“Recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey is insufficient without territorial reparations” says the historian Armen Maroukian

October 17, 2015 By administrator

Recognition of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire will not be complete if it is not completed by territorial concessions” just declared in Yerevan Armen Maroukian, head of the department of studies on genocide in the Armenian Academy of Sciences. “The financial compensation and rights to cultural and historical values are not enough” Armen Maroukian continues and adds “the essential aim was to recover the genocide of the Armenians and the homeland without territorial concessions justice will not be made. “Maroukian Armen says that until 1991 the fight for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide was the work of the diaspora. But in 1991, became independent Armenia and member of the UN took over this fight. Since then, numerous actions were carried out by Armenia.

Krikor Amirzayan

Michael Aram’s “Migrations” dedicated to centennial of Armenian Genocide

October 17, 2015 By administrator

Archbishop Khajag Barsamian blesses Michael Aram’s sculpture, “Migrations”, at the unveiling ceremony, Linda Covello Photography www.lindacovellophotography.com

The deeper one gets into the history of the Armenian Genocide, the more profound a consideration of Michael Aram’s “Migrations” becomes. Aram’s 13 foot tall stainless steel sculpture, dedicated in honor of the centennial of the genocide of the more than 1.5 million Armenian people during World War One, now stands in front of St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral on Second Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The sculpture was unveiled and blessed by Archbishop Khajag Barsamian during an evening ceremony on Tuesday, October 6th, 2015.

The date of April 24th is commemorated as Genocide Remembrance Day by Armenians around the world, in memory of the night of 23/24 April, 1915, also known as Red Sunday, when the Ottoman government rounded up and imprisoned an estimated 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders of the Ottoman capital, Constantinople. Following the passage of Tehcir Law on May 29, 1915, the Armenian leaders, except for the few who were able to return to Constantinople, were gradually deported and assassinated. Techir is a word of Arabic origin that translates into “deportation” or “forced displacement”, and the law authorized the deportation of the Ottoman Empire’s entire Armenian population, resulting in the deaths of between 800,000 to over 1,800,000 civilians.

In recognition of his 25 years as a celebrated fine artist, sculptor and designer, Aram, who is American born of Armenian descent, was selected by The Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America to create a sculpture in remembrance of the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. Aram’s sculpture “Migrations” traveled from the artist’s design studio in India to New York City to be unveiled at the ceremony earlier this month. The artist worked with historians to determine the shape of the map representing Armenian territories before lands were seized and people were eradicated and forced out. Referencing Armenian Khachkars (stone steles with cross carvings used to mark early Christian settlements), Aram used the meaningful vertical rectangular shape as a reference when designing “Migrations”. With the tall, looming structure built from polished stainless steel, the artist envisioned a large crack in the shape of the historic map. He then tipped the map on its side, and sculpted darkened bronze birds fleeing through the unsettling gap.

While “Migrations” focuses on the tragedy and departure from Armenia, it also captures the glistening light that prevailed through the darkness. The piece serves as a testimony of survival and triumphed existence. “There’s something metaphorical about seeing Armenia tipped on its side, literally turned upside down by what happened 100 years ago,” says the artist. “The birds represent various forms of migration. The migration of Armenians all over the world; the migration of souls; and also the migration of spirit. Some of the birds are silent, some are shrieking and some are in shock and lost” says Aram. “Many Armenians who managed to survive were separated from their families. It changed the country forever and millions lost their lives.”

After the unveiling of the sculpture, Archbishop Khajag Barsamian addressed the massive assembly of guests on the plaza of the cathedral. “The year 1915 was a time of suffering and turmoil for the entire world. For the Armenian people, it marked the start of our greatest cataclysm: a loss of life, freedom, and homeland. It took decades before the right word could be created to even describe those events. It was the scholar, Dr. Rafael Lemkin, who gave a name to the crime against our people, with the term “genocide.” Yet even today, there are some in the world would deny the terrible realities of 1915. However, the truth cannot be so easily erased. It was preserved by the descendants of the fallen, and transmitted to the future through their powerful testimonies of witness”.

“During this centennial year, I have been amazed to see an incredible outpouring of support for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide—which has come from all quarters of the world. It is a sign to me that the events of 100 years ago are still relevant to us today—perhaps more relevant today than they have ever been in the past.
And the story of the Armenian people’s survival—our victory and vindication in the aftermath of tragedy—is eternally relevant, and a source of moral and creative inspiration for us all. To me, that is the larger message of tonight’s event. The extraordinary work of art before us speaks for itself as the product of profound inspiration, by an artist of supreme sensitivity and creative ability. I am deeply grateful to Michael Aram for bringing his artistic vision to life, for all the world to see; and for his extraordinary generosity in allowing us to place it in this setting of holiness and hope: St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral”.

While “Migrations” is a memorial to the events of 1915, Aram hopes that no matter who is looking at the piece, they will be moved by seeing their own image in the mirror of polished steel as a reflection of their own family story of migration. It is unlikely that a visitor to St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral, after taking a moment to view the sculpture and ponder the events behind its creation, will walk away from the plaza on 34th Street and Second Avenue unmoved by its power and transcendent beauty.

Aram makes beautiful and distinctive objects for the home. After taking what would later be a life-altering trip to India in 1989, where he discovered rich metalworking traditions, Aram turned his artistic vision towards craft based design, setting up a home and workshop in New Delhi. Although he is most recognized for his signature metal gift and tabletop offerings, he also designs large-scale sculptures, furniture, lighting, home fragrance, textiles, porcelain and fine jewelry. Aram splits his time between his workshop in India and his New York City studio. Aram’s work is sold at his Flagship location at 136 West 18th Street in New York City, and in over 60 countries through fine department stores and specialty retailers. For more information, visit www.michaelaram.com.

Michael Aram

136 W 18th St

New York, NY 10011

Phone:(212) 461-6903

www.michaelaram.com

Robertson: If you deny one genocide, why make it illegal to deny another

October 16, 2015 By administrator

Geoffrey Robertson

If you deny one genocide, why make it illegal to deny another, in particular one as brutal and barbaric as Armenian Genocide, attorney Geoffrey Robertson said on Al Jazeera.

He recalled that a number of states have criminalized denial of the Holocaust. The attorney believes that Europe has another perception on denial of crimes, as compared for example with U.S., as the continent was occupied once.

Mr. Robertson believes that “we do not have to privilege Holocaust as the only genocide” as there are such genocides as in Rwanda, Armenian Genocide, genocide by Yazidis and Christians perpetrated by ISIS.

The attorney believes that Switzerland will not have to change the law because of the European Court of Human Rights, as the judgment noted that the law must be used in the context.

“I don not think it will require change in the law, but more sensible prosecution policy,” he added.

Tribute to Armenian Genocide victims: Tigran Hamasyan & Yerevan State Choir peform in London – Video

October 16, 2015 By administrator

The Armenian jazz pianist’s brilliant performance with members of the Yerevan State Choir is a poignant contemporary tribute to their homeland’s history

By John Fordham
The Guardian

hose who remember Tigran Hamasyan’s bone-shaking, synth-squealing, pop-jazz gigs might have done a double-take as the young Armenian pianist gravely filed on to the Union Chapel’s stage accompanied only by a bowed, hooded, orange-robed choir. Some might wonder whether 2014’s swansong of ECM Records’s globally popular choral/jazz pairing of the Hilliard vocal ensemble with Jan Garbarek had anything to do with the young virtuoso’s arrival on the same label with a solemn programme of medieval and modern Armenian vocal music, embroidered only by his jazz-steeped piano playing. But Hamasyan is devoted to his homeland’s traditions, and this year’s 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman authorities gives this venture a timely poignancy.

He embraced the challenge in this performance with a typical combination of diligent study and brilliant aplomb with eight singers from the Yerevan State Choir.

The single-set gig began with a hymn by 4th-century scholar/composer Mesrop Mashtots, in which a low vocal hum was shaded by briefly flicked treble-note elisions from Hamasyan. A second Mashtots piece brought spooky microtonal vocal drifts punctuated by plucked low-note strings.

The choir began a rhythmic, short-note pulse on the animated Ov Zarmanali, and whispered behind the leader’s now groove-like chord work. Hamasyan’s streaming ingenuity erupted in an outburst of sleek arpeggios and left-hand hooks that brought a roar from the crowd, but the shift never felt like a dislocation as the choir slithered back in around him. Hamasyan jangled a drone-like chord pattern as the lean, vibrato-free voices of his partners punched out exclamatory percussive motifs. A walking bassline underpinned the sound of the male members at their most guttural (while Hamasyan’s improv almost veered into My Favourite Things), and a stamping vocal dance preceded the solemn, carol-like rumination of the encore.

Book (Armenian Genocide) of the German historian Michael Hasemann uses the secret archives of the Vatican

October 15, 2015 By administrator

The scientific and German historian Michael Hasemann just published in Germany the book “an den Armeniern Völkermord” (Armenian Genocide) whose essential elements is based on the revelation of the Vatican secret archives. During 5 years, the German historian searched the documents relating to the genocide of Armenians in the Vatican archives are drawing some 3000 pages of documents that can shed new light on the genocide. Historians had once got hold of the documents of the German archives, USA, Italy, Austria, but the Vatican archives remained closed to researchers.

It proves especially from those documents that the Vatican Pope Benedict XV had written two handwritten letters to the Sultan to ask him to stop the massacre of the Armenians. Letters unanswered effects. After that the Pope would have alerted the world public opinion about the fate of Armenians slaughtered in the Ottoman Empire. Michael’s book Hasemann “Völkermord an den Armeniern” was released in Germany in April and the author hopes the face of success, it will be translated into Armenian and published in Armenia. He also hopes that the Vatican documents related to Armenian genocide are received by the Academy of Sciences of Armenia. Michael Hasemann also claims that today the Vatican has a very important role in the recognition of the genocide, including the declaration of Pope Francis in April recognizing the Armenian genocide.

Krikor Amirzayan

German historian: Germany bears special responsibility for Armenian Genocide recognition

October 15, 2015 By administrator

scholar michael, German Historian

Germany, as Turkey’s ally in the First World War, bears a special responsibility for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

German historian and scholar Michael Hesemann, who has authored the book titled Genocide against the Armenians, told the above-said to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

In his words, Germany likewise has darkened the chapters of its history by committing the Holocaust. Nonetheless, as per Hesemann, it found the strength to accept and acknowledge what it had done, and pay compensation to the Jews. According to the German historian, this example should demonstrate to Turkey how the Armenian Genocide issue can be resolved.

“We need to urge Turkey to acknowledge what happened and accept its consequences by apologizing to all Christians; if someone asks for forgiveness, he can be forgiven,” noted the scholar. “On the other hand, today’s Germany does not do what it should have really done. The politicians in [German Chancellor] Angela Merkel’s camp are not in a hurry to recognize the Armenian Genocide, in fear of losing the support of the Turks in Germany. But instead, many [German] officials openly call the genocide a genocide.”

Armenian justice official hails ECHR judgment in Perincek case

October 15, 2015 By administrator

A deputy prosecutor general of Armenia praises the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling in the case Perincek vs Switzerland, considering the outcome positive for the Armenian side.
“This ruling is a very good result for Armenia and the Armenians,” Emil Babayan told Tert.am, commenting on the Grand Chamber’s judgment delivered earlier today.
He particularly hailed the statement saying that the ECHR has no authority to make a legally binding pronouncement on a point falling within the logic of criminal law.
“First, it neutralizes the comments of those lower chamber judges who were not inclined to think that the 1915 killings of the Armenians could have amounted to a crime of genocide. The Court ruled that they do not have any authority to issue any conclusion on that point – that the lower chamber’s decision was wrong and could not have any weight or influence,” Babayan noted.
The next important point, he said, was the Chamber’s statement saying that the Armenians have a right to respect the dignity of the ancestors who suffered the Genocide. “That’s a decision of a great importance. It means that the states in Europe can punish the denial of the Armenian Genocide, if [such an act] is calculated to incite violence or disharmony. The idea behind suing Switzerland for the Perincek case was to state that he is just a stool pigeon whose words wouldn’t be taken for granted or inflict damage on anyone. [That’s why the Court ruled] that it was not necessary, in a democratic society, to subject Perincek to a criminal penalty,” he added.
Babayan cited the Chamber’s reassertion of the right to freedom of speech as the next key point in the judgment. “That means that the laws ‘insulting Turkishnes’ [Article 301 of Turkey’s Criminal Code] cannot be applied here as was the case with Hrant Dink and other Turkish and Armenian citizens who are conducting research to study Turkey’s complicity in the Genocide. So Turkey must now stop the violations against freedom of speech,” he added.

Oxford’s Bodleian library to commemorate Genocide centennial

October 15, 2015 By administrator

The Bodleian library in Oxford will host an exhibition to mark the centenary of the Genocide of the Christian minority under the Ottoman Empire, which scattered surviving Armenian families and their possessions across the world, the Guardian reports.

David Howell, head of conservation research at the Bodleian library in Oxford, will use hyperspectral imaging as part of an exhibition of Armenian treasures, to restore a demon lurking in the corner of a precious 17th-century Armenian gospel that was deliberately scraped from the page by pious readers.

The creature is no longer visible to the naked eye, but once vied with the angel opposite him for the souls being weighed in the balance on judgment day, captured in the superbly illustrated gospel made by the renowned Armenian manuscript scribe, illuminator and theologian, Mesrop of Xizan, almost 400 years ago.

The Bodleian, one of the largest and oldest university libraries in the world, began collecting Armenian manuscripts in the 17th century, but many of the pieces are far older, including an 11th-century manuscript copy of John Chrysostom’s commentaries, and the only known copy of the first book printed in Iran, a book of psalms dating from 1638.

Another item on display, a matchbox-sized prayer book printed in Venice in 1831, has lengthy notes in frequently incorrect Mandarin, written in minute script by a former owner, the orientalist Solomon Caesar Malan who left his collection to the university. On one page he wrote “this is the wrong prayer”.

The exhibition will span more than 2,000 years of Armenian culture. Richard Ovenden, the director of the library, said the exhibition would have many objects of exceptional beauty.

“The Bodleian Libraries is honoured to take part in the commemorations for the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide by helping to share the history and culture of the Armenian people,” Ovenden said.

A crimson silk altar curtain, embroidered in silver thread, was given in 1788 to the monastery of Surb Karapet in Taron, in present-day south-east Turkey. The monastery, founded in the fourth century, was destroyed after 1915.

As well as the spectacular manuscripts, the exhibition will include more humble objects precious to the Armenian families who have loaned them, including photographs and textiles. There is a lace collar that was made in 1890 for a donor’s grandmother, and a tattered copy of a book of mystical poems by Saint Gregory of Narek passed down through generations of the same family and believed to protect the household.

A samovar and a set of coffee cups and saucers – which traditionally were used for telling fortunes from the dregs after the coffee was finished – has been loaned by the Chalvardjian family. The history of the objects illustrates the wandering lives of many Armenians after 1915. They were first used in Cilicia – now southern Turkey – and then brought with the family to Milan, Cairo and then the UK. The samovar was made in Russia, but the cups and saucers completed a circuit, originally made for export in Staffordshire.

Armenia official: That was what we wanted from ECHR in Perincek case

October 15, 2015 By administrator

FRANCE SWITZERLAND ECHR PERINCEK

Even though the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Grand Chamber rejected Switzerland’s petition in the case of Perincek v Switzerland, the judgment can be considered a triumph of the Armenian party in the sense that the lower chamber ruling’s unacceptable evaluations, which questioned the fact of the Armenian Genocide, are removed from the text of this judgment.

Deputy Minister of Justice of Armenia Arman Tatoyan, who is also the Armenian government’s deputy authorized representative at the ECHR, told the aforesaid to Armenian News-NEWS.am, as he commented on Thursday’s ECHR Grand Chamber judgment.

“The Republic of Armenia, as a third party, sought that the ECHR would not make an assessment on the genocide,” said Tatoyan. “In fact, the ECHR Grand Chamber recorded in its judgment that it has no authority and cannot give an assessment on what occurred in 1915, which the genocide term can be characterized in any way within the meaning under international law, and cannot make any legally binding pronouncements.”

In his words, Armenia, as a third party, pursued this very objective from the very beginning.

“Turkey needed a clear statement that there was no genocide, [that] there had been some events,” added the Armenian official. “Whereas the European Court not only noted that it will not give a response to such a matter, but it has no authority and it is not the court to respond to this matter. That was exactly what Armenia claimed.”

The ECHR Grand Chamber judgment also specifically states: “As regards the scope of the case, the Court underlined that it was not required to determine whether the massacres and mass deportations suffered by the Armenian people at the hands of the Ottoman Empire from 1915 onwards could be characterised as genocide within the meaning of that term under international law; unlike the international criminal courts, it had no authority to make legally binding pronouncements on this point.”

In 2008, a Swiss court had convicted Turkish ultranationalist politician Dogu Perincek for denying the Armenian Genocide. In December 2013, the ECHR had ruled in favor of Perincek’s lawsuit that was filed against Switzerland. Subsequently, the Government of Switzerland petitioned that the Dogu Perincek case be referred for a review by the ECHR Grand Chamber.

Separately, Armenia had petitioned to the ECHR, and it now acts as a third party in this case, whose ECHR Grand Chamber hearing was held on January 28. Armenia was represented at this hearing by renowned attorneys Geoffrey Robertson and Amal Clooney.

Dogu Perincek is chairman of the left-wing Patriotic—formerly Workers’—Party of Turkey. In addition, he heads the Turkish ultranationalist Talaat Pasha organization, which actively fights against the Armenian Genocide’s recognition in Europe.

European Court Issues Contentious Ruling On Perincek Case

October 15, 2015 By administrator

STRASBOURG, France—The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday issued a contentious ruling in the case of Perincek vs. Switzerland, which concerned the criminal conviction by Switzerland of Turkish politician Dogu Perincek for publically challenging the existence of the Armenian Genocide.

While the ruling upholds Perincek’s right to freedom of speech in this narrow case, the court also upholds the “right to dignity” of Armenian people and maintains legality of laws criminalizing genocide denial.

Armenia was represented at Thursday’s hearing by human rights attorney Geoffrey Robertson and Armenia’s Prosecutor General Gevork Kostanyan, with leaders of the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy present at the court.

The ruling does correct several errors in the original judgment, by specifically stressing that “it was not required to determine whether the massacres and mass deportations suffered by the Armenian people at the hands of the Ottoman Empire from 1915 onwards could be characterized as genocide within the meaning of that term under international law; unlike the international criminal courts, it had no authority to make legally binding pronouncements on this point.”

This provision strikes down the Chamber’s “doubt[…] that there could be a general consensus as to events such as those at issue, given that historical research was by definition open to discussion and a matter of debate, without necessarily giving rise to final conclusions or to the assertion of objective and absolute truths.”

The Grand Chamber decision concerning the crucial question of the distinction between Holocaust denial and denial of the genocide of the Armenian people in 1915, is contentious. So is its assertion that in his statements, Perincek “had not expressed contempt or hatred for the victims of the events of 1915 and the following years.”

“The Court still leaves open other situations where one could punish an individual for denying the Armenian Genocide in certain circumstances. The Court noted that they were it was wrong to convict Perincek partly because there were no heightened tensions or special historical overtones in Switzerland. So one could conclude from the opinion that if there are situations where there are heightened tensions between Armenians and Turks because of the denial, than denial of the Armenian Genocide maybe punishable,” said Kasbar Karapetian, President of the EAFJD.

“This is a mixed decision, because fundamental principles were not followed. This confused court has created a very problematic decision, which will encourage hate speech not only against Armenians but all minorities,” said Kate Nahapetian, the Governmental Affairs Director of the Armenian National Committee of America.

Seven Jurists issue dissent to ECHR decision

In a document issued after the ruling, seven of the 17 judges dissented from the ruling, among them the court’s president Judge Dean Spielmann. This underscored the contentious nature of the ECHR ruling.

“That the massacres and deportations suffered by the Armenian people constituted genocide is self-evident. The Armenian genocide is a clearly established historical fact,” said the jurists in their dissent.

“To deny it is to deny the obvious. But that is not the question here. The case is not about the historical truth, or the legal characterization of the events of 1915. The real issue at stake here is whether it is possible for a State, without overstepping its margin of appreciation, to make it a criminal offence to insult the memory of a people that has suffered genocide,” added the dissent.

“In our view, this is indeed possible… The statements in question contain an intent (animus) to insult a whole people. They are a gross misrepresentation, being directed at Armenians as a group, attempting to justify the actions of the Ottoman authorities by portraying them almost as acts of self-defence, and containing racist overtones denigrating the memory of the victims, as the Federal Court rightly found,” the dissenting judges said.

“Within six months at most, Switzerland will report on how it intends to proceed to the Committee of Ministers of the European Council, which is responsible for monitoring the execution by Member States of final judgments. The report must set out the action that Switzerland has taken to eliminate the consequences of the violation determined in this individual case, as well as to prevent such violations in the future. If Switzerland is not yet able to report fully on the execution of the judgment, it must at least present a binding schedule indicating when the intended implementation measures will be undertaken,” said a statement by the Swiss Justice Ministry.

Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office Reacts

Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s office issued a statement, in which it expressed satisfaction with the ruling pointing out:

1. It overrules the comments by several judges in the lower court who thought that the mass murder of the Armenians in 1915 might not amount to genocide. The Court held that they had no jurisdiction to consider findings on this issue. So the lower court judgment was wrong and can no longer have any weight or influence.

2. The Court declared that Armenians have “the right to respect for their and their ancestors’ dignity including their right to respect for their identity constructed around the understanding that their community has suffered genocide” (para 227). This is a ruling of great importance. It means that states in Europe can punish Armenian genocide denial if it is calculated to incite violence or racial disharmony. The problem with the Swiss prosecution of Perincek was that he is a worthless provocateur whose speech would not have been taken seriously or done any harm, so there was no need in a democratic society to use criminal law against him.

3. The reaffirmation of free speech principles by the court means that the laws against “insulting Turkishness” in the Turkish criminal code (Article 301) cannot be used as they were against Hrant Dink and other Turkish and Armenian citizens who probe Turkish guilt for the Genocide. Turkish infringements of free speech must now end.