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Full-page WSJ ad denying Armenian Genocide spurs anger

April 22, 2016 By administrator

f571a08a88fa2e_571a08a88fa64.thumbA full-page ad denying the Armenian genocide spurred anger Wednesday, appearing in The Wall Street Journal just days before the 101st anniversary of the event’s start on April 24, 1915.

“Truth = Peace,” the ad declared in large font at the center of the page. At the top, in smaller letters, it said, “Stop the allegations,” and directed readers to a website called Fact Check Armenia, which declares as false the idea that “the events of 1915 constitute a clear-cut genocide against the Armenian people” and calls efforts of the Armenian diaspora to gain recognition of the genocide “propaganda,” Newseek reports.

Gary Bass, a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University, tweeted a photo of the ad Wednesday morning, garnering hundreds of retweets and a slew of reactions, many of which chided The Wall Street Journal for printing it and questioned whether the paper would have printed a similar ad related to the Holocaust.

According to a post on the Chicago Armenian Genocide Centennial committee’s Facebook page, the same ad also appeared Wednesday in the pages of the Chicago Tribune. The newspaper ads come soon after billboards with similar designs appeared near Boston’s Armenian Heritage Park and in the Chicago area.

In response to the criticism, a Wall Street Journal spokesperson said in a comment provided to Gawker that “we accept a wide range of advertisements, including those with provocative viewpoints. While we review ad copy for issues of taste, the varied and divergent views expressed belong to the advertisers.” Neither Fact Check Armenia nor the Turkic Platform, listed in a contact on the website and as the “proud” funder of the billboard, responded immediately to Newsweek’s requests for comment.

“It should be taken down,” Lori Yogurtian, founder of the Armenian Students Association at Suffolk University, told the Boston Globe when the billboard appeared in Boston’s North End in early April. “It’s completely one-sided, completely perpetuating denial of something that has time and time again been proven as a fact.”

The billboard was indeed taken down, the Globe reported, with a spokesman for its owner, Clear Channel Outdoor, saying “the ad was placed there in error.” The Chicago centennial group said in a post on Facebook that the billboards in that area had also been removed.

Several countries, including the United States, have failed to formally recognize the Armenian genocide as genocide, or to use the “G-word” in commemoration ceremonies, despite efforts by lobbyists that intensified leading up to last year’s centennial. However, historians and genocide scholars agree that the events beginning in 1915 constituted genocide.

“There is a near consensus that the Armenian genocide was a genocide, or that genocide is the right word,” David Simon, a professor of political science at Yale University and co-director of its Genocide Studies Program, told Newsweek ahead of the 100th anniversary last year. “The deportations and massacres amounted to a crime we now know is genocide. In 1915, there was no such word.”

The controversy is generated by Turkey, says Armen Marsoobian, a professor of philosophy at Southern Connecticut State University who teaches courses in comparative genocide. Turkey vehemently opposes the use of the term “genocide” to describe the events, and recalled ambassadors to the Vatican and Austria after Pope Francis and Austrian lawmakers did so ahead of the centennial.

“Always around April 24, especially in the United States, there’s this attempt to deny the genocide but in a way that claims that the Turkish people are looking for peace and cooperation,” Marsoobian, a scholar of Armenian descent whose parents survived the genocide, tells Newsweek over the phone from Istanbul, where he is on a fellowship. “It always is very upsetting to the Armenian community, because April 24 is a solemn day,” he adds. It’s like “pouring a little salt in the wounds to do it at this time.”

Similarly, Fatma Muge Gocek, a Turkish-born professor of sociology and women’s studies at the University of Michigan and author of Denial of Violence: Ottoman Past, Turkish Present and the Collective Violence against Armenians, 1789-2009, says in an email: “I have been following the story regarding the billboards in Boston and Chicago with great disappointment, but not surprise.”

As Marsoobian and Gocek suggest, ads of the kind that appeared in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday have cropped up close to the annual anniversary and garnered criticism before. In 2015, billboards reportedly went up in Boston, New York, New Jersey and Dallas. The Boston Globe ran a full-page advery similar to this year’s in the Journal—it cried, “Change for progress,” included the phrase “Stop the allegations” and pointed readers to the Fact Check Armenia website—even as the paper’s editorial board ran a piece urging the US to recognize the genocide just a few pages away.

A different full-page ad appeared that same week in the Washington Post in the form of an open letter from the Turkish American National Steering Committee claiming there is “no academic consensus” about the events and that “the politicization of this historical controversy not only tarnishes the memory of the dead but also thwarts the ultimate objective: reconciliation between Armenians and Turks.”

The New York Times rejected the open letter ad, based on guidelines against “advertising that denies great human tragedies.” The guidelines stipulate that “events such as the World Trade Center bombings, or the Holocaust, or slavery in the United States, or the Armenian Genocide or Irish Famine cannot be denied or trivialized in an advertisement.”

Marsoobian attributes the appearance of such ads to a “lack of knowledge of historical facts” and “a very large well-funded campaign to generate this sort of false controversy that there is [an] alternative interpretation of what happened.”

“Historically, we’re past that,” he says. “The evidence, the scholarship that’s been written on it, the conferences, all of it—it’s clear.”

Filed Under: Articles, Genocide Tagged With: ad, anger, armenian genocide, denying, Full-page, spurs, WSJ

WSJ becoming Turkish denial propaganda machine runs massive ad denying Armenian genocide

April 21, 2016 By administrator

defaultWSJThe Wall Street Journal ran a full-page ad on Wednesday containing links to a Turkish project that denies the Armenian genocide – the 1915 massacre of 1.5 million people by Ottoman Turks. The newspaper says it accepts ads with “provocative viewpoints.”

The ad features the words “Truth=Peace” printed in large letters and shows a hand colored like the Turkish flag holding up a peace sign, while two other hands colored like the Russian and Armenian flags have their fingers crossed.

It also contains a link to the genocide-denial group FactCheckArmenia.com, which propagates claims that Armenians were killed during the First World War because they were “collectively guilty” of treason against the Ottoman Empire.

READ MORE: Armenian genocide: 130K march in LA to mark 100th anniversary (PHOTO, VIDEO) 

Moreover, it attempts to argue that fewer people were killed than is claimed, and that the Armenians started the conflict.

The WSJ ad caused outrage on Twitter and other social media platforms.

Adding to the controversy, the newspaper responded by saying it prints many “provocative” ads that may not represent the opinions of WSJ.

“We accept a wide range of advertisements, including those with provocative viewpoints. While we review ad copy for issues of taste, the varied and divergent views expressed belong to the advertisers,” the paper’s spokesperson said, as quoted by Gawker.

The group that paid for the ad promotes a pro-Turkey platform, with the goal of deflecting attention from the facts surrounding the genocide.

Shame on You Wall Street Journal Becoming another Tools in Hands of Turkish criminals denying #ArmenianGenocide @WSJ pic.twitter.com/wuUsb16yXC

— Wally Sarkeesian (@gagrulenet) April 21, 2016

Filed Under: Genocide, News Tagged With: armenian genocide, denying, Turkey, WSJ

How a tweet brought down a Boston billboard denying the #ArmenianGenocide in a day

April 10, 2016 By administrator

Jeremy Koo snapped this picture of an ad that appeared in the North End. When a Somerville resident tweeted it, outrage spread.

Jeremy Koo snapped this picture of an ad that appeared in the North End. When a Somerville resident tweeted it, outrage spread.

April 7 The outrage machine could have started anywhere, but it started with a tweet.

After outrage quickly spread online, a billboard in Boston from a group denying the Armenian genocide had a remarkably short run this week.

It appeared in the North End Tuesday night. By mid-morning Thursday the billboard’s owner Clear Channel Outdoor peeled it away and replaced it with an Ad Council spot promoting adoption.

It featured the words “Truth = Peace” and a link to the site FactCheckArmenia.com and the statement: “Proudly paid for by the Turkic platform, Istanbul.”

Clear Channel spokesman Jason King later said the ad had been “placed there in error.”

RELATED: Boston’s newest holiday tradition: Labyrinth peace walk at Armenian Heritage Park

A Twitter firestorm about the ad could have started anywhere, but it started with Somerville’s Elizabeth Weinbloom.

Horrific billboard in Boston's North End, denying the Armenian Genocide. @marty_walsh, do something. @universalhub pic.twitter.com/oi3old3SD8

— Liz Weinb (@LizWeinbl) April 6, 2016

“Horrific billboard in Boston’s North End, denying the Armenian Genocide. @marty_walsh, do something,” she tweeted around 1p.m. Wednesday.

Her tweets about the ad were retweeted more than 100 times and spurred many others to pepper Mayor Marty Walsh, MassDOT and Clear Channel with calls to action. There was also a widely circulated petition.

Weinbloom, a onetime candidate for Board of Aldermen, said in an interview she couldn’t believe how quickly it all happened.

“I guess I’ve never had the privilege to experience social media being so incredibly effective at correcting an injustice,” she said. “Once they got 200 tweets at them, they backtracked” – referring to the billboard-owning company.

She said she never saw the billboard in person. The picture she shared came from the Facebook page of a friend, North End resident Jeremy Koo. Most of the extensive barrage of tweets that followed happened from her seat on a bus bound for New York, Weinbloom said.

“I was almost concerned that maybe it had never been there,” she said. “I said, ‘You definitely saw that billboard yourself last night, right?’”

RELATED: MBTA bans political issue ads

Koo said in an email that he spotted the ad on his way home via Government Center. From a distance, he said, he assumed it was some kind of call for global unity. Realizing it wasn’t was “infuriating,” he said. So he snapped a picture.

Weinbloom was especially sensitive to the issue, she said, and especially tuned into the ad’s coded messaging – or “dog whistles” as she called them. As it happens, she spent time last year traveling in Turkey and studying the Turkish government’s opposition to the genocide designation.

“That is a billboard that is 100 percent meant to be seen and understood by Armenians and Turks exclusively,” she said.

The U.S. is among many countries that do not recognize the killing of hundreds of thousands of Armenians in the early 20th Century as genocide – although 43 states, including Massachusetts, do.

RELATED: Eastie skeleton protest spooks neighbors

The ad was not far from Boston’s Armenian Heritage Park and Holocaust Memorial. And its placement came just after a visit from Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan and before an annual Walk Against Genocide in the area.

This being Twitter, when Weinbloom’s message caught on, she braced for hate-filled responses. There were some, but not many. Some read her last name and fired off anti-Semitic comments or confronted her about Israeli policy. Most sent encouraging words.

Among them, she got this message from a friend: “Only use your powers for good.”

Filed Under: Genocide, News Tagged With: armenian genocide, billboard, BOSTON, denying, tweet

The deceptive Turkish Billboard Denying Armenian Genocide Removed in Boston

April 7, 2016 By administrator

By Rupen Janbazian

BOSTON, Mass. (A.W.)—A billboard paid for by the “Turkic Platform, Istanbul,” located a few blocks from the Armenian Heritage Park in Boston’s North End, has been removed by Clear Channel Outdoors—the owners of the billboard structure. The billboard, which listed the address for a website called “Fact Check Armenia,” featured pictures of a hand making a peace sign with the Turkish flag on it; two other hands with crossed fingers draped in the colors of the Armenian and Russian flags; and the words “Truth=Peace” running across it.

A spokesperson for Clear Channel Outdoor told various news outlets early Thursday that the billboard was placed “in error” and was going to be removed. Pictures on social media later confirmed that the billboard was in fact removed by Thursday morning.

Similar billboards reportedly have been spotted in various spots across the Eastern United States. The Armenian Weekly contacted Clear Channel Outdoors’ corporate office asking for comments regarding the billboard, including whether there were similar billboards in other locations. “The ad was placed there in error and was removed today,” wrote back Jason D. King, vice president of Corporate Communications at Clear Channel Outdoors.

Public outcry about the billboard and its message encouraging Armenian Genocide denial flooded social media outlets on Wednesday. Several photographs of the billboard—including one by Elizabeth Weinbloom—were tweeted, as community members and the public at large were encouraged to direct their complaints to the company in charge. “@MassBillboards – You’re running a billboard denying the Armenian Genocide over Armenia Heritage Park? Shame on you,” read Weinbloom’s tweet.

The Armenian Students Associations (ASA) of the Greater Boston Area organized a phone campaign to have the billboard removed on early Thursday morning. “We were all pretty upset with the billboard and figured it had to be brought down, so we thought a phone campaign would be the most effective way,” Lori Yogurtian, member of the Armenian Students Association at Suffolk University, told the Armenian Weekly. Yogurtian and her fellow executive members reached out to other ASAs in the Greater Boston Area and invited more than 2,000 people to take part in the campaign. “People started calling the [Clear Channel Outdoor] offices at 8 a.m. to voice their concern with the billboard. Only a few people actually got through—most just left voice messages—but they got the message,” she said.

“What was most encouraging was the huge outpour of support by the non-Armenian community downtown,” said James Kalustian of the Armenian Heritage Park Foundation. Speaking to the Armenian Weekly, Kalustian said that the North End community and residents were very helpful in letting Clear Channel know that the billboard did not belong there. “This [Thursday] morning, when I got up, there was already a petition started by some North End residents on Change.org—by non-Armenians—demanding that the billboard be taken down,” he said.

“Clear Channel’s statement says that the billboard was put ‘in error.’ We’re not sure what that error was, but we’re certainly going to pursue it,” Kalustian said.

The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Boston Area, released a statement condemning the billboard and its message shortly following its removal. “The JCRC of Greater Boston is appalled by the billboard recently posted in Boston’s North End that denies the existence of the Armenian Genocide. This is a disturbing affront to the Armenian community and to all decent people in Boston. As one neighborhood resident rightly says in today’s Boston’s Globe, this billboard, placed across from the Armenian Heritage Park, is ‘like putting a Holocaust denial ad right above a Holocaust memorial.’ We are pleased that Clear Channel Outdoors, owners of the billboard, has indicated that the message was put up in error and has removed it,” read the statement.

Kalustian said that the JCRC’s statement—as well as the support from other communities—has been “amazing.” “Especially with Sunday’s walk against genocide, where all the communities will be united to speak about against atrocities against mankind, it was very reassuring to see that it wasn’t just our community that was speaking out, but also many other residents and community members who were offended by not only the billboard itself, but also its proximity to the Armenian Heritage Park.”

The Third Annual Walk Against Genocide will take place in Boston on April 10 at 1:30 p.m. featuring speakers on genocides and mass killings of the 20th and 21st centuries. It will start with a gathering at the New England Holocaust Memorial followed by a walk to the Armenian Heritage Park on the Greenway for a closing program.

Araz Chiloyan, a member of the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF-YOARF), said that she went to see the billboard after seeing various social media posts about it on Wednesday.  “I was very disappointed to see the billboard put up by Clear Channel Outdoors at an intersection only a couple of blocks down from the [Armenian Heritage] Park,” she told the Armenian Weekly. “Luckily, community members were quick to react and shared their disgust with the company—the same company which removed billboards commemorating the Armenian Genocide, since the message on it was ‘too political,’ back in 2014,” Chiloyan said.

About one week before the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, in April 2014, Peace of Art, Inc. was notified by Clear Channel Outdoor that the Armenian Genocide commemorative billboard, at Lechmere Station in Cambridge, Mass., had to be removed. The message “Recognize the Crime of the Century, the Armenian Genocide” was considered to be of a political nature by certain groups who complained to Clear Channel. A year earlier, in April 2013, billboards with the message “Honoring the memory of 1.5 million lives lost, Armenian Genocide. Recognition and condemnation,” were paid for by Peace of Art, Inc. and displayed in the same location and without incident.

According to Fact Check Armenia’s website, the group is “dedicated to providing accurate and reliable information to the world about the events that led up to and during 1915. It provides historical data on the Armenian uprisings that gave way to the Ottoman Turks actions and counters Armenian misinformation.”

“It is alarming to see the ease with which a foreign lobbying group can post a billboard that in addition to being deceptive, is deeply offensive to Boston’s Armenian and Russian populations,” said Armenian Weekly contributor and president of the Boston Chapter of The Society for Orphaned Armenian Relief (SOAR) Katie Vanadzin, who was early to raise awareness about the billboard on social media on Wednesday. “The fact that it [the billboard] was approved to be posted near the Armenian Heritage Park to coincide with an annual day of mourning and remembrance makes me wonder what wouldn’t be approved by Clear Channel,” she added.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: armenian genocide, billboard, BOSTON, denying, removed

Belgian MP of Turkish origin expelled from party for denying the Armenian Genocide

May 29, 2015 By administrator

OzdemirNews.am – Belgium’s Christian democratic party Humanist Democratic Centre (CDH) expelled Turkish MP Mahinur Özdemir for denying to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, the Belgian newspaper Knack reports.

“Ms Özdemir refused to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, which contravenes CDH values. Tortuous position is impossible here; utmost clarity is what is needed,” CDH committee statement reads.

Earlier, party’s President Benoît Lutgen said that if there was an Armenian Genocide denier in the party, they would be immediately expelled.

Filed Under: Genocide, News Tagged With: Armenian, Belgian, denying, expelled, Genocide, MP, origin, Turkish

Armenian Genocide-denying 8 volumes removed from Turkey General Staff website

November 5, 2014 By administrator

removedAn eight-volume work, which denies the Armenian Genocide, has been removed from the website of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Turkey.

Ahead of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, the General Staff took a surprise step by removing, from the “Snippets of History” section of its website, an eight-volume work in PDF format and entitled, “Archival Documents on the Armenians’ Activities in 1914-1918,” Cumhuriyet daily of Turkey reported.

This work was compiled from 2006 to 2008 by the Turkish General Staff Military History and Strategic Studies (ATASE) Department to deny the Armenian Genocide, and it was presented in English and Turkish.

Now, this work is solely accessible in the websites of ATASE and the Control Board.

Filed Under: Articles, Genocide Tagged With: armenian genocide, denying, Turkey

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