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Genocide Must Be Punished to Be Prevented, Nalbandian Tells UN

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GENEVA—Armenia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian spoke on Friday at the 25th session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council, devoted to the 65th anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Armenian-FM-at-UNIn his speech, Nalbandian told international delegates that, as survivors of a catastrophic genocide, the Armenian people, more than anyone, have utmost interest in eradicating genocide and crimes against humanity from the world.

Nalbandian also stressed that punishment of crimes against humanity and genocide is of paramount importance for the prevention of it in the future.

“The Armenian people, as a nation that survived the first genocide of the 20th century, feel a strong moral responsibility to bring their contributions to international efforts in the prevention of crimes against humanity,” Nalbandian said.

The foreign minister added: “Genocide prevention requires the development of both enforcement and preventive measures. If genocide is committed, the perpetrators should have no doubt whatsoever that they will definitely be held responsible. On May 24th, 1915 in a special declaration the Allied Powers – Russia, France and Great Britain – warned the perpetrators of the atrocities against the Armenian people that they would be held personally responsible for ‘these new crimes of Turkey against humanity and civilization,’ from which the modern concept of Crimes against Humanity entered the international legal system.”

Edward Nalbandian also reminded the Council that the topic at hand, namely genocide prevention and justice, is deeply ingrained in Armenians’ worldview, representing the single most tragic page of Armenian history.

“Raphael Lemkin, the author of the term “genocide,” while defining the crime of genocide, referred to the very policy of mass extermination perpetrated against Armenians,” Nalbandian said. “Lemkin dedicated his life to the study of crimes against humanity, which, among others, paved the way for the adoption of the 1948 Convention.”

Nalbandian stressed that the prevention of genocide must focus on early warning systems, keeping a close watch for any signs of a coming human rights crisis. Nalbandian noted that, moreover, in order for early detection to be useful, effective and concrete measures for the deterrence of genocide must also be in place.

Nalbandian added that, lastly, education, recognition and, most importantly, punishment of past genocides are imperative to the prevention of genocide in the future.

“New generations should be taught the history of past tragedies, past genocides,” Nalbandian said. “The acknowledgement and condemnation of committed genocides are one of the most effective tools for their prevention in the future.

“Non-acknowledgement or willful ignorance of genocide, which is otherwise called denial, along with impunity pave the way for the repetition of new crimes against humanity. Independent of geopolitical or other interests, the international community should stand together in the recognition, condemnation and punishment of past genocides…in their efforts towards its prevention in the future,” Nalbandian said.

“The remembrance days of the victims of genocides, Mets Yeghern, Shoah, remembrance days in Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur and other genocides should be days of mourning not only for the descendents of victims, but for the descendents of the perpetrators,” the foreign minister urged. “These days should be approached with willingness to move towards recognition and reconciliation. True reconciliation does not mean forgetting the past or feeding younger generations with tales of denial.”

Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian concluded his speech by retorting Turkish disagreements with his remarks about the Armenian Genocide, inviting the Turkish delegate to address his concerns to Russia, France, and Great Britain, who called on Ottoman leaders to stop their crimes against humanity, and to the many countries who have recognized those acts for what they were, a genocide.

The Federal Office of Justice, Switzerland requested a review of the case Perinçek

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At 15:00 today, after a thorough review of the judgment of the First Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights had ruled in favor of the Turkish denialist, Dogu Perinçek under Article 10 of the freedom of expression, the Federal Office of Justice has called for a review of the case Perinçek.

arton97999-480x236Perinçek case: Switzerland calls for a review of the case by the Grand Chamber

Press Release, FOJ, 03.11.2014

Berne. Switzerland will ask the European Court of Human Rights to return the Perinçek case before the Grand Chamber. This decision stems from the Federal Office of Justice. The review of the case is to clarify the flexibility available to the Swiss authorities in the application of the anti-racist norm.

The European Convention on Human Rights provides the opportunity to review a case by the Grand Chamber, particularly if the case raises a serious question affecting the interpretation or application of the Convention. In this case, it is primarily to clarify the flexibility available to the Swiss authorities in the application of the anti-racist norm enshrined in art. 261 bis of the Penal Code, in force since 1 January 1995. Switzerland had created this standard to fill a gap in the criminal law in order to accede to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Dogu Perinçek, a Turkish national, was sentenced March 9, 2007 by a court in Vaud a penalty and a fine, pursuant to art. 261bis PC, for denying the Armenian Genocide. After unsuccessfully appealed to the Vaud Cantonal Court and the Federal Court, Mr Perinçek took her case to the European Court of Human Rights. In its judgment of 17 December 2013, the Chamber in charge of the case found the existence of a violation of the freedom of expression of the complainant.

In a judgment of 12 December 2007, the Federal Court upheld the conviction of Turkish nationalist Dogu Perinçek, who had denied the existence of the Armenian Genocide during his appearances in Switzerland. Turkish politician then appealed against Switzerland to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), which gave him reason.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014,
Jean Eckian © armenews.com

Newspaper Ads Urge Switzerland to Support ECHR Appeal

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The International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies’ publication in English

‘Switzerland was not a bystander of the Armenian Genocide then, and should not be a bystander to its denial now,’ says newspaper publication

ECHR_Statement_English_Edition-CROPPEDBERN, Switzerland—The International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute) produced a full-page informational advertisement that appeared in Switzerland’s leading German and French language newspapers Neue Zürcher Zeitung on March 6 and Le Temps on March 7. The advertisements were the product of collaboration between the Switzerland Armenia Association and the IIGHRS.

The purpose of these ads was to raise awareness with the Swiss public that the December 17, 2013 ruling of the Perinçek vs. Switzerland case by the European Court of Human Rights, promotes racism and violence against Armenians in Turkey and elsewhere. The statement further argued that the Swiss government has a moral responsibility to appeal this ruling and defend its laws against racism.

Seeing that to date the Swiss Government had not filed an appeal against the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, the IIGHRS felt that it is crucial to educate the public about this critical legal and moral issue. Switzerland was not a bystander to the Armenian Genocide in 1915, and it should not be a bystander and allow its denial today. In this respect, the Institute endeavored to raise awareness of the facts of the Armenian Genocide through the speeches of the President of Switzerland in 1922 to the League of Nations, and in the words of the current President about the action needed against denial of the Holocaust or any other genocide. President Burkhalter noted that it is the duty of the Swiss people to remind people “of the facts and the historical reality,” and stressed that Switzerland does not want to just “pay lip service, but to take concrete action” to fight denial. Through the juxtaposing of these two historical speeches, the Institute explained that while it does not disagree with the right to freedom of speech, it takes issue with the ECHR’s highly debatable statements about the Armenian Genocide that went far beyond the Court’s mandate or competence.

The full text of the publication is available here in English.

Armenian church in eastern Turkey becomes hayloft after serving as school

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VAN – Cihan News Agency

A historical structure in the eastern province of Van, which once was an Armenian church, has been converted into a hayloft after serving as a school for some time.

Villagers fill the former church in the Korlu village of the Çatak district, 30 kilometers from Van, with hay, grass, cowpat and wood, but they have personally appealed to authorities to renovate it.

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Considering the villagers’ request, Van Culture and Tourism Provincial Director Muzaffer Aktuğ said the renovation could be started soon.

The historical church had served as a primary school for five years when there was no school in the area 30 years ago. Thirty-five students were taught at the school, before it was abandoned and converted into a hayloft by villagers.

Villagers have attached a wooden door to the church, some parts of which are about to collapse, and tried to restore to prevent it from collapsing.

Tourists had come to the village to look at the church, but it was mostly neglected.

“For us, the church has a particular value because we graduated from here when we did not have a school. Now it is used as a hayloft. We want officials to restore the church and use it for tourism,” said villager Selim Gurban.

Aktuğ said he would give instructions to the Van Museum Directorate to learn about the church’s situation and whether it was suitable for restoration.

“Work will start according to the report after it is made by museum officials. We will discuss the report with the Van Monuments Directorate and we will renovate it if that is ultimately decided [by the directorate],” Aktuğ said.

March/10/2014

German President Visits Massacre Site in Greece

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LIGIADES, Greece March 6, 2014 (AP)

By THANASSIS STAVRAKIS Associated Press

 AP_logo_update_20130709A visibly emotional German president laid a wreath Friday at a monument in northwestern Greece to villagers massacred by German soldiers during World War II, at the end of a three-day visit that combined political talks with efforts to bring closure to wounds from the German wartime occupation of Greece.

Joachim Gauck expressed “shame” at the 1943 atrocity at Ligiades, where Nazi troops executed dozens of villagers, including months-old babies, in reprisal for a partisan attack. He was accompanied by Greek President Karolos Papoulias, a resistance fighter as a teenager who comes from the nearby town of Ioannina.

Anti-German sentiment has increased in Greece in recent years, as Berlin — the largest single contributor to Greece’s bailout — has been one of the most ardent proponents of austerity measures imposed in return for billions of euros in rescue loans.

That resentment has fuelled growing calls for Germany to pay Greece reparations for the brutal 1941-44 occupation and restitution for a forced wartime loan to Germany.

After the wreath-laying ceremony, about a dozen people at Ligiades unfurled a banner reading “reparations and justice,” and chanted “justice, justice.”

In a speech in honor of Gauck Thursday night, Papoulias said he could not understand the German government’s refusal to discuss Greek reparation claims. Germany insists the issue was laid to rest in the 1960s with a repayment which it considers to have settled all claims — a position Gauck stood by.

An official assessment of what sum Greece could demand is pending. But pro-reparations activists quote the sum of 162 billion euros ($223 billion), about half the financially distressed country’s national debt. Papoulias said the issue “casts a pall” over the two countries’ relations.

Separately, Greece’s largest Jewish community, in the northern city of Thessaloniki, said last week it has taken Germany to Europe’s top human rights court seeking the return of a massive ransom paid to Nazi Germany to free thousands of Jewish slave laborers. Despite the payment, those who had been press-ganged into construction projects across Greece were sent to Nazi death camps.

Berlin has rejected that bid too.

About 96 percent of Thessaloniki’s 50,000 Jews perished in the camps.

ANCA-WR Launches Campaign to Honor Near East Relief Efforts

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Campaign’s goal is to thank America for its efforts in rescuing hundreds of thousands of Genocide refugees, orphans and survivors.

GLENDALE—The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region has launched a campaign, timed for the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, to honor Near East Relief, an organization that mobilized Americans and rescued Americawethankyou-1hundreds of thousands of orphans and survivors of the Genocide.

The campaign, called “America We Thank You: An Armenian Tribute to Near East Relief,” is a movement to recognize the outpouring of generosity by the American people in the immediate aftermath of the Armenian Genocide (1915-1923) and to highlight the efforts of Near East Relief in rescuing and providing assistance to hundreds of thousands of men, women and children who were victims of the Genocide.

ANCA-WR officials said that the campaign is committed to promoting the role Near East Relief played in providing assistance to those less fortunate and for its groundbreaking ability to bring the American people together under one cause—the aid to refugees of the Armenian Genocide.

Through various events and programs “America We Thank You: An Armenian Tribute to Near East Relief,” will mark the centennial of the Near East Relief efforts and express its gratitude to the American people for establishing and continuing the tradition of being the most generous nation. Countless Armenian-Americans are descendants of those rescued by Near East Relief.

As news of the horrors of the Armenian Genocide poured into the this country, President Woodrow Wilson urged Congress in September of 1915 to act swiftly to provide assistance to the victims of Ottoman Turkish massacres of Armenians. This congressionally-mandated operation, which would later be dubbed Near East Relief, galvanized every segment of American society to rise up and provide assistance to the refugees of the Genocide.

Near East Relief established and operated several orphanages in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, including Armenia, to shelter and care for hundreds of thousands of orphans who escaped the horrors of the Genocide. The campaign was entirely funded by the American people.

“As we, a community and a nation, look toward the centennial of the Armenian Genocide in 2015, we would be remiss to discount the crucial role Near East Relief played in salvaging the victims of the horrible tragedy, and by the same token, play a critical role in safeguarding the survival of the Armenian Nation,” said Vanna Kitsinian, Esq. co-chairwoman of “We Thank You America: An Armenian Tribute to Near East Relief” effort.

“Through this campaign we want to say a collective ‘thank you’ to the American people for recognizing the plight of Armenians and mobilizing the entire nation. We thank you America,” added Hermineh Pakhanians, co-chairwoman of the committee.

“As the largest and leading Armenian-American advocacy organization, the ANCA-WR is taking the lead to ensure that the current generation of Americans is well aware of its past humanitarian efforts and the role that the US Congress and the White House played at the time of the Genocide,” emphasized Nora Hovsepian, Esq. chairwoman of the ANCA-WR.

In a paper published in 2010, Keith David Watenpaugh, an associate professor and a historian at University of California at Davis argued in an article published in the American Historical Review that the Armenian Genocide sparked the modern humanitarian movement and the original concept of “citizen philanthropy.”

“America We Thank You: An Armenian Tribute to Near East Relief” is planning to host its inaugural launch event next month.

The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.

Azeri-Israeli group slams Petah Tikva mayor’s Genocide memorial initiative

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he head of the Azerbaijan-Israel Association slammed a mayoral decision to establish a monument to the victims of the Armenian Genocide in Petah Tikva.

176609Alex Miller learned about the initiative of Petah-Tikva Mayor Itzik Braverman who recently met with representatives of Armenian organizations from current and Armenia media reports.

“Seems like Mayor Braverman resolved all current problems, and the turn has come for a century-long ones,” Alex Miller ironized.

“The city is permanently mentioned in the crime reports. And the decision of this kind, taken without putting it to a municipal council’s vote screams of a lack of foresight,” he said.

As he went on to remind, “with Knesset’s decision on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide pending, any games at municipal level can be construed as assistance to those aiming to draw Israel into conflicts of the third parties.”

“I hope the municipal council will act against mayor’s self-will in the issue so far beyond his jurisdiction,” Miller told IzRus.

In February, members of the Israeli-Armenian community met with Mayor of Petah Tikva. Three local Armenian organizations, Nairi, Noyan Tapan and Ararat participated in the meeting, with cooperation projects, including construction of the Armenian Genocide memorial discussed.

For 15 years, supporters of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide – representatives of the Israeli-Armenian friendship group, MPs – attempted to introduce the Genocide recognition issue on the parliament agenda. In 2012, the 1st discussion, initiated in 2011 by Meretz party, was held in Knesset and later submitted to the committee on education, culture and sports.

 

ANC Canada Urges Switzerland to Appeal ECHR Ruling

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OTTAWA, Canada—On Thursday, Feb. 27, the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC) met with Swiss Ambassador to Canada, Ulrich Lehner. The meeting, by request of the ANCC, was to convey to the Swiss ambassador the importance ANC-Canada-Logothat the Swiss government exercise its right to appeal the European Court of Human Rights’ verdict on genocide denial in Europe, stemming from a case involving a Turkish politician, Dogu Perincek.

ANCC voiced the serious concerns of Armenian-Canadians, and Armenians worldwide, regarding the ECHR’s December 17, 2013, decision that rejected the Swiss court’s 2007 decision to penalize, under Swiss Penal Law, Dogu Perincek’s vehement denial of the Armenian Genocide.

In 2007, Turkish politician Dogu Perincek was convicted by the Federal Court of Switzerland for publicly denying the Armenian Genocide that included his public statement that “the genocide is an international lie.” The ECHR subsequently ruled that it was not a crime for Perincek to publicly deny the Armenian Genocide, contrary to Swiss laws prohibiting denial and other European directives urging states to take a stronger stance in fighting denial of genocide and crimes against humanity.

In an open and frank discussion with the Swiss Ambassador, the ANCC highlighted the gravity of some of the key factual and legal errors in the reasoning of the five to two majority decision of the ECHR decision.

The ANCC urged Switzerland, a nation that has been at the forefront of prohibiting denial of genocide and crimes against humanity in Europe, to keep its principled stance on the matter. “There is ample scholarly and expert opinion that would support Switzerland’s strong grounds to appeal the decision” said ANCC president, Dr. Girair Basmadjian, pointing to the dissenting opinions of two of the seven ECHR judges who heard the case. “The message that Switzerland will be sending to Europe and the world, if it chooses to accept this ECHR verdict and not to appeal it, will not only cause a significant setback to Turkey’s recognition of the Armenian genocide, but it will also be a significant setback to fighting denial of other genocides, and to the prevention of genocides from occurring in the future.”

The decision to request a revision of the ECHR’ decision rests primarily on Switzerland’s Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP), headed by Minister Simonetta Sommaruga. The ANCC anticipates that the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and even the Swiss Federal Council, may weigh in on the decision, given the broader legal and political repercussions that this ECHR verdict will have on fighting genocide denial, racism and incitement to hatred in Europe and possibly beyond.

California: Ararat-Eskijian Genocide Conference to Unveil Historic Relics

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A dress once owned by an orphan who survived the Adana Massacres of 1909 and was taken in by an orphanage in Hadjin

HajinOrphanDress

 

MISSION HILLS, Calif.—Relics from the Armenian genocide will be unveiled during a conference focusing on the heroes and survivors of the genocide at the Ararat-Eskijian museum in Mission Hills on March 22.

Filmmaker Bared Maronian along with British journalist Robert Fisk, Professor Vahakn Dadrian, Dr. Hayk Demoyan, Ayse Gunaysu, Missak Keleshian, Shant Mardirossian, Dr. Rubina Peroomian and Professor Vahram Shemmassian will take part in the daylong conference honoring those who aided in the rescue of survivors of the genocide from 1915 through 1930.

While researching the stories of orphans of the Armenian genocide for his documentary, Orphans of the Genocide, Maronian discovered information regarding a dress once owned by an orphan in Hadjin (now known as Saimbeyli), an Armenian town located roughly 125 miles north of Mersin in Turkey. After some time, he located the dress at the Bethel College Library in Mishawaka, Indiana.

“The dress belonged to an orphan, who survived the Adana Massacre of 1909 and walked from Adana to Hadjin, roughly 75 miles,” Maronian said. “She found refuge at the United Orphanage and Mission in Hadjin run by a North American Mennonite congregation.”

The UOM in Hadjin was subject to continuous threats and pressure by Ottoman authorities to cease operations. When World War I broke out, the missionaries were all called home.

According to Maronian, in 1914 Sister Dorinda Bowman packed the orphan dress along with an unfinished rug the orphan girls had been weaving.

“The dress, most likely worn by a 7-year-old orphan girl or a boy, is a significant tangible remnant of the Armenian Genocide,” Maronian said. “A close look at the dress makes you wonder what the children of the genocide went through and how only a handful resiliently survived, while most were butchered or faced death or starvation or disease.”

Roughly 1.5 million Armenians were killed during WWI during the Ottoman Empire’s reign over their homeland in what is modern day Turkey. The Adana massacre occurred in the Ottoman Empire province of Adana in 1909, which resulted in the deaths of as many as 30,000 Armenians in the course of a month.

The dress and rug are currently on loan by the Bethel College Library to the Ararat-Eskijian Museum for two years.

 

Source; Asbarez

Washington: Sumgait, Baku Pogroms Commemorated in Washington

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Protesters Call for Justice for Gurgen Margaryan and All Victims of Azerbaijani Aggression

DCprotest1-MediumWASHINGTON—Braving sub-freezing temperatures, Greater Washington area Armenian-Americans honored the memory of the victims of Azerbaijani aggression and pledged ongoing solidarity with the freedom-loving people of Artsakh, at a February 28th protest held in front of the Azerbaijani Embassy.

The demonstration, organized by the Washington Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Ani Chapter and St. Mary’s Armenian Church Youth Organization (ACYO), coincided with the 26th anniversary of the Azerbaijani pogroms against the Armenian population of Sumgait, which set the stage for attacks in Baku in 1990 and a cycle of anti-Armenian violence that continues to this day.

The demonstrators called special attention to the brutal axe-murder of Armenian Lieutenant Gurgen Margaryan, as the nation marks the 10th anniversary of his slaying by convicted Azerbaijani soldier Lt. Ramil Safarov. In a move that stunned the international community, Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev pardoned, promoted and praised Safarov upon extradition to his homeland in 2012. The AYF global social media awareness campaign last week, #Justice4Margaryan, called attention to this travesty, attracting the participation of thousands, including U.S. Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA), David Cicilline (D-RI) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ).
“Today, we gather at the Azerbaijani Embassy to remember those who perished in the Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku massacres between 1988-1990,” explained AYF Ani Chapter Chairman Hagop Simonian. “If we do not remember and spread awareness of these atrocities, events such as the axe-murder of Lt. Gurgen Margaryan and the recent killing of Jr. Sergeant Armen Hovhannisyan will continue to occur again and again. Sadly, the dictatorial Aliyev regime celebrates the deaths of these Armenian deaths, and rewards their murderers. We, as Armenian-Americans, must use our first amendment right to educate the world of these crimes.”

A small group of Azerbaijani counter-protesters jeered as St. Mary’s Armenian Church pastor, Fr. Hovsep Karapetyan led Armenian community members in prayer in memory of those who perished in the Azerbaijani pogroms. Police were forced to DCprotest2-Mediumescort one Azerbaijani provocateur, after he approached Armenian protesters and struck one with a sign. Many of the Azerbaijani protesters were making the iconic “Grey Wolf” sign, signaling solidarity with the Turkish ultra-nationalist and neo-fascist youth organization accused of political killings.