administrator, Author at Gagrule.net

Armenian Genocide rally held in Beirut

April 24, 2013 By administrator

Thousands of Armenians called on Turkey to recognize the Genocide in Beirut on Tuesday, The Daily Star reports.

During a mass rally in Martyrs’ Square commemorating the 98th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Lebanese of Armenian origin and supporters held signs and chanted slogans against Ankara which maintains that the deaths of some 500,000 were not a result of genocide.

“Turkey should recognize the genocide and take action for restitution,” Paul Halebian, one of the protesters, said. “It’s our right, our land, our dignity.”

“Turkey: It’s time for recognition and repatriation,” one of the signs read. “Justice and restitution for the Armenian Genocide,” another said.

There are around 200,000 Lebanese of Armenian origin represented by five ministers in the Cabinet.

False accusation linking Armenian to Boston bombings should be condemned: Harut Sassounian

April 24, 2013 By administrator

11:55, 24 April, 2013

YEREVAN, APRIL 24, ARMENRPESS. The Publisher and Editor of The California Courier newspaper Harut Sassounian claims on condemnation of the false accusation put forward by the uncle of the Tsarnaev brothers linking the Armenians to the Boston bombings. “Armenpress” introduces Harur Sassounian’s article in its entirety.

Many unanswered questions remain in the wake of the barbaric Boston Marathon bombings last week.

In the absence of established facts, it is difficult to reach an informed conclusion and find a motive for the murderous actions of the Tsarnaev brothers — Tamerlan, 26, and Dzhokhar, 19. It is interesting to note that Tamerlan carries the name of a vicious 14th century Turkic warlord who razed entire cities to the ground and butchered millions of innocent people.

Instead of jumping to unwarranted conclusions and making generalizations about Chechens, Muslims, and the Tsarnaev family, some probing questions are in order:

— Back in 2011, when the Russian intelligence services asked the FBI to investigate Tamerlan’s radical Islamist ties and plans to join underground groups, how thoroughly did the FBI carry out this task? If the FBI agents did a thorough job and found nothing sinister, why did they not follow up a few months later when Tamerlan returned to the US in 2012, having spent six months in the troubled Russian republics of Chechnya and Dagestan? And why did US law enforcement agencies fail to investigate the Jihadist videos and links to radical Islamist websites found on Tamerlan’s computer?

— If the Russian tip was not seriously pursued by US officials, was their decision based on political considerations or a proper assessment of the risk of terrorism? Since Chechen insurgents were fighting Russia for independence, did US officials prefer not to meddle in an internal Russian conflict? Did the US view Chechen “terrorists” as “freedom fighters,” concluding that they represented no threat to the United States? More significantly, what role did the anti-Russian stance of influentialneo-conservative American circles play in assessing the warnings on Tamerlan?

— Did the Russian intelligence services thoroughly investigate Tamerlan when he fell in their lap while visiting Dagestan and Chechnya for six months, particularly if they were dissatisfied with the FBI’s lukewarm response to their earlier request?

— Would this terrorist act killing four Americans and injuring close to 200 now prompt US intelligence agencies to cooperate more fully with their Russian counterparts to jointly combat terrorism regardless of international political concerns?

— Will the US investigate the 10-day visit to Turkey in July 2003 by Tamerlan and three of his family members, as disclosed by Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Guler? What was the purpose of Tsarnaevs’ visit to Turkey and who were their contacts?

Turning to Ruslan Tsarni, the talkative uncle of the Tsarnaev brothers, who made controversial and contradictory comments disseminated worldwide by CNN, NBC, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and Time magazine, among others. Uncle Tsarni accused an unnamed Armenian convert to Islam in Cambridge, Mass., for radicalizing Tamerlan!

Tsarni, a Maryland resident, told the NBC Today show that one of his Armenian acquaintances informed him about an “outside influence” on Tamerlan: “He [the acquaintance] said, there is someone who brainwashed him [Tamerlan], some newly convert to Islam. I would like to stress [the acquaintance] was of Armenian descent.”

However, Uncle Tsarni, gave CNN a completely different explanation for the despicable actions of his nephews. He had accused them of being “losers,” claiming that they had brought shame on their family and the Chechen people. But, he later told NBC Today that he had called his nephews “losers” out of anger, and that he was now sure their crime had nothing to do with Russia or Chechnya. Tsarni also contradicted himself on CNN by claiming that the person who had “brainwashed” Tamerlan was the “new convert to Islam of Armenian descent,” not the acquaintance!

The question is, who is Tsarni and why is he accusing an Armenian? A cursory internet search reveals that he has had direct ties to western energy companies involved in the Caspian region. He has worked for Big Sky Energy, Golden Eagle Partners, and Nelson Resources Ltd., all three with direct investments in Caspian Sea energy projects. Could Tsarni’s ties to these energy companies explain his accusation against an Armenian?

Finally, why hasn’t a single Armenian organization or official complained to the news media about their dissemination of Tsarni’s baseless and libelous statements, accusing an Armenian for radicalizing Tamerlan? A similar situation occurred years ago, when an Australian newspaper, The Canberra Times, reported: “Pope Shot by Armenian Gunman.” In reality, Pope John Paul II was shot by Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turk!

It is high time that Armenians organize an anti-defamation organization that would vigorously pursue all those who libel and defame them around the world.

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Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide victims held in Istanbul

April 24, 2013 By administrator

14:10, 24 April, 2013

YEREVAN, APRIL 24, ARMENPRESS. The state may deny the fact of the Armenian Genocide, but the people can direct the events in the way they want. As reports “Armenpress” one of the demonstrators stated this in the Sultan Ahmet Square in Istanbul. One of the organizers of the event stated: “Today there are fascists living in our country, notwithstanding there are also good people living in here and their number is increasing every year. The official viewpoint remains unchanged, although the people’s knowledge about the reality is growing. And the event organized in Diyarbakir is to prove that.”

The fact of the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman government has been documented, recognized, and affirmed in the form of media and eyewitness reports, laws, resolutions, and statements by many states and international organizations. The complete catalogue of all documents categorizing the 1915 wholesale massacre of the Armenian population in Ottoman Empire as a premeditated and thoroughly executed act of genocide, is extensive. Uruguay was the first country to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide in 1965. The massacres of the Armenian people were officially condemned and recognized as a genocide in accordance with the international law by France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Greece, Slovakia, Cyprus, Lebanon, Uruguay, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, Canada, Vatican, and Australia.

Holocaust Museum urges international community to recognize Armenian Genocide

April 24, 2013 By administrator

15:22, 24 April, 2013

YEREVAN, APRIL 24, ARMENPRESS. The Director of the Holocaust Museum in the U.S. promised to organize a vast exhibition on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. As reports “Armenpress” citing Skokie periodical, the Director of the Museum Rick Hirschhaut stated that in the next month they will hold a two-day conference titled “The Ottoman Turkish Genocides of Anatolian Christians”. Among other things Hirschhaut underscored: “We must speak for those, whose voices were silenced and for those who survived so we may remember and pledge never to forget. Today, at this gathering, we are reminded of a history that must be recognized, and remembered, and calls to the importance of lighting the torch of truth for the world community. Our young people – our future – must be a bridge to the future, and ensure that we realize the lessons that were set forth by us, by the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, and all such terrible atrocities.”

Kurdish Party of Turkey calls upon country’s authorities to recognize Armenian Genocide

April 24, 2013 By administrator

April 24, 2013 | 16:44

In its statement released in connection with the 98th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Turkey’s pro-Kurdish “Peace and Democracy Party” (BDP), which is a parliamentary political force, noted that the genocide, which was committed in 1915 against the Armenians, was one of the greatest tragedies in the 20th century.

In its statement, BDP called upon the Turkish authorities to face Turkey’s own history and to apologize to the Armenians, ANKA news agency of Turkey reports.

“The Armenian people suffered great pain and were taken from their lands. The genocide wounds and pains are preserved in the society’s recollections because Turkey has not yet confronted its history and one of the greatest genocides of the 20th century, it has not accepted the genocide and has not apologized to the Armenians.

“We call upon Turkey to confront its own history and to apologize to the Armenians, who have lived in great pain, with the hope that such thing will never repeat. We pay tribute to the victims of the Armenian Genocide,” the Peace and Democracy Party statement reads in particular.

Armenian Genocide must gain international recognition – Valérie Boyer

April 24, 2013 By administrator

April 24, 2013 | 16:12

YEREVAN.- On the occasion of its first official visit to Armenia, members and participants of the newly created EU-Armenia Friendship Group in the European Parliament attended and paid respects at the memorial ceremony of the Armenian Genocide held at the Tsiternakapert Genocide memorial monument in Yerevan.

Members of the delegation took part in the laying of the wreath ceremony and also visited the Genocide memorial museum afterwards, the group said in a statement.

“We will never forget the victims of the Armenian Genocide carried out by the authoritarian Young Turks government in 1915. We will continue fighting for the restoration of the human rights of all people on earth whose rights are being compromised,” said President of the EU-Armenia Friendship Group leader of the delegation Dr Eleni Theocharous.

The group was joined by Valérie Boyer, a French member of Parliament and author of the Armenian Genocide bill.

“I am very touched to be in Yerevan for this occasion. It is an absolute necessity to for the Armenian Genocide to gain international recognition. Recognition is a question of dignity and honour, not only to recognize the past but also to reinforce ideals of human rights which are of great importance to world we live in today,” Boyer said.

“The Sandcastle Girls” Genocide novel to be released in Russian

April 24, 2013 By administrator

April 24, 2013 – 16:46 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – New York Times Best-Selling author Chris Bohjalian’s novel on the Armenian Genocide, “The Sandcastle Girls” will be published in Russian to be released in Moscow.

The initiative was widely supported by the Armenian entrepreneurs in Russia.

The novel has received stellar reviews from dozens of publications nationwide, including the Washington Post, USA Today, the Boston Globe, the Associated Press, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, Entertainment Weekly, and People Magazine. It was announced as the Book of the Week on Oprah.com and is currently seventh on the New York Times Best-Sellers List.

In his 15th book, “The Sandcastle Girls,” Bohjalian brings us on a very different kind of journey. The spellbinding tale travels between Aleppo, Syria in 1915 and Bronxville, New York in 2012, telling a sweeping historical love story steeped in the author’s Armenian heritage, making it his most personal novel to date.

Obama again fails to use term Genocide in April 24 statement

April 24, 2013 By administrator

April 24, 2013 – 17:48 AMT

U.S. President Barack Obama issued a statement on Armenian Remembrance Day, again failing to use the term Genocide.

“Today we commemorate the Meds Yeghern and honor those who perished in one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century. Ninety-eight years ago, 1.5 million Armenians were massacred or marched to their deaths in the final days of the Ottoman Empire. We pause to reflect on the lives extinguished and remember the unspeakable suffering that occurred. In so doing, we are joined by millions across the world and in the United States, where it is solemnly commemorated by our states, institutions, communities, and families. We also remind ourselves of our commitment to ensure that such dark chapters of history are not repeated,” Obama said in his April 24 address to the Armenian community.

“I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view has not changed. A full, frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts is in all of our interests. Nations grow stronger by acknowledging and reckoning with painful elements of the past, thereby building a foundation for a more just and tolerant future. We appreciate this lesson in the United States, as we strive to reconcile some of the darkest moments in our own history. We recognize those courageous Armenians and Turks who have already taken this path, and encourage more to do so, with the backing of their governments, and mine,” he said.

“The history and legacy of the Armenian people is marked by an indomitable spirit, and a great resiliency in the face of tremendous adversity and suffering. The United States is stronger for the contributions Armenian-Americans have made to our society, our culture, and our communities. In small measure we return that contribution by supporting the Armenian people as they work toward building a nation that would make their ancestors proud: one that cherishes democracy and respect for human liberty and dignity.

Today we stand with Armenians everywhere in recalling the horror of the Meds Yeghern, honoring the memory of those lost, and affirming our enduring commitment to the people of Armenia,” he concluded

Fresno County Recognizes Karabakh Independence

April 24, 2013 By administrator

FRESNO—Fresno County became the first County in California to officially recognize the independence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (Artsakh). On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution sponsored by Supervisor Andreas Borgeas that officially recognizes the Nagorno Karabakh Republic – a region historically and ethnically Armenian situated between Armenia and Azerbaijan – and also calls upon the California Legislature to grant official recognition.

The Permanent Representative of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in the United States, Robert Avetisyan, commented that “[w]e are grateful for [this] initiative, and hope that the adoption of this Resolution will set a deeper cooperation towards stability, as well as democratic and economic prosperity in our region.” The Consul General of the Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles, Grigor Hovhannisian, commented that “[e]very step toward the recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is a step toward peace and friendly relations in the South Caucasus. I whole-heartedly welcome recognition efforts by community and elected officials, as a continuation of friendly relations and solidarity between the people of the Republic of Artsakh, the Republic of Armenia and Fresno, California.”

County Supervisor Andreas Borgeas said, “I am thrilled to stand beside our Armenian friends – here, in Armenia and Artsakh – and hope Sacramento will also officially recognize the independence of NKR. While Fresno County is the first County in California to pass such a resolution, my goal is for this initiative to help inspire more recognition efforts throughout the state, country and eventually Washington, D.C.”

“[T]his resolution by the Fresno County Board of Supervisors is timely, appropriate and significant,” commented William Bairamian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee – Western Region. State legislatures in Maine, Rhode Island and Massachusetts have already passed similar resolutions.

The Armenian Consul General Grigor Hovhannisian was joined at a press conference with representatives from the Armenian community to recognize the 98th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide as well as to celebrate the importance of recognizing the independence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

Odette Bazil: Penal Code 301 and Turkish scholars

April 24, 2013 By administrator

Journalists are the conscience of the people. By removing and killing them, Turkey is killing and removing its own conscience.

Again, another Turkish journalist is to be thrown in jail for – according to Turkish Penal Code 301 (insulting the Turkish Nation, the Turkish Republic, its government or governmental institutions), one of the leading London-based Armenian activists, Odette Bazil says.

She continues to say:

“The name of that Turkish journalist is Temel Demirer.

At his first trial, he had been charged for the crime cited in Penal Code 301 and had been sentenced to two years in prison. Then he was told that the sentence could be withheld if during the coming 3 years he would refrain from committing the same crime.

Immediately after the trial, just in front of the Court buildings Temel Demirer said: “If, for the coming 3 years, I don’t say there was an Armenian genocide in Turkey, I will be acquitted. Right now, five minutes after the trial, without waiting for another 3 years I say: the Turkish State is the murderer of Hrant Dink. Hrant Dink was not killed because he was Armenian. Hrant Dink was killed by the Turkish State for saying that there had been an Armenian genocide in Turkey. If the Court security forces or the MINISTRY OF INJUSTICE that have postponed my trial do not open another trial, they will be committing a crime”

“I am not inciting anyone to commit a crime. What I am saying is that ideas can NOT and should NOT be shackled. I have learned from ISMAIL BESICKCI, FIKRET BASKAYA and BASKIN ORAN (all Turkish Academics imprisoned or tried for their work ) that FREEDOM OF THOUGHT MUST STAND STRONG. There has been an Armenian genocide in this country. The Turkish State DID kill Hrant Dink. These are my thoughts. So, if you want , you try me again.

On 12th April 2012, I wrote an article, wishing that there would be one and half million good Turks with a conscience who would, EACH ONE, do one good deed for ONE of the one and half million innocent victims of the Armenian genocide.

I never believed, even in my wildest dreams, that my wish would come true so quickly and from such important quarters for there is a huge difference between what is said publicly by an ordinary man or woman in the street and what is researched, written , advocated and published by a journalist. Every journalist’s prerogative and duty is to report the truth, to report what has happened, to make the reader aware of that truth and make that reader motivated by what has happened.

Journalists are the conscience of the people. By removing and killing them, Turkey is killing and removing its own conscience.

Today journalists in Turkey are being prosecuted, tortured – even killed – for affirming that the Ottoman government of 1915 DID commit the genocide of one and half million innocent Armenians. Many journalists have died because of the tortures received, many publishing houses and offices have been set to fire and dozens of Turkish Scholars have left their families, their friends and their country in fear of reprisal and in fear of their lives. Now, protected in foreign lands, they are writing in foreign papers and are even publishing in foreign languages but, committed to their ideals of freedom and justice, they advocate with more effectiveness for the condemnation (by Turkey and the world at large) of the Armenian genocide, knowing that at last they can proclaim the truth without being hunted down, jailed and tortured.

By removing its journalists and making them disappear in the secret holes of its jails, by silencing them hoping that they will be so scared that they will never speak again of the Armenian genocide, Turkey is, like an ostrich, hiding its head in the sand and is only delaying what will one day be acclaimed and accepted in Turkey, not only by its journalists, but by its entire population. Soon there will be one and half million good Turks with a conscience who will stand up, will confess to the committed genocide, doing ONE good deed for each one of the one and half million innocent victims of the Armenian genocide

Today, in Turkey students are questioning their teachers about the empty pages of their History books, where the period of Turkish history between 1915 and 1923 is not mentioned, nor printed, nor described or discussed. The Turkish student, wanting to know, will ask its family members. Sometimes there might be an elderly relative who will describe the atrocities committed. If that student has a conscience, then it will carry its research and will find the truth. It is the moral duty for that student to tell its Turkish compatriots and the world at large of what has happened in 1915 .It is the moral duty of that Turkish student to become a good Turk and do one good deed for one innocent victim of the genocide it has found out to have happened in its country.

Today in Turkey, the young educated Turk is asking why are they so many churches in Turkey whereas Turkey is a Muslim State, why are these churches empty? When and who did worship in them and Where are these people? Each Turk, be it young or old, male or female, educated or not, MUST ask where are these people? What happened to them? And WHY did it happen?

Today the Turkish dignitaries visit various countries who, having interests to protect in Turkey would not shy from any injustice, any lie or deceit to protect these interest, and lobby these countries to join the Turkish State in its denial of events which are questioned, publicised , researched and exposed by the Turkish population and specially by its young intellectuals and its journalists .

Turkey must understand and accept that the process of acknowledgement and condemnation of the Armenian genocide has already begun in Turkey. It will never be stopped.

Is the Turkish government to imprison all its journalists, all its historians, all its intellectuals, all its good people with a conscience?

Are new jails to be built in Turkey, equal to the same number of mass graves which were dug in 1915 to bury those million and half innocent victims, and are these jails to be used to bury the truth?

Now, in 2013, although the dead Armenians will never be able to leave their graves to testify, but the Turkish journalists who serve their two or three years sentences in Turkish jails WILL get out one day and WILL testify.

Most revolutions are instigated by young idealist intellectuals and are exposed to the public by journalists. So far, the Turkish government has partly succeeded in keeping its young intellectuals in the dark and the crimes committed by their ancestors a secret, but , day by day, with an increasing number , with accrued effectiveness and sharpened awareness of every citizen’s right, Turkish Scholars , historians and journalists are speaking out and are advocating for the truth about the Armenian genocide .

Similar to the Armenian women who have never been able to bring themselves to talk about the rapes and the sexual outrages committed against them by the Turks during the Armenian genocide because of the SHAME they felt, maybe the Turkish government too cannot bring itself to talk about the crimes committed by its ancestors because of the SHAME it feels.

Yes any human being, any government, any state would feel – very rightly – a deep and dark SHAME to find itself the heir to such morbid legacy, a legacy of injustice, of crime, of theft, of torture, of rape and of murder.

The SHAME felt towards this legacy should generate apologies and remorse NOT denial and persecution of the ones who expose that legacy and that truth.

Ten years ago, my grand-son Connor Bazil whose mother is American, wrote in his homework ; “Turkey must say yes its great-grand fathers had killed the Armenians because , like between friends, once a bad thing has been done, if the guilty party says Sorry , then friendship can start again, then that bad action can be forgiven and once again people who are neighbours can live next to each other without hating each other , so two countries will not be enemies anymore”.

PanARMENIAN.Net –