Turkish textbooks should address Armenian Genocide: German MP Cem Ozdemir

May 4, 2016 By administrator

211644 Co-chairman of the German political party Alliance ’90/The Greens, MP Cem Ozdemir said at a parliament sitting that Germany turns a blind eye to the Genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire.

Ozdemir previously authored and introduced a resolution to recognize the Armenian Genocide which will be discussed in the Bundestag in early June.

“If the Armenian Genocide of 1915 was spoken out on, no ethnic minorities would have been persecuted or attacked afterwards,” Ozdemir said.

“If Armenians hadn’t been slaughtered, Van would have become the Paris of the East.”

“The Turkish textbooks should feature the truth about the Genocide, and Talaat pasha should by no means be a hero for children,” he added.

Canada PM: Armenia Genocide monument will help preserve memory

May 4, 2016 By administrator

Canada PM armenian genocide Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau issued a statement on the occasion of the unveiling of the Armenian Genocide memorial n St. Catharines, Canada.

A monument was unveiled on April 30, Horizonweekly reported.

In his statement Mr. Trudeau said the monument commemorates the tragic loss of life of the Armenian population during the waning days of the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

“Both the Senate of Canada and the House of Commons have adopted resolutions referring to these events as a genocide.

This monument will help preserve the memory of those who lost their lives, and those who suffered during this genocide and pay our deepest respects to their descendants, including those who now call Canada home.

Canadians of all backgrounds and faiths stand together in reaffirming our collective commitment to the values of pluralism, human rights, and diversity.

As we dedicate this monument, please join me in my hope for a peaceful future based on tolerance, respect, and reconciliation,” the statement reads.

Forbes: Armenians give life of hope, faith, love 101 years after Genocide:

May 1, 2016 By administrator

211437 One hundred and one years ago, 1.5 million Armenians were killed. Armenian sons saw their mothers murdered in front of their eyes. Mothers saw the same of their children, as did brothers, sisters, grandparents, and friends. “If you were in Armenia in 1915, you were a victim of genocide,” speaker, trainer, and author, as well as Forbes contributor Brian Rashid says in a Forbes article he wrote after travelling to Yerevan, Armenia to celebrate – as he puts it – the 101st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

On April 24, 2016, 101 years after the atrocities that wiped 1.5 million lives from the planet, the first annual Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity was held in Armenia. On behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors, the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity will be granted annually to an individual whose actions have had an exceptional impact on preserving human life and advancing humanitarian causes. The Selection Committee, including George Clooney – who does his best to shed light on vital issues like this – consists of nine professionals who bring a diverse background. Only one of them is Armenian.

“To say this was a world-class event would be an understatement. Everyone was there to celebrate the Aurora Prize,” Rashid says.

Celebrating the three philanthropists – Vartan Gregorian, Dr. Noubar Afeyan, Ruben Vardanyan – who founded the Aurora Prize, as well as presenting the outstanding individuals and the winner of the prize who through their work have had an exceptional impact on vital humanitarian causes, Rashid says that the event was more than a prize, more than a night of celebration.

When asked if there is anything he needs, Rashid says he wanted to answer that Armenians “have done more for me that you will ever know. In the face of a century of the death you experienced, you have shown me how to live?”

“George Clooney shook the winner’s – Marguerite Barankitse – hand as she won the Aurora Prize of $1.1 million. Her life will be forever changed, and she will in turn change the lives of those she lovingly serves,” the author says.

“But for an entire weekend, I was handed something perhaps more valuable than a million dollars.”

“Hope,” Rashid adds. “Because the 1.5 million Armenians that were killed 100 years ago are still alive. They live in the smiles of their beautiful people. The ones we see on the streets. The ones we stand with on the stages. The ones we hold close in our hearts.”

“You (Armenians – editor’s note) have already given me everything I’d ever need. A life of hope, faith and love. So I guess the winner of the Aurora Prize is… you.”

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres, and deportations involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, the Italian Chamber of Deputies, majority of U.S. states, parliaments of Greece, Cyprus, Argentina, Belgium and Wales, National Council of Switzerland, Chamber of Commons of Canada, Polish Sejm, Vatican, European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.

Turkey: HDP Co-Chair: We Apologize to the Armenian People

April 28, 2016 By administrator

HDP-Yuksekdag ISTANBUL (Agos)—Turkey’s Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair, Figen Yüksekdağ, during a group meeting, discussed the Armenian Genocide. Yüksekdağ said, “On 101st anniversary of the genocide, we apologize to Armenian people. We apologize to Aunt Elizabeth, to Uncle Krikor. We apologize to our friends, comrade Garo and to our sister Roza.”

Yüksekdağ started the meeting by saying, “I would like to begin by commemorating the Armenians, Syriac and Chaldean people who were exiled and killed 101 years ago.”

She continued by saying “The mentality that led to the genocide avoids recognition today. However, recognition doesn’t demean a state, it only relieves pain. These lands will eventually spill out the bloodshed, regardless of your [the Turkish governments’] wishes. Our history is a history of massacres. Recognizing the massacres is a historical responsibility.”

“The ones who withhold their apologies have the same mentality. They use “Armenian” as an insult. This means that the genocidal mentality is still alive. We apologize to Armenian people. As I said, the mentality that led to death and destruction in the past is still active today.”

Los Angeles: Kurds rally with Armenians to commemorate #ArmenianGenocide 101

April 25, 2016 By administrator

Reporting by Ava Homa

LOS ANGELES, United States (Kurdistan24) – On Sunday, an estimated 60,000 protestors rallied before the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles to commemorate the 100+1 anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

Kurds were present among the protestors, including Ezidis from Phoenix, and non-Kurd members of the Rojava Solidarity Committee Los Angeles, holding signs to declare solidarity with Armenians.

The Kurdish American Education Society, Kurdish Community of Southern California, Kurdish Human Rights Advocacy Group and Kurdish National Congress of North America joined the Armenian Genocide Committee to support the 2016 Rally for Justice.

Armenians perceive the killing of a million and a half by Ottomans as an act of genocide. Turkey says half a million Armenians died when they rebelled against their rulers after World War I.

Kurdish political groups and NGOs have apologized for the fact that throughout the Kurdish-populated regions, some Kurds participated in the genocide of the Armenians. However, other Kurds opposed the genocide, and in some cases even helped hide or adopted Armenian refugees.

Southern California has the largest Armenian community outside of Armenia. According to US census data, over 200,000 people of Armenian descent live in Los Angeles.

Vazgen Barsegian, an Armenian activist, told Kurdistan24, “It was very emotional for me seeing my fellow Kurdish brothers and sisters sincerely joining our struggle and demanding justice. I grew up in Van with Kurdish people, so seeing my fellow Kurdish brothers and sisters marching by my side meant a lot to me.”

A Kurdish activist, Cklara Moradian, told Kurdistan24, “Building connections between our communities [Armenian & Kurdish] is crucial, not just because we share such intertwined histories of survival, but so that moving forward we can raise our voices in unison against the atrocities being committed by Turkey today.”

Moradian added that Kurds’ presence “was about showing up, visibly, to give our support. In the future, we hope to collaborate on more movement building, social and political. I deeply believe that we can more effectively fight for the recognition of each of our unique individual struggles when we rise in solidarity with each other.”

One of the organizers of the rally, Mikael Matossian, said, “The truth is clear: the Armenian Genocide is not a solely Armenian issue, but a human one. The oppression felt by our ancestors in 1915 mirrors the experiences of other ethnic minorities who also have weathered imperialism, colonialism, and genocide.”

“The repressive tactics of the Ottoman Empire have carried on into the modern Republic of Turkey, targeted toward Kurds and Armenians there. Motivated by this shared struggle against a common enemy, Kurdish and Armenian activists united today to call on the Turkish government to end its currently racist and xenophobic-motivated policies, and deliver justice to the Armenian people in the form of recognition and reparations,” he added.

Soraya Fallah, Kurdish Human rights activist, says atrocities that happened 100 years ago are continuing today. “During the Ottoman Empire, Armenians were killed, years later Kurds were killed and today in the 21st century still Kurds are killed and massacred in Erdogan’s self-declared empire,” she stated.

“If there is no recognition, establishment, and mechanism of prevention, genocide will repeat and continue; the way we still see it today,” Fallah continued.

She added that the rally was very powerful. “It is amazing to see a nation transforming their mourning to the power of a movement for justice and unity and endowing their identity to their children and new generation!” Fallah declared.

Solin Rojihalat, one of the organizers of the contingent told Kurdistan24, “I had the pleasure to simply witness a person with Greek and Armenian flags dancing to the Armenian ‘Hay Qajer;’ the Kurdish ‘Lo Berde’ of the same melody. A few Armenians took pictures with some of our friends in the Kurdish contingent.”

“We want to find each other. Whether we’re planets that orbit the same sun or we’re simply earnest people with a desire to know one another, we catch sight of one another and know that we’re here together,” Rojihalat said.

In a statement to mark Armenian Remembrance Day on April 24, President of the United States Barack Obama called the massacre the first mass atrocity of the 20th century and tragedy that must not be repeated. But he refused to use the word “genocide,” a term he used before becoming president in 2009.

Source: kurdistan24.net

Reporting by Ava Homa

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany

New Zealand soldiers witness and rescued victims of Armenian Genocide

April 24, 2016 By administrator

SCCZEN_220416SPLARMENIAN2_620x310 These moving stories show that New Zealand soldiers were not just pawns in a game of empires, and nor were ordinary citizens isolated from traumas elsewhere. They rescued victims of the first genocide in modern history, the horror of which would move Raphael Lemkin to coin the term genocide in 1943 and begin building an international legal framework to outlaw crimes against humanity.

The powerful links between New Zealanders and victims of the Armenian Genocide are, however, cast in a different light because, despite the wealth of evidence presented in newspapers, diplomatic cables, trials, governmental archives, and the words of the victims themselves, the Turkish state – from 1918 to now – denies that a genocide took place.

This forgotten past, now uncovered, brings into question the special relationship that exists between Australia, New Zealand, and Turkey. Can New Zealand state officials stand on a platform with Turkish officials at Gallipoli knowing that they actively refuse to acknowledge the truth of what happened to the Armenians? Knowing now that New Zealanders risked their lives for the survivors?

#ArmenianGenocide 101 Torchlight procession ends in Yerevan

April 23, 2016 By administrator

Armenia, yerevan

YEREVAN. – The traditional torchlight procession of Armenians has ended at the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex Tsitsernkaberd in Yerevan.

With the flags of Armenia, Artsakh and the countries which have acknowledged the Armenian Genocide, the youth marched to Tsitsernakaberd, where they paid tribute to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims.

The procession lasted for two hours. Numerous representatives of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Dashnaktsutyun, Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), as well as youth from Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora took part in it.

At the outset of the procession, the flags of Turkey and Azerbaijan were traditionally burnt at Yerevan’s Liberty Square.

Massachusetts governor honors victims of Armenian Genocide

April 23, 2016 By administrator

17604172-mmmain Governor of Massachusetts Charlie Baker participated in the ceremony marking the 101st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

House Speaker Robert DeLeo and several legislators were present at the event held at the State House, wwlp.com reported.

DeLeo said, “We must ensure that human spirit outshines inhumanity. Today’s commemoration will help us renew that commitment.”

101th commemoration The Nightmare of the Armenian Genocide (Video) Must see

April 23, 2016 By administrator

The nightmear Armenian Genocide The Argentinean design studio 2veinte performed a poignant and moving animation to honor the victims of the Armenian Genocide. The black and white images express the horror of the facts and the trauma experienced by the Armenians at that time. The message that wants to pass the video is clearly expressed at the end: “Recognize the Armenian Genocide”. The author of the video is Pablo Gostanian.

In the preamble, the quote Cormac McCarthy, an American writer: “Scars-have the strange power to remind us That our past is real,” which in French means “Injuries have the strange power to remind us that our past is real “.

Canada’s Trudeau Stays True to Genocide Recognition

April 23, 2016 By administrator

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

OTTAWA—In his inaugural year in office, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released a statement commemorating the 101st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. In a statement dated April 24, 2016 which he shared with the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC), Prime Minister Trudeau recalls resolutions of both the Senate and the House of Commons recognizing the Armenian Genocide and states that “[Canadians] preserve the memory of those who lost their lives, and those who suffered, during this genocide and pay our deepest respects to their descendants, including those who now call Canada home.”

“We are encouraged to see that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is holding true to Canada’s commitment to condemn acts of genocide, including the Armenian Genocide,” stated ANCC President Dr. Girair Basmadjian. “While the Prime Minister’s message reaffirms the Canadian government’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the need to prevent future genocides, it fails to condemn successive Turkish governments that perpetrated the Armenian Genocide between 1915 and 1923, nor does it condemn the ongoing denial campaign by the Republic of Turkey,” concluded Basmadjian.

The ANCC believes firmly that “Canada’s back” and as a world leader in promoting and protecting human rights and democratic values in other states should help Turkey acknowledge its past by condemning all forms of denial. The ANCC and the Armenians who have chosen Canada as home will continue to work with our government and elected representatives throughout Canada to ensure that future statements include condemnation of any denial by successive Turkish governments.

On the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Canadian Parliament designated April as Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month and April 24 as Armenian Genocide Memorial Day. On the 101st anniversary, the Prime Minister’s statement is an important part of the Canadian government’s commitment to remember and condemn past genocides and work to prevent future genocides.

The ANCC is the largest and the most influential Armenian-Canadian grassroots human rights organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout Canada and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCC actively advances the concerns of the Armenian-Canadian community on a broad range of issues and works to eliminate abuses of human rights throughout Canada and the world.