Armenian American Museum Design Unveiled

December 10, 2015 By administrator

GLENDALE—The Armenian American Museum unveiled its conceptual design at the Glendale City Council meeting on Tuesday. The Project Development Committee presented the developments of the first phase of the master planning process and shared concept design for the new museum.

“The concept for the museum is rooted in creating a place of inspiration and hope for the community” stated the Museum Project Development Committee Chairman Berdj Karapetian. “We have submitted all of the requirements to the City of Glendale in our exclusive negotiating agreement and are now ready to proceed to securing the ground lease agreement, further developing our master plan, and organizing fundraising initiatives that will enable us to bring this project into fruition.”

The Armenian American Museum concept designed by Alajajian Marcoosi Architects will include exhibitions space, resource center, a performing arts theater, and classrooms. The museum building will be surrounded by an outdoor plaza and peace garden on the City owned property next to the Glendale Civic Auditorium. The 1.7 acre property on the corner of Verdugo Road and Mountain Street will also serve as the location for a memorial to the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

The Museum’s vision is a cultural campus that enriches the community, educates the public on the Armenian American story, and empowers individuals to embrace cultural diversity while speaking out against prejudice.

Glendale City Mayor Ara Najarian applauded the work of the museum team following the design presentation by stating, “Just one year ago this was a dream for our community and I feel very excited to see things come to this level. I know there will be some milestones ahead but I have no doubt that you will work diligently to create a wonderful design plan that will put Glendale on the map nationwide.”

Councilwoman Paula Devine relayed her support by highlighting the cross-cultural and education component of the museum and invited selected architects Aram Alajajian and Sako Marcoosi to share their inspiration for the design.

“The inspiration lays within the museum itself to serve the Glendale community at large and create a place for visitors to learn about Armenian culture through the permanent exhibit while also hosting diverse traveling exhibits.”

Councilmen Vartan Gharpetian and Zareh Sinanyan further noted the multi-functionality of the museum by echoing the education opportunities it will bring to the community and the significance of building it adjacent to the Glendale Community College campus.

The overarching support of the Glendale City Council was emphasized by Councilwoman Laura Freidman in stating, “You have a very supportive Council and a great sense of passion from the community to make this happen. I am happy to learn that you have hired a local entity to bring this bold vision to Glendale.”

The next stage for the Museum project will be to secure a Ground Lease Agreement with the City of Glendale and commission a master plan that will provide operational direction on programming, business strategy, facility development, and governance.

The Museum will launch a wide-range of outreach programs in the coming months with City of Glendale government, businesses, homeowner associations, and community members to ensure collaboration, feedback, and community-driven opportunities to raise awareness about Armenian American Museum.

The mission of the Armenian American Museum is to promote understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Armenian American experiences.

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The Armenian American Museum is a developing project in Glendale, CA, with a mission to promote understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Armenian American experience. When completed, it will serve as a cultural campus that enriches the community, educates the public on the Armenian American story, and empowers individuals to embrace cultural diversity and speak out against prejudice.

The governing board of the Armenian American Museum consists of representatives from the following nine regional Armenian American institutions and organizations: Armenian Catholic Eparchy, Armenian Cultural Foundation, Armenian Evangelical Union of North America, Armenian General Benevolent Union – Western District, Armenian Relief Society – Western USA, Nor Or Charitable Foundation, Nor Serount Cultural Association, Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, and Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Fatih Akin talks Genocide-themed drama “The Cut” at Marrakech Fest

December 9, 2015 By administrator

Speaking to a packed auditorium during a 90-minute masterclass at the 15th Marrakech Film Festival, 42-year old German-Turkish helmer Fatih Akin provided fascinating insights into his inspirations and working methods, Variety reports.

One of the main focuses during the masterclass was Akin’s 2014 feature, “The Cut”, about the 1915 Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey, which he had wanted to direct for many years because of his own Turkish origins and because this is a taboo subject in Turkey.

He explained that he tried to make a film that would be appealing to both Armenians and Turks but ended up receiving severe criticism from both sides.

“I used to think that a film can change the world, just like rock n’roll has changed the world. But I now realize that one film can’t do that. The most difficult thing for ‘The Cut’ was its reception. I received criticism from all over the world. Both sides beat the shit out of me. Which I suppose means it has something, right?”

Akin lensed “The Cut” in the style of a John Ford western – with moody clouds against the blue sky – and says that he is increasingly interested in the psychology of colors, having read widely on the subject, including writings by Goethe, and increasingly watches Asian cinema, precisely due to their use of colors.

The helmer says that growing up in Germany made him want to address the Armenian Genocide, in part because of the manner in which the Holocaust is a deep part of German culture, whereas the Armenian Genocide continues to be taboo.

“As I grew up, I used to think that the Holocaust had nothing to do with me or my parents, because I wasn’t born at the time and they didn’t live in Germany. But while making ‘The Cut,’ I realized that I had equal responsibility for both genocides. Also for the genocides in Laos, in Algeria and in North and South America. Whenever one group of human beings gangs up to kill another group.”

Although “The Cut” received a frosty critical reaction, especially in Turkey, Akin says that he views the Turkish audience as his brothers and sisters. “They are my audience. When you love somebody, you also have to have space to criticize them. That’s what my critics don’t understand. And I’ve given up trying to make them understand.”

World marks first International Day of Remembrance of Genocide Victims

December 9, 2015 By administrator

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement on the first-ever International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime on Wednesday, December 9.

The occasion also coincides with the anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in 1948.

“This is an ideal time to reaffirm our commitment to prevent this serious international crime, honor the memory of the victims, and reaffirm the right to remedies and reparation, as recognized in international law,” Ban said in his speech.

Preventing genocide, according to him, means paying more attention to the warning signs, and being prepared to take immediate action to address them.

“After all, genocide does not just happen; it unfolds over time. It is not part of the accidental “fallout” of conflict; most often, it is systematic, planned, with precise targets,” he noted.

The Secretary General is confident that prevention of genocide is a specific obligation under international law. “On this new international observance, let us recognize the need to work together more concertedly to protect individuals from gross human rights violations and uphold our common humanity,” Ban concluded his message.

Բան Կի Մունի ուղերձը՝ Ցեղասպանության հանցագործության զոհերի հիշատակի օրվա կապակցությամբ. Panorama.am

Five billion people worldwide recognize the Armenian Genocide

December 8, 2015 By administrator

By Harut Sassounian

Publisher, The Clalifornia Courrier
Last month, I reported in this column the results of the Zogby Analytics survey, which found that 35% of the American public was aware of the Armenian Genocide. I thought this was a low figure, having expected that a larger percentage of Americans would be cognizant of the Armenian Genocide.
Several readers correctly pointed out that the 35% figure is not low at all since:
1) One third of the US population of over 300 million means that at least 100 million Americans are aware of the Armenian Genocide.
2) Most Americans are unaware of events occurring in their own time, let alone a genocide that took place in a far off land a century ago. This week, I would like to present the results of another important survey conducted in 31 countries by two French groups: Fondapol (Foundation for Political Innovation) and Foundation for the Memory of Shoah. This international poll asked 33 questions in 24 languages to 31,172 young people between the ages of 16 and 29, regarding their knowledge and characterization of various significant world events, including the Armenian Genocide.
Here are highlights of the 164-page global poll, originally published in French:
— On average, 90% of respondents in 31 countries acknowledged that the Jewish Holocaust was a genocide, while 77% considered the killings of 1.5 million Armenians by the Turkish government also a genocide. This is a significantly high percentage since 100 years later the memory of those barbaric acts continues to remain alive in the minds of much of the world’s younger generation.
— The percentage of those aware of the Armenian Genocide is even higher among Europeans (82%), with France in the lead (93%), followed by Greece (90%), United Kingdom (68%), and Americans (64%). Not surprisingly, the lowest figure was registered in Turkey (33%). However, this percentage is not as discouraging as it seems at first glance. Despite a century long genocide denial concocted by the Turkish government, using massive state resources, it is a miracle that fully one-third of the Turkish youth, in tens of millions, reject their government’s propaganda by responding truthfully to the pollsters without any reluctance or fear. The 33% figure also shows that the facts of the Armenian Genocide are acknowledged in Turkey much beyond the small circle of Turkish liberals and intellectuals.
— The percentage of the young people cognizant of the Armenian Genocide in the other 26 countries is as follows: Australia (67%), Austria (85%), Belgium (81%), Canada (71%), China (80%), Croatia (87%), Czech Republic (74%), Denmark (81%), Estonia (81%), Finland (83%), Germany (83%), Holland (76%), Honduras (87%), India (51%), Israel (88%), Italy (87%), Japan (68%), Latvia (84%), Lithuania (70%), Poland (87%), Romania (72%), Russia (84%), Serbia (86%), Spain (86%), Switzerland (87%), and Ukraine (65%).
— The Rwandan Genocide of Tutsis by Hutus has the third highest public awareness (76%) in 31 countries, less than the Jewish Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide, despite its more recent occurrence 21 years ago!
— A varying percentage of survey respondents classified the following events as genocide, while ignoring the existence of the Cambodian Genocide:
1) United States dropping atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: 70%.
2) The 1937 Nanking Massacre in China by the Japanese Imperial Army: 66%.
3) Colonization of African and Asian countries by Europe and the United States: 55%.
4) The 1932-33 famine in Ukraine: 41%.
5) The 1943 famine in India: 37%.
The above figures indicate that the knowledge of the Armenian Genocide among young people in 31 countries is higher than those five historic cataclysms.
The most important revelation of this global survey is the Turkish government’s obvious loss of the protracted battle of genocide denial not only internationally — as an increasing number of countries have recently recognized the Armenian Genocide — but also domestically, since one-third of the Turkish youth also acknowledges it!
Finally, if we assume that the entire population of the surveyed countries has a similar knowledge of the Armenian Genocide as its youth (77%), we can estimate that around three out of the four billion people living in these 31 countries are informed about the Armenian Genocide. We can similarly extrapolate that 77% of the world’s total population of 7.25 billion — over five billion people — recognize the Armenian Genocide!

France: MARTIGUES Inauguration of a monument to the memory of Armenian genocide victims

December 6, 2015 By administrator

The monument commemorating the centennial of the genocide of Armenians in 1915 in Martigues was inaugurated by the Deputy Mayor Gaby Charroux Saturday, December 5th at 11 am 30, the Lapidary Garden Avenue Félix Ziem. The ceremony took place in presence of the Armenian community represented and the Consulate General of the Republic of Armenia in Marseilles.

Italy’s L’Aquila City Council recognizes Armenian Genocide

December 3, 2015 By administrator

Italy’s L’Aquila City Council has recognized the Armenian Genocide on November 26.

In a letter to Armenia’s Embassy to Italy and the Union of Armenians of the country, L’Aquila City Mayor Massimo Cialente stated that the Council recognizes the Genocide and expresses solidarity with the Armenian people in support of historical truth and protection of human rights.

City Councils of Ravenna and Ivrea and the regional council of Marche recognized the Armenian Genocide on October 22, October 12 and October 6, respectively. Besides, the parliament of Italy’s Tuscany adopted a resolution acknowledging the Genocide on March 25, 2015.

Over 30 Italian cities have recognized the Armenian Genocide perpetrated at the hands of the Ottoman government in 1915.

Italy recognized the Genocide in 2000: the denial is criminalized, stipulating for 3-year imprisonment and a fine.

French MP: Should we tolerate foreign propaganda against Armenian Genocide acknowledgement?

December 2, 2015 By administrator

Those who deny the [Armenian] Genocide and the Holocaust, do not do credit to themselves, but I believe in the freedom of speech also in this issue which personally relates to me. MP Patrick Devedjian stated the aforementioned at the debate on the bill on criminalization of denial of crimes against humanity introduced by his colleague Valerie Boyer during the session of the French Parliament Committee on Constitutional Laws and Legislation. In his speech, Devedjian said:

“This is a delicate and complicated issue in terms of law. The main issue is the denial by the state. Is it possible to exercise tolerance if a foreign state is disseminating organized denial propaganda in France? As an MP, I have received lots of such documents from organizations of one foreign country, which provides substantive means to the organizations which earn through Genocide denial. This propaganda is evidently for the category of French citizens who have a foreign descent but are nevertheless French like all the others.

I must respond with regret to the historians, who are worried about the interpretation of one or another event, that they get interested in these events when the latter become rather cruel.

The constant statements on that the history cannot be regulated by law are also ungrounded: the historic date of 14 July is the basis of our national identity. The politics, in the noble sense of the word, is based on memory and history.”

French parliament to vote on criminalizing Genocide denial

December 2, 2015 By administrator

The French Parliament will vote on a bill criminalizing the Armenian Genocide denial Thursday, December 3, Nouvelles d’Arménie reports.

Introduced by MP Valerie Boyer, the bill envisages punishment for denial of the Genocide and any crimes against humanity committed in the 20th century.

The bill was discussed by the parliament’s Justice Commission on November 25.

A bill criminalizing the denial of the Armenian Genocide was adopted by the French Parliament (December 22, 2011) and Senate (January 23, 2012); it was, however, declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional council of the country on February 29, 2012.

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.

Parliament of Spain’s Aragon adopts Armenian Genocide resolution

December 2, 2015 By administrator

As a result of several study visits organized by the European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) NGO to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh with several legislators, the Parliament of Aragon on Wednesday adopted a declaration recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide.

The text, which was tabled by MP Gregorio Briz Sánchez, pays homage to the over 1.5 million Armenian victims killed by the Ottoman Empire and asks all Turkish institutions, including the government, to acknowledge this historical fact.

Given that 2015 marks the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, many international organizations, such as the European Parliament, and political bodies have adopted motions commemorating it. Pope Francis also added his voice and recognized the Armenian Genocide in a declaration made in April. These events were all referred to in the said document adopted by Aragonese parliament.

In addition, the text pays tribute to the victims of the Armenian Genocide in a spirit of solidarity and European justice. It underlines that the European Union should make genocide prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity a top priority.

The resolution calls also on the government of Turkey to use the commemoration of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide as an opportunity to recognize it, open its archives and choose the path of reconciliation between the Turkish and Armenian people. It also highlights that a growing number of Turkish intellectuals, politicians and members of civil society have acknowledged the Armenian Genocide and encourages Turkish institutions to do the same.

“It is very encouraging to see that this year, not only the European, but also member states and regional parliaments have adopted resolutions recognizing the Armenian Genocide,” commented Eduardo Lorenzo Ochoa, the EuFoA Director. “I believe that this sends a strong message to Turkey, that Europe is waiting for them to recognize their history. Today it also sends a clear signal to the Armenians: Aragonese people are standing with them in recognizing the first genocide of the 21st century.”

The text furthermore calls on Spain to help ensuring Turkey keeps to it promise to protect and preserve the Armenian cultural heritage on its territory and to have a more active role in facilitating reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey. European history provides ample examples of reconciliation between nations which can serve as a model.

Aragon is an autonomous community in the northeast of Spain, bordering France. It has a population of 1.2 million and a total area of 47,719 square kilometers (slightly bigger than Estonia). It is the fifth region in Spain that has recognized the Armenian Genocide, after the Basque Country, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and Navarre.

Source: news.am

Kurdish lawyer Tahir Elçi killed in Turkey always made loud statements on Armenian Genocide

December 1, 2015 By administrator

Tahir Elçi, Chairman of Turkey’s Diyarbakır Bar Association, who was killed as a result of an armed attack in Turkey’s Kurd-resided region, took part in the events commemorating the Armenian Genocide every year on April 24.

Moreover, during those events he always made loud statements on the 1915 events. Condemning the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkey, he urged the Turkish authorities to put up with the reality.