HYSTERICS, BLACKMAIL, THREATS ~V MEANS TO PRESS UPON THOSE GOING TO ACKNOWLEDGE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Pan Armenian News
21.04.2005 03:20

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “There are dates in the history of each people,
which have a uniting power and determine its fate for many decades
and even centuries forward. Armenians – no matter where they live:
in Armenia, Artsakh, Russia, US, France, Lebanon and other parts of
the planet – have a common tragic date. It is the commemoration day
of the victims of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. Each
year in all Armenian families spread around the world candles are
lighted to commemorate the innocent victims,” President of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic Arkady Ghukassian stated at the Ultimate Crime,
Ultimate Challenge: Human Rights and Genocide international conference
in Yerevan. His statement noted, “People, who know the history of
our people, will never ask the question why so many Armenians live
outside their historical fatherland. The history has answered that
question long ago – 90 and more years ago. However, unfortunately
the state, which has perpetrated the first monstrous genocide in the
21-st century and is now stating it abides by European and common
human values has not confessed for the crime. Moreover, it makes
cynical attempts to incline other countries to withdraw the issue of
recognition of the Armenian Genocide from the agenda. All those states,
which have recognized the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire at
any level, inevitably encountered official Ankara response. Thus they
had an opportunity to make sure in practice which values the Turkish
society is dominated by. These are the way that all countries, who have
fulfilled their human duty, automatically become part of the range of
evil-wishers of the Turkish people. The hysterics, explicit blackmail,
threats to break relations – these represent the incomplete list of
tools for political pressure upon those, who have acknowledged or are
going to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. Unfortunately, Ankara
efforts in this respect often do have the outcomes it desires. The
position of politicians, including Western ones, who state as if the
UN Genocide Convention 1948 does not have an retroactive effect and
cannot be applied to the tragic events in Western Armenia 90 years ago,
aiming to prevent worsening of relations with contemporary Turkey, is
cynical. Such a stand is an example of political hypocrisy, however
it forms ground for new such crimes, by the way, often by the same
state, which has already committed the genocide once.”

BUNDESTAG TO DISCUSS RESOLUTION ON MASS SLAUGHTER OF ARMENIANS TODAY

Pan Armenian News
21.04.2005 05:18

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ German Bundestag will today discuss the Resolution
on Deportation and Mass Slaughter of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey
in 1915. As reported by German media, the document notes that some
1.2-1.5 million Armenians were killed in the course of “a planned in
advance deportation” realized during World War I. The resolution is
sponsored by Christian Democratic Union CDU/CSU of Germany. However,
according to Berliner Zeitung, the term “genocide” is “cautiously
avoided” in the three-page resolution. One of the MPs, who wished to
remain anonymous, reported that the resolution aims at reconciliation
of Turkey with Armenia. “We want to build a reconciliation bridge, not
to close the door,” he noted. In his turn Chairman of the Commission
for European Affairs of the Bundestag Matthias Wissmann stated that
“open and honest attitude towards the massacre of the Armenians
is a litmus test for the European trust to Turkey.” In his words,
“it is a high risk for the EU to accept such a country as Turkey,
which has such tense relations with its neighboring Armenia,” Regnum
news agency reported.

The Armenian Church delegation that will attend the
inauguration of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI will
arrive in Rome on 23 April 2005, Saturday afternoon.

The Armenian Church delegation consists of:

His Beatitude Patriarch Mesrob II (Istanbul, Turkey)
The Most Revd. Archbishop Nersess Bozabalian (Etchmiadzin, Armenia)
The Most Revd. Bishop Nareg Alemezian (Antelias, Lebanon)
The Revd. Fr. Drtad Uzunyan (Istanbul, Turkey)

The delegation will be attending the Holy Mass on
24 April 2005, Sunday, at St. Peter’s Patriarchal Basilica.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
LRAPER Church Bulletin 21/04/2005
Armenian Patriarchate
TR-34130 Kumkapi, Istanbul
Licensee: The Revd. Fr. Drtad Uzunyan
Editors: The Revd.Dr.Krikor Damatyan,
Deacon Vagharshag Seropyan
Press Spokesperson: Attorney Luiz Bakar
T: +90 (212) 517-0970
F: +90 (212) 516-4833
E-mail: [email protected]
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

Newton man’s memories of Armenian Genocide to go online
By Dan Atkinson / Daily News Staff

Daily News Tribune, MA
April 21 2005

Peter Bilezikian doesn’t like to talk about the past. He used to have
nightmares of Turkish soldiers pulling out his teeth and gouging out
his eyes when he was a boy, and although the images stopped long ago,
he is visibly affected when recalling his life during the Armenian
Genocide.

But he recently gave an oral history of his trials, and someday
soon, it will be available for the whole world to hear.

On Sunday, the Armenian Library and Museum of America hosted a
presentation about putting oral histories online as part of their
commemoration of the genocide. As fewer and fewer survivors remain,
it is important to make sure their tales are accessible to as many
people as possible, according to museum spokesman Alan Manoian.

“If we can get online, then people can, at their own comfort and
leisure and pace, go deep into understanding the genocide,” he said.

The genocide refers to a period from 1915-23 in Turkey when, by
some estimates, 1 million Armenians were killed by Turks. Another
million are reported to have been deported.

Armenian Genocide survivors in general have been reluctant to
speak about their experiences, Bilezikian said, for fear of reprisals
against family members still living in Turkey. But oral histories
offer a powerful view that other sources leave out, according to
Bethel Charkoudian, Bilezikian’s daughter.

“These are eyewitness accounts interpreted through people who
experienced suffering. They’re not intellectual exercises,” she said.
“It’s like post-traumatic stress syndrome. They remember every
detail.”

Bilezikian, who is 92 years old and lives in Newton, came to
America in 1922 when he was 10 years old. He recalled watching his
mother sign a document denying his family owned any property in
Turkey, making it impossible to go back to claim the vineyards they
once owned. He described seeing children with swollen bellies keel
over in the streets, dying of hunger.

“I used to think it was a natural thing to die of starvation,”
he said. “Feeling hungry was nothing unusual.”

The children of survivors have been more interested in their
parents’ stories than the parents often are, Charkoudian said. She
took oral histories from many community members 30 years ago, but her
father refused to talk with her. Only recently did he give a history
to Roger Hagopian, a documentary filmmaker and second-generation
Armenian.

“We’re just trying to keep the story alive,” Hagopian said. “It
doesn’t hurt us as much to go back.”

But movies are hard to copy, as are the audiotapes that
Charkoudian used to record her histories. The tapes had to be
carefully stored and used infrequently to prevent wear and tear, she
said, and she was constantly worried about them breaking and a
survivor’s story being lost forever.

Columbia University is trying to make survivors’ histories more
permanent by moving them beyond physical damage — in cyberspace.
Their Armenian Oral History Archive is placing its transcriptions and
recordings on the Web, with the ultimate goal by next year of a
searchable database for its collection of more than 140 interviews,
according to archive curator Varoujan Froundjian.

“If a student is writing an essay about the genocide, just
typing into Google will bring him to the archives and help him get
the details,” Froundjian said.

Even though her father does not like to dwell on the past,
Charkoudian thinks it is important to keep his history alive. Her
children are interested in their roots, and genocide is still a
scourge today, she said.

“Every generation has its genocide,” she said. “It happened in
Rwanda, it’s happening in Sudan … people are only now just starting
to take a political stance against it.”

Dan Atkinson can be reached at [email protected].

Armenian Genocide commemoration events

The Greater Boston Committee for the Commemoration of the
Armenian Genocide, an umbrella organization of all area churches and
major civic groups, announces the following communitywide
commemoration events for the 90th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide. All events are free and open to the public, unless
otherwise noted. For more information and periodic updates, log on to

“The Road to Redemption: Memories of the 1915 Armenian Genocide”
— Thursday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m., at Boston University’s Morse
Auditorium, 602 Commonwealth Ave., Boston. Presented by the Greater
Boston Committee for the Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.

Massachusetts State House Commemoration — Friday, April 22, at
11 a.m., in the Chamber of the House of Representatives, followed by
an informal reception in the Great Hall. George Keverian, former
Speaker of the House, will be honored for his service and his respect
of the state’s Armenian community.

Ecumenical Service and Memorial Service — Saturday, April 23,
at 6:45 p.m., at Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church, 145 Brattle
St., Cambridge. A service for 250 Armenian intellectuals who perished
on April 24, 1915. Presented by the Honorable Clergy of Boston
Armenian Churches.

Requiem and Memorial Concert for the 90th Anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide — Saturday, April 23, at 7:30 p.m., at Holy
Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church. Presented by Erevan Choral
Society, under the direction of the Very Rev. Oshagan Minassian.

Rally to Commemorate the Armenian Genocide in New York —
Sunday, April 24. Buses depart from St. James and St. Stephen’s
Armenian Churches in Watertown to Times Square, for those wishing to
take part in the rally to commemorate the genocide and denounce the
denials made by the Turkish government.

The Films of J. Michael Hagopian — Friday, April 29 and May 6,
various times, at Kendall Square Cinema, 1 Kendall Square, Cambridge.
Screenings of “Germany and the Secret Genocide” and “Voices from the
Lake.” Presented by the Greater Boston Committee for the
Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, with cooperation of Kendall
Square Cinema. Tickets are $5.

PRESS RELEASE
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Information Services
Address: Vagharshapat, Republic of Armenia
Contact: Rev. Fr. Ktrij Devejian
Tel: (374 1) 517 163
Fax: (374 1) 517 301
E-Mail: [email protected]
April 21, 2005

His Holiness Karekin II Congratulates Pope Benedict XVI

On April 20, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos
of All Armenians, extended his congratulations to the newly elected
Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, His Holiness Benedict XVI.

His Holiness stated in part, “Dear Brother in Christ, we are confident
that the collaboration between our two Churches will continue to
strengthen during your pontificate for the benefit of our faithful
people. We pray for the love and peace of our Risen Lord to be with
us at all times and in all places, filling the hearts of men with
faith in goodness and hope for the future.

“Offering our prayers to heaven, we ask the Almighty to grant you
health, strength, wisdom and vigor as Chief Shepherd to the Roman
Catholic faithful, crowning your devoted efforts in your responsible
mission with renewing successes and manifold accomplishments.”

In the letter, His Holiness Karekin II also praised both Armenian
and Roman Catholic pontiffs of blessed memory, through whose devoted
efforts the close fraternal cooperation between the two Churches
witnessed much progress and development.

##

Round two of Gallery Night reflects on Armenian Genocide

Providence Journal , RI
April 21 2005

01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, April 21, 2005

Now in its ninth season, Gallery Night has its second showing of 2005
tonight. The once-a-month free tour of the city’s galleries and art
venues is a popular way for locals and tourists alike to discover
new favorite art spots.

Free “art bus” service conveniently shuttles visitors to some 27
galleries and museums, many of which plan special events and openings
for Gallery Night. Not all venues are open for every Gallery Night,
however.

This evening’s highlights include two exhibits commemorating the 90th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide: The Chapel Gallery & Labyrinth
at the Mathewson Street United Methodist Church (134 Mathewson St.)
will show mixed-media artwork by John Avakian, and Gallery Z (259
Atwells Ave.) hosts a group show of the works of several artists
working in a wide range of media.

The Johnson & Wales Multicultural Center Gallery (corner of Pine
and Claverick streets) showcases paintings, batiks and tapestries by
Isabel “Bela” Duarte, a Cape Verdean artist. And Gayle Wells Mandle
and Gretchen Dow Simpson will show their work at the Providence Art
Club (11 Thomas St.).

Hours for Gallery Night are 5 to 9 p.m. Free parking is available at
One Citizens Plaza and at nine other parking lots downtown. Free art
buses run from 5 to 9 p.m.

For more information, call (401) 751-2628 or visit

GALLERY NIGHT SPECIAL EVENTS

Exhibit Preview, Bert Gallery, 540 South Water St., Providence.
751-2628, Color Matters, works by historic and
contemporary New England artists, Thu 5-9 pm.

Gallery Night: RISD Museum, 224 Benefit St., Providence. 454-6500,
Thu 5-9 pm. Gallery Talk: Portrait of a Lady,
by Becky Pagan, 6:30 pm; Music: Intermezzo, 6:30-8 pm; Gallery Tour,
with Joyce Pashalian, 7 pm; Gallery Talk: Sitings Winners, by Tanya
Zolotnitsky, 7 pm; Artists Speak: William Schaff, 7:30 pm.

Gallery Talk: The Turkish/Armenian Conflict: From World War I to the
Present, by Davis S. Thomas, Mathewson Street United Methodist Church
Chapel Gallery, 134 Mathewson St., Providence. 331-8900. Thu 6:30 pm.

Armenian National Committee of America
888 17th St., NW, Suite 904
Washington, DC 20006
Tel: (202) 775-1918
Fax: (202) 775-5648
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet:

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2005
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

178 U.S. REPRESENTATIVES URGE PRESIDENT TO
PROPERLY CHARACTERIZE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

— Record Level of Support for Congressional
Letter Sends Strong Message to White House

WASHINGTON, DC A record number of U.S. Representatives sent a
Congressional letter to President Bush today, urging him to
reaffirm the U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide by properly
characterizing the atrocities as “genocide.” The letter comes
days after a similar Senate initiative, which garnered the support
of an unprecedented 32 Senators, a 45% increase over the previous
year.

The April 20th letter, spearheaded by Congressional Armenian Caucus
Co-Chairmen Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI),
stresses that “by properly recognizing the terrible atrocities
committed against the Armenian people as ‘genocide’ in your
statement, you will honor the many Americans who helped launch the
unprecedented U.S. diplomatic, political and humanitarian campaign
to end the carnage and protect the survivors.”

“We were very gratified by the announcement this evening by the Co-
Chairman of the Armenian Caucus that a record total of one hundred
and seventy-eight U.S. Representatives have joined together in
calling on the President to properly recognize the Armenian
Genocide in his April 24th remarks,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive
Director of the ANCA, following a special 90th anniversary Armenian
Genocide observance on Capitol Hill. “Along with the thirty-two
Senators who sent a similar letter earlier this week to the White
House, this brings to two hundred and ten the total number of U.S.
legislators formally calling for the President to speak with
historical accuracy and moral clarity about this crime against
humanity. We welcome this unprecedented level of Congressional
leadership and urge the President to heed their call and honor the
pledge he made in February of 2000 to properly recognize the
Armenian Genocide.”

Representatives Pallone and Knollenberg, in a March 3rd letter to
their House colleagues, encouraged them to lend their voice to the
effort noting, that “by properly affirming the Armenian Genocide,
we can help ensure the legacy of the Genocide is remembered so this
human tragedy will not be repeated.” Over the past several weeks,
Armenian Americans from across the U.S. have been sending ANCA
WebFaxes to their Representatives urging them to co-sign the letter
to the President. On April 7th, Representative Knollenberg joined
with Republican House Members George Radanovich (R-CA), Michael
Bilirakis (R-FL), Mark Souder (R-IN) and Mark Foley (R-FL) in
urging their party colleagues to encourage Pres. Bush to follow
Senator Dole’s lead and “simply tell the truth.”

Members of Congress joining Reps. Pallone and Knollenberg in co-
signing the letter included:

Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Tom Allen (D-ME),
Robert Andrews (D-NJ), Joe Baca (D-CA), Brian Baird (D-WA), Tammy
Baldwin (D-WI), Charles Bass (R-NH), Melissa Bean (D-IL), Bob
Beauprez (R-CO), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Shelley Berkley (D-NV),
Howard Berman (D-CA), Michael Bilirakis (R-FL), Sanford Bishop (D-
GA), Tim Bishop (D-NY), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Sherwood Boehlert
(R-NY), Mary Bono (R-CA), Jeb Bradley (R-NH), Sherrod Brown (D-OH),
Ken Calvert (R-CA), Lois Capps (D-CA), Michael Capuano (D-MA),
Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), Emanuel Cleaver (D-
MO), John Conyers (D-MI), Jim Costa (D-CA), Jerry Costello (D-IL),
Christopher Cox (R-CA), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Duke Cunningham (R-
CA), Danny Davis (D-IL), Susan Davis (D-CA), Peter DeFazio (D-OR),
William Delahunt (D-MA), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Lincoln Diaz-Balart
(R-FL), John Dingell (D-MI), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), John Doolittle
(R-CA), Mike Doyle (D-PA), David Dreier (R-CA), Vernon Ehlers (R-
MI), Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Anna Eshoo (D-CA),
Lane Evans (D-IL), Sam Farr (D-CA), Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Tom Feeney
(R-FL), Mike Ferguson (R-NJ), Bob Filner (D-CA), Mike Fitzpatrick
(R-PA), Mark Foley (R-FL), Vito Fossella (R-NY), Barney Frank (D-
MA), Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Jim Gerlach
(R-PA), Mark Green (R-WI), Gene Green (D-TX), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ),
Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Tim Holden (D-PA),
Rush Holt (D-NJ), Michael Honda (D-CA), Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Steve
Israel (D-NY), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Jesse Jackson (D-IL), Sheila
Jackson Lee (D-TX), Nancy Johnson (R-CT), Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-
OH), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Sue Kelly (R-NY), Patrick Kennedy (D-RI),
Dale Kildee (D-MI), Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-MI), Mark Kirk (R-IL),
Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), James Langevin (D-RI), John Larson (D-CT),
Steven LaTourette (R-OH), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Sander Levin (D-MI),
John Lewis (D-GA), Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ),
Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Nita Lowey (D-NY), Dan Lungren (R-CA), Stephen
Lynch (D-MA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jim
Matheson (D-UT), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY),
Betty McCollum (D-MN), Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI), Jim McDermott (D-
WA), James McGovern (D-MA), John McHugh (R-NY), Mike McIntyre (D-
NC), Buck McKeon (R-CA), Michael McNulty (D-NY), Martin Meehan (D-
MA), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Michael Michaud (D-ME), George Miller
(D-CA), Candice Miller (R-MI), Gwen Moore (D-WI), James Moran (D-
VA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Richard Neal
(D-MA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Devin Nunes (R-CA), John
Olver (D-MA), C. L. “Butch” Otter (R-ID), William Pascrell (D-NJ),
Donald Payne (D-NJ), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Collin Peterson (D-MN),
Richard Pombo (R-CA), Jon Porter (R-NV), George Radanovich (R-CA),
Charles Rangel (D-NY), Mike Rogers (R-MI), Mike Ross (D-AR), Steven
Rothman (D-NJ), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Edward Royce (R-CA),
Bobby Rush (D-IL), Paul Ryan (R-WI), John Salazar (D-CO), Loretta
Sanchez (D-CA), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), H.
James Saxton (R-NJ), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Adam Schiff (D-CA),
Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), Joe Schwarz (R-MI), E. Clay Shaw (R-FL),
Christopher Shays (R-CT), Brad Sherman (D-CA), John Shimkus (R-IL),
Rob Simmons (R-CT), Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Hilda Solis (D-CA),
Mark Souder (R-IN), Pete Stark (D-CA), John Sweeney (R-NY), Ellen
Tauscher (D-CA), Mike Thompson (D-CA), John Tierney (D-MA),
Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Mark Udall (D-CO), Christopher Van Hollen
(D-MD), Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), Peter Visclosky (D-IN), James Walsh
(R-NY), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Diane Watson (D-CA), Henry Waxman (D-
CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Curt Weldon (R-PA), Gerald Weller (R-
IL), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Frank Wolf (R-VA), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA),
David Wu (D-OR), and Albert Wynn (D-MD).

The complete text of the Congressional letter is provided below.

#####

Text of Congressional Letter to President Bush

April 20, 2005

The Honorable Geroge W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

We are writing to urge you to join us in reaffirming the United
States record on the Armenian Genocide in your upcoming April 24th
commemorative statement.

This date marks the 90th anniversary of the systematic and
deliberate campaign of genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire
in 1915. Over the following eight years, one and a half million
Armenians were murdered, and more than have a million were forced
from their homeland into exile. In the years since, descendants of
Armenian immigrants have clung to their identity and have prospered
across this nation and throughout the world. The United States is
fortunate to be home to an organized and active Armenian community,
whose members contribute and participate in every aspect of civic
life.

By properly recognizing the terrible atrocities committed against
the Armenian people as “genocide” in your statement, you will honor
the many Americans who helped launch the unprecedented U.S.
diplomatic, political and humanitarian campaign to end the carnage
and protect the survivors. The U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman
Empire, Henry Morgenthau, acting on instructions from Secretaries
of State William Jennings Bryan and Robert Lansing, protested the
slaughter of the Armenians to the Ottoman leaders. Without out
intervention, the Ottoman Empire’s genocidal plan would have been
even more lethal.

As you have eloquently declared, Americans are blessed with freedom
and security, but that good fortune brings with it an important
responsibility. The United States must never allow crimes against
humanity to pass without remembrance and condemnation. As U.S.
efforts to aid victims of genocide continue, it is imperative that
we pay tribute to the memory of others who have suffered and to
never forget the past. By commemorating the Armenian Genocide, we
renew our commitment to prevent future atrocities, and therefore
negate the dictum that history is condemned to repeat itself.

We look forward to your April 24th statement and, as always, stand
ready to work with you on this and the many other matters of
importance to our nation.

Sincerely,

PRESS RELEASE

The Genocide Education Project
“Learning the Past, Building the Future”
51 Commonwealth Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 264-4203
[email protected]

Contact: Sara Cohan (415) 264-4203

April 18, 2005

NEW TEACHING KIT ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

San Francisco, CA – A new teaching kit about the Armenian Genocide
is now available through The Genocide Education Project. The Genocide
Education Project has teamed up with Facing History and Ourselves to
provide teaching guides, lesson plans, and audio/visual aids together
as one comprehensive kit for teachers seeking to include the Armenian
Genocide in their classrooms. The kit includes a resource book,
step-by-step lesson plans, five large posters, and a television
news video for $59.00 + S/H. Educators interested in incorporating
the Armenian Genocide into their curriculum can purchase this
teacher-tested resource kit online at

Below are brief descriptions of the resources in this kit.

RESOURCE BOOK

Facing History and Ourselves’ new resource book, “Crimes Against
Humanity and Civilization: The Genocide of the Armenians,”
combines the latest scholarship on the Armenian Genocide with
an interdisciplinary approach to history, enabling students and
teachers to make the essential connections between history and their
own lives. By concentrating on the choices that individuals, groups,
and nations made before, during, and after the genocide, readers have
the opportunity to consider the dilemmas faced by the international
community in the face of massive human rights violations.

LESSON PLANS

“Human Rights and Genocide: A Case Study of the First Genocide of
the 20th Century” was developed by The Genocide Education Project and
the San Francisco Unified School District. Using the History-Social
Science Framework for California Public Schools as its foundation,
this comprehensive teachers’ manual focuses on the Armenian Genocide
of 1915, during which 1.5 million Armenians, half of the Armenian
population, were systematically annihilated. It includes a One Day,
Two Day, and Ten Day unit, with all the materials teachers will
need, including more than two dozen overheads, interactive classroom
exercises and more.

The lesson plans also approach the Armenian Genocide in the context
of WWI and the international political-social upheavals of the
time, and also considers the links between the Armenian Genocide
and the Holocaust. Other major human rights violations such as the
Transatlantic Slave Trade, the Rape of Nanking, and the Cambodian and
Rwandan genocides are also used in the lessons to draw parallels and
engender contemplation and discussion about the phenomenon of genocide
and human rights abuses.

VIDEO

“The Century: The Forgotten Genocide” is a 5-minute news program
produced by ABC News for the news broadcast World News Tonight with
Peter Jennings. Beginning with a comparison by Jennings of the scene
of death marches during the Armenian Genocide at the beginning of
the 20th century with lines of refugees leaving Bosnia at the end of
the 20th century, the piece includes survivor interviews, historians,
and archival footage to give a brief synopsis of the century’s first
genocide. The video can be used as a good introductory visual aid,
and is available in DVD and VHS formats along with a transcript
through The Genocide Education Project

POSTERS

Designed for classroom use, teacher workshops, exhibits, and displays,
this set of 5 theme-oriented instructional posters tell the story
of the Armenian Genocide, providing a visual overview of key events
related to the genocide, its prelude, methodology, and aftermath. Each
illustrated poster measures 19″ x 25″ and includes photographs, text,
graphics and a chronology, allowing teachers and students to easily
grasp essential facts related to each theme. The posters also provide
teachers with a template for further instruction, exploration and
study. These educational are available through The Genocide Education
Project.

For more information about the efforts of The Genocide Education
Project please visit their Web site at

—-

The Genocide Education Project is a nonprofit organization that
assists educators in teaching about human rights and genocide,
particularly the Armenian Genocide, by developing and distributing
instructional materials, providing access to teaching resources and
organizing educational workshops.

Armenia’s president renews call for Turkey to admit to ‘genocide’

Agence France Presse — English
April 20, 2005 Wednesday 8:57 AM GMT

YEREVAN April 20 — Armenia’s President Robert Kocharian on Wednesday
renewed calls for Turkey to face up to its past and admit that it
committed genocide against Armenians as the republic prepares to mark
the 90th anniversary of the massacres.

“It is hard for us to understand the position of the Turkish side which
is expressed not only by a denial of the past but with a continuing
blockade of Armenia,” Kocharian said in an address to a conference
on genocide prevention.

Armenian will mark on Sunday mass killings by Ottoman Turks,
a slaughter that is among the most painful episodes of Armenia’s
ages-old history and that continues to impede modern relations between
Armenia and Turkey.

Ankara recognized Armenia’s independence when it broke away from the
Soviet Union in 1991 but has refused to establish diplomatic relations
with Yerevan because of Armenian efforts to secure international
condemnation of the World War I-era massacres as genocide.

In 1993, Turkey shut its border with Armenia in a show of solidarity
with its close ally Azerbaijan, which was at war with Armenia over
the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, dealing a heavy economic blow to the
impoverished nation.

Armenia has planned a series of events, including conferences,
exhibits, film screenings and a massive march, with which it hopes to
draw international attention to its cause and put pressure on Turkey.

“Recognizing the genocide is important to prevent genocide in the
future … it would be the answer to many of the problems that exist
between our two peoples and a possibility to look into the future,”
Kocharian said.

Kocharian opened with a conciliatory remark saying, “we remember the
past with pain but without hate.”

Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen perished in
orchestrated killings between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire,
the predecessor of modern Turkey, was falling apart.

Ankara counters that 300,000 Armenians and thousands of Turks were
killed in “civil strife” during World War I when the Armenians rose
against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops.

EU-hopeful Turkey pressured by its past

Agence France Presse — English
April 20, 2005 Wednesday 4:42 AM GMT

ANKARA April 20 — Amid international pressure to recognise the 1915
Armenian massacres as genocide, Turkey finds itself struggling between
growing calls at home for the country to face the past and unease at
giving in over a delicate issue it fears may cloud its bid to join
the European Union.

In an unprecedented move, Turkish historians and intellectuals have
increasingly started to question the official line on the once-taboo
subject as Armenians prepare to mark the 90th anniversary of the
killings.

“Turkey is going through a very important phase,” Etyen Mahcupyan, a
Turkish columnist of Armenian descent, told AFP. “Despite the state’s
resistance, the people and the intellectual elite want officialdom
to face the past and come up with a prudent policy.”

Armenians say up to 1.5 million Armenians perished in orchestrated
killings between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor
of modern Turkey, was falling apart.

Ankara argues that 300,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died
in what was civil strife during World War I when the Armenians rose
against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops,
resulting in an order to deport them en masse from their homelands.

But, in a challenge to the official line, award-winning Turkish
novelist Orhan Pamuk told a Swiss newspaper in February that “one
million Armenians were killed in Turkey”, which caused an uproar and
resulted in a controversial order by the sub-governor of a small town
for the author’s books to be destroyed.

Shortly afterwards, historian Halil Berktay openly told a leading
Turkish newspaper that the Ottoman treatment of its Armenian subjects
during World War I amounted to genocide, triggering angry letters
from the paper’s readership.

In a bid to counter domestic and international pressure, state
institutions have rushed out with documents they claim prove there
was no genocide; the state archive over the weekend issued a list of
more than 500,000 Turks it said were killed in systematic massacres
by the Armenians.

“This is an attack by the state on its own society. The state fears
society and imposes its view on them,” Hrant Dink, editor of the
Armenian-language weekly Agos, told AFP.

“But Turks are now saying the time has come to face the issue and if
we want a solution, it can come only through internal dynamics and
not through foreign pressure,” Dink said.

Much to Ankara’s anger, the killings have already been acknowledged
as genocide by a number of countries, including France, Canada and
Switzerland.

Turkey now faces pressure from within the EU to address the genocide
claims in what Ankara sees as a politically motivated campaign to
hurt its membership bid as it prepares to begin accession talks with
the bloc on October 3.

In a bid to blunt the Armenian campaign, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan last week suggested to Armenian President Robert Kocharian
the creation of a joint commission to study the genocide allegations,
saying Turkey has nothing to fear from its past.

But according to Mahcupyan, the real damage will come if Ankara
insists on its refusal to re-evaluate the past.

“Every threat is an opportunity,” he said. “If Turkey can catch up
with and pursue what has already begun in society, it would increase
its prestige and ensure good relations with the EU.”

Reconciliation with the past could also help Turkey patch up ties
with neighbouring Armenia, with whom it refuses to etablish diplomatic
ties and open its borders, mainly because of the genocide claims.

Turkey also fears that acknowledging the massacres as genocide will
lead to compensation claims from Armenians and some politicians have
suggested that Yerevan may even claim territory from Ankara.

“Turkey would likely face compensation claims if it acknowledged the
genocide because Armenian properties were seized by the Ottomans, but
to even consider the possibility of territorial claims is paranoid,”
Mahcupyan said.