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The Iranian authorities have allowed Iranian Armenians to hold a protest near the Turkish embassy in Tehran, Hayeli.com reported.
Iranian Armenians attended a commemoration service for the victims of the Armenian Genocide at St. Sarkis Church in Tehran this morning before they marched to the Turkish embassy in Tehran.
The protesters were carrying placards reading: “The Armenian Genocide is the first genocide in the 20th century.”
Thousands of Armenians called on Turkey to recognize the Genocide in Beirut on Tuesday, The Daily Star reports.
During a mass rally in Martyrs’ Square commemorating the 98th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Lebanese of Armenian origin and supporters held 
signs and chanted slogans against Ankara which maintains that the deaths of some 500,000 were not a result of genocide.
“Turkey should recognize the genocide and take action for restitution,” Paul Halebian, one of the protesters, said. “It’s our right, our land, our dignity.”
“Turkey: It’s time for recognition and repatriation,” one of the signs read. “Justice and restitution for the Armenian Genocide,” another said.
There are around 200,000 Lebanese of Armenian origin represented by five ministers in the Cabinet.
14:10, 24 April, 2013
YEREVAN, APRIL 24, ARMENPRESS. The state may deny the fact of the Armenian Genocide, but the people can direct the events in the way they want. As reports “Armenpress” one of the demonstrators stated this in the Sultan Ahmet Square in Istanbul. One of the organizers of the event stated: “Today there 
are fascists living in our country, notwithstanding there are also good people living in here and their number is increasing every year. The official viewpoint remains unchanged, although the people’s knowledge about the reality is growing. And the event organized in Diyarbakir is to prove that.”
The fact of the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman government has been documented, recognized, and affirmed in the form of media and eyewitness reports, laws, resolutions, and statements by many states and international organizations. The complete catalogue of all documents categorizing the 1915 wholesale massacre of the Armenian population in Ottoman Empire as a premeditated and thoroughly executed act of genocide, is extensive. Uruguay was the first country to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide in 1965. The massacres of the Armenian people were officially condemned and recognized as a genocide in accordance with the international law by France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Greece, Slovakia, Cyprus, Lebanon, Uruguay, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, Canada, Vatican, and Australia.
15:22, 24 April, 2013
YEREVAN, APRIL 24, ARMENPRESS. The Director of the Holocaust Museum in the U.S. promised to organize a vast exhibition on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. As reports “Armenpress” citing Skokie periodical, the Director of the Museum Rick Hirschhaut stated that 
in the next month they will hold a two-day conference titled “The Ottoman Turkish Genocides of Anatolian Christians”. Among other things Hirschhaut underscored: “We must speak for those, whose voices were silenced and for those who survived so we may remember and pledge never to forget. Today, at this gathering, we are reminded of a history that must be recognized, and remembered, and calls to the importance of lighting the torch of truth for the world community. Our young people – our future – must be a bridge to the future, and ensure that we realize the lessons that were set forth by us, by the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, and all such terrible atrocities.”
The fact of the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman government has been documented, recognized, and affirmed in the form of media and eyewitness reports, laws, resolutions, and statements by many states and international organizations. The complete catalogue of all documents categorizing the 1915 wholesale massacre of the Armenian population in Ottoman Empire as a premeditated and thoroughly executed act of genocide, is extensive. Uruguay was the first country to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide in 1965. The massacres of the Armenian people were officially condemned and recognized as a genocide in accordance with the international law by France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Greece, Slovakia, Cyprus, Lebanon, Uruguay, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, Canada, Vatican, and Australia.
April 24, 2013 | 16:44
In its statement released in connection with the 98th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Turkey’s pro-Kurdish “Peace and Democracy Party” (BDP), which is a parliamentary political force, noted that the genocide, which was committed in 1915 against the Armenians, was one of the greatest tragedies in 
the 20th century.
In its statement, BDP called upon the Turkish authorities to face Turkey’s own history and to apologize to the Armenians, ANKA news agency of Turkey reports.
“The Armenian people suffered great pain and were taken from their lands. The genocide wounds and pains are preserved in the society’s recollections because Turkey has not yet confronted its history and one of the greatest genocides of the 20th century, it has not accepted the genocide and has not apologized to the Armenians.
“We call upon Turkey to confront its own history and to apologize to the Armenians, who have lived in great pain, with the hope that such thing will never repeat. We pay tribute to the victims of the Armenian Genocide,” the Peace and Democracy Party statement reads in particular.
April 24, 2013 | 16:12
YEREVAN.- On the occasion of its first official visit to Armenia, members and participants of the newly created EU-Armenia Friendship Group in the European Parliament attended and paid respects at the memorial ceremony of the Armenian Genocide held at the Tsiternakapert Genocide memorial 
monument in Yerevan.
Members of the delegation took part in the laying of the wreath ceremony and also visited the Genocide memorial museum afterwards, the group said in a statement.
“We will never forget the victims of the Armenian Genocide carried out by the authoritarian Young Turks government in 1915. We will continue fighting for the restoration of the human rights of all people on earth whose rights are being compromised,” said President of the EU-Armenia Friendship Group leader of the delegation Dr Eleni Theocharous.
The group was joined by Valérie Boyer, a French member of Parliament and author of the Armenian Genocide bill.
“I am very touched to be in Yerevan for this occasion. It is an absolute necessity to for the Armenian Genocide to gain international recognition. Recognition is a question of dignity and honour, not only to recognize the past but also to reinforce ideals of human rights which are of great importance to world we live in today,” Boyer said.
U.S. President Barack Obama issued a statement on Armenian Remembrance Day, again failing to use the term Genocide.
“Today we commemorate the Meds Yeghern and honor those who perished in one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century. Ninety-eight years ago, 1.5 million Armenians were massacred or marched to their deaths in the final days of the Ottoman Empire. We pause to reflect on the lives extinguished and remember the unspeakable suffering that occurred. In so doing, we are joined by millions across the world and in the United States, where it is solemnly commemorated by our states, institutions, communities, and families. We also remind ourselves of our commitment to ensure that such dark chapters of history are not repeated,” Obama said in his April 24 address to the Armenian community.
“I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view has not changed. A full, frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts is in all of our interests. Nations grow stronger by acknowledging and reckoning with painful elements of the past, thereby building a foundation for a more just and tolerant future. We appreciate this lesson in the United States, as we strive to reconcile some of the darkest moments in our own history. We recognize those courageous Armenians and Turks who have already taken this path, and encourage more to do so, with the backing of their governments, and mine,” he said.
“The history and legacy of the Armenian people is marked by an indomitable spirit, and a great resiliency in the face of tremendous adversity and suffering. The United States is stronger for the contributions Armenian-Americans have made to our society, our culture, and our communities. In small measure we return that contribution by supporting the Armenian people as they work toward building a nation that would make their ancestors proud: one that cherishes democracy and respect for human liberty and dignity.
Today we stand with Armenians everywhere in recalling the horror of the Meds Yeghern, honoring the memory of those lost, and affirming our enduring commitment to the people of Armenia,” he concluded
Journalists are the conscience of the people. By removing and killing them, Turkey is killing and removing its own conscience.
Again, another Turkish journalist is to be thrown in jail for – according to Turkish Penal Code 301 (insulting the Turkish Nation, the Turkish Republic, its government or governmental institutions), one of the leading London-based Armenian activists, Odette Bazil says.
She continues to say:
“The name of that Turkish journalist is Temel Demirer.
At his first trial, he had been charged for the crime cited in Penal Code 301 and had been sentenced to two years in prison. Then he was told that the sentence could be withheld if during the coming 3 years he would refrain from committing the same crime.
Immediately after the trial, just in front of the Court buildings Temel Demirer said: “If, for the coming 3 years, I don’t say there was an Armenian genocide in Turkey, I will be acquitted. Right now, five minutes after the trial, without waiting for another 3 years I say: the Turkish State is the murderer of Hrant Dink. Hrant Dink was not killed because he was Armenian. Hrant Dink was killed by the Turkish State for saying that there had been an Armenian genocide in Turkey. If the Court security forces or the MINISTRY OF INJUSTICE that have postponed my trial do not open another trial, they will be committing a crime”
“I am not inciting anyone to commit a crime. What I am saying is that ideas can NOT and should NOT be shackled. I have learned from ISMAIL BESICKCI, FIKRET BASKAYA and BASKIN ORAN (all Turkish Academics imprisoned or tried for their work ) that FREEDOM OF THOUGHT MUST STAND STRONG. There has been an Armenian genocide in this country. The Turkish State DID kill Hrant Dink. These are my thoughts. So, if you want , you try me again.
On 12th April 2012, I wrote an article, wishing that there would be one and half million good Turks with a conscience who would, EACH ONE, do one good deed for ONE of the one and half million innocent victims of the Armenian genocide.
I never believed, even in my wildest dreams, that my wish would come true so quickly and from such important quarters for there is a huge difference between what is said publicly by an ordinary man or woman in the street and what is researched, written , advocated and published by a journalist. Every journalist’s prerogative and duty is to report the truth, to report what has happened, to make the reader aware of that truth and make that reader motivated by what has happened.
Journalists are the conscience of the people. By removing and killing them, Turkey is killing and removing its own conscience.
Today journalists in Turkey are being prosecuted, tortured – even killed – for affirming that the Ottoman government of 1915 DID commit the genocide of one and half million innocent Armenians. Many journalists have died because of the tortures received, many publishing houses and offices have been set to fire and dozens of Turkish Scholars have left their families, their friends and their country in fear of reprisal and in fear of their lives. Now, protected in foreign lands, they are writing in foreign papers and are even publishing in foreign languages but, committed to their ideals of freedom and justice, they advocate with more effectiveness for the condemnation (by Turkey and the world at large) of the Armenian genocide, knowing that at last they can proclaim the truth without being hunted down, jailed and tortured.
By removing its journalists and making them disappear in the secret holes of its jails, by silencing them hoping that they will be so scared that they will never speak again of the Armenian genocide, Turkey is, like an ostrich, hiding its head in the sand and is only delaying what will one day be acclaimed and accepted in Turkey, not only by its journalists, but by its entire population. Soon there will be one and half million good Turks with a conscience who will stand up, will confess to the committed genocide, doing ONE good deed for each one of the one and half million innocent victims of the Armenian genocide
Today, in Turkey students are questioning their teachers about the empty pages of their History books, where the period of Turkish history between 1915 and 1923 is not mentioned, nor printed, nor described or discussed. The Turkish student, wanting to know, will ask its family members. Sometimes there might be an elderly relative who will describe the atrocities committed. If that student has a conscience, then it will carry its research and will find the truth. It is the moral duty for that student to tell its Turkish compatriots and the world at large of what has happened in 1915 .It is the moral duty of that Turkish student to become a good Turk and do one good deed for one innocent victim of the genocide it has found out to have happened in its country.
Today in Turkey, the young educated Turk is asking why are they so many churches in Turkey whereas Turkey is a Muslim State, why are these churches empty? When and who did worship in them and Where are these people? Each Turk, be it young or old, male or female, educated or not, MUST ask where are these people? What happened to them? And WHY did it happen?
Today the Turkish dignitaries visit various countries who, having interests to protect in Turkey would not shy from any injustice, any lie or deceit to protect these interest, and lobby these countries to join the Turkish State in its denial of events which are questioned, publicised , researched and exposed by the Turkish population and specially by its young intellectuals and its journalists .
Turkey must understand and accept that the process of acknowledgement and condemnation of the Armenian genocide has already begun in Turkey. It will never be stopped.
Is the Turkish government to imprison all its journalists, all its historians, all its intellectuals, all its good people with a conscience?
Are new jails to be built in Turkey, equal to the same number of mass graves which were dug in 1915 to bury those million and half innocent victims, and are these jails to be used to bury the truth?
Now, in 2013, although the dead Armenians will never be able to leave their graves to testify, but the Turkish journalists who serve their two or three years sentences in Turkish jails WILL get out one day and WILL testify.
Most revolutions are instigated by young idealist intellectuals and are exposed to the public by journalists. So far, the Turkish government has partly succeeded in keeping its young intellectuals in the dark and the crimes committed by their ancestors a secret, but , day by day, with an increasing number , with accrued effectiveness and sharpened awareness of every citizen’s right, Turkish Scholars , historians and journalists are speaking out and are advocating for the truth about the Armenian genocide .
Similar to the Armenian women who have never been able to bring themselves to talk about the rapes and the sexual outrages committed against them by the Turks during the Armenian genocide because of the SHAME they felt, maybe the Turkish government too cannot bring itself to talk about the crimes committed by its ancestors because of the SHAME it feels.
Yes any human being, any government, any state would feel – very rightly – a deep and dark SHAME to find itself the heir to such morbid legacy, a legacy of injustice, of crime, of theft, of torture, of rape and of murder.
The SHAME felt towards this legacy should generate apologies and remorse NOT denial and persecution of the ones who expose that legacy and that truth.
Ten years ago, my grand-son Connor Bazil whose mother is American, wrote in his homework ; “Turkey must say yes its great-grand fathers had killed the Armenians because , like between friends, once a bad thing has been done, if the guilty party says Sorry , then friendship can start again, then that bad action can be forgiven and once again people who are neighbours can live next to each other without hating each other , so two countries will not be enemies anymore”.
PanARMENIAN.Net –
This report was filed by the Armenian Weekly’s Diyarbakir correspondent, Gulisor Akkum.
The event, commemorating the 98th anniversary of the destruction of the Armenian community in the city, was organized by the Diyarbakir Bar 
Association (DBA) and the Diyarbakir Municipality, and featured a panel discussion with historian Ara Sarafian and the head of the DBA, Tahir Elci.
In his opening remarks, Elci noted that as Armenian intellectuals and community leaders were being rounded up in Istanbul on April 24, 1915 and during the weeks that followed, a similar process unfolded in Diyarbakir.
Stressing Kurdish participation in the genocide in Diyarbakir, Elci said that confronting the reality of the genocide by Kurds today is inevitable. Moreover, he argued that Kurds should support Armenians in the struggle against the state’s ideology and denialism.
“We grew up with the stories of our grandparents about the massacres of the Armenians. Denialist discourse does not withstand legal and historic scrutiny,” he said.
“Today, we commemorate the genocide in Diyarbakir for the first time. This is a very important day for us. We bow respectfully before the memory of our Armenian brothers who were murdered in 1915, and condemn the genocide,” Elci concluded.
Sarafian focused on the process of the destruction of the Armenians in Diyarbakir in 1915. He noted that he had come to Diyarbakir to conduct research on the genocide, and that locals had been very helpful.
After the meeting, members of the audience headed to the banks of the Tigris River and threw flowers in the water in memory of the Armenians killed there during the genocide.
April 24, 12:30 PM, New York City. “Walk to Honor Our Martyrs” organized by the ANC of New York under the auspices of His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, at St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, New York City. Divine Liturgy and Requiem Service, 10:30 am to 12 noon. Walk begins at 
12:30 pm. For information, 212-689-5880.
April 25, 7:30 PM, New York City. AGBU Performing Arts Department in collaboration with Columbia University Armenian Society, The Armenian Center at Columbia University & AGBU University Outreach presents “Armenian composers of the Ottoman Empire: A Musical Tribute in Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide” featuring the works of Komitas, Tchuhadjian, Manas, Alemshah, Sinanian, and Kanachian performed by: Solange Merdinian (mezzo-soprano) Margarita Terzyan (soprano) Karen Hakobyan (piano) Cecee Pantikian (violin) Ani Bukujian (violin) Aleksandr Nazaryan (viola) David Bakamjian (cello) Master of Ceremonies: Hayk Arsenyan. At the Italian Academy at Columbia University (1161 Amsterdam Ave. (south of 118th St.), New York, NY 10027). Tickets: $35. Contact via agbu.org.
May 1, 7 PM, New York City. A party with a purpose 15% of all sales benefiting the Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) at Alex and Ani Soho, at 425 W. Broadway. No RSVP needed, for more info email info@coafkids.org or call 212-994-8234.
May 2, 7:30 PM, Tenafly, N.J. The Cultural Committee of St. Thomas Church of Tenafly will host Russian-Armenian pop singer Avraam Russo live in concert with Armenian, Arabic, English, and Russian music, and an after-party with DJ Shant. Tickets are $30. Reservations are recommended (payment is required to confirm reservations). Call (201) 567-5446.
May 2 to June 30, New York City. “History of Armenia: Past, Present, Future,” a series of eight seminars presented on Thursdays, 7 pm to 8:30 pm, at St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, 221 East 27th Street, New York City. Sponsored by the Cathedral and the UN Armenian Mission. Facilitator: Artur Martirosyan, Ph.D.
May 4, 1 PM, New Milford, N.J. The Society for Orphaned Armenian Relief (SOAR) will be hosting attorney Mark Geragos at the Hovnanian School (817 River Road). Geragos will sign his latest book “Mistrial, an inside look at how the criminal justice system works.” All benefits from proceeds go to SOAR. Complimentary admission. Contact Katie Kashmanian with any questions at ktkash@aol.com.
May 5, noon, New York City. Dr. Vartan Matiossian, executive director of Armenian National Education Committee (ANEC), will present “A New Atlas for a New Generation.” St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, following the Divine Liturgy in Pashalian Hall. Copies of the Atlas of Historical Armenia will be available for sale.
May 5, 12:30 PM, Ridgefield, N.J. “Walk-Armenia,” sponsored by the ARS of Eastern USA, Inc., and organized by Agnouni, Bergen, Shake and Spitak chapters of New Jersey, following the Divine Liturgy (12:30 pm) at Sts. Vartanantz Church, 461 Bergen Boulevard, Ridgefield. Registration fee is $20 which includes t-shirt and lunch. Student fee $10. Proceeds to benefit ARS Eastern USA projects in Armenia and Camp Haiastan in Franklin, Massachusetts. For information: Hasmig 201-944-4507; Arpie 201-666-0885; Aida 201-835-0869, or email to gibbsdoll@hotmail.com.
May 7, 6:30 PM, New York City. The Graduate Center at the City University of New York (CUNY’s) Middle East & Middle Eastern American Center (MEMEAC) features “Treasured Objects” — an artifact-filled, interactive lecture with Dr. Susan Pattie on at CUNY Graduate Center (365 Fifth Ave. betw 34-35th Sts. Room 9207 New York). For info call (212) 817-7000 or visit http://www.gc.cuny.edu/News-Events-Public-Programs/Calendar/Detail?id=15817. Admission is free.
May 10, 7 PM, New York City. Catholicos Karekin II will honor Mr. and Mrs. Nazar and Artemis Nazarian, two lifelong benefactors of the Armenian Church and the worldwide Armenian community, with the “Knight of Holy Etchmiadzin” Pontifical Medal. The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) and the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) will co-sponsor the gala evening in honor of at the Plaza Hotel (768 5th Avenue) in New York City. For information about the banquet, please contact the offices of the AGBU or the Diocese. The public is cordially invited to be a part of this tribute dinner. Tickets are $200 per person. For information, or to make a reservation, please contact the liaison for your area. St. Thomas Church, Tenafly, NJ contact Maral Jebejian at (201) 541-8485; Holy Cross Church, Union City, NJ, contact Alice Yigitkurt at (201) 943-7053; St. Leon Church, Fair Lawn, NJ contact Lynn Beylerian at (201) 848-7984; St. Mary Church, Livingston, NJ, contact Kristine Toufayan Casali at (201) 941-2000; St. Stepanos Church, Elberon, NJ contact Aida Kado at (732) 918-8007; Holy Cross Church, New York: contact Charlene Simonian at (212) 987-7588; Holy Martyrs Church, Bayside, NY contact Arda Haratunian at (516) 627-0235; St. Gregory the Enlightener Church, White Plains, NY contact Maria Stepanian at (203) 550-4897; or Diocesan Center contact Maria Barsoumian at (212) 686-0710.
May 16, 7 PM, New York City. Perspectives Ensemble and Judson Arts present: Dark Eyes/New Eyes: A Journey in Armenian Music at Judson Memorial Church – 55 Washington Square South, New York City. Free Admission. Featuring: Kevork Mourad, visual artist; MAYA Trio-John Hadfield, percussion; Bridget Kibbey, harp; Sato Moughalian, flute . With Ara Dinkjian, oud; Eve Beglarian, vocals; Shane Shanahan, percussion; Nina Stern, recorder & chalumeau; Zulal-Teni Apelian; Anaïs Alexandra Tekerian; Yeraz Markarian. The concert is free of admission charge. A reception for the artists and audience follows. For more information see www.perspectivesensemble.com.