ARMENIAN FARMERS STARTED KILLING CHICKEN
YEREVAN, MARCH 7. ARMINFO. According to the information received,
some Armenian farmers started killing their chicken so as to prevent
spreading of bird flu. Levon Rukhkian, Deputy Minister for Agriculture,
in an interview to ARMINFO correspondent said that no such order was
given to the farmers by the Ministry. He stated that the panic among
the country peasants is senseless. The telephone hot lines receives
about 8 reports about dead bird daily. The experts of the Ministry
made clear that the birds die from worm diseases.
Experts advice the farmers to keep the domestic birds in isolated
hen-coops, so as to prevent the m from contacting from wild birds.
This becomes more actual as from February the spring migration of
wild birds has started.

ARMAVIA HAS PURCHASED AN A-319 AIRBUS
YEREVAN, MARCH 7. ARMINFO. The Armavia company has purchased an
A-319 airbus that will arrive Yerevan in March 2006, reports the
press center of the company.
According to information received, the airplane is produced in 2004
and has advantages of high-level technical equipment and low fuel
consumption. The 70% of Armavia’s airplanes are produced by the Airbus
European company. The A-319 is not the last plane that will join the
air fleet of Armavia.

US AMBASSADOR DENIES RUMOURS ABOUT HIS RESIGNATION
YEREVAN, MARCH 7.ARMINFO. John Evans, US Ambassador to RA, denies
rumours about his resignation.
“I serve to the President of my country.At present, I haven’t submitted
any documents for my resignation.I still carry out my mission in
Armenia,” Evans said. Matthew Byrza, Assistant of US Deputy State
Secretary, supported Evans, stating that he will not complete his
mission in Armenia soon. He called Evans a brilliant diplomate who
formed a prefect team.

USA SATISFIED WITH PROGRESS IN DEFENSE SPHERE
YEREVAN, MARCH 7. ARMINFO. The United States are satisfied with the
achieved progress in cooperation in the military sphere, stated
Matthew Bryza, assistant of the US Deputy-Secretary of State for
Europe and Eurasia.
According to the US official, the authorities of the USA is also glad
about Armenia’s close partnership with NATO and Armenia’s participation
in the peacemaking missions of the USA.
Mr. Bryza emphasized democratization of the Armenian society for the
realization of Millennium Challenge program.
Success in development of democracy requires a political will, public
aspiration and construction of democratic culture. The culture of
democracy depends on votes during elections, it requires participation
in elections and constructive and active acts by all the political
parties in the country, especially from the opposition.
In future, the US Government will contribute to construction of
democracy and development of the public in accordance with the schedule
not from above but from below.

TURKEY FOLLOWS KARABAKH SETTLEMENT WITH ATTENTION
PanARMENIAN.Net
07.03.2006 22:56 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “After the Cold War and up to now the South
Caucasus is an arena of dramatic events. Ethnic collision and those
over territorial matters resulted in the death of thousands of people,
while tens of thousands left their homes,” stated Turkish FM Abdullah
Gul. In his words, unsolved “frozen conflicts” are the biggest barrier
on the way of lasting stability and regional development. Today the
South Caucasus is in focus of the international community. During
solution of regional conflicts this attention should be used,
Gul remarked. “Any manifestation of instability in the region is
a potential, which has a negative impact on Turkey’s interests,”
he added.
Key principles our position rests on over the Nagorno Karabakh
issue are well-known. The conflict in question, provoked by Armenia
violating such international legal principles as inadmissibility of
changing available borders by force, as well as respect of territorial
integrity refer not only to states of the region, but also all parties,
who value peace, stability and serenity in the South Caucasus. Turkey,
being a member of the OSCE Minsk Group from the very beginning,
follows the conflict settlement process with attention. We still have
a hope that progress is possible in the peace process within the
Prague format. Continuing dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia
at the level of presidents and FMs is important,” the Turkish FM
emphasized. “Of course, resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
will promote regional cooperation and normalization of relations
between Armenia and Turkey. As an OSCE MG member we hope for the
need of active contribution to the search for ways of settlement. We
continue viewing the OSCE Minsk process as a platform, which will
allow finding a solution to the conflict. At that we are sure that
a far-sighted and more comprehensive approach, as well as creative
innovation will be useful in overcoming differences,” Abdullah Gul
added. In his words, “during the meeting of the Armenian and Azeri
presidents in Paris February 10-11 no progress towards settlement of
the conflict was registered.” “It seems that it would be favorable to
everyone if the talks efforts to promote a settlement of the conflict
continue in 2006,” the Turkish FM summed up, reports Trend agency.

MANUK GASPARYAN’S FIRST VICTORY
A1+
04:06 pm 07 March, 2006
Leader of “People’s way” party (PEP), deputy Manuk Gasparyan considers,
that for the first time during the last 14 years he has achieved his
first real victory – the “Botanical garden” operation is over. After he
had raised the question of felling and building processes in Botanical
garden of Yerevan previous week, the construction was stopped.
Today by 15:00 all the construction technics must have been take out
of the territory. At present the garden is in following condition:
11 out of 18 planned pits for cottages have been dug, each covers
15/20 square metres. As PEP leader presented, he had found out who
7 of the 18 cottages belong to.
Yet Mr. Gasparyan refused to publish the names of the owners. “If
the construction wasn’t stopped, we would make it public”. Manuk
Gasparyan marked that the owners of the cottages are mostly average
oligarchs”. The deputy is sure that these men have already got their
punishment as for legalization of each document regarding cottages
they paid different officials up to 30 thousand USD.
After stoppage of the construction they have already lost these sums,
perhaps.
The deputy is sure that if appropriate attention was paid to the
Botanical garden during the last two years, there would be 300-400
bushes today. After consultation held with the Prime Minister it was
decided to reestablish water supply in the garden till the end of
March, and the Ministry of Agricultere was charged with realizing
planting, which will possibly be carried out in April.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

UNION OF MARASH ARMENIANS
Watertown Chapter
P.O.Box 172 Belmont Ma 02478
On Saturday Jan 14, 2006, The Union of Marash Armenians, Watertown
Chapter, celebrated Armenian Christmas and presented the Man of the
Year Award.
Organized by the Chairperson Nevart Kouyoumjian and the Master of
Ceremonies Anahis Mekenajian, the event was a testimony to the ongoing
energy, vitality and enthusiasm of the Armenians from Marash living in
the Boston area.
The enthusiastic voices of the Marashzis in the audience joined in the
singing of the traditional Marash hymn (in Armenian), the blessings
of Rev. Father Rafael Andonian and Rev. Barkev Orchanian were offered,
and the Youth Committee served the evening meal: traditional Marashzi
barley pilaf, Keshkeg Gabaklu (Squash stew), and fresh Kheyma.
Supper was followed by Ara Arakelian’s reading of “The Thoughts of King
Zaramanazan” followed by Yelena Hagopian’s piano rendition of several
Armenian pieces.
Rev. Barkev Orchanian gave the Christma message and a short
Christmas Pageant prepared by Anais Mekenajian was presented by the
grandchildren of the Marashtsis present.
Last but not least, Anais Mekenajian presented the biography (which
follows) of the `Marash Man of the Year” , Peter Bilezikian:
Today we honor Peter Bilezikian, who at 93 and a half years old, lives
a full and active life, sharing his stories and philosophy with those
around him, a philosophy based on a lifetime of courage, hard work,
dreams, and faith.
Peter (Bedros) Bilezikian, strong, vibrant and independent at 93, was
born an American citizen in Marash, Western Armenia, Ottoman Empire, on
August 7, 1912, the youngest child of Movses Bilezikian and Yepros
Kurtguzian Bilezikian.
In 1914, Peter’s father Movses returned to the United States with
plans to have his family join him, but World War One broke out making
communication between Movses and his family literally impossible;
Yepros was left alone to support and care for their four children and
her younger sister Mary.
The war years were difficult. Rather than attend school, Peter would
run to the mountains where he and his Armenian friends carried on their
own slingshot war against the Turkish boys – he still has a scar where
a stone from the Turkish boys hit his forehead.
Peter can never forget walking over dead people in the streets of
Marash where he used to play, seeing children with stomachs bloated
from hunger, witnessing the carts clearing the streets of dead bodies.
He often relates his close call with death when a bullet singed his
cowlick. He remembers fleeing with his family from one house to another
to another on a moment’s notice in an effort to avoid being sent to Der
Zor (the death camps) . . . Young Peter, however, saw all this as
simply a part of life . . . and continued fearless through the streets
of Marash.
Unable to return to his family in Turkey because of the war, and not
knowing whether or not they were still living, Movses, in the U.S. in
1921, finally learned that his wife and children were indeed alive and
well. With the help of Brewer Eddy, Executive Secretary of the Board of
Foreign Missions, Movses sent money to his family in Marash for their
safe passage to the United States. In 1922, Yepros, all alone with only
her children, left Marash on foot to walk to Aleppo, with the two
younger children (Peter and Rosie) in saddlebags on the sides of a
burro.
The family arrived in New York City where Peter’s father Movses, and
Uncle Manoog Bilezikjian (who lived in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, NY)
met them at the boat. Movses and his family departed on a train for
Boston the very next day. Peter’s family first lived in Newtonville
but soon moved to the more affordable `four castles’ on Lincoln Street
in Brighton (a third floor cold water flat with shared bathroom).
From the age of ten, Peter worked every day after school and well into
the night, contributing all of his earnings to the family. In 1928, the
family moved to Arsenal Street in Watertown. When Peter graduated from
Watertown High School (the first in his family to graduate from
secondary school), he was given the opportunity to study for four years
at M.I.T., all expenses paid, but had to decline in order to go to work
and help support his family during the Great Depression. (He had always
wanted to become a teacher, and though he never attained this goal, he
made sure that his three children did, despite the fact that many old
timers would advise him not to waste money educating daughters!)
In 1933, Peter and his brother Paul established Newtonville Electrical
Company, Inc. (sales, service and electrical contracting throughout all
of New England). The two brothers were Master Electricians, and
Peter’s specialty was heating, refrigeration, and air conditioning.
Their business flourished in Newtonville, Massachusetts, for 50 years.
[Peter rarely takes credit for being the instrumental and driving force
in the many successful ventures and accomplishments of his life.]
Peter and his family purchased and moved to his current home in
Newtonville, Massachusetts, in 1935. In 1940, Peter married Lucille Mae
(Jennie) Vartanian, the love of his life. They had three children,
Bethel Charkoudian, Martha McCool, and James Bilezikian. Peter has 11
grandchildren, and 3 great grandchildren.
Peter’s favorite pastimes are reading and discussing philosophy,
history, religion, and the comics! He’s a master at crossword puzzles
and tavlu (backgammon); he used to build furniture, and now loves to
restore antique furniture; in fact, while in high school, he was
recognized by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for building an exact
replica of an ornate 18th Century coach for which he won first prize in
a statewide competition.
His lifelong passion for gardening resulted in award-winning tomatoes
which he grew from seed . . . the biggest tomatoes ever to be eaten
this side of Marash!
Peter has been a long-time staunch supporter of the Union of Marash
Armenians in the Boston area. Although Peter never held any office
within the Union, he personally helped many Marashti needy families, he
sponsored Marashtsi students abroad for years to help them get their
education and he did all this without fanfare. Anytime a compatriot
needed his services but could not pay him, he did the work cheerfully
without pay.
He is proud to be a Marashtzi, as are his children and grandchildren!
Congratulations, Peter, on being selected the Marashtzi of the year.
Peter was then awarded a plaque commemorating this honor.
In her closing remarks, Anais Mekenajian thanked the St. Stephen’s
Sunday School PTO for lending the costumes for the pageant., thanked
the capacity audience of Marashzis who every year encourage the
functions with their moral and financial support, and the members who
prepared the traditional Marash dinner for this event.
The proceeds from this event were distributed to the two Armenian day
schools in the Boston area — St Stephen Armenian Elementary School and
the Armenian Sisters Academy, money to be used for Marashti students
scholarship. Each school received 500 dollars.

EUROPA (press release), Belgium
March 7 2006
Benita Ferrero-Waldner
European Commissioner for External Relations and European
Neighbourhood Policy
European Neighbourhood Policy
Swedish Institute for International Affairs and the European
Commission Representation in Sweden
Stockholm, 7 March 2006

Reference: SPEECH/06/149 Date: 07/03/2006

SPEECH/06/149
Swedish Institute for International Affairs and the European
Commission Representation in Sweden
Stockholm, 7 March 2006
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
First let me thank Mr Anders Hellner and the Swedish Institute of
International Affairs for co-hosting this seminar with the Commission
in Sweden.
I am very happy to be here today in this beautiful city, on my first
visit to Sweden as Commissioner for External Relations.
Sweden has always played an important role in promoting international
peace, understanding and solidarity. It has a distinguished record of
statesmen and women of which it is rightly proud, from Raoul
Wallenberg to Dag Hammarskjold, from Olof Palme to Anna Lindh. With
such an international pedigree Sweden clearly makes an enormous
contribution to the EU’s international standing.
Giving the EU a stronger voice in the world is one of the four
priorities of the Barroso Commission, together with prosperity,
solidarity and security. Our most urgent task is to restore dynamic
and sustainable growth in Europe and provide more and better jobs to
Europe’s citizens. All of which requires a strong EU, able to promote
and protect its interests on the international stage.
We are also facing another major challenge – the gap between the EU’s
achievements and the way its citizens perceive it. Across Europe
people are asking what the EU is for, what it is doing to respond to
their concerns and how it will help meet 21st century challenges.
The EU has to deliver results in areas its citizens deem important –
jobs, security, energy and migration.
The stronger we are, the more we can deliver. And by achieving
concrete results we will re-establish confidence in the EU and
demonstrate to our citizens the benefits of European Union in the
21st century.
***
Which brings me to the topic of today’s seminar, the European
Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). Many of you here will remember the
genesis of ENP. It’s a policy which has always had strong support
from the Swedish government. Anna Lindh and Leif Pagrotsky were among
its chief proponents.
The EU’s aim is to expand the zone of prosperity, stability and
security beyond our borders. The question is how to use our soft
power to leverage the kinds of reforms that would make that possible.
The answer, in the decade following the fall of the Berlin wall, was
enlargement. This has been a tremendously successful policy, with a
momentous impact on the European continent. EU enlargement has made
an extraordinary contribution to peace and prosperity, thanks to our
strategic use of the incentives on offer. And I know Sweden has been
a strong supporter of this policy.
Nor is it over – we still have work to do to consolidate 2004’s
enlargement and there are new enlargement commitments on which we
must deliver.
Yet it is clear that the EU cannot enlarge ad infinitum.
So how else can we pursue our geo-strategic interest in expanding the
zone of stability, security and prosperity beyond our borders? How
best can we support our neighbours’ political and economic
transitions, and so tackle our own citizens’ concerns? ENP provides
the answer.
At its heart is the question of borders – not as a way of defining
ourselves, but because they are key to many of our citizens’ urgent
concerns – security, migration and economic growth. As Sweden knows
full well, borders cannot be solely about barriers and obstacles.
They must work flexibly as a facilitator of economic, social and
cultural exchanges.
That, in its essence, is what the European Neighbourhood Policy is
about. It is about responding to our citizens’ concerns for
prosperity, security and stability, not with an abstract concept but
with concrete, measurable results. And it is about helping our
neighbours towards their own prosperity, security and stability, not
by imposing reforms, but by supporting and encouraging reformers.
We offer our eastern and southern neighbours many of the benefits
previously associated only with membership, such as a stake in our
internal market, involvement in EU programmes, and cooperation in
transport and energy networks.
It is designed to offer a privileged form of partnership now,
irrespective of the exact nature of the future relationship with the
EU.
ENP is based on the same kind of positive conditionality underpinning
the enlargement process. We agree Action Plans with our partners
which set out the path to a closer relationship. Differentiation is
key – each country’s Action Plan responds to its particular needs and
capacities. In addition, progress is rewarded with greater incentives
and benefits. Only as our partners fulfil their commitments to
strengthen the rule of law, democracy and respect for human rights;
promote market-oriented economic reforms; and cooperate on key
foreign policy objectives such as counter-terrorism and
non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, will we offer an
even deeper relationship.
Knowing the important role Sweden has played in the Northern
Dimension, I should point out that ENP is coherent with and
complementary to other processes in which we participate with our
partners. The principle of differentiation applies to our relations
with all our partners. With each one we promote our mutual goals in
ways specific to that country.
Questions have been raised as to whether the incentives on offer are
sufficient to encourage reform, and whether this is not simply a
repackaging of old policies in new clothes. My response is two-fold.
First, the impetus for meaningful reform must always come from
within. If that desire is not there, no amount of external assistance
or pressure will build sustainable reform. That is why the EU
believes in encouraging not imposing reform. Second, the EU’s offer
through ENP is not a second-best option to enlargement, but rather a
highly-desirable step-change in our relations offering substantive
benefits to all involved.
ENP has enabled us to tackle some of our citizens’ most pressing
concerns, like energy supplies, migration, and security.
1) Energy
Energy has been an important component of ENP since its inception.
But the events at the beginning of the year between Russia, Moldova
and Ukraine were a wake-up call, reminding us that energy security
needs to be even higher on our political agenda.
We need to continue to pursue close energy cooperation with our
partners in Eastern Europe, South Caucasus, and the Mediterranean. In
all my visits to neighbourhood countries, including Ukraine last week
and the South Caucasus last month, energy features heavily.
ENP promotes integration with Europe’s energy market and helps to
create the regulatory environment in which private sector investment
in infrastructure can take place. It also helps the countries
concerned come in line with European standards and norms.
In 2006 we will be boosting our energy cooperation as part of a
broader EU effort on energy supply – which will be outlined in the
Commission’s Green Paper tomorrow.
2) Migration
Migration is a highly sensitive issue for EU public opinion. In
uncertain times, it is understandable that our citizens are worried
about employment and increased competition for jobs.
Europe needs migration. Our populations are getting smaller and
growing older.
Through ENP we are trying to manage migration better: welcoming those
migrants we need for our economic and social well-being, while
clamping down on illegal immigration.
Throughout our neighbourhood we support projects to strengthen
institutional capacities; improve border controls; upgrade reception
facilities for asylum applicants and refugees; and fight illegal
immigration and people trafficking. We are also helping to build
institutions that enforce the rule of law and promote respect for
human rights.
3) Security
We are also using the ENP Action Plans to help increase security. We
have fostered practical cooperation between Israel and the
Palestinian Authority on issues such as trade, energy and transport.
Increasing cooperation and economic growth are absolutely vital for a
sustainable solution to the Middle East conflict. We will continue
these actions with the new Palestinian government, providing it seeks
peace by peaceful means, recognises the state of Israel and respects
its international commitments.
The border assistance mission to Moldova and Ukraine is designed to
contribute to resolving the long-running sore of the Transnistria
conflict. And the Action Plans we are currently discussing with
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia will address issues relating to
Nagorno-Karabakh and Georgia’s internal conflicts.
4) Stability
An important part of ENP is the commitment partner governments make
to political reform. We are offering extra financial assistance to
those countries making real progress in implementing political
reforms and promoting human rights.
ENP also promotes economic and social reform, both for reasons of
solidarity, but also because we want stability in our neighbourhood
and thus added security for ourselves. So we are tackling poverty
through employment creation schemes; funding health and education
projects; and promoting economic development by improving the trade
and investment environment and stimulating small businesses and
entrepreneurs.
Through the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation, we are working
to build bridged between different peoples and cultures. As recent
events have shown, this must remain an important focus of our
attention. Here we can build on the great experience and credibility
of our member states, particularly Sweden.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We hope to expand full participation in ENP to Belarus, Libya and
Syria. But the political conditions are not yet ripe. Will the
elections in Belarus in less than two weeks pave the way for
increased democracy and so participation in ENP? Unfortunately, the
signs are not good. Until that day we have to look for alternative
ways of fostering the conditions for democracy. Over the last year we
have found innovative ways to channel assistance, such as the daily
broadcasts produced by Deutsche Welle, and our support for the
European Humanities University in Vilnius. Last week our new 2
million project for independent television and radio broadcasting
began. We will continue our commitment to the Belarusian people,
whatever the results of the elections, for democratic change is a
long term project which requires sustained commitment from us all.
We hope that after its elections at the end of this month Ukraine
will be in a position to take its cooperation with the EU still
further. We would like to do more, like moving towards a free trade
area as soon as Ukraine joins the WTO and finalising visa
facilitation and readmission.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am grateful for Sweden’s continued support for the implementation
of the European Neighbourhood Policy and I look forward to discussing
with Minister Freivalds and the Riksdag later today how we can go
further together.
Our task is to build on ENP’s early achievements and to make it a
truly beneficial policy for both our neighbours and ourselves. As we
deliver results we are not only benefiting our neighbours, but also
demonstrating to our citizens that the European Union does bring them
an added value.
On the eve of international women’s day, let me leave you with the
words of one of Sweden’s most outstanding women, Anna Lindh, `For
democracy to work in our society and passivity to disappear,’ she
said, `people must first come together and learn to work together for
common goals.’ We owe it to her memory, and the memory of Olof Palme,
the 20th anniversary of whose death was last week, not only to work
together, but to achieve those common goals.
Thank you.

A1+
AND PERSECUTIONS LATER
07:10 pm 07 March, 2006
«Such a behavior towards «Heritage» party and its leader is one of the links
of the chain pretensions realized by administration», – that’s how
charàcterizes the press service of the party the incident which happened
several days ago.
Let’s remind that on March 4, Saturday, at about 14:00 an alarm call was got
by an unknown citizen, that «K.G.B ( State Security Committee ) officials
were breaking» the door of the «Heritage» party central office. The
representatives of the party arrived on the scene and witnesses the last
touches of replacing the broken lock of the door.
According to the message, the incident is connected with

PBS’ perverse genocide debate
Big Bird stabs Armenians in the back
Los Angeles Times
March 9, 2006
Op-Ed
By Aris Janigian
I am a devoted viewer of PBS. From “Masterpiece Theater” to “Sesame
Street,” I have always considered it a bastion of creative and
intelligent TV. But two weeks ago, PBS stabbed me and every other
Armenian American in the back when it announced that its upcoming
documentary, “The Armenian Genocide,” will be followed on some stations
by a panel discussion featuring two so-called scholars who claim that
the genocide is a myth. Worse, according to genocide historian Peter
Balakian, PBS threatened to pull the documentary if he and another
genocide scholar declined to participate “on the other side” in the
panel discussion, which was taped in January. Although the documentary
is not slated to run until April, programmers across the country are now
deciding whether to air it at all, air it alone or air it with the taped
debate.
“We believe [the genocide] is settled history,” said Jacoba Atlas,
senior vice president of programming at PBS, but “it seemed like a good
idea to have a panel and let people have their say.”
This is perverse. Either there was a genocide or there wasn’t. Would
anyone tolerate David Irving, the notorious Holocaust revisionist,
hashing it out on a panel with Elie Wiesel after a documentary on the
Nazi concentration camps? Should we give janjaweed reps airtime the next
time we run a documentary on their genocide in Darfur?
Why has PBS resorted to double-speak in regard to the Armenian genocide?
The answer is simple: PBS is capitulating to politics. For years the
Turks, America’s so-called allies, have issued threats against any
organization or country that challenges their quack reading of history.
When the French recognized the Armenian genocide, the Turks recalled
their ambassador to France, boycotted French products and canceled
military contracts. They have threatened to withdraw strategic support
from our country if we should dare make the same mistake.
Article 301 of the Turkish penal code makes it a crime to “denigrate”
Turkey by, for instance, mentioning the Armenian genocide in public. In
March, the famous Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk did just that and faced
charges. International outcry and a technicality got his case dismissed,
but others are still in peril.
One of PBS’ genocide deniers, University of Louisville history professor
Justin McCarthy, was invited by the Turkish Grand Assembly – reeling
from European Union pressure to come clean about its genocidal past –
for a pep talk in March. “I know that the Turks will resist demands to
confess to a crime they did not commit,” McCarthy intoned, “no matter
the price of honesty. I have faith in the integrity of the Turks.” These
rousing words brought the lawmakers, many of whom had sanctioned Article
301, to their feet. Does PBS really want to give such a belligerent
falsifier airtime?
“It seemed like a good idea,” Atlas said.
Raphael Lemkin wouldn’t agree. He coined the word “genocide” in 1944,
and viewed the Armenian case as a seminal example of such an atrocity.
Norman Mailer, Carol Gilligan, John Updike and Cornel West wouldn’t
think so either. They signed a petition, along with 150 other scholars
and writers, reaffirming the genocide’s historical truth. Directors of
Holocaust research centers around the world – including Wiesel and
Yehuda Bauer in 2000 – also signed a statement declaring the Armenian
genocide an incontestable historical fact. Even the Turks are on the
record as acknowledging the truth. When Turkey was defeated in World War
I, the allied powers created a tribunal that included members of the new
Turkish government. The butchers behind the genocide had fled by then,
but they were found guilty and sentenced to death in absentia.
Certainly the few remaining genocide survivors, now in their 90s,
wouldn’t think it “a good idea” to give the deniers a forum. They were
children when hundreds of thousands of Armenians were herded like cattle
through the scorching slaughterhouse of the Anatolian desert toward one
of 25 concentration camps. They watched as their people were murdered,
raped, tortured and left to starve in those camps. Armenian homes and
shops were occupied and looted; ancient churches were turned into
mosques or barns, used for target practice by the Turkish army or burned
to the ground to eliminate any trace of Armenians in those lands.
By the time the Turks were finished, an estimated 1.5 million people had
perished – more than half the Armenian population in Turkey. Armenians
called it Medz Yeghern: “The Great Cataclysm.”
The denial of genocide, as many have rightly observed, is the
continuation of genocide. It should be clear to PBS, to Atlas and to
programmers across the nation that the American public broadcasting
system should not be complicit in a murderous lie.
ARIS JANIGIAN is the author of the novel “Bloodvine.”
commentary/la-oe-janigian9mar09,0,5500780.story?co ll=la-home-commentary