AGBU Europe is invited to commemorate the Armenian Genocide in Istanbul Archives

Iraqi Kurdistan: Galawezh literary festival in Sulaimani spotlights Armenian genocide

November 22, 2016 By administrator

galawezh-festival SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – Galawezh, a literary festival in the city of Sulaimani that has endured for two decades, is focusing this year’s edition on literature from the Armenian genocide under the Ottoman Empire.

The four-day festival, which ends Wednesday, has followed an annual tradition of focusing on the literature of a particular country, often with links to Kurdistan.

This year’s pick, Armenia, is a nation divided by language and culture but united in a common past of genocidal campaigns, mirroring the Kurds’ own recent history.

The Armenian Genocide of the 20th century led to the death of about 1.5 million people at the hands of the then Turkish Ottoman Empire.

The Kurdish Genocide, on the other hand, was committed at the hands of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, under his so-called Anfal campaign. At least 182,000 Kurds, notably in rural areas, were killed under the systematic military campaign to wipe out a whole nation.

Source: rudaw.com

The life of Rakel Dink, FROM A VILLAGE WITH NO CHAIRS TO LEADING A FOUNDATION

November 12, 2016 By administrator

Board director of the Hrant Dink Foundation: “Nothing can force us to forget”

The life of Rakel Dink, widow of the late Turkish journalist and founder of the Agos newspaper Hrant Dink, has been continuously shaped by the past 100 years of Armenians’ history in the Ottoman Empire and present-day Turkey.

Rakel Dink was born in 1959 in an Armenian family in Silopi (southeastern Turkey), close to the borders with Iraq and Syria. Her grandfather, Vartan, was a native of Van. Fleeing the Armenian Genocide, Vartan resettled his family on the slopes of Mt. Joudi in the Şirnak Province in southeastern Anatolia. To survive, the family was forced to hide in a mountain grotto. “They say such a cave didn’t exist, but that God opened it up for us. That’s the story. They lived there for a long time,” says Rakel, recounting a family legend passed down through generations.

“In 1915, while in hiding, my grandmother’s sister had a child. She couldn’t stop the child from crying during that dangerous time. The mother-in-law took the child’s hand to stop the crying, so that the family wouldn’t be discovered, and…I can’t say the word. The child was lost,” Rakel remembers the horrific decisions the family was forced to make to survive.

Rakel’s father Siyament Yağbasan and mother Delal had six children. Their second, Rakel, was just eight years old when her mother passed away. Rakel’s father remarried and had seven more children. The family spoke only Kurdish and was mainly engaged in farming.

When Rakel was eight and a half years old, a group of clergy visited her village at the behest of Constantinople Patriarch Archbishop Shnork Kaloustian. At the time, Christian clergy from Istanbul traveled throughout Anatolia looking for Armenians and other Christians who survived the Genocide. Hrant Güzelyan and Orhan Younkesh, representatives of the Armenian Evangelical Church, took several groups of Armenian children back to Istanbul in order to give them an education. Rakel Dink and her two brothers were in the second group of kids. “We got to Bolis in order to learn Armenian, to read and write. There was no school near our village. No one knew how to read,” Rakel remembers. The new arrivals were housed at the Tuzla camp for Armenian children (Camp Armen), just outside Istanbul.

Disappearance of the Turkish writer Vedat Türkali, the author of the novel “Bitti Bitmedi” referring to the Armenian Genocide

August 29, 2016 By administrator

vedat Vedat Türkali, one of the most famous figures in modern Turkish literature disappeared Aug. 29 in a hospital in the town of Yalova (Turkey) at the age of 97. Vedat Türkali was also the author of the book (novel, 2014) “Bitti Bitti Bitmedi” (It’s over, it’s over, but it’s not finished, “widely citing the Armenian genocide. Of course the book created a scandal in Turkey while experiencing a very wide distribution.

Krikor Amirzayan

Los Angeles Rally for Justice at April 24 2016 #ArmenianGenocide

February 25, 2016 By administrator

LOS ANGELES—Community organizations have come together once again to call for justice for Armenian Genocide. On Sunday, April 24, at 1 p.m., a community-wide RALLY FOR JUSTICE will be held in front of the Turkish Consulate at 6300 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles to commemorate the 100+1 anniversary of the Armenian Genocide as we continue to fight for a just resolution and against denial of this still unpunished crime against humanity.

All leading religious, political, youth, and advocacy organizations of our community have come together once again after last year’s unprecedented Centennial March for Justice to organize the 2016 Rally for Justice. Strengthened by our unity, we call upon all segments of our community to join the Armenian Genocide Committee in making our collective voice heard as one Nation for one Cause.

Although traffic will be lighter this year on Sunday, bus transportation will be provided from churches, schools and community centers throughout Southern California. Pick up/Drop off locations will be announced soon.

Rally for Justice t-shirts are on sale at Jons Marketplace locations in Glendale, Hollywood and Valley Village and are also available online at Amazon.com and Ebay.com. Proceeds from all sales will go entirely toward funding the Rally for Justice. Please purchase and start wearing your t-shirts now and help us spread the word.

Mark your calendars. Further details will be forthcoming.

Armenian Genocide Committee
Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church
Armenian Catholic Church of North America
Armenian Evangelical Union of North America
Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Armenian Democratic Liberal Party
Social Democrat Hunchak Party
Armenian General Benevolent Union – Western District
Armenian Relief Society – Western USA
Armenian Youth Federation
Armenian Assembly of America
Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
Armenian Council of America
Armenian Rights Council
Armenian Bar Association
Organization of Istanbul Armenians

Portrait of a Turkish-American, denial of the Armenian Genocide

January 27, 2016 By administrator

By Harut Sassounian, California Courier

January 26, 2016

While Armenian Americans closely following the sinister efforts of Turkey and its lobbying firms, they do not pay too much attention to some Turkish Americans, or they appear in the organization chart of the Turkish government, or they undertake in turn acts of propaganda, driven by unbridled patriotism. One of these is the Turkish American Oya Bain, described in a recent interview with the Turkish denialist website HistoryofTruth.com as “one of the most active people in the Turkish diaspora in the United States.” She is a member of the Board of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), Assembly of Turkish Associations of America, a coalition of 60 Turkish associations in the United States.

Bain claims that after many years of ATAA’s efforts to organize “lectures, conferences, programs on false Armenian claims across the US in 2015 [year of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide], the frequency and The intensity of such programs have achieved the highest levels. “ She added that there was a significant “increase in the number of professionals and serious academics who study objectively the Ottoman period in the time of the First World War and which issued their report without the Armenian threats and intimidation of previous years”.

Curiously, Bain uses the term “we have serious specialists” to designate the deniers Ed Erickson authors, Michael Gunter, Guenter Lewy, Tal Buenos Jeremy Salt, Norman Stone, Christofer Gunn, Maxime Gauin and Pat Walsh. What exactly drives Bain to say “we have”? This phraseology is undoubtedly a “kiss of death” for any self-respecting intellectual!

Responding to a question on relations between Armenians and Turks in Washington DC, Bain took the opportunity to attack the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA): “Yes, we have friends in the Armenian community. Turkish Armenians are warm, friendly and they like us. By cons, we have in front of us ANCA, a consistently negative and hostile organization prejudices, exaggerations and outright lies in the media, political circles and the university. “ It also does not appreciate my weekly column: “Recently, an article of 20 October 2015 Harut Sassounian extremist author was entitled ‘For the Denial of Genocide is Forbidden, the [European] Court Incite Armenians Committing Acts of Violence. “

Ignoring the millions of dollars spent each year by the Turkish government to manipulate politicians, journalists, writers and so-called experts, Bain exaggerates the modest budget of ANCA and the Armenian Assembly, describing it as false “well funded, installed in luxury offices, with a large staff … It is undoubtedly an industry.”

Bain says proudly that the size of the Friendship Group with Turkey has increased from 62 members to 151 members in 2005. Recognizing that money buys votes, as was the case of the former Speaker of the House of Representatives Dennis Hastert [photo], she states: “We do not have as many votes in the Armenian communities Greek, but we can provide funding and support of volunteers. “ Bath indulges in what Senator Menendez and Representatives Pallone and Pelosi, describing them as “members [of Congress] fans who are very rigid and very hostile to the Turks.”

Seasoned propagandist, Bain said his organization tries to convince – it should say abusing – members of Congress by presenting their “a message of reconciliation with Armenia.” She cites such “support the ATAA for protocols between Armenia and Turkey in 2009, and particularly the formation of a commission of historians to study targets the conflict between Armenians and Turks.” She conveniently forgets to mention that Turkey has continued to refuse to ratify the protocols!

Recognizing that the ATAA was created in 1979 by Sukru Elekda, while Turkish Ambassador to the United States, Bain inadvertently reveals the intense political activity of the ATAA in violation of its statutes nonprofit organization! She presses with unconsciousness groups ATAA ‘to leave the dangerous state of mind of a type 501-c-3 [nonprofit] hampering political activity’. ‘This behavior has seriously hampered our efforts to fight the Armenian claims in the region’. An appeal should be filed with the IRS [the IRS] to restrict lobbying activities of ATAA or terminate.

It is possible that other ATAA violates US laws. Calling it “excellent” relations between the ATAA and the Turkish Embassy in Washington DC, Bain recognizes that successive Turkish ambassadors in Washington contributed “a lot of support” for ATAA, as the organization of “a lot fabulous evening fundraiser at the Embassy. “ It does not seem to realize that it magnifies the revelations could cause problems to the ATAA requiring registration as a “foreign agent” with the Justice Department of the USA.

In his concluding remarks, Bath accuses US media “bias, censorship of any positive event from Turkey, veiled discrimination”. She then adds: “The bias of the media has risen during the April 24, 2015, the centennial year of Armenian claims … It will probably take another 100 years to reverse and correct misconceptions.” Bath vain hope that “in the coming 100 years Armenian propaganda and lies will be removed and a more balanced perception of Turkish and Armenian tragedy emerge, respecting the suffering and deaths of the two people in 1915. I think that the Armenian tragedy is now so much depreciated vulgar propaganda it can go lower … One wishes that the internet will finally be rid of all the rubbish of false information on the Armenian claims . I am hopeful for 100 years to come. The tide goes out. “

It is imperative that the Armenians counteract campaigns not only of the Turkish government lobbying, but also those of ‘lone wolves’ as Oya Bain, without exceeding the rules of civility and law.

Translation for Gilbert Béguian Armenews

AGBU Europe is invited to commemorate the Armenian Genocide in Istanbul

April 23, 2013 By administrator

AGBU Europe and EGAM (European Grassroots Anti-racist Movement) invited by DürDe! (Say Stop to Racism and Nationalism) to commemorate the Armenian Genocide in Istanbul, Turkey.

Representatives of the three organizations then to travel to Yerevan (Armenia) to continue commemoration.

Brussels, 19 April 2013

For the first time since the Genocide of 1915, 98 years ago, a European delegation composed of twenty people from 15 countries will be present in Turkey for the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, held in that city for the fourth consecutive year.

This is in response to the call of EGAM partners in Turkey, DürDe! (Say Stop to Racism and Nationalism) and the Human Rights Association – IHD, to form a common delegation to take part in the April 24 commemorations in support of Turkish civil society groups working for the recognition of the Armenian genocide.

Over four days, the delegation will meet representatives of civil society (intellectuals, Turkish activists, Kurds, Armenians, artists, etc.), representatives of minority groups and youth at a conference to be held at Sehir University, and will also take part in the April 24 commemorations. On April 25, some of the delegates will travel to Yerevan to commemorate the Armenian Genocide together.

This joint commemoration in Istanbul is intended to express solidarity with those Turks working for historical truth. It is also inspired by a common sense of justice, as genocide denial is also an extension of the act of genocide. It is, finally, intended as a contribution to the strengthening of democracy and of a vibrant civil society.

The initiative was supported by numerous personalities (including Serge Klarsfeld, Dario Fo, Adam Michnik, Bernard Kouchner, Olivero Toscani, Jovan Divjak, etc.) and representatives of European civil society, who have signed an appeal to that effect. The appeal is expected to be published in several European papers, including Libération (France), SME (Slovakia) and Gazeta Wyborcza (web version, Poland).

The Commemoration ceremonies will take place at Sultanahmet at 12 am and at Taksim Square at 7:15 pm. A press conference will be held on April 23 at 11 am in the Cenzayir restaurant.

About the Armenian Genocide: In 1915, the large Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire was exterminated on the orders of the junta of Young Turks then ruling the country. The Turkish Republic instituted an official policy of denial, which banned all affirmation of the country’s Armenian past.

The largest Armenian non-profit in the world, AGBU was founded in 1906 to preserve and promote the Armenian identity and heritage through educational, cultural, and humanitarian programs annually touching the lives of some 400,000 Armenians around the globe. AGBU Europe promotes important initiatives in areas as diverse as academic research, conservation and promotion of heritage, culture, education and Armenian language teaching and European policies, training of association leaders and children and youth activities.

Contact presse:
AGBU Europe
www.agbu.org
Anouch Aroutounian
+ 32 2 761 12 17
Nicolas Tavitian
+ 32 495 77 08 67