PRESS RELEASE
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Contact: Prof. Gerard Libaridian
Email: [email protected]
FIFTH MEETING OF THE WORKSHOP FOR ARMENIAN/TURKISH SCHOLARSHIP TO
CONVENE AT NYU
Public Session Scheduled for Sunday, May 14
The next meeting of the Workshop for Armenian/Turkish Scholarship
(WATS) will convene at New York University, May 14-16. This will be the
fifth meeting of this important undertaking. The three day gathering
will start with a session open to the public, from 7:00-9:00 PM in the
Hemmerdinger Hall, Silver Center, 100 Washington Square East, 1st
Floor. Organized by Professors Fatma Müge Göçek (Sociology,
University of Michigan), Gerard Libaridian (History, Michigan), and
Ronald Grigor Suny (History, Michigan), previous meetings of WATS were
held at the University of Chicago (2000), University of Michigan
(2002), the University of Minnesota (2004) and in Salzburg, Austria
last year. The fifth meeting is being hosted by New York University and
the organizers are joined by Prof. Paul Boghossian ( Philosophy, NYU).
The theme of the workshop this year is `The Boundaries of Genocide:
Intentions, Histories, Peoples.’
`Dialogue is an ideal that often ends up with one side talking and the
other appearing to listen,’ commented Prof. Ronald Suny. `In
discussions about the Armenian Genocide of 1915, neither side –
Armenian or Turkish – seemed to understand, or even hear, what the
other was saying. How could the deportation and massacre of hundreds
of thousands of people be metastasized into a civil war that never
occurred? How could one blame the victims for their own deaths? This
workshop has been one of the most exciting and productive scholarly
initiatives in the last five years that has brought Turkish, Armenian,
and other historians and social scientists together to present research
and talk about the fate of the Armenians and other minorities in the
last years of the Ottoman Empire.’
The evening session on May 14 will serve to acquaint the general
public with the work of this initiative. In addition to introductory
comments by Prof. Boghossian and officials of the host institution,
Professors Gocek, Suny and Libaridian will present reports on various
aspects of WATS and answer questions. The public is invited.

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
April 22 2006
It is difficult to expect any new offers on Armenian-Azeri conflict
in Washington – Foreign Minister

Source: Trend
Author: E.Guseynov

22.04.2006

New proposals are unlikely to sound during Washington’s conversations
on resolution of Armenian-Azeri conflict, Trend reports quoting Azeri
Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov, who was speaking in Moscow
commenting the forthcoming official visit of Azeri President to the
USA.
«Positions Azerbaijan was standing on last 15 years remain the same.
We always stated and keep stating that the problem shall be resolved
in compliance with international legislation and resolutions issued
by UN Security Council and OSCE. There is no doubt that if we want to
resolve the conflict once and for all, the resolution shall be based
on legislation alone. Arbitrators are trying to find contact points
to get us closer», – minister said.
Speaking on «self-determination» of Nagorno-Karabakh population,
Mamedyarov said it didn’t imply any breach of territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan. «Self-determination of nation or a national minority
is performed under the territorial integrity, and Azerbaijan, in
turn, is eager to provide the highest level of autonomy to Armenian
minority within Nagorno-Karabakh. This practice is well-known and is
utilized worldwide», – Foreign Minister said.
Mamedyarov said also of a broad range of issues regarding mutual
cooperation, as well as international and regional development, to be
spoken of during the forthcoming visit of Azeri president Ilham
Aliyev to the USA. The minister said one of the main topics would be
conflict resolution on Caucasus. During the visit presidents will
also speak of power security, fight against international terrorism
and Azerbaijan’s participation in anti-terrorist coalition.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Daily Nexus, CA
University of California, Santa Barbara
April 22 2006
SB Students Remember Armenian Genocide
By Sabrina Ricci – Staff Writer
Published Friday April 21, 2006
Roughly 120 people went to I.V. Theater last night for an Armenian
Students Association-sponsored commemoration of the Armenian Genocide
– a massacre, many attendees said, that the responsible parties hope
to forget.
The event commemorated the 1.5 million Armenians who died during the
Armenian Genocide, which occurred between 1915 and 1918 and then
again from 1920 to1923 in Turkey, when it was under the control of
the Ottoman Empire. Several governments, including those of Turkey
and the United States, do not officially recognize the genocide.
Global Studies Dept. professor Richard Falk, who was the event’s
keynote speaker, was featured among cultural dancers, a musical
performance and a video presentation focusing on mass murders
throughout the 20th century. Falk spoke mostly about the refusal of
the Turkish government to recognize the genocide.
“I think there’s beginning to be cracks in the Turkish culture of
denial, and those cracks need to be widened,” Falk said.
ASA External Coordinator and second-year political science major Greg
Mirza-Avakyan said many ASA members have family who were victims in
the genocide.
“Basically, our people’s historical homeland was invaded and
conquered before the genocide,” Mirza-Avakyan said. “April 24 was the
day the whole thing began. Intellectuals and prominent people were
shot and burned, and it was orchestrated by the government. That’s
why it’s a big deal.”
Mirza-Avakyan said some people believe the great number of Armenians
who died were victims of the clashes of World War I, rather than a
planned mass murder. But testimony from Mirza-Avakyan’s family proves
otherwise: Mirza-Avakyan’s great-grandfather lived through the
genocide, but five of his seven brothers and sisters starved to
death, and his father was murdered.
Both former President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush
promised to recognize the Armenian Genocide during their terms in
office, Mirza-Avakyan said, but both have failed to do so.
Mirza-Avakyan said he thinks both presidents’ reluctance to
officially recognize the genocide stems from fear that doing so would
harm U.S. relations with Turkey.
“America has military bases in Turkey,” Mirza-Avakyan said.
ASA President and fourth-year business and economics major Hermine
Barseghian said both of her great-grandparents survived the genocide.
“My great-grandmother on my mother’s side survived by going into an
orphanage,” Barseghian said. “Her parents were killed. Most of the
survivors were forced to flee the country.”
Barseghian said many survivors migrated to different countries in the
Middle East, such as Lebanon, and others went to the U.S.
Barseghian said her great-grandmother’s father was a doctor in a
village who was informed about the impending danger. He dressed up as
a woman and attempted to flee but was caught and killed on the spot.
“We grew up learning and hearing about these stories,” Barseghian
said.
April 24 is the official commemoration day of the Armenian Genocide,
but Mirza-Avakyan said there will be a big march in Los Angeles on
that day, and ASA wanted to hold the event on April 20 so ASA members
could attend.
“A lot of Armenians will be [in Los Angeles], including a lot of our
members,” Mirza-Avakyan said. “Last year there were over 30,000
people.”
Mirza-Avakyan said the march will start on Hollywood Boulevard where
a few blocks of L.A. known as Little Armenia will be blocked off. He
said everyone will wear black and carry flags and signs that say,
“Recognize the Genocide.”

Armenians say Patrick ally despite ties to Turk lobby
By Kimberly Atkins
Boston Herald
April 22 2006
Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Deval Patrick attended a State House
event yesterday marking the 91st anniversary of the Armenian genocide –
just days after the Herald exposed his ties to a lobbyist working to
block U.S. recognition of the Turkish government’s slaughter of 1.5
million Armenians.
The Herald reported Wednesday that a Washington, D.C., fund-raiser for
Patrick was hosted by Bernie Robinson, a consultant to the Livingston
Group, a lobbying firm that took in millions of dollars from the
Turks to fight a congressional plan to recognize the genocide.
Yesterday Patrick spent roughly an hour at the commemoration ceremony
hosted by Rep. Peter Koutoujian (D-Waltham). Patrick didn’t speak,
but Sharistan Melkonian of the Armenian National Committee said his
presence reinforced the belief of the Armenian community that Patrick
is an ally, not an adversary.
“He has a history of very strong support around the issue that most
Armenians care about, like human rights and civil rights and justice,”
Melkonian said.
In a letter to the Herald, Patrick said “reports of my association
with those who deny the Armenian genocide are completely false.”
Patrick also took umbrage with gubernatorial rival Attorney General Tom
Reilly, who told the Herald that he “wouldn’t want to have anything
to do with” anyone associated with such a firm. Patrick said he was
“disappointed to see my political opponents trying to exploit this
tragedy.”

Daily Sundial, CA
California State Univ. Northridge
April 22 2006
Armenian community gathers to commemorate genocide
Sandy Archila
Issue date: 4/24/06 Section: News
The 1915 Armenian genocide was commemorated by more than 200
Armenian-American students, parents, CSUN faculty and community
members as they gathered for a candlelight vigil April 20 on the
Matador Bookstore Lawn.
The Armenian Student Association held its annual candlelight vigil to
commemorate the estimated 1.5 million Armenians who were killed as
result of the genocide.
“(The vigil is about) remembering and commemorating all those 1.5
million souls that were massacred, and also as a way of saying that
the youth generation hasn’t forgotten about our ancestors,” said
Christina Malyan, CSUN alumni and current president of Alpha Omega
Alpha Sorority.
The event included several speeches, student performances, and a
video highlighting the history and struggles of the Armenian
community since the genocide.
Many people who attended the event wore black clothing – a
traditional sign of mourning.
“We’re fighting to preserve our culture,” said Marina Terteryan, vice
president of the ASA.
Terteryan said Armenians are constantly fighting to validate their
history.
“All we have is our culture, the minute we let go of that ? we have
nothing,” she said.
Ani Asatryan, president of the ASA, said the event was held to build
a greater social, cultural and political awareness of the Armenian
genocide at CSUN.
“Our goal is to educate the diverse community of students on campus,”
Asatryan said. “A majority of students interviewed by the ASA on
campus didn’t know about the Armenian genocide.”
She said the information about the Armenian genocide should be taught
at CSUN, adding that there is a lack of recognition and classes
available about Armenian history.
“This is an educational institution and it’s not right to omit parts
of history that factually happened for social and political reasons,”
Asatryan said.
She said the Armenian genocide is just as important for all students
to know as any other subject in history.
During her speech, Asatryan said people need to know what happened to
Armenians 91 years ago, because they should not be ignored or
forgotten.
Students who attended the vigil expressed why the commemoration of
the genocide was important to them and to the community.
“We like to educate the non-Armenians about the Armenian genocide and
what happened because it happened to the Armenians, it happened in
Africa, it happened to the Bosnians, to the Jewish people, and one
day it might happen to other races, and we’d like everybody to be
aware of it, and to fight for recognition of the genocide because
once there is worldwide acceptance of all these genocides, then other
governments would be fearful of committing another genocide because
they would be held accountable for it,” said Armen Oganesian,
president of the Alpha Epsilon Omega fraternity.
Allen Minas, junior political science major, said the vigil was about
honoring those Armenians who suffered and died during the genocide,
adding that the vigil was also aimed at uniting the Armenian
community.
“It’s about Armenians uniting and recognizing our heritage for what
it is,” Minas said.
Organizers and speakers at the event said the “Young Turk” government
of the Ottoman Empire carried out the genocide, adding that Turkey
has not recognized or admitted to any responsibility for the
genocide.
United States Congressmember Adam Schiff, a Democrat whose district
runs from Burbank to Pasadena and Monterey Park, and other members of
the House of Representatives proposed the Armenian Genocide
Legislation (Resolution 195) that urges Turkey to acknowledge the
role of the Ottoman Empire in the 1915 Armenian genocide.
The House International Relations Committee passed the resolution;
however, the resolution has not been enacted by the House.
“There is no hiding the fact that one and a half million Armenians
where deliberately murdered at the beginning of the 20th century, and
it is high time that we as a nation recognized these heinous crimes
for what they were: a genocide. We need to acknowledge these horrible
atrocities of the past in order to progress towards a brighter
future,” Schiff said through his spokesperson Sean Oblack.
Malyan said the resolution allows for more recognition of the
Armenian genocide.
“It’s a very crucial moment in our time, in our history because
finally a non-Armenian in Congress and our larger government body is
actually accepting it, and it’s one step closer to voicing our
opinion at Washington D.C.,” Malyan said.
Oganesian expressed similar sentiments.
“The importance of getting this issue recognized is that it would
force Turkey to recognize what they did. America is a major political
player around the world. If America accepts this ? we’re one step
closer to having Turkey accept it ? which is our ultimate goal,”
Oganesian said.
The Alpha Epsilon Omega fraternity is also trying to increase
recognition of the Armenian genocide and crimes against humanity
through the “Never Again” campaign that launched last year.
“We know that the United States has such tremendous power that it can
actually influence the world, so if the U.S. does end up accepting
the genocide then we might actually see a change from other
countries, and that will be (a) step forward for everybody,” Malyan
said.

15,000 attend Holy Saturday ceremony
By YAAKOV KATZ AND JPOST STAFF
Jerusalem Post
April 22 2006
Some 15,000 people attended Holy Saturday ceremonies Jerusalem on
Saturday. Thousands of police were positioned around the Church of the
Holy Sepulcher in east Jerusalem, hoping to prevent confrontations
between various groups of worshippers expected to make their way to
the church.
Police were also patrolling streets and alleys adjacent to the church,
and closed the Old City to cars, requesting that visitors park outside
the walls, Israel Radio reported.
Holy Saturday, which falls between Good Friday and Easter Day, marks
the day on which Christ’s body lay in his tomb.
Easter rites at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher have been marked by
violence in the past. Since the Crusades, three major denominations
have controlled the church – Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and
(Latin) Roman Catholic – with the rights and privileges of all of
the communities protected by the Status Quo of the Holy Places set
up in 1852.
According to Dep.-Cmdr. Asher Ben- Atrzi, head of the Israel Police
Interpol and Foreign Liaison Section, almost every year a dispute
erupts between the Armenians and the Greeks over who enters the cave
where Jesus is believed to be buried first. The different denominations
also argue over prayer times. ‘The police really need to be hands
on at the churches,’ he explained, ‘to prevent them from arguing
and fighting.’

Reilly Criticizes Patrick’s Ties to Armenian Genocide Deniers
Hub Politics, MA
April 22 2006
Just as I suspected. While the idiosyncrasies of Deval Patrick’s ties
to a group that lobbies on behalf of Republic of Turkey’s denial of
the Armenian Genocide, it has nonetheless provided Patrick rival Tom
“Cover Up” Reilly with a springboard for attacking Patrick.
While gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick stood by his association
with a D.C. lobbyist working to squash the legitimacy of the Armenian
genocide, opponent Tom Reilly said he wouldn’t want anything to do
with a person like that.
“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.
The Herald reported yesterday that a Deval Patrick fund-raiser in
Washington D.C. was co-hosted by Bernie Robinson, a consultant to the
Livingston Group, a high-powered lobbying firm that has taken millions
from the Turkish government to fight Congress from recognizing that
the slaughter of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians beginning in 1915
was genocide.
Reilly, whose office is defending the state’s refusal to include the
point of view of those who deny there was an Armenian genocide in the
statewide Department of Education history curriculum, said Patrick
will “have to make his own decisions as to who he associates with
and the people that raise money for him.”
Patrick’s spokeswoman, Libby DeVecchi, is earning her salary defending
Patrick, as she has in this case. “It is unfortunate that one of our
opponents is trying to make a political issue out of the tragedy,”
she said.
With Reilly’s criticism, this story with Patrick and Livingston
Group has reached its peak. The reality of the situation is that
it certainly doesn’t look favorable, it is an undeniable truth in
Washington that you will be dealing with people and groups who have
some connection, weak or strong, to other groups and beliefs that
may or may not politically viable.
I will say though, Patrick’s defense is weak at best. I will also say
that if the Livingston Group or some other group tied to the Patrick
campaign was involved with a group that denies the occurance of the
Nazi Holocaust, this story would be a lot different.
0458.php

The Statesman (India)
April 22, 2006 Saturday
STUDENT DIES
SILIGURI, April 21: Prashant Anchalia, student of Yerevan State
Medical University in Armenia, died yesterday after apparently
falling from the sixth floor of his hostel. A resident of Siliguri,
Prashant was the son of a business-man. SNS

Belleville Intelligencer (Ontario)
April 21, 2006 Friday
Final Edition
Today in History
The Canadian Press
German air ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen was shot down and killed
over the Western Front 88 years ago today, in 1918, during a First
World War dogfight with Capt. Roy Brown of Carleton Place, Ont. Brown
was a flight leader in the 209th Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps.
Also on this date in:
– 1816, English writer Charlotte Bronte was born in Thornton,
England. The author of Jane Eyre died in 1855.
– 1948, William Lyon Mackenzie King set a record of service as a
Commonwealth prime minister: 20 years, 10 months and 10 days. He
retired the following November.
– 2004, the Canadian parliament voted 153-68 to pass a private
member’s resolution endorsing the controversial view that the 1915
massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman troops was a
genocide.

Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
April 21, 2006 Friday
DEFENSE MINISTER SERZH SARKISJAN: OUR RELATIONS ARE 1,000 YEARS OLD
by Aleksei Ventslovsky
An interview with Defense Minister of Armenia Serzh Sarkisjan.
Question: Successful development of military and military-technical
cooperation between our countries is common knowledge. Could you
please say a few words on the subject?
Serzh Sarkisjan: I’d like to emphasize that the level of relations
between us is fairly high. This cooperation encompasses a broad
spectrum of issues. My Russian colleague Sergei Ivanov visited us in
January. We discussed prospects of the Armenian-Russian relations
that are viewed in both countries as extremely promising.
The 102nd Russian Military Base established in Armenia on our
suggestion is playing a special part in the relations.
Question: Where development of contacts between the national armies
is concerned… Do you think trainees from Russian military colleges
may ever come to Armenia for field training at mountainous testing
sites and shooting ranges of the Armenian Defense Ministry?
Serzh Sarkisjan: Why not? Russia only has to ask, and we will be glad
to receive them here. Hundreds of Armenian servicemen including
officers and generals are trained in Russia and this sort of
cooperation is like a two-way street, you know.
Question: The Armenian national army is being reorganized. What are
these reforms about? What problems does the Defense Ministry
encounter?
Serzh Sarkisjan: The Armenian Armed Forces consist of motorized
infantry and Air Force now. We do not have branches or high commands
as such. There is only one headquarters running all of the Armed
Forces that comprise five corps formations, artillery unit, and
antiaircraft defense brigades. All in all, 45,000 men or so. All of
the population of Armenia amounts to 3 million only, and the army we
have is somewhat larger than we would prefer. In the meantime, we are
compelled to keep an army of this size because of the lack of
stability in the southern part of the Caucasus and because of
conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. Generally speaking,
our Armed Forces have a lot of problems – just like armies of other
countries I presume.
We’ve set the task to have an army by 2015, that will meet world
standards. I’d like to emphasize that because Russian media outlets
report every now and then that Armenia is after an army by NATO
standards. Not NATO, world standards.
Question: What effect may escalation of conflicts in Abkhazia and
South Ossetia have on the situation in Armenia?
Serzh Sarkisjan: The southern part of the Caucasus is actually a
small region where every country depends on everyone else. The
hostilities will create extremely negative consequences, and Armenia
cannot hope to remain unaffected by them. Armenia does not need any
instability in Georgia because this country is our only connection to
the world. Besides, the hostilities may tempt other countries to
meddle in the conflict.
Question: Reports in the Russian media indicate that a peacekeeping
operation for Nagorno-Karabakh under the OSCE is being charted in
Brussels. Your Russian opposite number Ivanov also said once that
Russian peacekeepers could be deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh, in
theory…
Serzh Sarkisjan: I doubt that someone is really working on a
peacekeeping operation. The warring sides’ consent is needed for it
or at least some contours of the future accord. It will become a
possibility only when the sides in the conflict reached an agreement.
That’s when peacekeepers may come in handy. Unfortunately, we do not
have an agreement with Azerbaijan. Peacekeepers are not on the agenda
therefore.
Question: And what is the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh nowadays?
Serzh Sarkisjan: The matter is constantly brought up in Azerbaijan in
attempts to solve other domestic problems in this manner. You
probably know that the president of Azerbaijan and his defense
minister regularly say that a military solution will be forced on
Baku unless Armenia accepted their terms. Azerbaijan doubled its
military budget. The president of Azerbaijan said he had boosted it
to $1 billion not long ago. That smacks of blackmail, if you ask me.
We do not want a war but we are not frightened by its prospect. An
end was put to hostilities in 1994, with Russia’s help. Our troops
have an advantage nowadays. We’ve fortified the positions this last
12 years. Not even billions of dollars will help Azerbaijan.
Source: Krasnaya Zvezda, April 19, 2006, p. 1
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress