Independent: Russia compares US-led bombing of Raqqa to WWII destruction of Dresden

October 23, 2017 By administrator

Russia’s Defence Ministry has repeatedly been forced to deny accusations of indiscriminately bombing Syrian civilians.

Russia has accused the US-led coalition in Syria of wiping the city of Raqqa “off the face of the Earth” with carpet-bombing, in the same way America and Britain bombed Germany’s Dresden during World War Two.

The Russian Defence Ministry, which has repeatedly been forced to deny accusations from activists and western politicians of indiscriminately bombing Syrian civilians, said it looked like the West was now rushing to provide financial aid to Raqqa to cover up evidence of its own crimes.

Major-General Igor Konashenkov, chief spokesman for the Defence Ministry, said around 200,000 people had lived in Raqqa before the conflict in Syria but no more than 45,000 people remained.

“Raqqa has inherited the fate of Dresden in 1945, wiped off the face of the Earth by Anglo-American bombardments,” he said.

Most of the German city was destroyed in Allied bombing raids just before the end of the Second World War.

US-backed militias in Syria declared victory over Isis in Raqqa, the group’s de facto capital, last week, raising flags over the last jihadist footholds after a four-month battle.

Though he said Russia welcomed western promises of financial aid to rebuild Raqqa, Major-General Konashenkov complained that numerous Russian requests for the West to give humanitarian aid to Syrian civilians in other parts of the country had been rejected in previous years.

“What is behind the rush by western capitals to provide targeted financial help only to Raqqa?” he asked.

“There’s only one explanation – the desire to cover up evidence of the barbaric bombardments by the US air force and the coalition as fast as possible and to bury the thousands of civilians ‘liberated’ from Islamic State in the ruins.”

The US-led coalition says it is careful to avoid civilian casualties in its bombing runs against Isis in both Syria and Iraq, and investigates any allegations.

The coalition has previously denied killing civilians in air strikes on Raqqa, saying its goal is “zero civilian casualties”.

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/russia-compares-us-coalition-bombing-raqqa-syria-wwii-dresden-germany-isis-a8013626.html

Dresden Symphony recalls Armenian genocide “Aghet”

November 27, 2015 By administrator

Recalling the genocide on Armenians perpetrated by the Osmanian Empire a century ago, an orchestra of German, Turkish and Armenian musicians is performing world premieres in Berlin, Deutsche Welle reports.

The mass execution of Armenians in 1915 is considered the 20th century’s first systematic extermination of an ethnicity, with massacres and death marches resulting in the death of approximately 1.5 million persons.

As a sign of reconciliation, the Dresden Symphony Orchestra launched a project titled “Aghet.” Deriving from the Turkish word “ağıt,” the word translates as “catastrophe” and is synonymous of the century-old genocide. The playbill for the concerts on November 27 and 28 at the “Radialsystem V,” a venue in Berlin’s Friedrichshain district, includes works by Zeynep Gedizlioğlu (Turkey), Vache Sharafyan (Armenia) und Helmut Oehring (Germany).

Guitarist’s initiative

Conducted by Andrea Molino, the Dresden Symphony is joined by musicians from Turkey and Armenia as well as members of the “No Borders Orchestra.” The latter, consisting of instrumentalists from the former Yugoslav states, was formed after the civil wars in the region in the 1990s and is itself a reconciliation project.

“Aghet” was initiated by Marc Sinan together with the orchestra from Dresden. Sinan’s Armenian grandmother lost her parents in the events following the deportations that began on April 24, 1915. The guitarist of German, Armenian and Turkish heritage performs the solo part in Helmut Oehring’s piece “Massaker, hört ihr MASSAKER!” (Massacre, do you hear MASSACRE!) for guitar solo, voice, women’s chorus and strings.

On his compositional approach, Oehring writes: “The score is meant to depict a force field that transforms the injuries and devastation suffered into a new energy, a kind of emotional reserve for those who come afterwards.”

Also given its world premiere is “Isimsiz / Notes for the Silent One” for strings. This is not the first work written by the young Turkish composer Zeynep Gedizlioğlu on the subject; her string quartet titled “Susma” (Don’t Be Silent!) was dedicated to the Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, murdered by a Turkish nationalist in broad daylight in Istanbul, in January 2007. Gedizlioğlu, who had been nearby, heard the shot.

The duduk, or the ‘Armenian flute’

At the “Aghet” concert project, a work by the Armenian composer Vache Sharafian is given its first performance in Germany. In “Surgite Gloriae,” a double concerto for viola and duduk, Armenian duduk soloist Araik Bartikian and German violist Matthias Worm play solo. Known as the “Armenian flute,” the duduk is considered the country’s national instrument.

Sharafian, who lives as a music instructor in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, has attracted worldwide attention for his compositions, including works for the Silk Road Ensemble, a much-noted intercultural project by American cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

Following “Hasretim” and “Dede Korkut,” “Aghet” is the third and final installment in the Dresden Symphony Orchestra’s trilogy dealing with the history and culture of Anatolia and the Caucasus region.

Following the performances in Berlin, the concert will be repeated on April 29, 2016 in Dresden before going on tour to Belgrade, Yerevan and Istanbul later in the year. The latter performance is certain to spark controversy, as the genocide of Armenians is still denied in the official reading of history in Turkey.

Source: armradio.am

Germany: Dresden demonstrators march in support of refugees

August 30, 2015 By administrator

A mass rally in support of refugees has passed off peacefully in the eastern German city of Dresden.

The Dresden region has recently been the scene of several violent anti-migrant protests organised by right-wing groups.

Chancellor Angela Merkel was booed when she visited a refugee centre in the nearby town of Heidenau last week.

The country expects up to 800,000 asylum applications this year – more than any other EU country.

Police said 1,000 people joined the protest, which was called by the Anti-Nazi Alliance, but organisers said the number was 5,000.

Dresden has become the hub of Germany’s “anti-Islamisation” Pegida movement, which has brought thousands on to the streets for protests since October 2014.

Up to 25,000 joined protests at the start of the year.

Immigration has become a hot topic in Germany this year, amid a surge in the numbers of asylum seekers, fuelled by the wars in Syria and Iraq.

Demonstrators marched through the city chanting “Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here”.

Agency reporters said refugees joined in with the rally at a shelter for asylum seekers.

Mrs Merkel has said there will be zero tolerance for “vile” anti-migrant violence.

A poll by public broadcaster ZDF has shown that public opinion is broadly behind her, with 60% of Germans saying that Europe’s biggest economy was capable of hosting the increasing number of asylum-seekers.

As a place destroyed in the fight against fascism in World War Two, the modern city was one with core values of “openness to the world and tolerance” Dresden Mayor Helma Orosz said earlier this year.

You do not have access to view this Atom.