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Turkey: Skulls and Bones Exposed in Mass Grave Near Van

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VAN, Turkey (Armenian Weekly)—Skulls and bones, possibly from the Armenian Genocide, protrude from the soil near a school in the district of Westan in Van, skullsaccording to a newspaper report.

The pro-Kurdish Ozgur Gundem reported that in the village of Ili in the district of Westan (current name Gevaş), a mass grave believed to be from the Armenian genocide has been unearthed during the construction of the Dağyöre Elementary School last year.

The bones remain there, protruding from the soil, to this day. Villagers say the mass grave is likely that of the Armenians who lived in the village a century ago.

The village, Ili (current name Dağyöre), southwest of Gevaş (Armenian name Vosdan), had 21 Armenian households prior to the Armenian Genocide.

school

 

Trabzon court requests merger of Hrant Dink cases

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TRABZON – Doğan News Agency

A Trabzon court has asked for the merging of a case against a gendarmerie commander on charges of neglect of duty over the assassination of Armenian-Turkish n_55646_4journalist Hrant Dink, with the main trial in Istanbul.

Ali Öz, who was Gendarmerie Commander of the Black Sea province of Trabzon during the killing of the late journalist, was sentenced to six months in prison. However, as the Supreme Court of Appeals reversed the decision, he was put in another trial in Trabzon.

In addition to Öz, seven soldiers at his command had also been charged with prison sentences.
Öz was accused of not informing authorities that the crime organization founded by Yasin Hayal, who was charged with being the instigator of the assassination, and his friends were going to commit the crime, despite learning it in 2006. He was also facing charges of forging documents to pretend to have only obtained the information after the incident.

Dink, the renowned editor-in-chief of Agos, was shot by triggerman Ogün Samast in front of his office in Istanbul on Jan. 19, 2007.

In the hearing as part of the new case opened in Trabzon, the suspects’ hometown, against Öz, the court delayed the hearing requesting the merger of the Öz case with the main case into Dink’s slaying in Istanbul.

The interim decision of the court said: ”Ali Öz didn’t take legal action despite receiving the intelligence information that the crime organization founded by Yasin Hayal and his friends was preparing for the assassination. As there is the possibility of serving or aiding and the need of the detection of the organization’s structure and operations, it has been decided that it would be more appropriate for the case to be tried with the case at Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court.”

The main Dink trial resumed on Sept. 17 as the Supreme Court of Appeals verdict defined the acts of all suspects in the case under “an organization formed to commit crime.”

Dink’s family and his supporters rejected the premise of the retrial that the defendants were part of a criminal conspiracy and argued that the state was involved in what amounted to a terrorist conspiracy.

October/03/2013

New Book Unveils the History of the Armenian Orphan Rug

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ARLINGTON, Mass.—“The beautiful rug woven by the [Armenian] children in the [Ghazir] orphanage in the Lebanon has been received. This, their expression of mariapiecegratitude for what we have been able to do in this country for their aid, is accepted by me as a token of their goodwill to the people of the United States. . . The rug has a place of honor in the White House, where it will be a daily symbol of good-will on earth.”

These words of President Calvin Coolidge on December 4, 1925, were made in response to Dr. John H. Finley, Vice-Chairman of the Near East Relief Executive Committee, who presented the rug for the Armenian orphans who “have tied into it the gratitude of tens of thousands of children to you and to America. And what they have tied into it will never be untied. . . It is sent to adorn the dearest of our temples, the White House of our President.”

On Sunday, October 20 at 3 p.m. the Armenian Cultural Foundation will have a reception and presentation of Dr. Hagop Martin Deranian’s work, President Calvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug. A labor of love, it is dedicated to the memory of the Armenian orphan rug weavers of the Near East Relief orphanage in Ghazir, Syria (presently Lebanon). Successor to the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief, the Near East Relief was established in 1915 in response to urgent pleas from Henry Morgenthau, the American Ambassador to Turkey, and through the efforts of industrialist and philanthropist Cleveland Dodge and the support of President Woodrow Wilson. As such Near East Relief embarked on a herculean task of saving the lives of over 1,000,000 refugees, including over 100,000 Armenian orphans scattered throughout the Middle East and the Caucasus in the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide. Over $100,000,000, an astronomical figure at the time, was raised between 1915 and 1930 and an army of 1,000 American physicians, nurses, civil servants, and volunteers labored to save countless lives.

The result of over three decades of research and investigation, Dr. Deranian’s work traces the history of the rug and the Armenian orphans: their transportation from Urfa to safety to the present day Lebanon by the great Swiss humanitarian and physician Jakob Kunzler, known as the “Father of the Armenian orphans.” He details its journey to the United States, presentation to President Calvin Coolidge in the White House, several decades in the possession of the Coolidges and its return again to the White House in the mid-1980s, where it is stored to this day.

Born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1922, Dr. Hagop Martin Deranian was born to genocide survivors from the town of Hussenig, Kharpert Province, Ottoman Empire. He is named Hagop in honor of Hagop Bogigian, his mother’s uncle, who was a pioneer rug merchant in America and benefactor of education for Armenian young women. His mother, born Varter Bogigian, who died in 1929, was a survivor of the genocide, having lost six children, her first husband, and parents. His father, Marderos, who died in 1957, arrived in America in 1900 and operated a grocery store in Worcester. His father raised him from the age of seven.

Dr. Deranian, a graduate of Clark University and the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, served as Lieutenant (junior grade) in the United States Navy (1951-53) and has been engaged in the private practice of dentistry while at the same time serving on the faculty of the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine.

His translation of his father’s memoir, Hussenig, The Origin, History and Destruction of an Armenian Town, was published in 1996; an earlier bilingual edition appeared in 1981. His second book, Worcester Is America, the Story of Worcester’s Armenians, appeared in 1995 followed by Miracle Man of the Western Front: Dr. Varaztad H. Kazanjian, Pioneer Plastic Surgeon, which was published in 2007.

The event, open to the public, is co-sponsored by the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research and the Amaras Art Alliance, and will be held on Sunday, October 20 at 3 p.m. A reception will follow the presentation. For more information, please contact the Armenian Cultural Foundation during office hours (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) or check your local Armenian news outlets.

Woman in Turkey reveals Armenian identity after 82 years

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Just one day before she passed away, a woman in Turkey who had hidden her Armenian identity for 82 years revealed the secret to her youngest son, The Armenian Woman in Turkey reveals Armenian identityWeekly reports.

Hoşana, who was brought up as an Alevi in a Kurdish village, told the secret to her youngest son, journalist Ahmet Abakay.

Abakay is the president of a journalists’ association, and has now published a book titled Hoşana’nın Son Sözü (Hoşana’s Last Word), which details his mother’s story.

“How can a person hide her Armenian roots for 82 years from her family, children, grandchildren, and her environment?” asks Abakay, according to an article on the Turkish website T24.com.tr.

In recent years, countless stories of Turkish and Kurdish persons revealing their Armenian identity have appeared in the media.

Monument to Gurgen Margaryan slain by Safarov opens in Yerevan

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September 28, 2013 | 12:32

173424YEREVAN. – A monument to Gurgen Margaryan, an Armenian officer slain by Ramil Safarov, opened in the Armenian capital on Saturday (photo).

The opening of a monument coincided with the birthday of the Armenian officer who would have turned 35 on September 26. Margaryan’s mother and Baroness Caroline Cox opened the monument.

The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Defense Ministry, students of school bearing Gurgen Margaryan’s name, public figures and representatives of the diplomatic missions

In her address, Baroness Cox said she, being a mother, shares the feelings of the Margaryan family.

Baroness said she was shocked by the reports about a murder of a sleeping man and when Ramil Safarov was pardoned in Azerbaijan.

As reported earlier, Ramil Safarov, a then-lieutenant in the Azerbaijani military, was extradited on August 31, 2012 from Hungary, where he was serving a life sentence—and with no expression of either regret or remorse—for the premeditated axe murder of Armenian lieutenant Gurgen Margaryan, in his sleep, during a NATO Partnership for Peace program in Budapest back in 2004. Safarov had planned on killing the other Armenian military serviceman, who likewise was attending the aforesaid program, but he was unable to carry out this plan.

Ramil Safarov’s return to Baku was welcomed, as was his act of murder, by the officials of president Ilham Aliyev’s government and much of Azerbaijani society, and the Azerbaijani president immediately granted him a pardon, he was declared a national hero, promoted to a higher military rank, and was allocated housing and pension.

And Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan announced on August 31, 2012 that Armenia is suspending its diplomatic ties with Hungary. Also, Sargsyan instructed the Ministry of Justice to take all measures to petition to the international judicial tribunals, and with respect to the Safarov case.

Ramil Safarov’s pardoning was condemned by virtually all international organizations.

The Armenian party had applied to ECtHR in February, in connection with the Ramil Safarov case. The complaint is with respect to Articles 2 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Armenian and foreign specialists are included in the working group that is preparing the complaint.

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am

Balyan family was a dynasty of famous Ottoman imperial architects,

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The Balyan family (Armenian: Պալեաններ) was a dynasty of famous Ottoman imperial architects. They were of Armenian ethnicity. For five generations in the 250px-Ermeni818th and 19th centuries, they designed and constructed numerous major buildings, including palaces, kiosks, mosques, churches and various public buildings, mostly in Constantinople. The nine well-known members of the family served six sultans in the course of almost a century and were responsible for the westernization of the architecture of the then-capital city.

Until the 17th century, architects serving in the Ottoman Empire were either Muslim or converted to Islam later in life.[citation needed] Most probably as a result of the reform movement,[specify] architects from non-Muslim minorities gained popularity, and among them the Western-educated Balyan family has a distinct place in the history of the empire’s architecture. But in historical resources, it is debated that their architectural identity may sometimes be confused with contractor or project administrator. It is difficult to define who among the family members was an “architect,” “contractor” or “administrator.”

The Balyans used Western architectural techniques and designs; they did not, however, disregard traditional Ottoman elements. The most important and largest construction built by members of the family was Dolmabahçe Palace, which is considered to be one of the world’s finest palaces of the 19th century.[by whom?]

Most of their buildings are still in use and registered as historical monuments.[citation needed]

Family members

Graves of the Balyan family in the Armenian cemetery on Nuh Kuyusu Caddesi, Bağlarbaşı, Üsküdar, Istanbul.
  • Bali (Balen; ?–1725)
    • Magar (?–?)
      • Krikor Balyan (Krikor Amira Balyan; 1764–1831)
      • Senekerim Balyan (1768–1833)
      • Garabet Amira Balyan (1800–1866)
        • Nigoğayos Balyan (1826–1858)
          • Levon Balyan (1855-?)
        • Sarkis Balyan (1835–1899)
        • Hagop Balyan (1838–1875)
        • Simon Balyan (1848–1894)


        Buildings and structures:

Buildings and structures designed and constructed by Balyan family members

Royal residences

Religious buildings

Public buildings

Production facilities

Source: Read More on Wikipedia

Hachikian: ANCA Gearing Up for Genocide’s 100th Anniversary

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YEREVAN—The Armenian National Committee of America’s Chairman Ken Hachikian, who traveled to Yerevan last week for high level consultations with officials of ken_hachikianthe U.S., Armenian, and Nagorno Karabakh governments, was interviewed on Monday, September 23rd, by the Armenpress news agency. Hachikian discussed the ANCA’s current activities and its plans for the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

ARMENPRESS: Mr. Hachikian, what plans are being undertaken in the U.S. in the lead up to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide?

KEN HACHIKIAN: Our attention will be focused on using the 100th anniversary to increase awareness about the Armenian Genocide in the non-Armenian population. Regardless of whether it’s the 90th, 95th, or 100th anniversary, we won’t stop in our struggle for justice. Nevertheless, this is a good opportunity for us to focus our attention on the issue of awareness. We are planning a number of political, educational, and cultural programs.

AP: Could you tell us more about those programs?

KH: We are still in the planning stages, but we are putting a lot of emphasis on educational programs, which will be most useful in raising awareness about the Genocide. We are working toward events at schools and universities; there’s a possibility of a series of exhibitions at museums, which will tell the story of the Armenian Genocide. And, of course, a number of political initiatives, which we hope will bring us closer to our goals.

AP: As you may know, schoolchildren in France are taught about the Armenian Genocide as part of their school curriculum. Is the same true for the United States?

KH: In the United States, all 50 states have different standards, different school curriculums, and use different sets of textbooks. With that said, a number of individual states have passed legislation that makes it mandatory for history classes to cover the Armenian Genocide. And we are continuously working to bring similar legislation to other states. At the moment, 43 of the 50 states have recognized the Armenian Genocide.

AP: What is the American public’s perception regarding the issue of the Armenian Genocide? Is the public sufficiently aware of the issue?

KH: When we have the opportunity to teach about the Armenian Genocide, the response from the public is always positive. And, of course, it is one of our goals to have more opportunities to discuss the Armenian Genocide with the public. That’s why for the 100th anniversary we are focusing our efforts toward garnering public attention for the Genocide.

AP: How many supporters does the current Armenian Genocide bill have in the House of Representatives and in the Senate?

KH: In the House of Representatives, we have majority support. In the Senate we will face some problems because of the fact that there are two senators from every state, whereas in the House the number of representatives from each state depends on the state’s population. There are states with substantial Armenian populations, like California, Massachusetts, etc., but alongside those states are ones with very little to no Armenian inhabitants, like South Dakota, where no Armenians live. In the Senate, both California and South Dakota have two senators and equal voice. This doesn’t make passing a bill in the Senate impossible for us, but it does make it significantly more difficult.

Stele commemorating Armenian Genocide to be installed in France

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September 21, 2013 | 13:14

172328An opening ceremony of a stele commemorating Armenian Genocide will be held on Saturday in Roquebrune sur Argens in Var department.

The event is held under the auspices of Armenian Embassy in France, Nouvelles d`Arménie reported.

The ceremony will be attended by Roquebrune sur Argens Mayor, French MPs Valérie Boyer, Guy Teissier, Francois Rochebloine, Alain Moyne-Bressand, representatives of the local Armenian community and other officials.

Actor plans to translate from French books on Armenian Genocide (Video)

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September 24, 2013 | 12:59

YEREVAN. – Actor Vardan Petrosyan has planned to translate, from French into Armenian, five or six books about the Armenian Genocide, to publish them, and Genocide booksubsequently distribute them to university students and lecturers.

Petrosyan informed the aforesaid during a press conference on Tuesday.

The actor noted that he has already found sponsors that will assist in the translation and publication of these books. The respective arrangements are expected to be concluded in November, and the work should get underway in the beginning of next year.

He said the books are expected to be published before 2015; that is, the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Vardan Petrosyan stated that these books were written by historians and journalists, and they depict the events that took place during the days of the Armenian Genocide and numerous shivering things.


Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am

Opposition party leader pledges to make sure Turkey’s sole Armenian village maintain its status

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September 24, 2013 | 14:04

172720Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu promised to do everything he can so that the country’s sole remaining Armenian village will continue its existence even after the new legislative changes with respect to cities.

Kilicdaroglu, who visited Armenian populated Vakiflikoy (Vakif) village in Turkey’s Hatay Province, spoke with the locals and listened to their concerns regarding the new law on cities, Milliyet daily of Turkey reports.

The Armenian villagers noted that, pursuant to the new law, the City of Hatay will become a metropolitan and their village will become a district of this metropolitan and, as a result, the Armenian culture in the village will disappear.

The CHP leader informed that they will introduce a new law proposal to the Turkish parliament, to preserve the self-government of the village.

To note, pursuant to the new law which was recently passed, Turkey’s villages with a population of less than 500 will lose their status as a village and be attached to an inhabitation, thereby losing the right to elect a village prefect.

Only 135 people live in Vakiflikoy (Vakif) village, which is Turkey’s sole remaining Armenian village.