbishop Gorun Babian

URL and photos: 34agf67