SEN. TOLMAN: NO DENYING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
By Sen. Steven Tolman/ Guest Column
Belmont Citizen-Herald, MA
April 27 2006
For Armenian-Americans, April 24 is an important day: It was on that
date in 1915 that the Ottoman Turkish Empire began its slaughter
of Armenians. Over the next several years, more than a million
Armenians were murdered in a calculated campaign to rid Turkey of
all Armenians. In other words, the so-called Young Turk government
committed genocide against the Armenian people.
Among scholars and genocide experts, there is no doubt about this
issue. The International Association of Genocide Scholars (the
definitive group of scholars on the subject), the Institute on the
Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem, and the Institute for the Study
of Genocide have repeatedly affirmed the historical facts of the
Armenian genocide, as has Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel and Pulitzer
Prize winner Samantha Power.
For those who are relatives of survivors, there can be no doubt about
this crime. Yet, sometime in the next several weeks, a federal judge
in Boston will hear arguments in a suit brought by the Association
of Turkish American Assemblies and others that seeks introduce
materials into Massachusetts classrooms denying that the Armenian
genocide occurred.
How, after all these years, can this still be open to debate?
Because the Turkish government and its American affiliate continue
to deny that the Young Turks committed this grave crime. And they
continue to seek forums to push their denialist point of view.
Now they’re bringing this campaign to Massachusetts, home to one of
the largest Armenian populations in the nation. They claim that the
Massachusetts Department of Education trampled on the First Amendment
when it decided not to teach “the other side” of the Armenian genocide,
i.e., that the slaughter was just the unfortunate byproduct of civil
war between the Turks and the Armenians.
This claim, refuted by reputable genocide scholars, is an affront to
thousands of Armenian-Americans living here in Massachusetts whose
families were victims of the Turkish government’s murderous campaign.
And it is particularly offensive for people like 99-year-old John
Kasparian of Worcester and 93-year-old Armine Dedikian of Watertown,
two survivors of the slaughter.
For anyone interested in ascertaining the truth about this genocide,
they need merely to hear stories like Mr. Kasparian’s, whose family
left its home the night before the Turkish attack that took 200 of
their fellow villagers and whose brother died of starvation while the
family fled. Or that of Mrs. Dedikian, whose father was killed just
before she was born and who was separated from her mother soon after.
(Mother and daughter were eventually re-united when 15-year-old Armine
arrived alone at Ellis Island to meet her mother, whom she had tracked
down in the U.S., using newspaper ads and family connections.)
Unfortunately, the U.S. government, afraid to offend Turkey, its
military ally, has not taken a stand on this issue. But all 12 members
of our state’s congressional delegation – Senators Kennedy and Kerry
and the 10 representatives in the House – have signed a resolution
calling on the President to recognize the atrocity.
Now we in Massachusetts find ourselves being pulled backwards into this
debilitating debate over whether a genocide, long confirmed by victims
and historians, ever existed. It is even more than ironic that this
court case was filed in a year when genocide has once again reared
its ugly head in Darfur, where thousands have died at the hands of
the Sudanese army, and in a year when the Iranian president has once
again put Holocaust denials on the front page. As unfathomable as the
crime of genocide is, it continues to occur in all its savagery. And
as offensive as the official denials are, they also continue, not
only when the crimes occur but for years afterward.
In 1939, when announcing his decision to begin killing Polish men,
women and children, Hitler infamously uttered: “Who, after all,
speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?” He was counting
on the world to forget his atrocities, as he believed the world had
already forgotten the Turkish murders.
Fortunately, the world has not forgotten either the Nazi crimes or
the Turkish slaughter. But denialists continue to try to spread their
peculiar amnesia. We in Massachusetts, home to a significant Jewish
population and one of the largest Armenian-American populations in
the country, must never forget.
Submitted by state Sen. Steven Tolman, Rep. Rachel Kaprielian and
Rep. Peter Koutoujian.

WINCHESTER TEACHER AMONG THOSE URGING SEARCH FOR TRUTH
By Melody Hanatani/ Staff Writer
Lexington Winchester Star, MA
April 27 2006
A new coalition of diverse local ethnic groups kicked off an
anti-genocide campaign with a rally at the State House last Friday,
following the annual Armenian genocide anniversary commemoration.
The group, called kNOw Genocide, includes 10 organizations such as
Rwanda Outlook, the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association, and the
Jewish Community Relations Council.
On his way from the ceremony to the rally, state Sen. Steven Tolman
talked about why the coalition was formed.
“Today is a reaction of a diverse group to the lawsuit about the
denial of the Turks that this [genocide] even happened,” he said,
referring to a lawsuit seeking to introduce materials denying the
genocide into the statewide curriculum.
In listing the genocides that have occurred over the past 100 years,
such as Armenia, Bosnia and Cambodia, U.S. Rep Edward Markey called
on President George W. Bush to recognize the genocides in Armenia
and Darfur.
“Don’t forget Palestine, Markey,” said one protester. “It’s been too
long for them too.”
The protester was later escorted farther down Beacon Street, where
he continued to yell at the speakers.
Attorney General Tom Reilly, a Watertown resident and gubernatorial
hopeful, said the pending case in Boston is not about limiting free
speech. He said the only way to find a more just and peaceful future
is to face the “ugly truth of our past.”
State Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham, announced new “landmark”
legislation would be filed this week to force the state to divest from
any country where genocide occurs. He said the legislation would be
the first of its kind in the country, and hopes it will be a model
for other states.
Markey said earlier that the legislation would “ratchet up pressure
on the Bush administration to take a firmer stand in Darfur.”
According to some humanitarian groups, about 400,000 people have died
in the Darfur region of Sudan.
Belmont resident Heather Krafian, a teacher at Muraco Elementary School
in Winchester, is a granddaughter of Armenian genocide survivors. She
spoke about the importance of teaching about the genocide in the
schools.
She spoke out against the denial of the genocide, and said it has
become the modus operandi of the Turkish government. She said there
is no doubt among scholars and experts that the Armenian genocide
occurred.
“The thread of lies Turkey has woven for 91 years is slowly beginning
to unravel,” said Krafian. “The fabric of denial has become torn and
tattered. The truth will not be killed, but will prevail.”

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MARKED IN MONTEVIDEO
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
April 26 2006
Yerevan, April 26. /ARKA/. An arrangement marking the 91st anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide was held in Armenia Square, Montevideo,
Uruguay, on April 24, 2006.
The participants laid wreaths to the memorial “Armenian Genocide”.
Participating in the arrangement were Speaker of the country’s
Parliament Walter Kordeson, Minister of Territorial Administration
Mariano Aravan, and the Parliament member Lilian Keshishyan,
representatives of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholic Church,
Evangelical Church, intellectuals and journalists.
Uruguay was the first country to recognize the Armenian Genocide in
1965.

CANADIAN PARLIAMENT KEEPS MINUTE OF SILENCE IN MEMORY OF VICTIMS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
April 27 2006
Yerevan, April 27. /ARKA/. The Canadian Parliament kept a minute
of silence in memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide in
the Ottoman Empire in 1915. The pres and information department,
RA Foreign Office, reports that an Armenian delegation was invited
to the Parliament’s sitting on April 24, 2006.
The minute of silence was announced by Speaker Peter Milliken with
the parliamentarians’ consent at the end of the Government’s hour.
Hundreds of representatives of Armenian communities in Canada arrived
in Ottawa from Montreal and Toronto. The Armenian delegation visited
the RA Embassy in Canada and laid a wreath to the monument “Eternal
Armenia” in front of the Embassy. The same day, Armenian organizations
held a procession of protest in front of the Turkish Embassy in Canada.
On April 23, a large-scale function in memory of the Genocide victims
was held at the Armenian center in Toronto. Speaking were Chairman
of the New Democratic Party Jack Leyton, the leader of the official
opposition John Torin, candidate for the post of chairman of Liberal
Party Joe Volpen, representatives of the Greek and Armenian communities
of Canada, members of the Canadian Parliament. Premier of Ontario
Delton Mcguiny addressed a message to the participants.
Executive Director of the Canadian Institute of Genocide Research
Rich Hinges was a keynoter at the function.
Similar arrangements were held in Montreal on the initiative of the
Hay Dad Montreal Commission and the Armenian Congress in Canada.
On April 23-24, Canadian TV channels marked the 91st anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide. Liturgies were offered in Saint Grigor
Lusavorich and Saint Hakob churches in Montreal and in Saint Mesrob
church in Ottawa.

INSULTING ANY PROPHET, ANY RELIGION WRONG: CLERIC
By Ashwin Honawar
Peninsula On-line, Qatar
April 27 2006
Photo: Archbishop Sebouh Sarkissian
DOHA: Christians have also been victims of blasphemous caricatures
long before their Muslim brethren: A leading Iranian daily published
caricatures insulting Jesus Christ and the 12 Apostles about a
year and half before cartoons blaspheming Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)
appeared in a Danish daily, Archbishop Sebouh Sarkissian, Primate of
the Armenian Prelacy of Tehran, said here yesterday.
In an interview with The Peninsula yesterday, Archbishop Sarkissian who
heads the 150,000-strong Armenian Christian community of Iran, said,
a Tehran-based Farsi-language daily, Hamshami, had published about a
year-and-half before the Danish daily, a caricature of Jesus Christ
and the 12 apostles. The caricature showed Jesus and the apostles at
the Last Supper, feasting on pizzas and Pepsi. It showed Jesus Christ
passing a hamburger sandwich to one of the apostles,” he said.
The Christian community in Iran, he said was deeply saddened by this
blasphemous act but the reaction was peaceful. “We did not take it
as seriously. I personally told the government that what was done
by that daily was wrong. I pointed out, how can there be amity among
Iranian citizens of different faith if their prophets were blasphemed
by the media. I declined to participate in a dialogue of religions
and refused an interview on the state-run TV to vent the feelings of
the community,” he disclosed. “In so many Islamic countries, Jesus
Christ has been blasphemed. Why Christians do not demonstrate? In the
Christian world, there is no media censorship while there are a few
Muslim countries that do not have press censorship,” he added. When
told that Islam strictly forbids any form of imagery, Archbishop
Sarkissian pointed out, Muslims also indulge in photography.
He said, there was an urgent need to educate the media against
insulting holy icons of all faiths since they only tend to create
animosity among the public while dealing serious setbacks to the
dialogue of religions, which was crucial. The media should be made
fully aware of the consequences that result from such blaspheming of
any community’s holy figures and prophets. Sarkissian, at the Doha
4th Conference for Religious Dialogue yesterday gave a presentation
on the problems faced by religious leaders in approaching the media
to respect prophets held sacred by believers of different religions.
The outcry and violent reaction in some countries caused by the
publication of cartoons by a section of the Danish press, he said,
were the fallout of exaggeration of the issue by the media in the
Muslim world.
Despite such incidences, the archbishop said, the Armenian Christian
community lives in amity with people of other faiths in Iran, a
majority of whom are Muslims, about 20,000 Jew and another 20,000,
followers of the Zoroastrian faith, among others. ” Before the Islamic
revolution in Iran, there were no religious restrictions.
After the revolution too, there are no restrictions and the right to
religious freedom was added to the constitution,” he said.
Asked about Iran’s nuclear controversy, the religious head, said, all
Iranian citizens were worried about the propaganda that the programme
was to build weapons, being churned by some segments of the Western
press. ” We usually do not include political and other issues in our
sermons at the mass but due to the seriousness of the issue, we did
speak about it a couple of times,” he added. The negative propaganda,
he noted, affects all Iranians, regardless of their faith.
ews.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+Ne ws&month=April2006&file=Local_News20060427 83059.xml

ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT MAKES DECISION TO PROVIDE STATE PERPETUAL COUPON BONDS TO CBA
Noyan Tapan
Apr 27 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 27, NOYAN TAPAN. Pursuant to provisions of the RA
Law on the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA), the Armenian governmnt
on April 27 made a decision to provide, for the purpose of making
investments in the CBA capital, the CBA with RA state (treasury)
perpetual coupon bonds of 12 bln 734 mln 237 thousand 325 drams in
the amount exceeding the total of the bank’s reserves in order to
compensate for the losses in the CBA balance in 2005. NT was informed
about it from the RA Government Information and PR Department. The
RA Ministry of Finance and Economy was assigned to ensure the issue
of the RA state (treasury) perpetual coupon bonds by the indicated
decision and to provide these bonds to the CBA. Under the law, in case
the total of reserves is exceeded in the financial year, with the
aim of compensating for the losses in the CBA balance, the Armenian
government provides the CBA with state perpetual bonds in the amount
of exceeded sum at the market interest rate, as an investment in the
CBA capital, within 30 days after the balance has been published.

REPS OF LITHUANIA’S IT SECTOR INVITED TO ARMENIA
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
April 26 2006
YEREVAN, April 26. /ARKA/. Representatives of Lithuania’s IT-sector
have been invited to Armenia to take part in a Month of information
technologies, RA Premier Andranik Margaryan stated at his meeting
with Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus.
The RA Premier informed the Lithuanian President that a Month of
Information Technologies is to be held in Yerevan in September-October
2006. A number of conferences, as well as an annual international
exhibition “DIGITEC 2006”, will be organized as part of the Month. A
programming competition, an international e-content contest,
an international conference as part of the Armenia-Diaspora forum,
as well as exhibitions and special IT training courses in Armenia’s
schools, are expected to be organized.

DOUBLING OF NKR’S GDP EVIDENCE OF ACHIEVEMENT OF GOALS, NKR PM STATES
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
April 26 2006
STEPANAKERT, April 27. /ARKA/. The doubling of the GDP of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) over the last four years, a more
than 43% increase in internal revenues, as well as the creation of
new jobs testify that the set goals have been achieved, NKR Premier
Anushavan Danielyan stated at meeting of the NKR Government.
According to him, a steady GDP growth and stable economy are obvious
now. Danielyan pointed out the importance of analyzing the recorded
indices for further formation of a more balanced budged with minimal
risks.
The NKR Premier spoke of further plans of developing the country’s
industry, agriculture, irrigation system and municipal economy. In
2005, the NKR’s GDP totaled AMD 51.4bln against AMD 42.830bln in
2004. ($1 – AMD 446.53).

REGULAR JOINT SITTING OF COMMISSION FOR NKR-ARMENIA INTERPARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION HELD EFFECTIVELY: VICE-SPEAKER
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
April 26 2006
STEPANAKERT, April 27. /ARKA/. A regular joint sitting of the
Commission for interparliamentary cooperation between the NKR and
Armenia was held very effectively, Chairman of the Commission for
interparliamentary cooperation, Armenian Vice-Speaker Tigran Torosyan
told reporters in Stepanakert.
According to him, during two days a few questions were discussed
concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, drafting of the
NKR constitution, bringing the NKR legislation in conformity with
the European standards and increase of effectiveness of cooperation
between the two country’s parliaments.
He also reported that the Commission’s sittings will be held twice
a year, and extraordinary sittings will be convened in case of
necessity.

ARMENIAN CHERNOBYL VICTIMS STILL SUFFERING
By Marianna Grigorian and Gayane Mkrtchian in Yerevan
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
April 27 2006
Twenty years on, a new generation of children is not getting the
treatment it needs for Chernobyl-related sickness.
The skin of Sennik Alexanian has a strange yellow hue to it, his
bones stick out and his eyes bulge. Alexanian is only 49 but his
immune system has collapsed. Like thousands of his compatriots he
divides his life into two periods – before and after Chernobyl.
Along with 3,000 Armenians – and tens of thousands of people from
across the Soviet Union – Alexanian was sent to help clear up the
aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine twenty years
ago. Half of the Armenians sent there have severe health problems
caused by the radiation they suffered and 350 of them have died.
On April 25, a group of Armenian rescuers were presented with awards
by the prime minister Andranik Margarian. He promised them greater
support, but many say the government of independent Armenia has let
them down.
“I went to work and they did not let me in,” recalled Alexanian, who
worked as a driver in 1986. “They put us in a train and didn’t tell
me or my family where they were sending me. If I hadn’t gone and I’d
run away, they’d have put me on trial as an enemy of the people.”
The rescuers were not told about the invisible dangers of the zone
they were entering.
“Radiation does not have a smell or a colour, you can’t define it,”
said Alexanian. “We just started feeling unwell and had constant
headaches and dizziness and everyone had constant nose bleeds.”
Gevorg Vardanian, now chairman of the Armenian Chernobyl Association,
spent eleven months in Chernobyl in total and suffers from serious
radiation sickness.
“In Ukraine, the public didn’t know what had happened and during the
May Day parade radioactive rain fell on people,” he recalled. “The
most terrible thing was that there were students amongst those who
brought people out of Chernobyl. They had no idea they had been
brought into a disaster zone.”
Six years after the Chernobyl accident, the Soviet Union broke up and
the rescuers became the responsibility of the new independent states
such as Armenia. But unlike many other countries, Armenia has not
allocated substantial funds for the medical treatment of Chernobyl
survivors. Although entitled to free medical check-ups twice a year,
the sufferers say they generally do not get even these.
Alexanian says his health is deteriorating every day but he has
not been given the money to treat his illnesses. His family has sold
everything they could, including their apartment. He receives a pension
of 21,000 drams, equivalent to 46 US dollars, every month, but says he
needs far more than that to pay for even one of the medicines he needs.
“When we apply to the appropriate offices hoping for help, they tell
us sarcastically ‘You shouldn’t have gone’, but it wasn’t up to us,”
said Alexanian. “No one went knowingly to a slow death.”
Six years ago he and his wife had a son, but the effects of Chernobyl
left their mark on the baby too. Little Vachagan was born with chronic
health problems and suffers from epilepsy and nervous fits.
Gevorg Vardanian says that most of the Armenian rescuers are no longer
fit for work. They live in poor conditions and lack the money for
their basic needs.
“We thought the troubles that began for us in Chernobyl would end in
Armenia, but it seems there is no end to them,” said Vardanian.
“Not just the rescuers, but more than thirty per cent of their
children suffer from a whole host of defects and have serious health
problems. Many don’t even have the chance to take their children to
the doctor.”
Vardanian says that the Armenian government has been particularly lax
in its responsibilities, “We have no special law which defends the
rights of those who took part in the Chernobyl emergency and gives
them the benefits that others from all over the former Soviet Union
are receiving.”
According to Vardanian, the Armenian government ratified a treaty
undertaking to pass a special law to protect Chernobyl survivors,
but since then no such law has been adopted.
Only at the beginning of this year did the parliamentary commission
on social issues, health and the environment draw up a draft law
that would guarantee the welfare of the Chernobyl victims and their
children.
“The draft law is being discussed,” said Gagik Mkheyan, head of
the commission.
However, the bill is already being criticised by government ministries.
“In our opinion, Armenia does not need a law like this,” Jemma
Baghdasarian, head of the department for the problems of invalids
and the elderly at the labour ministry, told IWPR, arguing that the
Chernobyl survivors are sufficiently well looked after by current
welfare legislation.
Nikolai Hovhannissian, head of Armenia’s Centre for Radioactive
Medicine and Burns, says he understands the concerns of the Chernobyl
rescuers, but that Armenia simply cannot afford to look after them.
“The state envisages spending 100,000 drams (222 dollars) on each
sick person, which includes the cost of the electricity used by the
hospital, the salaries of the medical staff, medicine, food,” said
Hovhannissian. “What can you say? This amount is not enough to solve
even a part of the problems of the sufferers.”
The survivors themselves say they have pinned hopes on the new law
and that existing social provision is woefully inadequate.
“We have the impression that everyone is against us, we are like
walking corpses, whom no one needs,” said Vazgen Gyurjinian, a
Chernobyl survivor.
Gyurjinian, an electrician, was 28 when he was sent to the Chernobyl
disaster zone. Now 46, he talks in a hoarse voice and is short of
breath. He has had three heart attacks. His third daughter Lusine,
born on his return, was an invalid at birth and gets just 3,600 drams
(around eight dollars) a month in state benefit.
“It’s not just us, who are unsuited for life by now, who need this
law, but our children and grandchildren,” said Gyurjinian. “Maybe
some of us have healthy children but that does not guarantee us from
sick grandchildren. Our genes have been damaged.”
Marianna Grigorian and Gayane Mkrtchian are reporters fro
Armenianow.com in Yerevan.