Bones of Dersim massacre victims found 76 years later (Another Turkish government crime against Humanity and ethnic cleansing Exposed)

May 6, 2013 By administrator

Another Turkish government crime against Humanity and ethnic cleansing Exposed (Turkey the truth has no shelf life)

6 May 2013 /ALİ HAYDAR GÖZLÜ, TUNCELİ

A group of j

ournalists and relatives of the victims of a 1937 massacre in the predominantly Alevi region of Dersim have found some bones probably belonging to the victims after carrying out a search in a cave in which many killings took place.

The notorious massacre occurred in 1937 in Dersim, which was historically a semi-autonomous region, as a brutal response to rebellious events. The alleged rebellion was led by Seyyid Rıza, the head of a Zaza tribe in the region. The Turkish government at the time, led by then-Republican People’s Party (CHP) head İsmet İnönü, responded with air strikes and other violent methods of suppression, killing thousands of people.

It is estimated that as many as 70,000 Kurdish Alevis were killed in Dersim between 1937 and 1938. The bodies of many of the victims are still missing.

In a bid to find some remains, a group of relatives of the victims and journalists searched the Laç Cave, where the killing of hundreds of people took place. After searching for about 11 hours, the group found bones most probably belonging to the Dersim massacre victims.

Entry to the area the group searched is prohibited to the public for security reasons; however, the group violated the prohibition.

One of the victims’ relatives, Hıdır Çiçek, said his uncle, cousins and many other family members died in the incident and that his father barely survived. Çiçek said he could not hold back his tears when he saw the bones.

Shell casings produced in 1935 were also discovered in the cave.

Çiçek said many of the people hiding in that cave were his relatives. “I remember everything my father told me about this cave and everything seems so familiar to me. Although it is the first time I have come here, I feel like I have stayed in this cave. What more can I say after I have seen these [bones]? There is another cave somewhere in this area, too, and most of the people who survived back then survived thanks to this cave,” he said.

His father told Çiçek that there were 500 to 1,000 people hiding in the Laç Cave. He demanded that the cave be turned into a monument honoring the victims of the massacre.

Laç Cave is one of the largest caves in the area. When many people were killed in Dersim at the time, about 500 people fled and hid in the cave, where they spent many days with little food and water. The majority of those hiding in the cave were women and children. It is believed that when one woman left the cave to get some water from a stream, soldiers found out about the people hiding in the cave and air strikes were carried out.

Turkey hopes nuclear partner France will review ‘genocide’ stance (Another Turkish government Genocide denial tactic by using Economic leverage)

May 6, 2013 By administrator

Another Turkish government Genocide denial tactic by using Economic leverage to corrupt business leaders and government officials around the world. Sorry Turkey the truth has no shelf life sooner or later you will. Stop camouflaging your crime against Humanity and ethnic cleansing with $$$$.

6 May 2013 /TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL

Ankara is expect

ing to see Paris weigh its stance on Armenian genocide claims rather more carefully amid improving trade ties, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız told reporters Monday in Ankara.

France’s GDF Suez will partner with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd and Itochu Corporation to build Turkey’s second nuclear power plant at an estimated cost of $22 billion under an agreement signed last week. The consortium will use French nuclear group Areva’s Atmea reactors.

Yıldız’s remarks on Monday come on the heels of speculation in French and Turkish media that the nuclear deal will benefit the political relations between Paris and Ankara, which have been strained by the former’s recognition of killings of Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks during World War I as genocide. Ankara last year rejected requests by two French firms to be involved in Turkish nuclear power projects amid Turkish anger at a French bill making it illegal to deny that the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks a century ago was genocide.

Observers argued the French stance on the issue would continue to test Turkey’s patience as the 100th anniversary of 1915 events approaches. It is known that the Armenian diaspora is pushing for a worldwide initiative in 2015.

Recalling that the French government is aware of the need to break the ice in ties with Turkey, Yıldız said he expected the latest energy deal to serve this end. “We unfortunately failed to bring about a rapprochement during the [former President Nicolas] Sarkozy term. …last week’s deal is a positive step to see this happen,” Yıldız remarked. The minister said although it is too early to expect concrete steps from France in this regard, he believed energy matters in political relations today more than ever before.

Apart from the genocide claims, Turkey also hopes to see France soften its stance on the Ankara’s bid to join the EU. Yıldız had earlier said Turkey would expect gestures from Paris on its EU bid. Prior to the nuclear deal, the French government agreed in February to the opening of talks on one of the five negotiating chapters that it has been blocking since former President Sarkozy’s term in office.

Turkey to decide IPOs for nuke plant by October

Ankara is weighing a possible move to make public certain shares in a company that is going to be established as part of a project to build Turkey’s second nuclear power plant, Minister Yıldız said Monday in Ankara.

In line with the deal signed between Turkey and Japan, the parties will establish a separate company to undertake the construction and operation of the nuclear plant in Sinop province. A 51 percent share in this company will belong to Japan, with the rest in Turkey’s hands. Yıldız said the government mulled two alternative plans: “One is we give the entire 49 percent to the Electricity Generation Company [EÜAŞ], and the second plan is to keep EÜAŞ’s share at around 30 percent and either give the rest to local private firms or trade them on the stock exchange.” Yıldız said his ministry consulted with the Treasury for a possible IPO and will reach a final decision after deliberations with the participation of the Prime Minister’s Office.

An Energy Ministry official told Today’s Zaman on Monday that the government would make clear the initial public offering (IPO) issue in the planned nuclear company by October. “We will ink the final contracts on the nuclear plant in October, and this is when the government should decide on the IPO,” he said.

In an earlier deal, Russia’s Rosatom will start construction of Turkey’s first nuclear power station in mid-2015 in Mersin’s Akkuyu district.

Turkey guarantees the procurement of electric power from the two nuclear plants during the 20 years following their completion. Ankara will pay $12.35 per kilowatt hour (kWh) to Russia and $11.8 to Japan.

Richard Hovannisian and Elie Wiesel in Conversation on Genocide

May 2, 2013 By administrator

ORANGE, Calif.–On April 17, Professor Richard Hovannisian, First Holder of the AEF Chair in Modern History at UCLA and Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Chapman University and the University of California, Irvine, engaged in “Conversation” with Dr. Elie Wiesel, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor, regarding the moral obligation of mankind to honor and preserve the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust by documenting and preserving witness and survivor testimonials, advocating for recognition, and promoting education.

Before a capacity audience in the Wallace All Faiths Chapel, the scholars touched upon their unique individual experiences and that of their communities while dealing with concepts of truth and justice in the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust. Hovannisian posed the question of whether there can ever be real justice for Holocaust victims, even with the countless monuments and reparations they have received, to which Wiesel simply said “no”. Hovannisian added that the Armenians, on the other hand, have not even been given the satisfaction of a modicum of formal recognition by the Republic of Turkey. He wondered about Dr. Wiesel’s view of the Holocaust being beyond the bounds of history and therefore incomparable and argued instead that the Holocaust, like the Armenian Genocide, could be contextualized and historicized without making either of them seem rational.

Dr. Elie Wiesel spoke of the Armenians’ “passion for memory” and for preserving every detail of a calamity that marked and traumatized all subsequent generations of Armenians both in homeland and Diaspora. Wiesel then described how the Armenian cause “eventually became my cause,” and discussed the importance of remembrance and what might happen once the last witness eventually passes away.

Dr. Hovannisian emphasized that selectivity of memory poses a challenge for those not connected to an event, as the Holocaust has been universalized, while Armenians still struggle with denial. “The history is not just our history, but mankind’s history,” said Hovannisian, and stated that memory must not just be linked to a single victim group.

There currently exists two institutions in Los Angeles that preserve, digitize, index and utilize survivor testimonials from the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust—UCLA’s Armenian Oral History project led by Hovannisian, and the Shoah Foundation’s much more extensive collection at the University of Southern California. Hovannisian began the UCLA program in the 1970s by having students interview survivors of the Armenian Genocide. The interviews were later transcribed and translated by a subsequent generation of students.

“Elie Wiesel and Richard Hovannisian in Conversation” was moderated by Chapman University History Department Chair Jennifer Keene and was part of the University’s week-long events featuring Elie Wiesel and organized by the Rodgers Center of Holocaust Education headed by Dr. Marilyn Harran.

In the days prior to the Chapman program, Professor Hovannisian lectured in Yerevan, Armenia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Montevideo, Uruguay; Berlin, Germany; and Scottsdale, Arizona. On April 21, he was the keynote speaker of the annual commemoration of the Armenian Genocide at St. Mary Church in Costa Mesa, California, and on May 1-2 returned to Chapman University on May 1-2 for guest lectures in two Holocaust classes. He will make a presentation on the destruction of Smyrna/Izmir in a communitywide program at St. Leon Church in New Jersey on May 17, and will be the featured speaker in Montreal on May 25 on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Armenian republic.

Illinois to host Ottoman Genocides of Anatolian Christians symposium (Armenian, Assyrian and Greek)

May 2, 2013 By administrator

May 2, 2013 – 14:57 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Less than a month after the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center ran its first program on the Armenian Genocide, a two-day symposium covering even more ground is slated for the same venue, Skokie Review reported.

The Ottoman Turkish Genocides of Anatolian Christians: A Common Case Study will draw scholars from around the world to present original research on the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek genocides.

The conference, due on May 10-11, is moderated by Zoryan Institute Executive Director George Shirinian, who edited the book: “The Asia Minor Catastrophe and the Ottoman Greek Genocide: Essays on Asia Minor, Pontos, and Eastern Thrace, 1913–1923.”

Organizers include the Armenian National Committee, the Assyrian Center for Genocide Studies and the Asia Minor and Pontos Hellenic Center, which was founded by George Mavropoulos.

Assyrian Genocide Memorial Erected in France (750,000 Assyrians murdered by the Turks)

May 1, 2013 By administrator

(AINA) — A memorial to the Assyrian victims of the Genocide perpetrated against Assyrians, Greeks and Armenians in World War One by Ottoman Turks was erected yesterday in the town Arnouville, outside of Paris. The Genocide, which began on April 24, 1915 and lasted until 1918, claimed the lives of 750,000 Assyrians (75%), 500,000 Greeks and 1.5 million Armenians.

According to the Assyrian Genocide Research Center, “this is a historical day for the Assyrian nation, to commemorate the victims of the genocide and to point out the current atrocities brought upon the ancient St. Gabriel Monastery by the so called “modern” Turkey.”

The St. Gabriel Monastery, founded in 397 A.D., has been embroiled in a legal battle over its land, with the Turkish government attempting to seize the Monastery’s lands (full coverage). The Monastery is located in the Tur Abdin plateau near Midyat in the Mardin Province in Southeastern Turkey.

Paris is host to a large community of Assyrians, most of whom having arrived during and after World War One, to escape the Turkish genocide.

Armenian Church in Turkish Eruh city being converted into Islamic school

May 1, 2013 By administrator

12:00, 1 May, 2013

YEREVAN, MAY 1, ARMENPRESS: The historical Armenian Church Saint John, located in Dih District of Eruh city in Turkey, without any permission is being converted into an Islamic religious school for girls. As reported by Armenpress, quoting the Turkish Demokrathaber.net, this was announced by the representatives of the Siirt branch of the Human Rights Protection Company at the press conference.

“This is violence towards the religion and the right to live of the Armenian people. It is necessary to launch administrative and criminal investigation against the responsible people”, – said the representatives of the Company. One of the representatives of the branches of the Human Rights Protection Company Serdar Batur showed the corresponding photos and stated that the stones with Armenian encryptions and crosses are used to build other structures.

Another member of the Human Rights Protection Company Zana Aqsun spoke about the Armenian graves in Eruh-Siirt region, which are being discovered during the construction works of the roads. “During the works about 100 square meters of graves have been discovered. The villagers gathered the bones ad put them into their places. But the authorities have done nothing on that issue”, – said Zana Aqsun, highlighting as well the necessity to face the historical tragic events of 1915.

Pope Francis: Great powers “washed their hands” during Armenian Genocide

May 1, 2013 By administrator

12:28, 1 May, 2013

YEREVAN, MAY 1, ARMENPRESS: During the Holocaust the great powers “washed their hands”, as they knew more than talked about. They did not state that during the Armenian Genocide as well they “washed their hands”. As reported by Armenpress, quoting the Diario Armenia, this was stated by Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the current Pope of Rome Francis in the book “Sobre el Cielo y la Tierra”, published jointly with the Argentinean rabbi Abraham Skorka in 2010. The book was recently republished.

The Pope of Rome Francis noted that in the 20^th century they destroyed villages, considering themselves to be gods. “Turks did that with Armenians, Germans – with Jewish people, Stalin’s communists – with Ukrainians”.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio wrote: “If thinking about the paradise a person does not struggle for his rights, he is under the influence of opium. People, who overcame persuasion and massacres, as during the three largest genocides of the last century towards Armenians, Jewish and Ukrainians, struggled for their freedom”.

The book reveals the viewpoints of the Pope of Rome Francis about the church, religion and belief. It also touches upon atheism, death, abortion, Holocaust, homosexuality and capitalism.

ASUCR senators proclaim official day for Armenian Genocide

May 1, 2013 By administrator

13:47, 1 May, 2013

YEREVAN, MAY 1, ARMENPRESS: During the ASUCR senate meeting April 24, fourteen senators unanimously passed the Armenian Genocide Commemoration Resolution thereby establishing that day as the official Remembrance Day of Armenian Genocide on campus, reports Armenpress referring to Highlander.

Students from the Armenian Student Association (ASA) and the Armenian sorority Alpha Gamma Alpha (AGA) convened at the ASUCR senate meeting to petition for UCR’s recognition of the Armenian genocide that occurred from 1915 to 1923.

“By honoring the survivors and consistently commemorating and forcefully condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenian people with regards to the repetition of the crime of genocide, ASUCR encourages the awareness of such atrocity in order to prevent reoccurrence of the crime,” stated the resolution. “Therefore, let it be resolved that ASUCR 2012-2013 acknowledges the commemoration the 1.5 million Armenians who fell victims.”

(Australia) Parliament of NSW Recognizes Assyrian, Greek, Armenian Genocide

May 1, 2013 By administrator

May 1, 2013 – 13:13 AMT

On May 1, in a historically unprecedented move at the request of the Assyrian Universal Alliance, the Australian Hellenic Council and the Armenian National Committee of Australia, the Legislative Council of the NSW parliament passed unanimously a motion recognizing the Assyrian, Greek and Armenian genocides, AINA reports.

Mr. Hermiz Shahen, the Deputy Secretary General of the Assyrian Universal Alliance said; “this constitutes an extraordinary moment in the history of the Assyrian nation. The Assyrian nation is struggling for years to gain the International recognition of the genocide perpetrated against them by the Ottoman government under the leadership of a chauvinistic party, the Young Turk between1914 – 1923. This recognition will act as a powerful counter to those, especially in present-day Turkey, who still ignore or deny outright the genocides of the Ottoman Christian minorities. Assyrians in Iraq, Syria and Turkey are continuously paying the price as a consequence of the denial of their genocide.”

The motion reads that the NSW Parliament “joins the Assyrians, Armenians and Greeks communities of New South Wales in honoring the memory of the innocent men, women and children who fell victim to the first modern genocides.”

It “recognizes the importance of remembering and learning from such dark chapters in human history to ensure that such crimes against humanity are not allowed to be repeated.”

Collection of digital photos on Genocide prepared

May 1, 2013 By administrator

May 1, 2013 – 14:14 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Armenian Assembly of America, Armenian National Institute and Armenian Genocide Museum of America (AGMA) have prepared a collection of digital photos, maps and other documents about the Armenian Genocide.

The album mainly comprises digital photos, taken by photographers of German Empire and Austria-Hungary.

According to the director of Armenian National Institute, historian Dr. Rouben P. Adalian, the photos were mainly taken in Deir ez-Zor and in the territory of historic Armenia, particularity in the suburbs of Tigranakert, Yerznka and Erzurum.

“The fact that the photos were taken by soldiers of the allies of the Ottoman Empire makes their documentary value indisputable,” the author of the album, Mr. Adalian said.

The album is available in PDF format in the websites of Armenian Assembly of America and Armenian National Institute. According a museum trustee Van Krikorian, Armenian Americans are searching for new ways to raise awareness on Genocide ahead of the 100th anniversary of the tragedy, with new measures to be taken in the future.