The Sandcastle Girls, a novel on the Armenian Genocide by Chris Bohjalian, will debut on the New York Times Best-Seller List on the newspaper’s website 
today, as reported by the Armenian Weekly.
The Sandcastle Girls is currently seventh on the best-seller list, which will appear in the published August 5 issue of the New York Times. On July 23, it was announced the Book of the Week on Oprah.com.
The novel has received stellar reviews from dozens on 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.
50-year-old Bohjalian is a popular writer in the United States, with works that have been “best sellers” over a 20-year career
Bulgarian Officials Seize 22 Kilograms Of Heroin Bound For Bosnia from Istanbul Turkey
August 09, 2012
Based on reporting by AP and dpa
Bulgarian authorities have seized almost 22 kilograms of heroin bound for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Bulgarian Customs Headquarters said that customs inspectors found the drugs in a car at the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint on August 9.
A press release issued the same day said the heroin was travelling from Istanbul to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The heroin’s estimated street value is more than 1.5 million dollars.
It was hidden in 23 packages in the car’s gasoline tank. The car was driven by a 44-year-old Bosnian national.
Armenian Orphans after the 1915 Massacre buy the Turkish Ottoman Empire; they were welcome in to all Arabic countries. Now 97 year letter the Turks are again marching on the Arab land and the Armenian Again are on the run. Aleppo No Longer a Safe Haven For Syrian-Born Armenians
By Naira Bulghadaryan, Daisy Sindelar
August 24, 2012
Gevorg Payasian’s father, Asatur, was just 15 years old when he was forced to flee his home in the ancient city of Ayntap in what is
now southeastern Turkey.
His entire family had been killed by Ottoman troops in what many historians now term the Armenian genocide, the mass slaughter and deportation of Anatolia’s ethnic Armenians between 1915 and 1922.
Alone, he set out on foot, walking about 130 kilometers before reaching a haven in the Syrian city of Aleppo. Unbeknownst to him, his 9-year-old sister, Nektar, had somehow survived the massacre and was making the same journey.
Asatur went on to reunite with his sister in Aleppo. He went to school, started a family, and built a successful horse-breeding business from scratch.
But his son Gevorg, now a 69-year-old businessman specializing in radio equipment, believes even as he praised Syria’s “merciful embrace” of his people, his father never recovered from the trauma of seeing his home and family destroyed:
“My father always remembered his ancestral home in Ayntap,” he says. “He would tell me about how he fled from the Turks and reached Syria. The Turks had killed his parents and relatives. My father and his sister were the only survivors in their family.”
Nearly a century later, it is the son who is fleeing — leaving the city that offered his father safe harbor as the bloody 17-month battle between government loyalists and opposition rebels settles over Aleppo.
Rich History, Uncertain Future
Hundreds of Aleppans have been injured and dozens killed in the recent weeks of fighting in Syria’s largest city, with government jets bombarding residential buildings and rebels waging a street-level war for control.
Tens of thousands of residents have evacuated the city in a desperate bid to escape the violence, including up to 3,000 Armenians, who have decamped for Lebanon and Armenia, leaving behind a rich history and a highly uncertain future.
Even before the World War One-era massacres, Armenians had made a home in Aleppo for centuries. The Forty Martyrs Cathedral, a 15th-century Apostolic church, is one of the oldest functioning churches in the Armenian diaspora, and the Armenian presence in the city is believed to reach back as far as the 1st century B.C.
But it was the so-called Armenian genocide, the Turkish slaughter and mass deportation of Armenians in the early 20th century, that laid the foundation for the city’s contemporary Armenian community.
Was Atatürk an Armenian?
Write:
Orhan Kemal Cengiz is a Turkish lawyer, journalist and human rights activist. He graduated in law from the University of Ankara in 1993. From 1997 to 1998 he worked in London.
o.cengiz@todayszaman.com
The Radikal daily has started quite an interesting discussion about the family origins of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. Radikal reported, according to the forthcoming book “From Mustafa to Kemal: Atatürk’s Big Secret” by Fatih Bayhan, that the family origins of Atatürk do not lie in Thessaloniki, as is commonly believed, but instead in the eastern province of Malatya. Bayhan claims that Atatürk’s family immigrated to Thessaloniki from Malatya.
According to this new version of his life, Atatürk’s true father and mother were people who lived in Malatya and Atatürk’s acknowledged mother, Zübeyde Hanım, was actually his aunt. The writer claims that Atatürk was sent to Thessaloniki when his actual father died and was adopted by Zübeyde Hanım when his mother died. The book is said to be based on official governmental records and documents that are set to be made public for the first time.
I do not want to bother you with all these details any more. This allegation of course needs to be proven. However, I would not be surprised if it turns out to be true. Much of history in Turkey is based on so many lies and legends, all of which were created to deny some fundamental facts in our past. Turkish official history “writers” never hesitated to bend history according to the needs of our official ideology and the state’s so-called “higher interests.”
Malatya was one of the provinces which were heavily populated by Armenians in the past. If this new version of Atatürk’s origins is true, the first question to come to mind is why the history writers fabricated the well-known version of his life. Did they write the official version to disassociate Atatürk from Anatolian Armenians? If the new story is true, there must be a reason.
The facts of Turkish history are still surrounded by many taboos, some of which have caused loss of life. You know how the tragic events leading to the assassination of Hrant Dink began. He simply dared to say that Atatürk’s adopted daughter Sabiha Gökçen was indeed an Armenian orphan. And this revelation was followed a lynching campaign and he was killed after that.
Nowadays the walls around the taboos which surround our history seem to be weakening. Ayhan Aktar keeps writing about some taboos in our history. One of the stories he tells is about the Dardanelles wars. According to Aktar, one of the heroes of this war was Cpt. Sarkis Torosyan, a citizen of Armenian descent in the Ottoman Empire. Torosyan’s story is a heartbreaking one. Torosyan was a much-decorated gunner wounded while defending the Dardanelles. He was later transferred to the area where his family had been deported, modern-day Palestine. There he discovered his sister in rags and heard his fiancée was dying of tuberculosis. He learned that his parents had been killed along the way. While he was defending his country to the death, his family and loved ones had been forcefully evicted from their homes.
This story is of course not written in any schoolbooks, nor is it known by many people in Turkey. Some may think this story is just a tiny detail in Turkish history, but I think it’s a very significant and important one. The real story of an Armenian captain who fought a heroic war in the Dardanelles is a huge burden on the Turkish conscience. This is because this one single event has the capacity to bring up all of our painful memories about our long-lost neighbors and about our past.
As I repeatedly said in this column before, people confront their past by opening their hearts to the stories of others, by feeling the pain and anguish they suffered — a process which has already started in Turkey and in which we have a very long way to go.
Armenia marks 22nd anniversary of Declaration of Independence
August 23, 2012 | 10:00
Thursday, August 23, 2012 marks the 22nd anniversary of Armenia’s Declaration of Independence.
Exactly 22 years ago on this very day, Armenian SSR Supreme Council adopted Armenia’s Declaration of Independence, whereby the country’s independence process was launched.
By way of the Declaration of Independence, Armenian SSR was renamed the Republic of Armenia—or Armenia, in short form. And on the very next day, that is, on August 24, the law on the country’s flag was adopted, whereby the tricolor was recognized as Armenia’s national flag.
At the Supreme Council’s session on August 23, 1990, the text of the Declaration of Independence was read by Aram Manukyan—the current opposition Armenian National Congress Parliamentary Faction Secretary and Armenian National Movement Party Chairman—as namesake of the founder of the First Republic of Armenia.
And one year later, on September 21, 1991, Armenia held its referendum on independence, and, as a result, 94.99 percent of the participants voted in favor of Armenia’s independence.
CALL TO SUPPORT THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN SYRIA
GLENDALE—All religious denominations, political parties and relief organizations in the Western United States have come together to form a joint committee to assist the Armenian community of Syria. On Thursday, the group issued a call to support the efforts, the text of which is presented below:
During the past weeks, the 17-month conflict in Syria has escalated to dangerous proportions. Caught in the crossfire of this growing conflict are the innocent citizens of Syria, among them the large Armenian community.
The presence of Armenians in Syria dates back many centuries, and throughout that time, the community has had an important role in the Armenian Diaspora reality. Especially after the Armenian Genocide, the growing Armenian community, through its hard work and determination has created beneficial situation for nurturing families and establishing national institutions such as churches and schools, and preserving our heritage and traditions. Today, due to the current conflict, the Armenian community is facing a crisis. The Armenian community organizations in Syria, by adhering to the survivalist spirit of the Armenian people, have already mobilized to effectively and in an organized manner cater to the needs of the community.
In light of this mounting humanitarian crisis, Armenians will not remain indifferent, and will get to work to extend a helping hand and assist the Syrian-Armenian community.
The Armenian American community of Western United States is equally concerned with these developments, which impact the entire Armenian nation. Any harm inflicted upon any member of our dispersed Armenian family equally impacts the rest of the family be they in Armenia or the Diaspora. With increased resolve and conviction we must be ready to support the Syrian-Armenian population, just as we have come to aid of our brethren in Armenia, Artsakh, Lebanon and Iraq, in their time of need.
We call upon the Armenian American community of the Western United States to facilitate the needs of the Syrian Armenian community and to contribute for the preservation of the Armenian community. The Syrian Armenian community has fulfilled its centuries-old mission proudly, and today as it holds on to its home, the community is aware of its exceptional and unique role it has had in the Diaspora, which unequivocally needs to be preserved.
We hereby announce the formation of a Joint Committee in Support of the Syrian Armenian Community.
Archbishop Hovnan Derderian
Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian
Bishop Mikayel Mouradian
Rev. Joe Matossian
Social Democrat Hunchakian Party
Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Armenian Democratic Liberal Party
Armenian General Benevolent Union
Armenian Relief Society
AMAA
Use of Mercenaries and Terrorist Groups to Impede People’s Rights For Development and Secure Future
BY MOVSES MUSAELIAN
Mercenaries have been used often throughout history in conflicts throughout the world. Their presence has helped armies and fighting 
forces gain manpower and fighting capability through monetary incentive, which has proven to be a rather convenient method of gaining a temporary military boost. The United Nations, however, has recognized the dangerous implications that such mercenaries have for international peace and security and has passed resolutions affirming not only the danger, posed by the use of such mercenaries, to international peace and security, but also to self determination and the freedom of people1.
At the breakup of the Soviet Union, many conflicts rose up in the Caucasus region and as a result of these conflicts, several parties utilized mercenaries in their struggle; for example, the use of Afghan and Chechen mercenaries against the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict arose when Azerbaijan attempted to brutally suppress the legal expression of self-determination by the NK2 people, who wished to live separate from a government that had continuously denied them rights and kept them under oppression. Even though Azerbaijan had a clear military advantage over the NK Armenians in all aspects, they were not able to defeat these people, who were determined to stay free. As a result of subsequent military failures in the early 1990s, Azerbaijan desperately turned to the use of mercenaries to try to change the course of the war. In recruiting such mercenaries, Azerbaijan actively tried to play the “religion card” in portraying the conflict between Christian Armenians and Muslim Azeris, when in reality such religious connotations were not at all at the core of the conflict. As a result, Mujahedin groups from Afghanistan, with ties to al-Qaeda, and extremist groups from Chechnya were brought to help in the clamping down of this expression of free will. The Washington Post in 1993 wrote, “The government of this Caucasian republic has hired a force of more than 1,000 Afghan mujaheddin fighters to buttress its sagging army, introducing a volatile new element to the five-year Azerbaijani-Armenian war on the former Soviet Union’s southern rim”-. This known faction was allied with infamous warlord, Hekmaytar, and associated with the mujaheddin faction, Hezb-i-Wahdat. In parallel, Chechen mercenaries were led by Chechen terrorist, Shamil Basayev, infamous for the Beslan School attack, who later realised that the conflict against the NK Armenians had little to do with proper jihad.
After the end of the NK war and with tacit approval and knowledge from the government, Azerbaijan continued to be used for terrorist activities by groups such as al-Qaeda and Hezb-e-Islami, which had logistical offices in the country. For example, Wadih el-Hage, leader of the al-Qaeda cell in Nairobi, which later destroyed the US embassy of Kenya in 1998, frequently relayed vital communication to individuals such as Osama bin Laden while stationed in Baku. After the US embassy attacks in 1998, international pressure began to mount on Azerbaijan for the harboring of such terrorist organizations; in response Azerbaijan did not extradite such individuals, rather repatriated them. The US Department of State noted in 1999, in its annual report on global terrorism, “Although Azerbaijan did not face a serious threat from international terrorism, it served as a logistic hub for international mujahidin with ties to terrorist groups, some of whom supported the Chechen insurgency in Russia.”4 The FBI later on established in 1998 that there were 60 telephone calls between Bin Laden and his contacts from the branch of “Islamic Jihad” in Baku, and it is further speculated that as a result there might have been an Azerbaijani trace in the September 11 attacks5. It was even mentioned by the Associated Press that, “one of Bin Laden’s associate claimed that Bin Laden himself led mujahedin in at least two battles in Nagorno-Karabakh.”6 The Congressional Research Services in its issued report also stated that groups and individuals affiliated with Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda had used Azerbaijan as one of its bases in their growing terrorist network7.
While Azerbaijan made stronger declarations to tackle terrorism after the September 11 attacks, it has used the pretext of both fighting terrorism and its frozen conflict with NK to suppress freedoms of various sorts and democracy in its own country. The United Nations has similarly passed resolutions on “the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism”8 which Azerbaijan has continued to violate. For example, the intimidation and imprisonment of journalists and activists has become routine in order to solidify the Aliyev clan’s authoritarian grip on the country. Amnesty International and various other human rights organization have often criticized this human rights situation and in one of its press releases, Amnesty International stated, “In oil-rich Azerbaijan, 20 years of independence, economic prosperity and relative stability have failed to translate into greater fundamental freedoms for its citizens while the consolidation of authoritarian rule over the last decade has been largely ignored by the outside world.”9 Freedom House has continuously described Azerbaijan as “not free” in both political rights and civil liberties and in May of 2011 the European Parliament expressed deep concern in this worsening of human rights in Azerbaijan and called on remaining political prisoners to be freed and for Azerbaijan to respect its duties to conventions on human rights10. The bleak status of democracy in this country was only darkened more by a referendum that abolished presidential limits and effectively allowed for Aliyev and his family to rule the country without end. In addition to this oppression, Azerbaijan has continued with provocative and violent actions in the border area with NK and Armenia, which has threatened the peace and security of the civilians living in the border areas; for example, its recent shooting on Movses village in the border area. The acts of such subversive terrorist groups by the Azerbaijan military in the border areas and near civilian populations can be seen as acts of terrorism and add to the legacy of Azerbaijan’s association with terrorism. The complete destruction of the Julfa Armenian cross stones by Azerbaijani military has added a cultural dimension to this terrorist ideology as well. Organizations such as UNESCO and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) brought forward appeals to Azerbaijan to stop this blatant act of cultural destruction.
I shed light on the associations that Azerbaijan in particular has had with terrorism and violent mercenary groups, which, contrary to UN principles, contributed to the oppression of people’s rights to freedom and self-determination, namely that of the Nagorno-Karabakh people. The subject of terrorism and international strategies in tackling terrorism is a frequently discussed matter at the United Nations, in addition to the core UN principles of freedom and self-determination that have so frequently been violated by the Republic of Azerbaijan towards the NK people, who have expressed democratic desire for self-determination, and towards their own people, who have expressed the desire for a democratic country. During the time of the two week internship the subject of counter-terrorism was frequently discussed in the General Assembly. In UN’s 2006 strategy for counter-terrorism, it was affirmed that, “States must ensure that any measures taken to combat terrorism comply with their obligations under international law, in particular human rights law, refugee law and international humanitarian law.”11
In conclusion, in the past decade the importance of effective counter-terrorism strategies has greatly increased as the type of threats in the world have also changed. In employing effective counter-terrorism strategies it has been stressed by the UN that such strategies not affect basic human rights of the citizens. In extension to this, the use of mercenaries has also been brought under more heavy scrutiny, especially following the use of such mercenaries in the War on Iraq by US forces, which is reported by the UN Human Rights Council12. In the case of Azerbaijan, we have seen an almost intersection of these two important themes and it is hoped that countries like Azerbaijan can move to be more compliant with international conventions, requests, and urgings in order to contribute to the betterment of international security.
Notes
1. A/RES/42/96
2. Nagorno-Karabakh
3. The Washington Post
4. http://www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/1999report/eurasia.html#Azerbaijan.
5. http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/wcm/connect/a2aa12004f018b88b8d1fc3170baead1/WP20-2008_Taarnby_Mujahedin_Nagorno-Karabakh_Global_Jihad.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=a2aa12004f018b88b8d1fc3170baead1
6. Associated Press 11/14/99
7. Congressional Research Services (CRS, 9/10/2001)
8. http://www.un.org/terrorism/strategy-counter-terrorism.shtml
9. http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/international-community-must-act-azerbaijan-crackdown-2011-11-16
10. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P7-TA-2011-0243+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN
11. http://www.un.org/terrorism/strategy-counter-terrorism.shtml#poa4
12. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/18session/A.HRC.18.32.Add.4_en.pdf
Movses Musaelian completed the Internship program at the Armenian Mission at the United Nations this summer. Above is a research project completed for the internship.
Knesset to Discuss Genocide Bill Tuesday
JERUSALEM—The chairperson of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, on Sunday has permitted the discussion of a bill recognizing the Armenian Genocide. The debate is scheduled for Tuesday, reported the Haaretz newspaper.
Knesset chairperson Reuven Rivlin decided to permit the debate for Tuesday after Meretz party leader Zehava Gal-On asked for the issue to be discussed in the Knesset last week but it was delayed due to deliberation on another bill.
Israel’s foreign ministry asked to postpone the discussion until after the Knesset hears a report on Israel’s interception of Turkish ships bound for the Gaza Strip. Gal-On refused and pressed for the Armenian Genocide bill to be placed on the agenda.
Gal-On said she did not want to cause problems with Turkey and she wanted relations with the country to improve. But she said she believed the Foreign Ministry was using the comptroller’s report as an excuse to avoid dealing with the controversial Armenian issue, reported the Jerusalem Post.
In December, the Knesset’s Education Committee hosted an unprecedented discussion of the Armenian Genocide and the need for Israel to officially recognize the matter.
At the time, a representative of the Foreign Ministry relayed the ministry’s opposition to the bill. “This subject, given the current atmosphere, could deteriorate our ties with Turkey. Our relationship with Turkey is very fragile and sensitive right now, and we cannot cross the line – we must approach the subject intelligently. Such a decision could have very serious strategic consequences,” said the representative.
Rivlin also commented during the discussion in December. “The subject doesn’t come up in the Knesset because of events that take place between Israel and Turkey, nor because we are trying to take advantage of the political situation to get even. I first entered the Knesset in ‘88, and a year later we made a suggestion for a day concerning the Armenian tragedy. We were prevented from speaking about it as a ‘holocaust,’ though we most definitely felt that as humans, as Jews, as citizens of Israel that aren’t Jews, we must bring this subject up, and flood the public with the questions that arise, because we are obligated to prevent denial of the tragedy,” said Rivlin.
“We are standing in front of all the peoples of the world, and saying that denial of a holocaust is something that Humanity cannot agree with. We didn’t come to discuss something political, rather moral,” continued Rivlin.
Gal-On said at the time that “this is an exciting moment, in my opinion, that the Education Committee is holding an open discussion, with a great deal of participation. For years, Israel always considered relations with Turkey. That is the central issue in terms of recognition of the murder of the Armenian people, which has yet to take place in Israel’s Knesset.”
“Unfortunately, relations with Turkey are very tense, and I think that it is in our interest not to make them worse. Israel’s government must advance relations regardless of the Armenian issue; it is a historic and moral obligation,” said Gal-On.
Otniel Schneller, also among the upcoming discussion’s sponsors, was the only one who expressed outright opposition to an official recognition by Israel of the Armenian genocide in December. “We cannot disconnect the discussion from the fact that we must rehabilitate our ties with Turkey – it’s an existential necessity,” he said. “We need to fit in the Middle East even if it is difficult,” said Schneller, in December.
Congressman Ryan advocate for US reaffirmation of Armenian Genocide – ANCA
August 12, 2012 | 01:11
Congressman Ryan brings to the national Republican ticket a long legislative record as an advocate for U.S. reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide – co-sponsoring le
gislation to commemorate this crime, and co-signing a number of Congressional letters asking President Bush and Obama to honor their commitments to properly recognize this atrocity as a genocide, said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian commenting for the Armenian News-NEWS.am information on Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) running for vice president.
“Much like the current vice president, Joe Biden, Representative Ryan enters the presidential race with ‘A’ ratings from the ANCA,” noted Hamparian. “We look to the Romney-Ryan ticket to publicly share their views on issues of special concern to Armenian American voters, and also to the Obama-Biden White House to explain their policies on matters of particular interest to our community, so that Armenian American voters can make fully informed choices at the ballot box this November.”
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is running for vice president, after presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney announced him as his pick on Saturday morning.
Armenian Genocide 100th Anniversary Committee is formed in Los Angeles
August 17, 2012 | 11:41
LOS ANGELES. – The Armenian Genocide 100th Anniversary Committee is established in Los Angeles. Its objective is to coordinate and head the Genocide 
commemoration events to be held in the US West Coast, and in the lead-up to April 24, 2015, the Committee informs.
The Committee’s formation was preceded by community discussions with the largest Armenian organizations of the US West Coast.
“The creation of the Committee reflects these organizations’ decision to centralize under a united strategic plan the efforts toward organizing Armenian Genocide’s 100th anniversary events.
The Committee of the US West Coast will coordinate the activities of the regional chapters and support their initiatives. Also, the Committee will closely cooperate with the state body that coordinates the Armenian Genocide’s 100th anniversary events and with the similar organizations of the [Armenian] Diaspora,” the Armenian Genocide 100th Anniversary Committee’s statement reads in particular.