Genocides recognised by the UN: from Armenia to Rwanda

Agence France Presse
April 19 2005

19/04/2005 AFP

PARIS, April 19 (AFP) – 4h58 – It is almost 60 years since the word
“genocide” entered the lexicon of international law, and it has been
used to characterise officially the mass slaughter of Armenians,
Jews and Rwandans in the 20th century.

It was first used at the military war crimes tribunal at Nuremburg
in 1945 at the end of World War II, though in the end the Nazis on
trial there were found guilty of “crimes against humanity”.

The word was invented in 1944 by Raphael Lemkin, a Polish Jew who
found shelter in the United States. It is a hybrid, combining the
Greek word “genos”, meaning a race or people, and the Latin suffix
“-cide” (as in fratricide or parricide), itself a formation from the
Latin verb “caedere” to kill.

On December 11 1946 the United Nations gave the word a formal
definition as “the denial of the right to existence of entire human
groups” in reference to the killing of Jews during World War II.

On December 9 1948, the UN unanimously adopted a convention on
genocide, identifying it as a crime “committed with the intention to
destroy in whole or part a national, ethnical, racial or religious
group.”

The UN recognised in 1985 the killing of hundreds of thousands of
Armenians between 1915 and 1917 as a genocide, as well as the mass
murder of Jews by Nazi Germany, and in June 1994 the killing of
an estimated 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis by their Hutu compatriots that
same year.

Beyond these three instances, the International Criminal Tribunal for
the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), established by the UN Security Council,
in 2001 sentenced a Bosnian Serb general to 35 years in jail for
“complicity in genocide” in connection with the massacre of 7,000
Muslim cvilians in Srebenica in 1995.

The UN and Cambodia have agreed that former Khmer Rouge leaders of
a regime that was responsible for the deaths of almost two million
Cambodianspercent of the population) should face charges of crimes
against humanity and genocide. Their trial could start in the coming
months.

In January this year a UN committee decided that though crimes against
humanity had been committed in the Darfur region of Sudan they did
not amount to genocide in the absence of any evidence of central
government genocidal intention.

Some historians argue that mass killings, such as those of Chinese
by Mongols in the 13th century and of the indigenous peoples of the
Americas by conquistadors and colonists are covered by the definition.

Armenians are preparing to mark the 90th anniversary on April 24 of
the start of the controversial 1915-1917 massacres, which they say
1.5 million of their kinsmen perished.

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

Turkish Press
April 19 2005

PRESS SCAN

NEW YORK TIMES GIVES PLACE TO TURKISH THESIS

RADIKAL- The New York Times, one of the leading dailies in the United
States, gave place to the list of more than 523,000 Turks who were
killed by Armenians in Turkey from 1910 to 1922. The list was released
by the Turkish State Archive. The daily noted, “Armenians plan to mark
April 24th as the 90th anniversary of the start of the violence. Turkey
is concerned that the issue could interfere with its plans to start
talks with the European Union in October for possible membership.”

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Turkish Press
April 19 2005

PRESS SCAN

FROM TURKISH AND ARMENIAN COMPOSERS

RADIKAL- Tunes of Turkish and Armenian composers will be played at a
concert in Haghia Eirene in Istanbul on April 22nd. At the concert
“Flowers of the Same Garden”, Istanbul State Turkish Music Society
will play tunes of Turkish and Armenian composers.

Turkish Press
April 19 2005

PRESS SCAN

PARLIAMENTARIANS UNION SENDS LETTER TO BUSH

ZAMAN – Turkish Parliamentarians Union (TPB) Chairman Hasan Korkmazcan
sent a letter to U.S. President George Bush, and asked him to assume an
objective attitude towards the fanatic campaigns carried out regarding
Armenian genocide claims. The letter said that aggressive attitude
assumed by the fanatic Armenian organizations for years, ignoring
the historical realities, was still maintained, and this stance had
a negative impact on bilateral relations between Turkey and Armenia.

Prof. Feigle: It Is A Standard Lie To Claim Ottomans Killed 1,5 Million Armenians

Turkish Press
April 19 2005

ISTANBUL – Prof. Erich Feigle of Austria said, “it is a standard
lie to claim that Ottomans killed 1,5 million innocent (Armenian)
women and children.”

Speaking at a panel discussion on “Historical Realities in
Turkish-Armenian Relations” held in Istanbul Technical University on
Monday, Prof. Feigle said, “people are misled with imaginary incidents
and wrong numbers. It is a standard lie to claim that Ottomans killed
1,5 million innocent women and children. 1,700,000 Armenians were
living in Ottoman Empire in 1912 and this means that 4.4 percent of
population in Ottoman-ruled territories were Armenians.”

“Armenian national delegation chairman wrote a letter to Armenians
and said 700,000 Armenians had been exiled and he did not mention
genocide in that letter. Also in a letter to French Foreign Minister,
the chairman said Armenians were one of the leading communities from
the beginning of the war,” said Prof. Feigle.

“This is the most important document we have. Armenians hide documents
which are against them. They pursue physical and psychological
war. This war is a camouflage. They occupied one-fifth of lands of
Azerbaijan under this camouflage. They killed 20,000 civilians,”
added Prof. Feigle.

“It seems that Turkey can’t do anything against this psychological
war. I request Turks to trust themselves. Turkey shall not start a
discussion on ‘genocide’. If it such a discussion starts, Armenians
firstly want compensation and then land from Turkey. Their propaganda
aims to divide Turkey,” noted Prof. Feigle.

PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN ILHAM ALIYEV RECEIVES DELEGATION OF EUROPEAN
UNION-AZERBAIJAN COMMITTEE FOR PARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION
[April 19, 2005, 21:06:34]

AzerTag, Azerbaijan
April 19 2005

On April 19, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received in
the Presidential palace delegation of the European Union-Azerbaijan
Committee for Parliamentary Cooperation led by Maria Ishler Biguin.

The head of state has noted that is glad to meet with members
of delegation of the European Union – Azerbaijan Committee for
Parliamentary Cooperation, and highly has estimated successful carrying
out in Baku of session of the Committee. President Ilham Aliyev, having
emphasized that gives great value to relations with the European Union,
has told: “Integration into Europe is one of priority questions for
Azerbaijan. Having noted that last years between Azerbaijan and the
European Union have been established fine working links, the head of
Azerbaijani state has with satisfaction reminded the participation
in last year’s actions of the European Union, having emphasized, that
the meetings carried out during these actions have shown interest of
both Azerbaijan and the European Union in the further expansion and
development of links.

Having noted active participation of Azerbaijan in the European
“Policy of New Neighborhood”, President Ilham Aliyev has expressed
confidence that mutual relations would extend in these frameworks
and henceforth. Having emphasized that for the further development of
cooperation in the field of transport, infrastructure, power, culture
and other spheres are available good opportunities, the head of the
Azerbaijani state has expressed confidence that this interaction
would go ahead.

Having ascertained that successful cooperation of Azerbaijan with
the European Union serves establishment of peace and stability in
region, President Ilham Aliyev has noted increase of attention
of the European Union to settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan,
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, having regarded realization of activity
by the special representative of EU in this connection as display of
the given attention.

President Ilham Aliyev has once again expressed confidence that
cooperation of Azerbaijan and the European Union would successfully
continue and in the coming years.

Having expressed deep satisfaction with visit to Baku, Ms. Maria Ishler
Biguin has recollected the previous meetings with the President of
Azerbaijan, having noted that is glad for opportunity again to meet the
head of Azerbaijani state. Having regarded visit of so representative
delegation to Azerbaijan as a bright example of interest to our
country, the guest has emphasized that the European Union attaches
significance to development of relations with the Republic.

Having informed about the meeting of members of delegation with the
IDPs in Barda region, Ms. Biguin has told: “We have seen in what
difficult conditions they live. We once again came to such conclusion
that it is necessary for members of the European Parliament to make
their contribution in settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict”.

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ARMENIA’S OPPOSITION: IN SEARCH OF A REVOLUTION
Haroutiun Khachatrian 4/19/05

Eurasianet organization
April 19 2005

Opposition predictions of an upcoming “popular revolution” continue
to be heard in Armenia, but most local observers say that major
opposition parties are not well positioned to realize their
revolutionary aspirations.

Following Ukraine’s December 2004 Orange Revolution, media outlets,
both in the West (The Times of London) and the former Soviet Union
(Russia’s Nezavisimaya Gazeta) reported that Armenia could be the
next setting for a so-called “color revolution.” Some Armenian media
outlets went so far as to suggest names for that would-be revolution,
including “The Apricot Revolution” and “The Peach Revolution.”

Since the start of the year, opposition leaders have repeatedly
predicted that President Robert Kocharian’s downfall was imminent. “I
am sure that these authorities cannot stand until the next regular
elections [in 2007],” Aram Sarkisian, leader of the Hanrapetutiun
(Republic) Party, Armenia’s most outspoken opposition party, told
the daily Aravot on January 15. In February 9 the Nor Zhamanakner
(New Times) Party issued a declaration of intent to foment popular
protests in April 2005 in order to help push Kocharian from power.
Artashes Geghamian, leader of the National Unity Party, also stated
that his party would launch a popular movement in April, but he
provided no details. Meanwhile, Stepan Demirchian, leader of the
Ardarutiun (Justice) bloc, of which the Republic Party is a member,
has spoken of an upcoming “power shift.”

As yet, the predictions have proven to be more talk than action.
Several factors appear to pose obstacles for the opposition’s plans.

Timing is the first. In Georgia in November 2003, Ukraine last
December, and, most recently, Kyrgyzstan in March 2005, mass protests
followed national elections that the opposition claimed were rigged.
[For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Armenia’s
presidential and parliamentary elections in 2003 were accompanied by
widespread complaints about voting irregularities. However, opposition
parties at the time could not capitalize on the widespread feelings
of discontent. An opposition-led protest campaign fizzled in 2004 when
authorities resorted to tough tactics to disperse demonstrators. [For
background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The country’s next
parliamentary election will not occur until 2007, although local
elections are scheduled to be held this fall.

Since the 2004 demonstrations, Armenia’s economy has shown some
improvement, fostering a greater sense of stability in the country.
[For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. “In Armenia, the
peasants know that for most of their problems the community head is
responsible, so they will not blame the central government if, say,
the irrigation canals are not properly cleaned,” said Aharon Adibekian,
director of the sociological agency Sociometr, in a recent interview
with Kentron TV, a private television station. “The situation in
Georgia was quite different, as local [government] bodies did not
work there.”

The opposition’s organizational weaknesses pose a second obstacle.
Observers, including Caucasus Media Institute Yerevan Director
Alexander Iskandarian, believe Armenia’s opposition lacks a charismatic
opposition leader comparable to Georgia’s Mikheil Saakashvili or
Ukraine’s Viktor Yushchenko. Competition rather than partnership has
mostly marked the interactions between the leaders of the two most
influential opposition leaders, Demirchian and Geghamian. When the
two announced a boycott of parliament in early 2004, they hoped to
gain widespread popular support. Instead, one year later, the boycott
appears to have only denied the opposition an opportunity to express
their opinions on the national stage. [For background see the Eurasia
Insight archive].

In addition, opposition parties have been unable to counter Kocharian
administration steps to limit their influence. When, in 2004, police
illegally blocked regular bus traffic in Armenia’s regions to prevent
potential opposition supporters from reaching Yerevan for rallies, the
opposition was unable to develop methods to circumvent authorities’
preventative measures. With that experience in mind, the population
may be less inclined to turn out for opposition-sponsored events
in 2005. “The peach has not matured yet,” the Yerevan-based daily
Aravot concluded.

Apparently sensing that he was potentially vulnerable politically,
Kocharian recently urged politicians to set up a strong opposition.
“[A] [w]eak opposition corrupts the authorities,” he said in a February
2005 online interview with the Golos Armenii (Voice of Armenia)
newspaper. At the same time, Kocharian has stepped up contacts with
the US government, in part to cut off a potential source of support
for opposition politicians. [For background see the Eurasia Insight
archive].

Terming the opposition’s absence from parliament “very painful,”
Kocharian, in an April 11 meeting with students at Yerevan State
University, showed no concern about the possibility of political
upheaval. “I would like to urge our opposition activists to rid
themselves of a complex about failing to stage a revolution,” he said
in remarks broadcast by Armenia Public Television. “We often read
in the press that our opposition is very weak and bad. It has failed
not because it is working badly, but simply because the authorities
in our country are working more effectively and better.”

While the more influential opposition groups appear to be toning
down their revolutionary rhetoric, attempts are underway to create
new anti-Kocharian political blocs. A possible alliance among the
Liberal Progressive Party, Sarkisian’s Republic Party and former
Foreign Minister Raffi Hovhannisian’s Zharangutiun (Heritage) Party has
attracted the most attention to date. Resistance to such a coalition
remains strong in Sarkisian’s Republic Party. If it comes together,
this alliance could prove a serious player in the 2007 parliamentary
elections.

On April 15, Sarkisian told supporters that “the revolution will be a
surprise,” adding that no party should “regard the revolution as its
monopoly,” the Noyan Tapan agency reported. Two days earlier, during a
conference organized by the Justice bloc, Demirchian stressed that “the
change of power” would take place “in a peaceful and constitutional
way,” the news agency ArmInfo reported. “The resignation of the
incumbent authorities is an essential requirement of society around
which all the healthy political forces of the country should unite.”

Such rhetoric does not seem to worry Kocharian. “[M]embers of the
opposition say nothing,” the president told Yerevan State University
students. “The reason is that in order to express your views on
a subject you must know what you are talking about and have some
experience.”

Editor’s Note: Haroutiun Khachatrian is a Yerevan-based writer
specializing in economic and political affairs.

Yerevan should normalize relations with Turkey

ITAR-TASS, Russia
April 19 2005

YEREVAN, April 19 (Itar-Tass) — Yerevan should normalize relations
with Turkey without any preliminary conditions, Armenian Defense
Minister Serzh Sarkisyan said at the National Press Club on Tuesday.

“That does not mean that Turkey will not have to admit the Armenian
genocide in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 or change its position in the
Karabakh conflict,” he said.

Turkey is about to become a EU member, but it will have to reform the
domestic and external policy first, the minister said. Armenia cannot
have a closed border on Turkey because of the EU Neighborhood Policy,
he said.

AUTHOR EXPLORES HUMAN NATURE, ARMENIAN GENOCIDE THROUGH FICTION WRITING

The University of Wisconsin (Madison)
4/19/2005

CONTACT: Judith Claire Mitchell
PHONE: (608) 263-3773
EMAIL: [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MADISON – A fat packet of letters, written by a friend’s great-aunt
during World War I, inspired Judith Claire Mitchell, assistant professor
of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to write “The Last
Day of the War” (Pantheon Books, 2004), her first novel. To Mitchell,
those letters exemplified a key aspect of human nature; fiction, she
thought, would be an ideal medium to explore it.

“Clearly the aunt had gone to France in 1919 as a YMCA Girl because that
was where the boys were, but every now and then the frivolous tone was
interrupted by a startling description of war-ravaged France,” Mitchell
says. “In one letter, a single sentence about an encounter with an
Armenian rug merchant who lost his entire family in the genocide (in
1915-16) caught my attention, particularly because the very next
sentence was all about a dance that the aunt had attended. I was
reminded of the way we can come face to face with unfathomable human
suffering, acknowledge it for a moment and then fix our hair and dance
the night away. I was struck by how human this kind of behavior is, and
I wanted to see if I could create a character that embodied it.”

That character is Yale White, who goes to France hoping to “run into”
the Armenian-American soldier she lusts after. She finds him, and
through him becomes enmeshed in the covert organization he belongs to
(based on the factual Operation Nemesis) whose members are intent on
violently avenging the genocide.

Mitchell adds that one surprising offshoot of the novel has been the
flurry of invitations to speak about the Armenian atrocity. This past
month, for example, she spoke to Rhode Island high school educators
interested in using literature to teach about genocide. She also was the
first novelist invited to lecture at the Armenian Library and Museum in
Watertown, Mass.

Still denied by many Turks, the massacre of 1915-16 accounted for the
deaths of up to 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. Early in
1915, Armenians in the army were disarmed, placed into labor battalion
and finally killed. In April, intellectual and political leaders were
rounded up and murdered. Remaining Armenians were arrested in their
houses. Many were shot immediately. Others were told they would be
relocated, and ultimately were: To the concentration camps of Jerablus
and Deir ez-Zor.

However, Mitchell says that current events also had their hand in
shaping the book.

“While I was researching the Armenian genocide, similar slaughters were
taking place in Bosnia and Rwanda. So, in addition to writing about the
human condition, I wanted to call readers’ attention to the first
genocide of the 20th century while commenting indirectly on the
century’s final genocides,” she says.

Mitchell is on leave to work on her second novel, again a historical
exploration of ethnic identity. This fall she will be teaching two
graduate-level courses, a pedagogy class and a fiction workshop for
students in the English department’s relatively new Master of Fine Arts
program. She says that being a writer herself gives her a great deal in
common with her students.

“It’s critical that teachers of creative writing courses be writers who
have struggled with the writing process,” she says. “You need someone
who realizes how hard it is to write.”

Mitchell will read from “The Last Day of the War” at the Armenian
National Committee of Wisconsin’s commemoration of the 90th anniversary
of the Armenian genocide. The event will be held at 10:30 a.m. on
Saturday, April 26, in the State Capitol. For more information on that
event, contact Zohrab Khaligian at [email protected].

###

Barbara Wolff, (608) 262-8292, [email protected]

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