Who Should Be More Pitied: Pres. Obama or Naive Armenians?

April 27, 2016 By administrator

BY HARUT SASSOUNIAN

For eight years now, Pres. Obama has failed to keep his campaign promise to call the Armenian Genocide a genocide. Yet, for some incomprehensible reason, which can only be described as naiveté, many Armenians in the United States and around the world have kept up the vain hope ever since 2009 — Pres. Obama’s first year in office — that he will use the term Armenian Genocide in 2010 or 2011 or 2012.

When he did not utter those words at the end of his first term in office, these naive Armenians were convinced that Pres. Obama would pronounce them during his second and final term, starting in 2013. They wrongly reasoned that Pres. Obama would be more likely to say genocide then, as he would not run for reelection, and therefore not worry about criticism from either Turkey or his domestic political opponents.

When Pres. Obama continued his refusal to say Armenian Genocide, these same naive Armenians came up with a new reason to keep up their wishful thinking. They thought that since Pres. Obama had dared to reverse the long-standing restrictive U.S. policy on Cuba, he would act with similar boldness on the Armenian Genocide issue! This, of course, proved to be a baseless speculation.

Finally, when all else failed, the naive Armenians expected Pres. Obama to pronounce those two forbidden words on April 24, 2016; his last opportunity to do so. That prediction also did not materialize. In his latest statement, Pres. Obama used every euphemism in the dictionary to describe what happened to the Armenians in 1915, except for the word genocide! Here are the results of the latest verbal gymnastics practiced by Pres. Obama: “mass atrocity; deported; massacred; marched to their deaths; suffered; dark days; tragedy; violence; and horror.” Why is the leader of the most powerful country on earth torturing himself and his aides to come up with so many words, when a single word — genocide — would suffice?

Incredibly, some Armenians crossed all bounds of naiveté, by claiming that since Pres. Obama used ‘Meds Yeghern’ in his annual commemorative statements, that term should be viewed as a fulfillment of his campaign promise and an acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide. The problem is that Obama, as a presidential candidate, did not promise that if elected he would say ‘Meds Yeghern.’ On the contrary, he promised to say Armenian Genocide and even insisted that “America deserves a President who speaks truthfully about the Armenian Genocide; I will be that President.” Furthermore, ‘Meds Yeghern’ is not a legal term and has no meaning for non-Armenians. If ‘Meds Yeghern’ is the equivalent of Armenian Genocide, why would Pres. Obama for eight years always use the former and never the latter? While Armenians may be naive, the same cannot be said about Pres. Obama and his aides who know what they are saying and why!

There are two culprits in this nonsensical situation: The first is Pres. Obama who gave a promise that he did not keep, thus misleading all those who trusted him and voted for him; some twice! If Pres. Obama does not mind leaving a legacy of not telling the truth to the American public, that is his problem and not that of the Armenian-American community!

The second culprit consists of all those who desperately, year after year, hoped that Pres. Obama would use the words Armenian Genocide, even though there was no need for such a statement. The Armenian Genocide has been repeatedly recognized by the United States: in a legal document submitted by the U.S. government to the World Court in 1951; two resolutions adopted by the House of Representatives in 1975 and 1984; and Pres. Reagan’s Presidential Proclamation of April 22, 1981. Why do Armenians seek the words Armenian Genocide, when it has already been stated by a previous president? Does every American President have to use that term before Armenians are satisfied that the Armenian Genocide is indeed recognized by the United States?

Unfortunately, most Armenians confuse the issue of genocide recognition with U.S. governmental policy on Turkey. None of the other countries that are considered to have recognized the Armenian Genocide have an antagonistic policy vis-à-vis Turkey. Nor does the U.S.! All of these countries balance genocide recognition with maintaining normal and even cordial relations with Turkey. The United States should not be construed as not having recognized the Armenian Genocide just because its leaders avoid using that term for misperceived political or economic reasons! One can condemn U.S. policy towards Turkey without questioning its recognition of the Armenian Genocide. In fact, accusing the U.S. government of not having recognized the Armenian Genocide, as many Armenians often do, casts doubt on the veracity of the Genocide and does a great disservice to the Armenian Cause!

Los Angeles Armenians protest in support of Armenians in Karabakh (photos, Video)

April 5, 2016 By administrator

Armenians Los Angeles on Monday held a protest action to voice their anger against Azerbaijan’s policy of aggression and express support to the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The crowd gathered outside the Armenian Consulate in Glendale, one of the most densely Armenian-populated cities in the Los Angeles County.

The protest attracted many Armenians, including young activists, who extended their solidarity to the Armenians, condemning Azerbaijan’s violence.

The crowd is at the protest site chanting slogans and singing national and patriotic songs, as well as delivering prayers, our correspondent reports from Glendale. Vardan Karapetyan, a member of the municipal council, has also joined the protest.

The youth activists have also voiced a proposal for creating a team of volunteers to join the military operations on the Nagorno-Karabakh frontline. They say that some are already on their way to the battle site.

The 1909 massacres of Armenians in Adana – Hurriyet Daily News “Must Read to Understand Turkish Atrocity”

March 24, 2016 By administrator

_{By William Armstrong – william.armstrong@hdn.com.tr}
‘In the Ruins: The 1909 Massacres of Armenians in Adana’ by Zabel Yessayan (AIWA, $20, 262 pages)
In the spring of 1909, Zabel Yessayan journeyed from Istanbul to Adana, after the massacre of up to 30,000 Armenians around the Mediterranean city. She was part of a group sent by the Armenian Patriarchate, assigned to survey conditions after the killings and provide assistance to orphans and refugees. Born in Istanbul, the 31-year-old Yessayan had also lived in Paris, where she published articles, stories and translations. But her experiences around Adana far exceeded anything she had seen before.
“Among the Ruins” was published on her return to Istanbul in 1911. It is a vivid testimony full of gruesome details, depicting the hellscape that Armenian districts had become and the trauma endured by the locals. “Our race’s veins had been slashed open once again, and our blood, still pulsing with joy over our newfound freedom, had been spilled once again on soil fertilized by our sweat,” she writes.
The massacres occurred in 1909, in the weeks after a countercoup in Istanbul saw Sultan Abdülhamit II returned to power. The sultan’s authority had been seized the previous year by the Young Turks, a cadre of young military officers who pledged to restore the constitution and protect the rights of all Ottoman subjects. The Christian-minority Armenians generally supported the coup against the paranoid sultan, who had inspired earlier pogroms against Ottoman Armenians. When Abdülhamit wrested back control from the Young Turks, he again mobilized popular support by identifying himself with the historically Islamic character of the state, promising to eliminate secular policies and restore the sharia. This precipitated a new wave of anti-Armenian raids in Adana carried out by local Muslims.
“In the Ruins” describes the aftermath of the bloodbath. It is full of purple prose but many of the descriptions are still shocking over 100 years later. “The devastated city stretches outward like a cemetery without end,” Yessayan writes upon arrival in Adana:

Nothing has been spared; all the churches, schools, and dwellings have been reduced to formless piles of charred stone, among which, here and there, the skeletons of buildings jut up. From east to west, from north to south, all the way to the distant limits of the Turkish quarters, an implacable, ferocious hatred has burned and destroyed everything.
The pages are full of visceral descriptions of the traumatized orphans and miserable survivors left behind. Everywhere she goes Yessayan finds locals bearing the physical and mental scars of torture and attempted lynching. At times there is a kind of stunned numbness in the aftermath of a cataclysm: “On their dark-skinned, somber, gloomy faces, you could sometimes read, as in an open book, all the terror of hours that defied description; but at other times, everything clouded over, and then the children were impenetrable. And that was even more unsettling.” Elsewhere the suffering is more clearly on the surface, and it is detailed in unforgettable, haunting passages.
The familiar theme of Armenian survival and resistance against all odds, often invoked today, can be seen in Yessayan’s work even back in 1911. As she writes towards the end: “The voice of my battered, bloody race was singing its imperious refrain in my veins. The enemy’s designs had once again proven fruitless, and I could sense, despite the desperately sad impressions we had gathered as eyewitnesses, that something immortal and indestructible … had eluded the criminals.” Such passages make for melancholy reading in the knowledge of what would happen in Eastern Anatolia six years later.
There are also chilling contemporary echoes. Adana is barely 100 km from the Syrian border, where today a human tragedy continues to unfold with no end in sight. Yessayan paints a pitiful picture of the surviving Armenian children of Adana:

When they saw anyone at all, they shivered like someone in the grip of a fever. In the imaginations of those tender innocents, grown-ups all looked alike. They saw a criminal in every adult male, were deluded by terrifying resemblances, imagined ghastly scenes … Their young minds were deranged, because for days on end they had seen criminals brandishing knives or rifles, eyes burning with a lust for evil, mouths contorted by curses and threats.

It’s hard to read such descriptions without thinking of terrified Syrians displaced on the border today.

Australian Parliamentarian Condemns Sumgait Massacre of Armenians by Azerbaijan VIDEO

March 17, 2016 By administrator

Australian parliamentarian John Alexander

CANBERRA — On Wednesday, 16 March, the Federal Member for Bennelong, John Alexander, spoke in the Federation Chamber of Australia’s Parliament to commemorate the 28^th anniversary of the Sumgait Pogroms that took place in February 1988.

During his address, Alexander spoke of the oppressive history of the region towards Armenians, stemming from the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923 by the former Ottoman Empire, to the anti-Armenian Sumgait Pogroms, and how Azerbaijan’s poor human rights record has continued today.

Alexander talked about the history of the Sumgait Pogroms and how peaceful demonstrations held by the Armenian people living in Azerbaijan and in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh to re-unite with Armenia, turned sour as violence broke out “as an act of collective punishment.” He then went on to mention the manner of which destruction was brought about by Azerbaijani mobs, through systematic attacks and assaults on the Armenians of Sumgait, as well as brutal murders, tortures, burning, and rape of women and young girls.

Alexander stressed that the crimes committed in Sumgait “were never adequately prosecuted by the then Soviet or Azerbaijani authorities” and led to his explanation of Azerbaijan’s poor human rights record, and specifically mentioning the case of Ramil Safarov.

“This year the world will celebrate the 25^th Anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, and next month we will commemorate 101 years since the start of the Armenian Genocide,” stated Alexander.

In the conclusion of his speech, Alexander mentioned the lack of attention these cases have had in the media, in Parliament and in the history classes of schools. He then commented on how Armenians have been able to “flourish” and have been able to “proudly celebrate their cultural traditions”.

ANC Australia’s Executive Administrator, Arin Markarian said: “We thank Mr. Alexander for the heartfelt speech he made, remembering the innocent Armenian victims of the Sumgait Pogroms, while highlighting the chain effect that has occurred as a result of not condemning human rights violations and anti-Armenian behavior by the Azerbaijani government.”

Here is the video to Alexander’s speech:

Eight Armenians run for Iran’s parliament

February 20, 2016 By administrator

Eight Armenians will be vying for seats in the Iranian parliament at the elections on February 26.
According to Asbarez, the contenders who have fielded their candidacies are Karen Khanlarian, Ivet Danielyan, Albert Poghosian, Arbi Tahmazian, Andranik Simonian, Zhorzhik Abrahmanian, Vrezh Ter-Martirosian and Armond Baghramian.

This unsung hero who rescued 250,000 people during the genocide of Armenians

January 16, 2016 By administrator

arton120970-450x254 Despite his rescue acts that command respect, history was not recognized as it should be, not only around the world but also in the US and Armenia. The Board of Directors of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation has decided to pay tribute to his life in a series of events that will soon be made public. Jennings, a native of upstate New York, was a Minister of Disabled Cult of a small town. At the turn of the twentieth century,

Despite his rescue acts that command respect, history was not recognized as it should be, not only around the world but also in the US and Armenia.

The Board of Directors of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation has decided to pay tribute to his life in a series of events that will soon be made public.

clip_image003_2_-300x145-300x145 Jennings, a native of upstate New York, was a Minister of Disabled Cult of a small town. At the turn of the twentieth century, he worked as a clerk at the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) in the prosperous city of Smyrna, Turkey.

Asa Kent Jennings, an American hero who rescued 250,000 people during the Armenian Genocide.

In September 1922, the Turkish Nationalist army entered the city with the intent to massacre all Christians residents, Armenians and Greeks for most. A huge fire broke out in the city on September 13, trapping countless refugees in a narrow band near the sea. Hundreds of thousands were doomed to die on the shore of the city. Many of them succumbed to epidemics, hunger or thirst, besieged by the Turks.

Made aware of their plight, Jennings created a first aid center for pregnant women in an empty building on the coast. He then organized a fleet of boats with the help of the US Navy in a bold and creative bailout.

The evacuation and organized by Jennings transported 250,000 refugees from Smyrna to the Greek islands and the cities of Thessaloniki and Piraeus.

This blitz will be made only seven days, only Turkish city amid peril and deportations. His courage and imagination have saved a quarter of a million people a terrible death.

Published January 11, 2016

By Siranush Ghazanchyan

Translation Gilbert Béguian

http://www.armenianlife.com/2016/01/11/an-unsung-american-hero-to-be-honored-for-saving-250000-people-during-the-armenian-genocide/

How do Kuwait Armenians celebrate New Year?

January 1, 2016 By administrator

Kuwait-Armeniant Author: Aida Hovhannisyan

In the night of January 1, the Armenian community of Kuwait organizes a dance festival. The New Year festivities are celebrated according to the traditions of the Middle East. Representative of Kuwait’s Armenian community and teacher of Armenian, Maral Amboyan, who has been living in that country for already 11 years, told the aforementioned to Armenian News – NEWS.am.

“Armenian college and church operate in Kuwait. On December 30, our pupils have to attend the church, and then a big festival is held in the educational institution. And on December 31, a dance festival is held, which is attended by actually all Armenians of Kuwait. We prepare eastern dishes by all means. [Then] We come together and enjoy ourselves,” Amboyan said.

According to her, there are also Armenians who don’t attend the festival, preferring to celebrate New Year with their family, although the majority still joins the joyful festivity. “Our community is very friendly. We celebrate all the holidays together, and each Friday we must attend the Armenian church,” she said.

About 4,000 Armenians live in Kuwait. Most of them are mainly craftsmen, but the country also has famous jewelers of Armenian descent. But, apart from this, in Amboyan’s words, some Armenians there hold quite high offices.

Syria War: Civil strife takes toll on Mideast country’s Armenian community

November 11, 2015 By administrator

By Gayane Mkrtchyan
ArmeniaNow reporter

The four-year-long civil war in Syria has also left a mark on the 50,000-strong Armenian community of Aleppo, as a result of which nearly half of the Armenians have left the city and the country, others are concentrated in the north of the country and Damascus.

Syrian-Armenian historian Gevorg Yazchyan says that 15,000-17,000 Syrian Armenians came to Armenia, about the same number of them went to Beirut, Lebanon, while others have moved to the north-east of the country, the Kurdish-populated regions. According to the historian, a significant part of those who left the country do not plan to return to their birthplace at all, because they have lost everything they had in Syria. However, there are also Syrian Armenians who are waiting for visas to emigrate from Armenia and to settle down in other countries.

Referring to Armenians from Syria’s Kessab, which became a target of Islamist militants’ attack last year, Yazchyan says that 40 percent (about 1,000 people) of the Armenian population has returned to the city, among whom, however, there are few young people because many of them now serve in the Syrian army.

On March 21, 2014, terrorist groups crossed the Turkish border and invaded Kessab and surrounding 12 villages, making the region one of the hotspots of the Syrian war then. Only 87 days later, the Syrian National Army managed to regain control of the area that has been home to a large number of Armenians.

“The population in Kessab and Latakia has increased due to Armenians from Aleppo, because today the condition in Kessab is comparatively stable, although sounds of cannon fire can still be heard from the surrounding hills. I also want to speak on the villages of Yakub and Knie which are near Kessab, and there is little information about them. These villages are also occupied and there are also people who left those places and settled in Kessab,” says the historian. “There are Armenians in the regions of Kamishli and Al-Hasakeh where Kurdish defense forces act. They have quite positive attitude towards Armenians,” he adds.

Yazchyan makes an interesting observation about Armenian craftsmen. Most of them, crossing the border between the governmental forces and rebel groups, pay a tax, and go to repair militants’ equipment and machinery.

“Sometimes warring parties have secret agreements. They say they are well paid as there is a need for craftsmen there, and many Armenians in Aleppo have no jobs, there are no basic products. The most serious problem is water shortages. They have started to reuse old wells, or the state army brings water to people,” says the historian.

Up to 50 Armenian civilians have been killed in Syria, 10 soldiers of Armenian origin were killed in action and another 50 Armenians got wounded.

Referring to the actions of the Russian Air Force he says that the positive effect is large enough. They use the right equipment, while the Syrian army’s ground operations’ efficiency is quite low, because there is a lot of desertion. Hezbollah, a Shi’a Islamist militant group, helps them in ground operations.

“The Russian air forces and the Syrian army can get a lot of success, but for the end of the war those masses should be offered a new ideology that will fit their world outlook and religious ideas. Western democracies will not work there. A pan-Arabian idea will not convince people either. One needs new ideologies to eliminate those groups,” says Yazchyan.

Three Armenians Reclaim Seats in Turkish Parliament as AKP Wins Majority

November 2, 2015 By administrator

From left: Selina Ozuzun Dogan from the Republican People’s Party (CHP); Markar Esayan from the ruling AKP party and Garo Paylan from the pro-Kurdish HDP

ISTANBUL (Combined Sources)—The three Armenians who were elected in June to Turkey’s parliament, were re-elected Sunday in that country’s special election, which saw the ruling Justice and Development party leaping to victory.

Garo Paylan, who ran on the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) ticket, Markar Esayan from the AKP and Selina Ozuzun Dogan from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) won in the Sunday elections.

Turkey’s ruling AKP won the parliamentary election, regaining the majority it lost in June.

With almost all ballots counted, the state-run Anadolu news agency said the AKP had won 49.4% of the vote, with the main opposition CHP on 25.4%.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said voters had “shown that they prefer action and development to controversy”.

The pro-Kurdish HDP crossed the 10% threshold needed to claim seats. The nationalist MHP will also take seats in Ankara.

With almost all of the results counted, the AKP had won substantially more than the 276 seats needed in order to form a government alone. However, it fell 14 seats short of the number needed to call a referendum on changing the constitution and increasing the powers of the president, AKP founder Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Hours after the landslide victory, AKP leader and interim Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu addressed the pro-AK Party groups gathered in front of the party’s headquarters in Ankara on Sunday night. He adopted an inclusive stance concerning the country’s dissenters through his messages promising to establish peace across the country and to form a new civilian Constitution, reported Today’s Zaman.

In his balcony speech, Davutoglu called all political parties to come together and agree on a new Constitution following his party’s regaining of its parliamentary majority. He said; “Let’s work together towards a Turkey where conflict, tension and polarization are non-existent and everyone salutes each other in peace,” Reuters reported.

On the other hand, Davutoğlu spoke vaguely about pressing ahead with the peace process with the country’s Kurds but said Turkey was determined to continue its fight against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). “We won’t step back from our determination to find a solution or to fight terrorism,” the prime minister said.

Paylan told Today’s Zaman that if Davutoglu’s speech in Ankara is put into practice, then the country will feel relief.

“The HDP, as an opposition party, is ready to take its place at the negotiation table for a new Constitution that encompasses all segments of society by fulfilling their demands for a freer and democratic life. We don’t want tears and blood. The steps towards this end should be immediately launched so that social relief and healing is achieved. Turkey is in need of peace, not conflict,” Paylan told Today’s Zaman.

HDP leaders said that unfair election conditions and a deliberate policy of polarization by Erdogan explain the drop in numbers of votes garnered by the party.

The HDP was forced to cancel election rallies following two deadly attacks on pro-Kurdish gatherings since July. Television stations gave party representatives little air-time amid government attacks branding the party as the political wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), considered a terrorist organization by official Ankara.

HDP’s co-chairman Selahattin Demirtas told reporters that “there wasn’t a fair or equal election… We were not able to lead an election campaign. We tried to protect our people against attacks,” reported Today’s Zaman.

Co-chair Figen Yuksekdag said he HDP would analyze in a detail a drop in its support since the last parliamentary election in June, but said the fact the party had crossed the 10 percent threshold needed to enter parliament was nonetheless a success.

She said the HDP has faced the most challenging circumstances during this process and recalled that 258 civilians, including 33 children, lost their lives during the last five months since the June 7 election. “Yet, today’s success was achieved by those who walked against attacks,” she said.

OSCE Says Elections were Marred by Violence

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) charged in a damning report on Monday that Turkey’s election was marred by a media crackdown, violence and other security concerns, Agence France Presse reported.

It said the campaign for Sunday’s vote was characterised by “unfairness” and “fear” after a surge in violence.

“While Turkish citizens could choose between genuine and strong political alternatives in this highly polarized election, the rapidly diminishing choice of media outlets, and restrictions on freedom of expression in general, impacted the process and remain serious concerns,” Ignacio Sanchez Amor, special coordinator and leader of the OSCE observer mission, said in a statement.

Concerns over media freedoms were already running high in the run-up to the poll after riot police last week stormed the Ankara and Istanbul offices of two television stations critical of the Turkish strongman.

“Physical attacks on party members, as well as the significant security concerns, particularly in the southeast, further imposed restrictions on the ability to campaign,” Amor added.

A massive suicide bombing on a peace rally in Ankara last month killed 102 people in the worst attack in the country’s history, with political parties temporarily suspending campaigning.

“Unfortunately, the campaign for these elections was characterized by unfairness and, to a serious degree, fear,” said Andreas Gross, head of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE) delegation.

He called on Erdogan to work for an “inclusive political process” to deal with challenges facing Turkey.

The elections were also held against a backdrop of a military campaign against Kurdish rebels in the southeast of Turkey and in northern Iraq after attacks on security forces by the militants.

Observers said the army’s operations in the Kurdish-dominated southeast hampered the ability of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) to campaign.

“For an election process to be truly democratic, candidates need to feel that they can campaign and voters need to feel that they can cast their ballots in a safe and secure environment,” said Margareta Cederfelt, head of the OSCE parliamentary assembly delegation.

USA: Philadelphia Armenians thank Pope Francis, for recognizing the #ArmenianGenocide.

September 22, 2015 By administrator

Armenians of Philadelphia thanked Pope Francis for recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

“Thank you Pope Francis for Recognizing Armenian Genocide. #NeverForget 2015” posters appeared on the streets of Philadelphia, the Armenian National Committee of America reported.

On Tuesday Pope will kick off his first visit to the United States where he will visit Washington, New York and Philadelphia. Pope is expected to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama and attend the joint meeting of the House of Representatives and the Senate.