Turkish Press
April 25 2005

Igdir Mayor Aras: Turks Forced To Evacuate Their Homes And Land In
Yerevan Will Be Determined Soon

IGDIR – Igdir Mayor Nurettin Aras has indicated that his office has
started working on finding out the Turks that were forced to evacuate
their homes and land in Yerevan during the First World War and the
1930s.

”Some of the Turks moved to Igdir. We are now closely working with
local administrations in Igdir to find out the names and number of
Turks who were forced to evacuate their homes in Yerevan,” said
Aras.

Aras added that the Armenians massacred hundreds of Turks. ”We will
firstly find out which Turks were forced to flee Yerevan. Once we
know the names of Turks forced to leave Yerevan, we will be filing
legal action against the Armenians,” told Aras.

South Bend Tribune, IN
April 24 2005

World has moral duty to stand against genocide
DIALOGUE: MICHIANA POINT OF VIEW

By MAKROUHI OXIAN

An eternal flame burns at the Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial in
Yerevan, Armenia. It is surrounded by a sea of flowers that visitors
carry to the site.

Courtesy of Oneworld.net

Ninety years ago, the first genocide of the 20th century began on
April 24, the Armenian Genocide. Throughout the world, Armenians
today will honor the memory of their loved ones who perished at the
bloody hands of the Ottoman Turkish government.

On April 24, 1915, approximately 200 prominent Armenians —
intellectuals and religious and political leaders — were arrested in
Constantinople (Istanbul) where 21 were hanged. The others were
murdered in the interior regions of Turkey.

The ethnic cleansing of the Armenians then began in all the provinces
of Turkey. No town or city was spared, including my parents’
hometown, the city of Rodosto (Tekirdag) near Constantinople.

Thousands of families, including my parents’ families and my mother,
were removed from their homes and deported into the deserts of Syria.
Along the way, thousands were murdered, tortured and raped. Many died
of exhaustion, starvation, exposure or thirst. From 1915 through
1923, a total of 1.5 million men, women and children perished.

The United Nations Genocide Convention in 1948 defined genocide as
“acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a
national, ethnic, racial or religious group.” In addition to the
Armenians, other ethnic groups experienced such atrocities during the
20th century, including the Bosnians, Jews, Biafrans, Cambodians,
Tutsis, Kurds, Ukrainians the Russians.

Unfortunately, humankind still continues to commit this horrendous
crime. Presently, thousands are being massacred in the African
country of Sudan.

When the tsunami disaster occurred in Asia, the United Nations and
the international community quickly responded to help the survivors.
The relief effort was morally correct.

When ethnic groups experience genocide at the hands of vicious
butchers, the world community does not respond as quickly, if at all.
Due to political reasons, nations do not want to get involved in the
internal affairs of the countries committing such atrocities. Is it
morally correct to ignore such heinous crimes against humanity and
allow thousands to die?

The Armenian Genocide is slowly being recognized by numerous
countries that will not succumb to pressure from the Turkish
government. Some of them include Canada, Italy, France, Switzerland,
Greece, Lebanon, Russia, Slovakia, Argentina, Uruguay and the
Vatican.

For 90 years, Turkey has adamantly denied that it committed genocide
against the Armenians during World War I. The Turkish government not
only dismisses the evidence but is attempting to rewrite history by
paying historical revisionists to write false accounts. How would
people throughout the world react if Germany would attempt to deny
historical truth regarding the Holocaust?

To date, the U.S. Congress has not passed a resolution recognizing
the genocide. Turkey is a strong U.S. ally and NATO partner. The
government of Turkey and its highly paid lobby groups in Washington
have pressured many members of Congress to vote against any
resolution that would recognize the genocide.

Nevertheless, cities such as Galveston, Texas, Fresno, Calif., and
Boston, as well as 27 states, have officially recognized the
genocide. A few of the states are Alaska, California, Colorado,
Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, Utah and
Wisconsin. Unfortunately, our great state of Indiana has not taken
the initiative to join the other enlightened states.

To honor the memory of those who perished during the genocide,
numerous events will place in large as well as smaller communities
throughout the world.

The largest commemoration in the United States will take place in New
York City where the events will center around the themes of
remembrance, justice and prevention. Thousands of Armenian Americans
from throughout the Northeast will attend church services April 24
followed by a memorial gathering at noon at Times Square. Those in
attendance will hear noted speakers and honor elderly genocide
survivors. Then a solemn ecumenical requiem service will be held at
St. Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral with many religious, diplomatic and
political dignitaries in attendance.

In Providence, R.I., an art gallery will have an exhibit honoring the
90th anniversary of the genocide. All types of media will be on
display such as photographs, sculptures and paintings. Young people
in California will participate in a March for Humanity to make the
public aware of the genocide.

In Poland, a demonstration will take place near the Turkish Embassy
in Warsaw. A monument dedicated to the genocide will be placed in one
of the squares in Varna, Bulgaria. Twelve tribal leaders from Syria
went to Armenia to honor the memory of thousands of innocent
individuals who perished during the genocide.

The largest gathering in Armenia will be at the genocide memorial at
the top of Tsitsernakaberd Hill near Yerevan, the capitol. Thousands
will climb up to the monument to lay flowers near the eternal flame
that is encircled by 12 slabs representing the 12 lost provinces in
Turkey — the ancestral homeland of Armenians for some 3,000 years.
The complex also consists of a museum and a 100-meter wall that
displays the names of towns and villages where massacres took place.

I am dedicating this article in memory of the innocent victims of the
Armenian genocide — including family members who perished. They must
not be forgotten.

Makrouhi Oxian lives in South Bend.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Interfax, Russia
April 24 2005

World community must recognize Armenian genocide – Kocharian

YEREVAN. April 24 (Interfax) – Armenia on Sunday is commemorating the
90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

In an address to his compatriots Armenian President Robert Kocharian
said that, the crime against Armenians, committed 90 years ago, had
no parallel or even name in the history of Mankind.

The year 1915 cut through the fate of the Armenian nation, radically
changing the natural course of its history, Kocharian said.

“International recognition and condemnation of genocide is a goal
which not only Armenia must attain. It should be viewed today in the
context of international politics. Armenians are not experiencing any
hatred. Armenia is declaring its readiness to build normal relations
with Turkey. However, the policy being pursued by Ankara is arousing
surprise not only in Armenia, but elsewhere in the world,” the
Armenian president said.

The genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire has been recognized
and condemned by 15 countries, including Russia, by commissions in
the UN, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the
European Parliament, and by 32 of the 50 US states. International
recognition of the Armenian genocide ranks among Armenia’s
foreign-policy priorities.

Armenians in Nijmegen commemorate genocide
By our correspondents

De Gelderlander (Dutch regional paper)
April 23, 2005

NIJMEGEN – “Who remembers the Armenians?”, Adolf Hitler said shortly before
the invasion of Poland. Meaningful, because the genocide on the Armenian
people, which started exactly ninety years ago today, has become forgotten.

The Armenian youth organization VAN in Nijmegen is holding a commemoration
ceremony in community center De Driesprong at Cyclamenstraat 10 for the one
and a half million Armenian victims.

“It is my duty to organize this”, says G. Abrahamian, co-founder and
chairwoman of VAN. The primary goal of the organization, which counts fifty
members, is preservation of the Armenian culture. Abrahamian: “We do not do
this in an isolated manner. Everyone is welcome.”

Because with the commemoration ceremony VAN not only tries to attract
Armenians, but also non-Armenians. “We know what happened, but many people
do not. We therefore want to spread the message to the outside. However,
being a small community nobody writes about you in The Netherlands. It is
even difficult to have your story published in the newspapers when you are
unknown.”

Armenians from Nijmegen and from others parts of The Netherlands will go to
Assen in great numbers. In Assen there is a monument in commemoration of the
genocide on Armenians, that was unveiled in 2001 with great Turkish
protests. In Turkey, the massacres continue to be a subject that is not
talked about or published. The Turkish rulers at the time were the ones who
ordered the massacres. Officially, the murders are denied by Turkey.

“It is a sensitive issue, for both Turks and Armenians. When differences of
opinion are not settled by countries, you simply cannot deal with each
other,” says Abrahamian. She adds: “But I do have Turkish friends.”

Amersfoortse Courant (Dutch regional paper)
Utrechts Nieuwsblad,
April 22, 2005

Almost 1.5 million Christian Armenians were killed in Turkey between 1915
and 1923. Turkey has always systematically denied the genocide. If the
country wants to have a chance at becoming an EU member, Ankara will have to
come to terms with this dark chapter. This weekend, it is the ninetieth
anniversary. Time to admit mistakes.

VAKIFLI
By Fidan Ekiz

The Armenians of Vakifli, in the province of Hatay on the south coast of
Turkey, knew how to escape from the Turks by hiding themselves for 40 days
on Mount Musa (Moses) in Antakya. “Without food and drinks they waited
there, in the cold,” says Havadis Demirci.

The 90-year-old Armenian was born during the “dark days” on the mountain. In
Vakifli, the last Armenian village in Turkey, no more than a miserable 130
Armenians live there.

Of the 5000 Armenians from seven villages, who found their refuge on Musa,
many died of hunger and cold. The survivors were saved by French seamen who
were sailing across the Ak Sea. Among them was Havadis Demirci. “We were
taken to Egypt. When I was four, I returned to Vakifli with my parents and
other inhabitants.” They were received by those who stayed behind and
astonishingly survived the massacre.

For centuries the Orthodox Christian Armenian minority lived harmoniously
with the Muslim Turks. When the Ottoman Empire began to crumble at the
beginning of the twentieth century, Turkish tolerance also came to an end.
During World War I, instigated by strong nationalistic sentiments, the Turks
turned against the Armenians, whom they accused of rebellion. The Armenians,
according to Turks, wanted to abuse the chaotic war situation to create an
independent Armenia that would need parts of Turkey and the Russian Empire.

The anti-Armenian pogroms began with the execution of Armenian leaders who
were hanged from the Galata bridge in Istanbul, followed by genocide on
hundreds of thousands of Armenians in other parts of the country.

The small Vakifli is now mostly inhabited by old Armenians, who live there
undisturbed. Most of the youth has left the village. But in the summer it is
dominated by a happy crowd. Armenians from the diaspora smell the sea air
and visit the local church.

The people here have little to complain about and some are therefore not
pleased with the heated debate that is now taking place concerning the
Armenian genocide. “Why now? The massacres took place 90 years ago. A
Turkish recognition will not bring back my murdered grandfather,” says the
head of village Berc Kartun. “By bringing back the memories, our minority
position is accentuated even more, which is painful.” The fear, even after
so many years, still seems very great. Many Armenians do not dare to be
among Turks now, according to the head of the village. “It is hypocritical
that countries like England and France now, much too late, take our side.
While they are themselves guilty of causing enmity between Armenians and
Turks.” The Western countries realized at the time that there was only way
to force the Ottoman Empire onto its knees, he claims. The minorities were
called to rebel. The nationalistic Turkish sentiments were therefore
instigated because of British and French meddling.

The son of the old Havadis thinks it is good that, after years of silence,
the issue of the genocide is becoming debatable in Turkey. “For years
already the word “Armenian” in Turkey has been synonymous with a
swear-word,” says Artin Demirci. “That we find the Turkish recognition
important has nothing to do with revenge. Turkey has to admit its mistakes
in order to become a fully fledged democracy.” For the commemoration of the
genocide next Sunday nothing special is planned in Vakifli. In previous
years Armenians gathered in the church, but that has not been in use for a
while now. “People will pray at home,” Artin thinks.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Times-Union, Albany, NY
April 24 2005

Who can stop the genocide that’s occurring today?

By WILLIAM S. PARSONS
First published: Sunday, April 24, 2005

Editor’s note: This article is based on a speech William S. Parsons
delivered April 14 at the Armenian Lecture Series at Russell Sage
College in Troy. Parsons is chief of staff at the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington and editor of “Century of
Genocide: Critical Essays and Eyewitness Accounts.”

Each generation has great accomplishments — and yet it seems like
we’re still in the Stone Age when it comes to how we treat one
another and how we behave toward one another, especially when it
becomes massacres and genocide and hate. Each generation, I think,
witnesses innocent people being slaughtered and yet each generation
is inept in preventing genocide.

The agony of this history is really looking at the fact that you have
individuals, groups and nations who make decisions on a daily basis
to let mass murder, crimes against humanity and genocide occur.

Genocide is not accidental. It doesn’t just come out of anywhere.
Genocide is purposeful. Genocide is planned in secrecy, but it often
is carried out publicly. That’s really been the history of 20th
century genocide.

Back in 1915, when the young Turk government took power, their slogan
was brotherhood, their slogan was humanity, their slogan was
something else aside from what they ended up doing. They ended up
creating a new order in Turkey and the new order was not going to
include Greeks. It was not going to include Christians. It was not
going to include Christian Armenians. It was definitely not going to
include Armenians. It was definitely not going to include a lot of
other folks. And this new order got put in place and the world
watched as that genocide took place.

It wasn’t called a genocide back then. The word genocide didn’t
evolve until Raphael Lempkin in 1948 who had survived the Holocaust
and lost his whole family struggled to find a word to talk about mass
slaughter on a scale that is perpetuated and perpetrated by a
government. There was no word called genocide in 1915.

Winston Churchill has a great quote where he calls the 20th century
the century of common man. And when he got asked “what do you mean
the century of common man,” his response was because common man has
suffered the most in the 20th century.

This is agonizing for those of us who have lost brothers and fathers
and daughters and mothers in war as soldiers, especially in Iraq
today. And that’s painful. But look at the records, folks. It is
safer to be a soldier in the 20th century than it is to be a
civilian.

Civilians are massacred on wholesale sizes throughout the world. Just
look at our own life spans; take my own life span.

In 1964, I went to college. I was away from home finally, having a
great time — and the Ache Indians in Paraguay are almost obliterated
from the face of the earth.

The next year, I’m a sophomore and Indonesia slaughters 500,000
people.

Almost to the day that I graduated in June 1967, President Nasser of
Egypt made his famous statement — we will annihilate the Jews of
Israel and we will annihilate the state of Israel.

I ended up teaching history and social studies in the public school
systems and as I’m teaching kids about World War II and World War I,
the slogan “never again” keeps coming up in the classroom. Never
again what?

In 1971, here I am teaching this history, 1 million to 3 million
Bengalis are slaughtered in Pakistan. A few years later, you get
Indonesia again. A few years after that, 200,000 Hutus are rounded up
and slaughtered by Tutsis in Burundi. What’s Burundi next door to?
Rwanda.

Do you think Rwanda in 1994 came out of nowhere? It came out of
revenge. The Tutsis killed the Hutus in Burundi. In 1994, the Hutus
turned on the Tutsis and wiped out 800,000 of them within three
months. A million to 3 million Cambodians in 1975-79 and I’m still
teaching, never again what. What does that mean?

Never again Armenians in the Middle East. Never again Jews in Europe.
Never again Cambodians in Cambodia. What is the word never again? Is
it just something we aspire to? Is it just something we hope for?
Just in my lifetime, we’ve lived through genocide after genocide,
after mass murder after mass murder.

And today we’re faced with Sudan. In the last 10 years, a little more
than 2 million people in southern Sudan were killed. We watched it.
It was in the news, we saw it and it continued.

And today we face another genocide in Darfur in western Sudan. There
are 700,000-800,000 people there and 400,000 have already gone across
the border in refugee camps and are dying from diseases. And the
Sudanese government today says it’s not genocide. It’s those groups
out there that we don’t have control of in the desert who are killing
them.

What was the Turkish government’s response after the Armenian
genocide? It wasn’t planned. It was just out in that desert there.
There were Kurds. There were people who were killing them. We
couldn’t control them.

Every government down through history has all the excuses in the
world. We’re so good at excuses — and we’re so good at the
memorials.

When our staff went over to the State Department next door to us in
Washington to argue with them this past month about Darfur, they
said: I don’t know. I don’t know if you can call it genocide now. If
you call it genocide, there’s this implication and this implication
and this implication.

And we’re sitting there saying if you’re waiting to call it genocide,
forget it. Just go build your memorial, it’s done. Call it imminent
genocide. Call it a threat to genocide. Call it a crime against
humanity. Call it anything you want on that scale, but do something
to stop it now.

And the tragedy is we’ve got the tools to stop genocide. The tragedy
is we choose not to do it. That’s the tragedy of this history.

So what are the facts, what are the answers to this, where does it
come from, what perpetuates it? One way you can start to look at it
is that you automatically think to stop genocide you need a
government … you need a nation. You can’t stop it. I can’t stop it.

Right? Wrong, I think. Governments don’t stop it because we don’t
force our governments to stop it and that’s true of every single
genocide that’s ever taken place.

The Ottoman government labeled the Armenians minorities, a minority
that is a vermin. The next generation, 20 years later in the
Holocaust, the Nazis are going to use the word vermin. Who’s working
with the young Turks in Turkey to kill the Armenians? Many of them
were German soldiers and German officials. … The people who
perpetrate genocide learn from each other and they learn they can get
away with it.

When the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum opened in 1993, all
the people were up at the Congress at the top of the hill, there in
the rotunda — never again must this history happen. And almost the
very next week, ethnic cleansing began in Bosnia by the Serbs.

The next year, all the congressmen, all the dignitaries, were all up
at the hill again. And almost to the day, a Rwandan plane was shot
down with the president and within three months, 800,000 Tutsis were
slaughtered.

The very next year … up at the rotunda … remembering —
remembering is the key — and the Serbs moved in on Bosnian Muslims
and 7,500 Muslim men and boys who were in a U.N. camp, a protection
zone camp to keep them protected from being slaughtered. The Serbs
negotiated with the U.N, and the United Nations turned them over to
the Serbs and 7,500 boys and men were slaughtered.

In six months, you will be reading on the front page of every
newspaper in this country about the Congo. Three million people have
already been killed there; seven armies are crisscrossing the Congo.
Nobody is stepping in; nobody is helping, except for Oxfam, except
for all these private groups that go in to try to make a difference
and put their names and their places on the line to try to save
people, just like those two Pakistani guards.

It all comes down to us, each of us … to just the fact that we have
to take some part of our life to care beyond ourselves, beyond our
group. Because if we don’t, we’re still going to be in the Stone Age
when it comes to human beings.

Il Tempo, Italia
Domenica 24 Aprile 2005

ECCIDIO ARMENO La comunità denuncia: «Israele ci è ostile»

OGNI anno, il 24 aprile, una processione attraversa il quartiere
armeno nella città vecchia di Gerusalemme: è composta dalla comunità
armena locale, circa 1500 persone, la metà dei quali discendenti di
sopravvissuti e profughi dell’olocausto compiuto dai turchi, in cui
persero la vita più di un milione di armeni. Mai però, in tutti
questi anni, un rappresentante della Knesset o della politica
israeliana ha partecipato alla «giornata della memoria». Da parte
ebraica – denunciano gli armeni di Gerusalemme – vi è indifferenza se
non ostilità.
From: Baghdasarian

Avvenire, Italia
Sabato 23 aprile 2005

Eccidio di armeni, i giovani ricordano

Nell’anniversario dei massacri più gravi, i bambini disegnano i
racconti dei nonni. Un nuovo approccio al problema storiografico
della Turchia

Di Camille Eid

Nel cortile del Vang, l’antico monastero armeno di Isfahan, sono
esposti da un mese oltre duecento disegni tracciati dagli studenti
della scuola armena di questa città iraniana. Tutti rappresentano
scene agghiaccianti: gente uccisa o condotta in esilio, chiese date
alle fiamme, case distrutte. Nell’adiacente museo, frequentatissimo
anche da musulmani iraniani, una grande cartina illustra le città
dell’Anatolia toccate dal massacro. Dappertutto nel mondo, ovunque si
trovino comunità armene, la vita si ferma il 24 aprile. È la
commemorazione del genocidio subito dai loro nonni nel 1915 ad opera
dei Giovani Turchi, di cui ricorre domani il novantesimo
anniversario. A distanza di novant’anni, il gergo ufficiale di Ankara
parla ancora del sözde ermeni soykirim, il «cosiddetto genocidio
armeno». Non mancano tuttavia da qualche anno voci che sollecitano
una revisione storiografica. Nel 2000 fu lo storico e sociologo turco
Taner Akçam a lanciare un nuovo approccio alla ermeni sorunu (la
Questione armena) nel suo libro «Svelando il tabù armeno» in cui
difende la legittimità di parlare del genocidio e preconizza la via
del dialogo con gli armeni. La reazione degli schieramenti politici
turchi e della stampa locale all’opera di Akçam (ha venduto solo
mille copie) non fu certo tenera, ma quella strada è stata da allora
battuta da altri intellettuali. Una giornalista di Radikal scriveva
«Per anni, la Turchia ha pensato che bastava proclamare l’assenza di
genocidio, ma non ha preso alcuna iniziativa per provare che non si è
prodotto. Voglio sapere la verità, nient’altro che la verità». Lo
scorso mese, il quotidiano turco Milliyet annunciava la convocazione
di un simposio che riunirà ad Ankara alla fine di maggio numerosi
storici ed esperti internazionali della questione. «1915-1916:
genocidio, diritto, psicologia e storia», questo è il tema
dell’incontro finanziato (si parla di un bilancio di 65mila dollari)
dal ministero degli Esteri turco e dal Consiglio per la sicurezza
interna. Vi partecipano specialisti di genocidi, giuristi e storici
dell’Impero ottomano di fama mondiale. Che il governo di Erdogan
abbia deciso di cambiare modo di approccio alla questione è ormai
chiaro. Lasciare campo libero agli armeni, pensano i turchi, per
inondare il mercato internazionale di opere sui “fatti” del 1915 e i
parlamenti di mezzo mondo di petizioni che sollecitano il
riconoscimento del genocidio armeno non è certo una strategia
vincente. La settimana scorsa, il capo della diplomazia di Ankara ha
proposto all’Armenia di far luce una volta per tutte sui tragici
eventi istituendo una commissione congiunta d’inchiesta, prima di
aggiungere che l’amministrazione ottomana non ha mai ordinato uno
sterminio sistematico e massiccio della popolazione armena sul suo
territorio. Secco rifiuto di Erevan. «Non abbiamo nulla da provare.
Il genocidio ha avuto luogo. È un fatto indiscutibile», ha risposto
il premier armeno Margarian. «In Armenia – ha aggiunto – la gente non
ha appreso di quella tragedia dai libri di scuola ma sulla propria
pelle, dai padri e dai nonni». Sebbene la Turchia abbia riconosciuto
l’indipendenza dell’Armenia nel 1991, non esistono relazioni
diplomatiche tra i due Paesi a motivo del profondo disaccordo sul
genocidio. A fronte di stime armene che parlano di almeno 1,2 milioni
di vittime, Ankara riconosce la morte di un massimo di 300 mila
armeni, principalmente a causa delle malattie o degli attacchi delle
bande curde nel corso della loro deportazione in Siria. Soprattutto,
la Turchia afferma che si trattava della repressione di un Impero in
declino contro una popolazione accusata di connivenza con il nemico
russo e che decine di migliaia di turchi sono stati uccisi dai
ribelli nazionalisti armeni. Di sicuro, a favorire questo nuovo
approccio turco la condizione posta dagli europei per l’ingresso
nella Ue. Lo scorso 14 aprile, nel corso della riunione a Strasburgo
della delegazione interparlementare Ue-Armenia è stato osservato un
minuto di silenzio «in memoria delle vittime del genocidio». Inoltre,
la dichiarazione finale ha «ribadito tutte le risoluzioni del
Parlamento europeo sul genocidio armeno e, all’alba del 90esimo
anniversario di questo evento, invita le autorità turche a
intraprendere un processo di riconciliazione, totale e sincero,
internazionale e nazionale, su questa questione». Un processo che si
annuncia lungo. All’indomani del riconoscimento, nel maggio 2001 da
parte del Parlamento francese, del genocidio armeno, il quotidiano
turco Zaman deplorava il poco interesse per lo studio di quel periodo
storico da parte dei turchi. «Si tratta di un’amara realtà»,
constatava il quotidiano: Il Parlamento francese ha adottato quella
legge perché si trovano in Francia oltre 26mila opere che difendono
il punto di vista armeno. Cosa proponiamo noi invece? 84 libri e 29
sussidi universitari».

Press & Sun-Bulletin, NY
April 24 2005

Armenians mark genocide
Binghamton contingent unveils monument honoring victims
BY SCOTT ROCKEFELLER

On Saturday, Vahe Garabedian recalled a bittersweet story. Many years
ago, his Armenian grandfather was working, stringing power lines,
when Turkish soldiers were prepared to take him into custody.

Photo: Standing behind the Armenian flag, Dr. Garabed Fattal of
Binghamton reads a list of countries that have officially recognized
the Armenian genocide.

SCOTT ROCKEFELLER/Press & Sun-Bulletin

Luckily, his grandfather’s boss was Turkish and convinced the
soldiers to keep moving. Had he not, Garabedian might have never been
born.

“This is a commemoration of a people who were nearly wiped out,” he
said Saturday while standing at the south entrance of the Washington
Street Bridge.

Garabedian, of Binghamton, was one of about 30 members of the local
Armenian community who gathered near the bridge to acknowledge
Armenian Memorial Day, which is today. Attendees remembered the 1.5
million Armenian Christians who were killed because of their faith
and nationality between 1915 and 1923, under Ottoman Empire rule.
Many Armenian families arrived in the Tier after escaping the
genocide.

During the remembrance, a monument near the bridge entrance was
unveiled. The black marble monument joined several trees that have
been planted out of respect to the Armenians who were killed.

Ghazaros Kerjilian of Vestal said the aim of remembrances throughout
the country and the world is to put pressure on the Turkish
government to accept responsibility for the slaughter, and for the
American government to officially recognize it as genocide.

“The important thing to remember is man’s inhumanity to man has no
bounds,” he said. “If we don’t do something about it, it will happen
again.”

Binghamton Mayor Richard A. Bucci and city councilmen Chris Papastrat
and Stephen P. Jensen attended Saturday’s event. Letters of support
from several state politicians were read during the ceremony.

Kerjilian said Saturday’s ceremony was not only an opportunity to
speak out against the genocide, but also to thank the City of
Binghamton.

“We came here, we settled,” he said. “And we’ve prospered.”

Keralanext, India
April 24 2005

Armenians Mark 90th Anniversary of Mass Killings in Turkey

[World News] YEREVAN, Armenia – Armenians on Sunday marked the 90th
anniversary of the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire,
vowing to press their case to have the killings recognized by Turkey
and the world as a genocide. Tens of thousands of people, waving
flags and carrying flowers, streamed through the Armenian capital and
marched up to a massive hilltop granite memorial to hear speeches and
prayers.

Weeping mourners filed into the circular block memorial, laying
carnations on a flat surface surrounding a flame. A choir in black
sang hymns as the crowd filed past, some carrying umbrellas against
the sun.

The country will observe a minute of silence at 7 p.m. and Yerevan
residents will place candles on window sills in memory of the
victims.

Ottoman authorities began rounding up intellectuals, diplomats and
other influential Armenians in Istanbul on April 24, 1915, as
violence and unrest grew, particularly in the eastern parts of the
country.

Armenia says up to 1.5 million Armenians ultimately died or were
killed over several years as part of a genocidal campaign to force
them out of eastern Turkey. Turkey acknowledges that large numbers of
Armenians died, but says the overall figure is inflated and that the
deaths occurred in the civil unrest during the collapse of the
Ottoman Empire.

France, Russia and many other countries have already declared the
killings were genocide; the United States, which has a large Armenian
diaspora, has not.

Turkey, which has no diplomatic ties with Armenia, is facing
increasing pressure to fully acknowledge the event, particularly as
it seeks membership in the European Union. The issue is extremely
sensitive in Turkey and Turks have faced prosecution for saying the
killings were genocide.

Ankara earlier this month called for the two countries to jointly
research the killings.