ASBAREZ ONLINE
TOP STORIES
04/26/2005
TO ACCESS PREVIOUS ASBAREZ ONLINE EDITIONS PLEASE VISIT OUR
WEBSITE AT <;HTTP://

1) President Bush Fails to Recognize Armenian Genocide Once More
2) Thousands Mark 90th Anniversary of Armenian Genocide in Yerevan
3) California Commemorates 90th Anniversary of Armenian Genocide
4) The Walk May End, but the March Continues
5) Turkish Group Protests Schwarzenegger over Armenian Genocide Statement

1) President Bush Fails to Recognize Armenian Genocide Once More

WASHINGTON, DC (ANCA)–Ignoring calls from a record two hundred and ten US
legislators, President Bush failed, once again, to honor his pledge to
properly
characterize the Armenian genocide as a “genocide” in his annual April 24
remarks.
In a statement issued on April 24, the President again resorted to the use of
evasive and euphemistic terminology to obscure the reality of Turkey’s
genocide
against the Armenian people between 1915-1923. In retreating from his promise,
the President ignored the counsel of the one hundred and seventy-eight
Representatives and thirty-two Senators who had written letters urging him to
properly characterize the Armenian genocide.
“While we appreciate the President’s willingness to join with Armenians
around
the world by issuing a statement on this occasion, we remain deeply
troubled by
his continued use of evasive and euphemistic terminology to obscure the moral,
historical, and legal meaning of Turkey’s genocide against the Armenian
people,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. “This statement,
sadly, once again, represents a form of complicity in the Turkish government’s
shameful campaign to deny a crime against humanity.”
The ANCA also expressed concern that the Administration’s refusal to
recognize
the Armenian genocide reflects a broader unwillingness to confront
genocide–as
evidenced by the White House’s failure to take decisive steps to bring an end
to the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. The ANCA is working with a
broad
coalition of organizations to pressure the Administration to respond in a
timely and meaningful way to the worsening crisis in Darfur. “If we are to end
the cycle of genocide, we must, as a nation, generate the resolve to
forcefully
intervene to stop genocide when it takes place, to unequivocally reject its
denial, to hold the guilty accountable, and to secure for the victims the
justice they deserve,” added Hamparian.
In February of 2000, then presidential candidate George W. Bush, campaigning
for votes among Armenian voters in the Michigan Republican primary, pledged to
properly characterize the genocidal campaign against the Armenian people. In
his statements as President, he has consistently avoided any clear
reference to
the Armenian genocide, and his Administration has consistently opposed
legislation marking this crime against humanity.
The text of the President’s remarks is provided below.

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

On Armenian Remembrance Day, we remember the forced exile and mass
killings of
as many as 1.5 million Armenians during the last days of the Ottoman Empire.
This terrible event is what many Armenian people have come to call the “Great
Calamity.” I join my fellow Americans and Armenian people around the world in
expressing my deepest condolences for this horrible loss of life. Today,
as we
commemorate the 90th anniversary of this human tragedy and reflect on the
suffering of the Armenian people, we also look toward a promising future
for an
independent Armenian state.
The United States is grateful for Armenia’s contributions to the war on
terror
and to efforts to build a democratic and peaceful Iraq. We remain committed to
supporting the historic reforms Armenia has pursued for over a decade. We call
on the Government of Armenia to advance democratic freedoms that will further
advance the aspirations of the Armenian people. We remain committed to a
lasting and peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We also seek
a deeper partnership with Armenia that includes security cooperation and is
rooted in the shared values of democratic and market economic freedoms.
I applaud individuals in Armenia and Turkey who have sought to examine the
historical events of the early 20th century with honesty and sensitivity. The
recent analysis by the International Center for Transitional Justice did not
provide the final word, yet marked a significant step toward reconciliation
and
restoration of the spirit of tolerance and cultural richness that has
connected
the people of the Caucasus and Anatolia for centuries. We look to a future of
freedom, peace, and prosperity in Armenia and Turkey and hope that Prime
Minister Erdogan’s recent proposal for a joint Turkish-Armenian commission can
help advance these processes.
Millions of Americans proudly trace their ancestry to Armenia. Their faith,
traditions, and patriotism enrich the cultural, political, and economic
life of
the United States. I appreciate all individuals who work to promote peace,
tolerance, and reconciliation. On this solemn day of remembrance, I send my
best wishes and expressions of solidarity to Armenian people around the world.

2) Thousands Mark 90th Anniversary of Armenian Genocide in Yerevan

YEREVAN (Armenpress)–Thousands of Armenians marched a steep road on April 24,
leading to the Genocide Memorial of Dzidzernagapert in Yerevan to pay respect
to the memory of 1.5 million victims killed by the Ottoman Empire during the
Armenian genocide of 1915.
President Robert Kocharian, Prime Minister Andranik Margarian, parliament
speaker Arthur Baghdasarian, along with other Armenian leaders, visited the
Memorial in the morning as they laid flowers in remembrance. His Holiness
Catholicos Karekin II conducted a prayer service in memory of the dead.
In his message to the Armenian people, President Kocharian said, “The year of
1915 became a dividing line in the fate of all parts of our nation. It changed
their lives drastically and disrupted the path of its normal development. Its
heavy consequences are felt today in the lives of Armenians living both in the
Republic of Armenia and Diaspora.”
Stating the necessity of international recognition and condemnation of the
Armenian genocide in the context of regional and international politics,
Kocharian said, “We have made our position heard many a time. We are not
motivated by the feelings of revenge and once again repeat today our
willingness to build normal relations with Turkey, but its continued denial of
that crime, causes the perplexity of not only Armenians, but also of the
international community.”
Foreign diplomats from more than 15 countries were also present to pay their
respects to the 1.5 million innocent Armenian lives taken away brutally by the
Ottoman Empire. Among them were delegations from France, Russia, Italy,
Ukraine, Canada, Spain, Belgium, Luxemburg, Holland, Norway, Sweden, and
Georgia.
French ambassador to Armenia Henry Cuny told journalists, “France was one of
the first nations to give shelter to thousands of Armenians who escaped
massacres in Turkey. France has also officially recognized the Armenian
genocide and I am happy that the Armenian community in my country is
flourishing and prospering. France was and is Armenia’s friend.”
“We have come here to remember the Armenian victims of the first genocide of
the 20th century. Armenians sustained the greatest damages during World War I.
At this hour of sad remembrance, Georgians are with their Armenian brothers
and
sisters,” Georgian ambassador to Armenia Revaz Gachechiladze said.
Former president of Poland and Nobel laureate Lech Walesa, Israeli Knesset’s
member Yosi Sarid, and other dignitaries paid their respects earlier this
week.
Walesa said during his visit to Yerevan that Armenians have the right to
demand
that the European Union bar Turkey from joining the bloc unless it admitted to
genocide. “It is a just claim of the Armenians,” he said.
Thousands of young Armenians, joined by Armenians from the US and Europe,
marched through the streets of Yerevan on Saturday night, singing the national
anthem as the torch lit procession marched towards Dzidzernagapert.
Addressing an international conference dedicated to the 90th anniversary of
the Armenian genocide in Yerevan earlier this week, President Kocharian urged
Turkey to recognize the crime, saying such recognition is essential for the
reconciliation of the Armenian and Turkish people.
“Recognition is important for Turkish-Armenian relations as it would provide
answers to numerous questions dividing our two peoples and enable them to look
to the future,” he said. “We remember the past with pain but not with hatred.
It is difficult for us to understand the reaction of the Turkish side which
manifests itself not only through the denial of the past but also the blockade
of present Armenia,” he said.
In an interview to a Russian RTR TV channel on April 23, Kocharian said it
was
strange that “malice has been preserved by the side responsible for the crime
and not by the victim of that crime.”
It was on the night of April 24, 1915, when the Turkish government placed
under arrest more than 200 Armenian community leaders in Constantinople.
Hundreds more were apprehended soon after and sent to prison in Anatolia,
where
most were executed. In a single year, 1915, the Armenians were robbed of their
millennia-old heritage. The desecration of churches, the burning of libraries,
the ruination of towns and villages–all erased an ancient civilization.
With the disappearance of the Armenians from their homeland, most of the
symbols of their culture–schools, monasteries, artistic monuments, and
historical sites–were destroyed by the Ottoman government.
The latest nation to recognize the genocide was Poland when its parliament
passed a resolution condemning the Armenian massacres. in Germany, members of
parliament from across the political spectrum appealed to Turkey to accept the
massacre of Armenians as part of its history, saying this would help its EU
aspirations.

3) California Commemorates 90th Anniversary of Armenian Genocide

LOS ANGELES–“With all due respect to our presidents, past and present, there
is a word for what you describe [as the events of 1915] and the word is
genocide,” US Congressman Adam Schiff told the crowd gathered at the athletic
field of Glendale High school on April 24 to commemorate the 90th anniversary
of the Armenian genocide.
The event was organized by the Armenian Genocide 90th Anniversary
Commemorative Committee of California.
Elected officials joined Armenian religious leaders and representatives of
various political organizations to honor the victims of the Genocide and
demand
proper recognition of the events. They included, among others: US Congressman
Adam Schiff, California Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante, State Senators Jack
Scott, Jackie Speier, Richard Alarcon, State Assembly Majority Leader Dario
Frommer, State Assemblymembers Carol Liu, Cindy Montanez, Paul Koretz, Jerome
Horton, Glendale Mayor Rafi Manoukian, Glendale City Council members Ara
Najarian, Frank Quintero and Bob Yousefian, Rolling Hills Councilman Frank
Zerunyan, California Supreme Court judge Zaven Sinanian, Burbank Board of
Education member Paul Kerkorian, and Glendale Board of Education member Greg
Krikorian.
Congressman Schiff, one of the keynote speakers, along with California State
Senator Jackie Speier, explained that in commemorating the Armenian genocide,
he, for a long time took to the house floor to read the names of individual
victims of the genocide. “Sometimes talking too large a number is simply
beyond
the power of our comprehension, but talking about several people, hundred
people, reading their names, letting my colleagues know these were real
people,
they were brothers and sisters, they were mothers, they were fathers,
grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers and scientists and scholars,
musicians… so that we would all know the sound of suffering.”
He expressed his happiness at the rebirth of a new Armenian nation. “In that
nation of Armenia, we see how the Ottoman Turks have failed.”
Speaking about the need to maintain US support for Armenia strong in order to
keep the country vibrant and growing, Congressman Schiff insisted that the
success of the Armenian nation and its diaspora is the final proof of Ottoman
Turkey’s failure.
Senator Jackie Speier began by proclaiming “never again,” to describe the
massacre of Armenians by Turk beginning in 1898. A third generation Armenian
American, Senator Spier pointed to the 37,000 pages in the archives of the US
government, recorded by diplomats, on the genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman
Turks–and called on President Bush to properly characterize the Armenian
genocide.
Sen. Speier’s resolution SJR 2, which marks April 24, 2005 as California’s
day
of remembrance, unanimously passed the Senate floor last Thursday.
Other elected officials who addressed the gathering called on President Bush
to properly characterize the first Genocide of the twentieth century in order
to prevent future genocides. Many alluded to the event as one of the “darkest
pages in history,” and pledged their unwavering support to Armenian Americans
in demanding the US and Turkey officially recognize the Armenian genocide.
In another victory last Thursday in Sacramento, the California State Assembly
passed (70-0) SB 424, authored by Sen. Poochigian–that permanently designates
the week of April 24 California’s week of remembrance of the Armenian
genocide.
Other events marking the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide included
the unprecedented March for Humanity that began on April 2 and ended at the
State Capitol in Sacramento last Thursday to end a 19-day 215 mile journey
that
Began in Fresno and ended with over 500 members of the California Armenian
American community–along with Senator Jackie Speier and State Assembly
Majority Leader Dario Frommer–joining the marchers. The procession was met at
the Capitol steps by legislators, including Sen. Poochigian.
On April 23, the yearly protest in front of the Turkish Consulate in Los
Angeles once again gathered young and old alike to demand justice from
Turkey–including reparations for their Genocide of Armenians at the turn of
the 20th century.
That event was followed by a requiem service in Montebello, California at the
site of the Genocide monument dedicated to all the victims of the Armenian
genocide.
On April 24, System Of A Down held their annual benefit Souls concert,
performing for their fans at the sold-out Gibson Amphitheatre.
As with last year’s Souls concert, the group fittingly ended the show with
“P.L.U.C.K. (Politically Lying, Unholy, Cowardly Killers),” which includes the
verse, “A whole race genocide/ Taken away all of our pride/ Revolution, the
only solution/ We’ve taken all your sh–/ Now it’s time for restitution.”
Proceeds from Sunday’s show benefited several organizations, including the
ANCA, Amnesty International, Center for the Prevention of Genocide, and
Axis of
Justice.

4) The Walk May End, but the March Continues

LOS ANGELES–As the March For Humanity reached its final destination in
Sacramento, organizers of the 215-mile and 19-day walk slogan promised that
“The walk may end, but the march continues.”
“Similar to what our slogan suggests, we and the Armenian youth as a
collective must create new and more powerful ways of securing justice for the
Armenian Genocide,” said Vicken Sosikian, director of the March For Humanity.
“We are currently discussing ways to not only continue the march [for
justice],
but also to expand it.”
The March For Humanity marked an unprecedented Armenian genocide event. In
conjunction with the last two days of the walk, organizers of the March For
Humanity launched a nationwide ad campaign on April 19 and 20 on CNN Networks.
Reaching an audience of up to 8 million Americans, the March For Humanity
marked the first recorded instance of a nationwide Armenian genocide ad
campaign. The commercials informed viewers about the Armenian genocide, as
well
as the March For Humanity.
The March also received media coverage from outlets in geographical locations
that normally do not offer much news about the Armenian genocide. Newspapers
and television news programs in Visalia, Fresno, Madera, Merced, Turlock,
Modesto, Lodi, Stockton, Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Glendale,
Burbank, and other California cities all echoed news of the March For
Humanity.
Preliminary media monitoring shows that the following media outlets covered
the
March For Humanity: Lodi News Sentinel, Modesto Bee, Fresno Bee, Los Angeles
Times, Daily News, Sacramento Bee, Stockton Record, Contra Costa Times, San
Jose Mercury News, San Diego Union Tribune, San Luis Obispo Tribune, Merced
Sun
Star, USA Today, Burbank Leader, Glendale News Press, Monterey County Herald,
Voice of America, Democracy Now, ABC, CBS, NBC, UPN, and more than 100 other
internet news sources.
“An estimated 10 million Americans have been educated about the Armenian
Genocide as a result of the news coverage generated by the March For
Humanity,”
said Sosikian. “More detailed research is likely to show that this number is
even greater when our nationwide CNN ad campaign is included. Now we must
search for ways to educate not ten but 100 million about the Genocide.”
The March For Humanity was made possible by the flood of financial and moral
support it received starting in late January by Armenians and non-Armenians
alike. More than 500 organizations, businesses, and individuals invested in
the
idea. Some people mailed in their checks, others made their donations at the
March For Humanity website, others sponsored walkers, others delivered their
donation personally, some donated food, others water, others their cars, some
gave clothes. Some, who lived in cities the marchers walked through, opened
their doors to the young group of devoted youth.
“The amount of support we received to organize the march was unseen, at least
by me,” said Serouj Aprahamian, coordinator of the March For Humanity.
“Although support is still needed, the amount we received prior to its
beginning was a large encouragement for the walkers.”
More than 11,500 different people from 84 different countries visited the
March For Humanity website– February 24 and
April 24. More than 500 action alerts, calling on President Bush to officially
recognize the Armenian genocide, were completed by many non-Armenians.
“Hundreds helped make the March For Humanity a reality. We are thankful to
each and every individual, business, and organization who contributed in
anyway
to the March For Humanity,” Sosikian. “A few such donors we would like to
thank
in particular include the Armenian Relief Society, Armenian National Committee
of America, AA Cater Truck Manufacturing Company, GBH, Homenetmen, Horizon
Armenian Television, Asbarez Armenian Daily Newspaper, Kerovision, Adin of
California, Sunworks Tanning, New Armenia Daily, Armenian Life Magazine, Axis
of Justice, and all the churches who made our marchers feel like home every
night. We would also like to thank Mr. Kevork Aslanian, Mr. Sarkis Sarkissian,
and Mrs. Vergine Sarkissian.”

5) Turkish Group Protests Schwarzenegger over Armenian Genocide Statement

(AP, AFP)–A Turkish group uniting hundreds of businesses and organizations
demanded Tuesday that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movies be banned from Turkish
television to protest the California governor’s use of the term genocide to
describe the massacre of Armenians by Turks during World War I.
Schwarzenegger, a former actor best known for his role in “The Terminator,”
declared April 24 a “Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.” California
has one of the largest populations of diaspora Armenians.
An umbrella organization grouping some 300 Ankara-based associations, unions
and businesses and led by the Ankara Chamber of Commerce said it launched a
petition to have the governor’s films banned in Turkey.
“We condemn and protest movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger, who declared April
24 a day to commemorate the Armenian genocide and accused Turks of genocide by
acting under the influence of the Armenian lobby, and without researching
historical truths,” read a statement from Sinan Aygun, head of Ankara Chamber
of Commerce. “We don’t want his films shown in Turkey,” said the statement.
In a related move, Turkey said on Monday it would fight mounting
international
pressure to recognize as genocide the mass killings of Armenians under the
Ottoman Empire, urging public agencies and civic groups to launch an “all-out
effort” against the damaging allegations.
“It has become inevitable for all state institutions and NGOs, for everybody
to (work to) disprove those baseless allegations all over the world,” the
government spokesman, Justice Minister Cemil Cicek, said after a cabinet
meeting. “There was no genocide. An all-out effort is needed to expose the
lies
of those who say it happened,” he said.
The cabinet discussed what strategy Turkey should pursue to counter the
Armenian genocide and decided to set up, if necessary, a special agency to
coordinate such efforts, Cicek said.

All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier
and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and
subscription requests.
(c) 2005 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved.

ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for
academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through
mass media outlets.

Common ground

A group of historians wants to reconsider the 1915 Armenian genocide –
and prove that Turkish and Armenian scholars really can get along

The Boston Globe
April 24, 2005

By Meline Toumani

Five years ago, Ronald Grigor Suny, a professor of political science at
the University of Chicago, sat in a tiny room on campus and waited
nervously for a group of colleagues to arrive. ”What have we done?” he
asked his wife. ”What if these people choke each other to death?”

The conflict that Suny feared was no arcane ivory tower dispute. It was
the first meeting of the Workshop for Armenian-Turkish Scholarship, and
most of the participants were of Armenian or Turkish descent. In other
words, in addition to being historians, sociologists, and political
scientists, they were members of ethnic groups that – particularly in
the diaspora – view one another as sworn enemies.

Animosity between the groups stems from events in 1915 in Ottoman Turkey
that Armenians – along with most prominent historians worldwide – call
the ”Armenian genocide,” and that many Turks call the ”so-called
genocide” or the ”Armenian allegations,” if they don’t use the phrase
employed by Turkey’s foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, at a press
conference last month: ”unacceptable claims by the [Armenian] diaspora
to continue its existence.” The Turkish government promulgates a view
that the number of Armenians who died is much lower than Armenians claim
– around 500,000 instead of 1.5 million – and that their deaths were the
consequence of their collusion with Russian forces in World War I, not
preplanned extermination. A revision to the Turkish penal code proposed
last year would impose a prison sentence of up to 10 years for use of
the term ”genocide” to describe the events of 1915.

For decades, Armenian groups, particularly those in the diaspora, have
lobbied governments, news organizations, and academic institutions to
officially label the events of 1915 as genocide, observing April 24 as
the date the massacres began. (The Boston area is home to one of the
largest communities of Armenian-Americans whose families were dispersed
from Turkey following the genocide.) And while Turkey is a long way from
such recognition, public discussion of the issue has reached
unprecedented levels there in recent months, following recommendations
from many European Union leaders that Turkey take steps to resolve the
issue before becoming an EU member.

When the Workshop for Armenian-Turkish Scholarship held its fourth
meeting last weekend in Salzburg, Austria, Turkish journalists were
invited for the first time. Workshop members would like to see their
work influence Armenian-Turkish relations, but they are adamant that
scholarship and politics are separate enterprises. They also know from
personal experience just how psychologically difficult it is for either
side to take a neutral look at either history or current developments.

For Suny, an Armenian-American, the idea of working with Turkish
scholars was inspired by a visit to Istanbul’s Koç University in 1998.
Suny lectured about the genocide, and although several people walked out
during his talk, others received him with curiosity and respect.

But following his visit, the New Jersey-based newspaper Armenian
Reporter published a series of articles that accused Suny of being an
agent of the Turkish state and questioned the intentions of Turkish and
Armenian scholars who chose to work together. Suny replied with a
blistering letter to the editor. ”What a colossal intellectual and
political mistake it would be,” he wrote, ”for Armenians to slam the
door in the face of those Turks who want to open a dialogue, who are
prepared to take risks and suffer the consequences from their own
government by proposing a fresh discussion of the events of 1915.”

One of those Turks was Fatma Muge Gocek, a sociologist at the University
of Michigan who co-founded the workshop with Suny in 2000. When Gocek
came to the United States from Turkey in 1981, she quickly learned that
to be a Turk among Armenian-Americans was to stand accused of crimes
committed almost a century ago.

In 1998, at a Michigan conference marking the 75th anniversary of the
Turkish Republic, an audience filled with Armenians drilled her and
other speakers with questions about genocide denial. An elderly Armenian
woman stood up and said, with great emotion, that her parents died in
the massacres. Gocek was deeply moved. ”I don’t have to be Armenian to
feel terrible for you,” she recalls saying. ”I can see that you’re a
person in pain, and I’m in pain with you.”

Her reply left the woman speechless. ”I had never realized, until that
moment, the trauma that is created by a lack of acknowledgment,” Gocek
says.

Taner Akcam, another Turkish-born scholar in the workshop, is more
accustomed to speaking out against mainstream Turkish views. Now an
associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Akcam was imprisoned
in Ankara in 1976 for publishing an article stating that there were
Kurds living in Turkey. (The legal term was ”mountain Turks,” and even
today the government does not recognize Kurds as an official minority,
though they constitute 20 percent of the population.) Instead of serving
his 10-year sentence, Akcam dug his way out of jail – literally – and
escaped to Germany. There, he became a researcher at the Hamburg
Institute for Social Research, working alongside German scholars who
were studying the Holocaust.

Akcam is often credited with being the first Turkish historian to label
the events of 1915 as ”genocide,” but even he admits this did not come
easily. ”It was a certain psychological process to use the word
genocide,”’ he says. ”That’s why I can understand my Turkish scholar
friends who are ready to talk about it openly, but never use that word.”

Suny welcomed colleagues to that first workshop at the University of
Chicago by calling it ”a small, humble, and historic meeting” inspired
by ”tolerance of difference on the basis of equality and respect,
rather than exclusivist and insular nationalism.” The meeting was not
without tension. Many Armenian scholars refused to attend, and some
insisted (unsuccessfully) that participants sign a document stating that
they recognized the genocide.

In the end, some used ”the G-word,” others didn’t. But the goal, Suny
says, was no longer to decide whether it did or it didn’t happen. ”We
say, It happened,”’ he explains. ”Now we have to find out: Why did it
happen? How did it happen?”’

Simply asking these questions challenges not just Turkish orthodoxies
but the mainstream Armenian attitude, which has been defined for many
years by the quest for acknowledgment – for ”the G-word” – above all.
Suny says this is not enough. ”If you don’t seek an explanation of why
it occurred, it becomes a kind of racism,” he says. ”Then the
explanation implied is that Turks are a pathological group of people who
simply do these things.”

Suny, whose great-grandparents died in the 1915 massacres in Yozgat and
Diyarbakir, says he himself didn’t use the term genocide until he’d done
enough research on the subject. And he has questioned the view, held by
many Armenian scholars, that the genocide was planned well in advance,
arguing instead that even the deliberate massacre of a specific ethnic
group could have been an emergency strategy, not a long-term plot. The
point does not sit well with those who fear it bolsters Turkey’s claim
that the massacres were not genocide at all, but consequences of war.

In Turkey, meanwhile, discussion of this once-taboo subject continues to
develop. Last week, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, backed by
opposition leader Deniz Baykal, called for an international
investigation into the events of 1915. (Armenian president Robert
Kocharian rejected the proposal, pointing out that many such efforts
have already been completed.) And last Sunday the Turkish state archives
released a list of more than 523,000 Turks allegedly killed by Armenians
in Turkey between 1910 and 1922 – a move that added to suspicion that
Erdogan’s initiative was a bid to appease EU pressure, not a sincere
reconsideration.

Yet some who would like to see Turkey officially recognize the genocide
believe that it should not be tied to EU membership. If genocide
recognition is imposed from the top down – just as genocide denial was –
it may please Armenians in the short term, but it could be
counterproductive by creating more hostility among Turks. Better, they
say, to allow open discussion and study of the genocide to percolate
from the bottom up.

Perhaps members of the Workshop for Armenian-Turkish Scholarship will
get a warmer reception from their own communities. In a near-comic
example of mistrust, both sides have accused Gocek of being an Armenian
posing as a Turk. Never one to rest easy on assumptions, Gocek
reconstructed generations of family history to confirm that her
ancestors were, in fact, ”Sunni Muslims to the core.”

But what, after all, does ethnic identity mean for someone who spends so
much energy resisting the lure of nationalism?

A lot, it turns out. ”I love my country!” declares Akcam, quoting the
climactic line from a poem that Nazim Hikmet, Turkey’s most famous
dissident, wrote in an Istanbul prison in 1939.

Suny, too, is unequivocal. ”No one can take being Armenian away from
me,” he says. ”My grandmother always told me that I am Armenian and we
are the most wonderful people in the world.”

Meline Toumani is a writer living in Brooklyn.

PHOTO CAPTION: A boy paused last week in front of a poster in Yerevan,
Armenia, depicting survivors of the mass kilings of Armenians that took
place in eastern Turkey between 1915 and 1923. In recent years, a group
of Armenian and Turkish historians have been working together to bridge
the gap between the two sides’ sharply polarized views of the events.
(AP Photo / Herbert Bagdasaryan)

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZG Armenian Daily #075, 27/04/2005

Armenian Genocide

GENOCIDE COMMEMORATED IN MOSCOW

The anniversary of the Armenian Genocide has never been commemorated like
this time in the Russian capital. Mass media of the country devoted much
attention to the event and meanwhile publications and TV reportages were
mostly of condemning character. The Armenian community of Russia was
actively involved in arranging diverse programs. Not only the 9 decades of
Turkey’s denial played a considerable role in active involvement of Moscow
Armenians but also the awakened national self-consciousness of local
Armenians that should be ascribed to the efforts of those immigrated from
Armenia.

The Genocide issue is evolving into a political demand, which is able to
comprise considerable part of Russia’s public opinion. Political, public and
cultural figures of the country took part in the arrangements. It was
praiseworthy to see how 3 national institutions — embassy, Armenian diocese
and the Armenian community — cooperated. If one could predict that the
ancient Surp Harutyun church will prove small for the huge crowd, then no
one could expect that the traffic on the wide streets nearby new Armenian
church will get blocked.

Writers, political scientists, deputies and historians exchanged views at a
round table at the House of Journalists. The protest rally in front of
Turkish embassy in Moscow could easily end up by a disaster because of some
ethnic groups’ actions as well as steps of any unconscious Armenophil. But
the police was on its guard.

A commemorative evening on April 24 was held at the newly built hall of
International House of Music. Armenian ambassador to Moscow Armen Smbatian,
head of Armenian diocese, His Holiness Father Yezras as well as spearhead of
Russia’s Armenians Ara Abrahamian made their speeches. As always, Vladimir
Zhirinovsky, head of Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, was brusque and
offensive in his anti-Turkish statements. Zhirinovsky ended his pathetic
speech with a question: Why are Jews getting milliards from Germany as
reparation for the Holocaust but Armenians get nothing from Turkey?

By Ruben Hayrapetian in Moscow

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AZG Armenian Daily #075, 27/04/2005

Concern

PROBABILITY TO LIBERATE ARMENIAN PILOTS IMPRISONED IN EQUATORIAL GUINEA
INCREASES

Ara Abrahamian Says ‘Negotiations with Malabo Authorities Took the Right
Course’

Ara Abrahamian, chairman of the World Armenian Congress, said during the
press conference in Yerevan that the probability to liberate the six
Armenian pilots imprisoned in the Equatorial Guinea increases. “The
negotiations are conducted in very beneficial for us direction. We have made
such suggestions (to the authorities of the country) that the probability to
liberate the Armenian pilots is rather high. Soon, everything will be
clear,” Ara Abrahamian stated.

He added that “one should be patient in this issue”. “If we say that, for
instance, tomorrow or in a month they will release the Armenian pilots, that
can hinder the negotiations. I recently met with the representatives of the
Equatorial Guinea in Europe. We have made suggestions that are being
discussed now. We are already close to the final settlement of the issue,”
Ara Abrahamian said.

Six Armenian pilots were arrested in the Equatorial Guinea in March of 2004
and were sentenced to 14-24 years of imprisonment accused of a coup d’etat
in Equatorial Guinea. Since the day of imprisonment they are being kept in
the notorious “Black Beach” prison together with other foreign prisoners.
Some days ago the International Amnesty issued a special release that said
that the prisoners are expected to starve to death. The Malabo authorities
immediately denied the news.

Ara Abrahamian assured that the Armenian pilots are not ill. “I try to
improve their state, to help them out to better condition than the rest of
the prisoners. We care about their health,” he said. These days the
delegation of Ara Abrahamian has again left for Malabo. Ara Abrahamian has
send $500 for each pilot, just like he did during the previous visit.

Ara Abrahamian has already visited this country once. Vartan Oskanian, RA
foreign minister, visited Equatorial Guinea in February. He met with the
authorities of the country. We know that Oskanian also rendered financial
help to the Armenian pilots.

Earlier, the mass media informed that Ara Abrahamian promised to liberate
the Armenian pilots till June 12.”When RA Foreign Ministry applied to me, we
arranged that I will be given three months to deal with this issue. That’s
an issue that should involve either the Armenian authorities or somebody
else. If there is a mediator, one shouldn’t hinder. I was asked whether it
is necessary for the authorities to apply. I said yes, they should apply, as
I can’t help them without the appeal of the Armenian authorities. Otherwise,
that may do harm to the case,” Ara Abrahamian said, touching upon the news.

“I asked for three months (from RA Foreign Ministry). The deadline is June
12. I will either settle the issue or fail. We have agreed with RA Foreign
Ministry to concur our steps without hindering each other,” he said.

By Tatoul Hakobian

Süddeutsche Zeitung
25. April 2005

Stilles Gedenken an die Massaker;
Gebete für “Frieden und Versöhnung” / Türkische Zeitungen fordern
neuen Umgang mit eigener Geschichte

(Silent Memory of the Massacres: Prayers for Peace and Reconciliation
/ Turkish newspapers demand new approach to own history)

Von Christiane Schlötzer

Istanbul – Während in der armenischen Stadt Eriwan und rund um die
Welt am Sonntag Armenier an die Massenmorde im osmanischen Reich vor
90 Jahren mit Kranzniederlegungen, Demonstrationen, mit Reden und
Schweigeminuten erinnerten, gab es in der Türkei nur stille Gebete
für die Getöteten. Die türkischen Armenier – etwa 65 000 – gedachten
in Gottesdiensten der Ermordeten. “Wir beten für Frieden und
Versöhnung” hatte der armenische Patriarch Mesrob II. schon zuvor
angekündigt. Die armenischen Kirchen in Istanbul waren aber, auch
wenn die Gemeinde bewusst kein Aufsehen erregen wollte, deutlich
voller als sonst.

In Eriwan dagegen gingen Zehntausende auf die Straße. Ihr Ziel war
das auf einem Hügel gelegene Monument für die Toten, an dem Tulpen,
Nelken und Narzissen niedergelegt wurden. Von der Spitze des Hügels
kann man den Berg Ararat in der Osttürkei sehen, der als heiliger Ort
der Armenier gilt. In den Ostprovinzen des Osmanischen Reiches lebten
einst hundertausende Armenier. Die Vertreibungen begannen mit der
Verhaftung von armenischen Intellektuellen in Istanbul am 24. April,
weshalb das Datum weltweit von Armeniern traditionell als Gedenktag
begangen wird.

Neue Aufmerksamkeit

So viel Beachtung wie in diesem Jahr hat die armenische Forderung,
die Geschehnisse vor 90 Jahren als Völkermord anzuerkennen, aber noch
nie erhalten. Armeniens Präsident Robert Kotscharian unterstrich am
Sonntag noch einmal in Eriwan, sein Land wolle die “die
internationale Anerkennung und Verurteilung des Genozids” erreichen.
Aber Armenien sei auch bereit, “normale Beziehungen mit der Türkei
aufzubauen”. Die Türkei überrasche mit ihrer Haltung aber nicht nur
Armenien, sondern auch den Rest der Welt. Die Türkei, die der
Europäischen Union betreten möchte, und Armenien unterhalten keine
diplomatischen Beziehungen.

Die türkische Regierung hatte vor dem Sonntag versucht, eine Aufsehen
erregende Gegenkampagne gegen die Genozid-Vorwürfe zu starten. Am
vergangenen Freitag wiederholte der türkische Außenminister Abdullah
Gül noch einmal vor ausländischen Journalisten in Istanbul die
inzwischen in der Türkei von offiziellen Stellen häufig verbreitete
Formel, es habe in den Kriegswirren in den Jahren 1915/16 “Tote auf
beiden Seiten gegeben”. Gül nahm gar die kurz zuvor von
Generalstabschef Hilmi Özkök geäußerte Behauptung auf, die Armenier
seien von den kriegführenden Osmanen, um Racheakte zu verhindern, “in
eine sicherere Region” gebracht worden.

Dass diese Abwehrhaltung auch in der Türkei über nationalistische
Kreise hinaus immer weniger geglaubt wird, zeigten überraschend
emotionale Zeitungskolumnen am Sonntag. So kritisierte der Autor Can
Dündar in der türkischen Zeitung Milliyet, die Wiederholung der immer
gleichen Argumente, “die wir auswendig kennen, das bringt uns
nirgendwohin”. Dündar bedauerte, dass es an der türkisch-armenischen
Grenze kein gemeinsames Denkmal für die Toten gebe und dass “die
Zeitungen in der Türkei heute nicht mit der Überschrift erschienen
sind: Ihr Schmerz ist unser Schmerz”. Im Massenblatt Hürriyet stellte
Autor Murat Bardakci fest, dass kein türkischer Historiker armenisch
spreche und zudem die Geschichtsexperten des Landes schon lange kein
Werk mehr vorgelegt hätten, das international akzeptiert worden sei.

Zuflucht Religion

Das Blatt Sabah ließ den Istanbul-Armenier Vaskän Barin zu Wort
kommen, einen Architekten, der für die Stadtverwaltung arbeitet. Er
erzählte, dass seine Großeltern im Jahr 1915, “um sich zu schützen”,
Muslime geworden seien. Später hätten sie ihre Identität wieder
zurückerlangt. Noch vor kurzem hätte kaum ein Medium in der Türkei
eine solche Geschichte gedruckt. Barin nannte die armenische
Gemeinschaft in der Türkei “introvertiert”. Das zurückgezogene Leben
gilt als ein Schutz.

Die staatliche türkische Musikgesellschaft hatte am Vorabend des
Gedenktages in Istanbul zu einem Konzert geladen. Gespielt wurden
Musikstücke türkischer und armenischer Komponisten. In dem
Veranstaltungssaal, dem byzantischen Kirchenbau Aya Irini, waren alle
Plätze belegt.

Am Sonntag Abend war in Washington auch die traditionelle Rede von
US-Präsident George W. Bush zu dem Gedenktag erwartet worden.
Frankreichs Präsident Jacques Chirac hat schon am Freitag abend
gemeinsam mit Kotscharian in Paris an einem Monument für die Toten
einen Kranz niedergelegt.

Die Menschenrechtskommission der Vereinten Nationen hat die
Gräueltaten an den Armeniern als Völkermord gewertet. Mindestens 15
Staaten schlossen sich dem Urteil an, darunter auch Frankreich.
Deutschland vertritt bislang eine zurückhaltendere Linie.

taz, die tageszeitung
25. April 2005

Erstes Denkmal in Deutschland für den Völkermord in Armenien enthüllt
(First monument in Germany for Armenian genocide unveiled)

sim

Ein im armenischen Jerewan gefertigter Khatchkar, ein traditioneller
Kreuzstein, steht seit gestern auf dem kleinen Platz zwischen der
Gustav-Deetjen-Allee und der Parkstraße unweit des AWD-Domes. Es ist
der erste in Deutschland aufgestellte Gedenkstein, der an die
Ermordung von 1,5 Millionen ArmenierInnen in der osmanischen Türkei
vor 90 Jahren erinnert. Bürgermeister Henning Scherf (SPD) hielt eine
Gedenkansprache, der armenische Gemeindepfarrer aus Berlin Vardabet
Serovpe segnete den Stein.
Die Stiftung Armenisches Kulturerbe, die das Mahnmal initiiert hat,
will es als “Mahnung gegen jegliche Art von Völkermord” verstanden
wissen. Darüber hinaus nehme der Bremer Gedenkstein die Anerkennung
des Massakers in Armenien als Völkermord “faktisch vorweg”. Der
Bundestag hatte bei seiner Debatte vor wenigen Tagen auf ebenjene
formale Anerkennung ausdrücklich verzichtet – um die Beziehungen mit
der Türkei nicht zu sehr zu belasten. ()
Foto: Indra Wegener

AZG Armenian Daily #075, 27/04/2005

Armenia-Turkey

KOCHARIAN SUGGESTS ERDOGAN RELATIONS WITHOUT PRECONDITIONS

‘Governments are responsible for bilateral relations and we have no right to
authorize historians’

The President of Armenia replied to the letter of Turkish prime minister
yesterday and suggested establishing bilateral relations between the
countries without preconditions. Mediamax agency provided us with Recep
Tayyip Erdogan’s letter to President Kocharian where the PM offered “to
establish a joint group consisting of historians and other experts from our
to countries to study the developments and events of 1915 not only in the
archives of Turkey and Armenia but also in the archives of relevant third
countries and to share their findings with the international public”.

“Dear Mr. Prime Minister, as neighbors we indeed have to look for ways for
peaceful coexistence now and in future. For that very reason we have
suggested to establish diplomatic relations, to open the border and start a
dialogue between the states and peoples”.

“There are neighboring countries in the world, particularly in Europe, with
a tough past that brings out discords. But it is no obstacle for them to
have open borders, natural relations, diplomatic ties, representatives in
each other’s capitals and to discuss arguable issues meanwhile”, Kocharian’s
letter reads.

“Your proposal of studying the past cannot be productive if it has no tracks
to the present and future. For a productive dialogue we need a beneficial
and adequate political environment. Governments are responsible for
bilateral relations and we have no right to authorize historians. Thus we
suggest as we did before to establish normal relations between the two
states without preconditions”. President Kocharian’s letter reads in the end
that “in this context there may be set an intergovernmental commission to
discuss all bilateral issues with the aim to solve them and reach mutual
understanding”.

It is clear from the President’s letter that Yerevan is not going to leave
the issue of the Armenian Genocide to the historians. Foreign minister
Oskanian said earlier that the “historians have done their work” and Turkey
is now only to accept its past and recognize the Genocide.

By Tatoul Hakobian

AZG Armenian Daily #075, 27/04/2005

Armenian Genocide

WILL ARMENIANS AND TURKS EVER COME TO TERMS?

24% Said Yes, 33% Said No

The issue of the Armenian Genocide arouses painful feelings in 40% of
Armenian citizens, revenge in 21%, hatred in 18%, hostility in 11.5%, pity
in 5% and sense of guilt in 2%.

53% of Armenians consider human loss the greatest calamity of the Genocide,
23% sees the land loss as such, 7% the loss of national spirit and will, 4%
the loss of intelligentsia.

The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS) conducted
a public poll opinion among 1900 citizens in all regions of Armenia on the
eve of Armenian Genocide’s 90th anniversary. They asked 40 questions. Stepan
Safarian, ACNIS research coordinator, presented poll’s results yesterday. We
have rounded up the numbers.

61% of respondents views the Turkish state as the ultimate responsible
authority for the Genocide, 55% the Young Turks, 30% Germany, 23% Turkish
people, 13% the Russian Empire, 10% Armenian traditional political parties.

“Is today’s Turkey responsible for the Genocide?” 81% gave positive answer,
8% negative. Speaking of modern Turkey and its people 63% of respondents
said that “Turks remains Turks and capable of committing genocide”, 29% said
that “Turkish official policy and a common Turk are different things”, 7%
think that “nowaday Turks are not the barbarians of early 20th century”.

93.5% thinks that Armenia has to demand reparations from Turkey. The next
question was “What kind of reparation do you expect?” 27% said that Turkey
has to officially recognize the Genocide, apologize, become civilized and
put down all means of Genocide negation. 20% wants to see the territories of
Western Armenian back.

25% stands for Turkey’s accession to the EU, 52% is against it, 23% was hard
to answer. On the other hand, 62% thinks that the Genocide recognition
should be put as a precondition before Turkey.

“Do you agree with Armenia’s position of establishing bilateral relations
with Turkey without preconditions but with the pursuance of Genocide’s
international recognition?” 40% agreed, 29% did not and 31% could not
answer.

The public opinion poll showed that the majority of Armenia’s population
still continues subconsciously to perceive Turkey’s western regions as
Western Armenia. Answering the question “Where the Armenian Genocide took
place?”, 76% said in Western Armenia, 19% said in the Ottoman Empire.

By Tatoul Hakobian

Armenian Assembly of America
122 C Street, NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
 
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 26, 2005
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
Email: [email protected]

SENATOR CHAFEE AFFIRMS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Congressional Record Statement Marks Senator’s First Public
Declaration

Washington, DC – Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), in his first ever
public statement acknowledging the Armenian Genocide, marked the 90th
anniversary of this crime against humanity saying that “Remembering
the victims is our duty to the past and to the future.”

The first-term Senator’s full statement commemorating the Armenian
Genocide was published in the April 25 Congressional Record that said
in part:

“Yesterday marked the 90th anniversary of the beginning of the
Armenian Genocide. A date of great significance for many Rhode
Islanders, and growing in significance for all Americans, this day not
only commemorates the atrocities of the past, but also reminds us that
it must not happen again.”

“The Assembly welcomes Senator Chafee’s affirmation of the Armenian
Genocide,” said Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. “The
Senator’s remarks build on previous statements by President Ronald
Reagan, Members of Congress and world-renowned scholars regarding the
incontestable historical fact of the Armenian Genocide.”

In November 1999, Chafee was appointed by former Rhode Island Governor
Lincoln Almond to fill the unexpired term of his father, the late
Senator John H. Chafee. He is a member of the Committee on Foreign
Relations and serves as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Near
Eastern and South Asian Affairs.

The Senator began his political career in 1985, when he was elected a
delegate to the Rhode Island Constitutional Convention. One year
later, he was elected to the first of two successive terms on the
Warwick City Council. In November 1992, he became the first
Republican elected Mayor of the City of Warwick in 32 years.

In the 108th Congress, Chafee was a cosponsor of S. 1557, a bill to
extend permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to Armenia, which was
enacted into law last year. He also sent his staff to take part in an
Assembly-sponsored fact-finding Congressional Delegation to Armenia
and Nagorno Karabakh in August of 2003.

The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness
of Armenian issues. It is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt membership
organization.

###
NR#2005-035

A photograph of Senator Chafee is available at the following link:

Editor’s Note: The full text of Senator’s Chafee’s Congressional
Record Statement is provided below.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE — (Senate – April 25, 2005)

[Page: S4179] GPO’s PDF

—
Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, yesterday marked the 90th anniversary of
the beginning of the Armenian Genocide. A date of great significance
for many Rhode Islanders, and growing in significance for all
Americans, this day not only commemorates the atrocities of the past,
but also reminds us that it must not happen again. Remembering the
victims is our duty to the past and to the future.

The term “genocide” did not even exist when these atrocities
occurred from 1915 to 1923, yet the numbers are staggering. Over 1.5
million people perished. Over 500,000 people were forcibly removed
from their homes and their homeland. Armenian religious, political,
and intellectual leaders were killed. Men were removed from their
families and women and children were left vulnerable to deportation,
kidnapping, and starvation, and 132,000 Armenian orphans became foster
children in American families.

It is vital for the distinct identity of every culture to be honored
and celebrated. Over one and a half million Americans are of Armenian
heritage, and on this day we are grateful for their many contributions
to our country. Rhode Island and this entire Nation continue to
benefit from a strong and vibrant Armenian community.

-END-

Armenian president responds to Turkish premier on bilateral ties

Mediamax news agency
26 Apr 05

YEREVAN

Armenian President Robert Kocharyan sent a response to Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan today, the presidential press service
told Mediamax new agency today.

Mediamax new agency publishes the full text of the Armenian
president’s letter:

“Dear Mr Prime Minister, I have received your letter.

“Indeed, as neighbours, we must seek ways to live in accord today and
in the future. Exactly for this reason, we suggested from the very
beginning establishing diplomatic relations, opening the borders and
starting a dialogue between the two countries and peoples.

“There are neighbouring countries in the world, for example, in
Europe, which have had a difficult past and still have
disagreements. Nevertheless, this does not prevent them from having
open borders, normal relations, diplomatic ties, representatives in
the two countries’ capitals and discussing disputed issues in
parallel.

“Your proposal to touch on the past cannot be productive, if it does
not concern the present and the past. It is necessary to establish a
favourable and appropriate political atmosphere in order to engage in
a productive dialogue. The government bears responsibility for
developing bilateral relations and we have no right to delegate it to
historians. Taking this into account, we suggested and suggest again
establishing normal relations between our countries without
preconditions.

“In this context, an intergovernmental commission could be set up to
discuss any problem or all important problems existing between the two
countries in order to solve [problems] and reach mutual understating.”

[Passage omitted: Quotes from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan’s letter]