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US $1m funding restored for Armenian-American museum

May 12, 2017 By administrator

US Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D – La Cañada Flintridge) on Thursday said he is very pleased with one significant aspect of Governor Brown’s May revision of the California State Budget, the restoration of funding for the Pasadena Playhouse and the Armenian American Museum in Glendale, Asbarez.com reports.

“While others were declaring defeat, I got to work and advocated in favor of the budget allocations for these two laudable projects.  I’m very pleased and grateful that the Governor responded to these requests and restored the funding for two outstanding projects in the 25th State Senate District,” commented Portantino.
The Pasadena Playhouse is the State Theatre of California. It is a showcase for world class theatrical productions and educational programs targeted to California’s diverse population.  The Armenian American Museum, proposed to be built in Glendale, is a new facility slated to bring Genocide awareness and educational programming to our region. Both facilities were set to receive $1 million dollars from last year’s budget but had that funding initially suspended by the Governor in his January budget proposal.

Upon seeing the budget draft, Senator Portantino impressed upon the Governor’s office, the Department of Finance and the Senate Budget staff on the importance of these projects. The Governor agreed by restoring the funding for both.

 

Filed Under: Genocide, News Tagged With: Genocide, Glendale, Museum

The Genocide of Armenian and Greek Christians Revisited: New Discoveries and Politically Correct Memory Loss

May 11, 2017 By administrator

By Mike Scruggs – The beginning of the Armenian Genocide is usually dated as April 24, 1915, now over 102 years ago. It was a planned operation of the Ottoman Empire that exterminated at least 1.5 million Armenian Christians in Eastern Turkey from 1915 through 1918. According to George Horton, a U.S. State Department Consul General in Turkey from 1917 to 1922, it was actually preceded by sixteen massacres of Armenian, Greek, Assyrian, and Maronite Christians from 1822 to 1909, killing a total of over 358,000 men, women, and children. He noted that this was only a partial list. This was under the Ottoman Caliphate, which was replaced by the Turkish Republic in 1923.

In 2016, I wrote a series of six articles for the Tribune Papers in North Carolina and the Times Examiner in South Carolina (June 22 to July 27) about the Greco-Turkish War and the genocide of Greek Christians by Turkish troops and auxiliaries from 1919 to 1922. According to Rutgers University research, 1.5 million Greek civilians died. Of these, between 260,000 and 360,000 perished by fire, drowning, systematic massacre, and related causes during the Great Smyrna Fire in 1922. This includes 160,000 men who were marched off for hard labor and never heard from again. The Turks systematically exterminated residents of the Armenian quarter of Smyrna, before they started the fire. In addition to the Smyrna deaths, Greek soldiers suffered 43,000 deaths from battle, wounds, and captivity. According to League of Nations reports, 50,000 Greek and Armenian girls were sold into sex slavery.

According to “Democide” scholar, Dr. Rudolph Rummel, various Turkish regimes killed from 3.5 million to 4.3 million Armenian, Greek, Assyrian, Maronite, and other Christians from 1900 to 1923. The non-Muslin population of Turkey, which was probably over 20 percent in 1900 and was 19.1 percent in 1914, dropped to 2.5 percent by 1927 and is now less than 0.3 percent.

There have been some recent break-throughs in research on the Armenian Genocide bravely reported in a New York Times article by Tim Arango on April 22, 2017. These included a “smoking gun” original ciphered telegram proving official Ottoman/Turkish government planning and execution of the genocidal series of actions resulting in the death of 1.5 million Armenian Christians from 1915 through 1918. Dr.Taner Akcam, professor and researcher of Turkish history at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, unearthed the document among many others from the archives of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Akcam has studied the Armenian Genocide for decades, methodically putting the pieces of the murderous puzzle together in the analytical fashion of Sherlock Holmes.

The Ottoman official who sent this telegram was Behaeddin Shakir. He was convicted based on a deciphered copy, but the original and most of the records of his trial had mysteriously disappeared as the Ottoman and later Turkish governments began to deny any responsibility for the genocide and to downplay its numerical significance. Shakir escaped to Germany, where he was later assassinated by “swarthy foreign men” believed to be Armenians.

Dr. Akcam is a patriotic Turk who believes that only truth and not denials and propaganda are worthy of true patriotism. He made this statement in that regard:

“My firm belief as a Turk is that democracy and human rights in Turkey can only be established by facing history and acknowledging historic wrongdoings.”

Patriots everywhere should give this courageous brand of patriotism a hearty “Amen.” This has a Biblical precedent:

“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”—Proverbs 28: 13 ESV.

Many of the photos recovered in the archive are grim and emotionally wrenching. There are piles of and shelves of decapitated heads, men being hung on Turkish tripod devices, and dead and starving children. There are railroad cattle cars filled with families probably heading toward death. The most memorable to me was a photo of eight Armenian Christian girls, probably in their teens, being crucified on traditional Christian crosses.

The Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas terrorist front in the United States, seems to have been successful in convincing WordPress to take down the webpage that had the photos mentioned above. CAIR makes constant use of the Islamic doctrine of Taqiyya, which provides that Muslims may lie or deceive non-Muslims for the purpose of advancing or defending Islam. CAIR spokesmen on Network TV news shows spew tirades of falsehoods and half-truths that are incredibly and obviously disingenuous, yet many media pundits and politicians take them seriously.

Turkey continues to deny responsibility for the Armenian genocide. For many decades Turkish leaders moved the country to a more secular practice of Islam. Under President Erdogan that secularism is disappearing and being actively persecuted and replaced by the Jihadic Islam of the Koran and Muhammad. Erdogan may view himself as the new Caliph of a resurrected salafist (fundamentalst-revivalist) Ottoman Empire imposing Islam and Sharia Law on Europe first and then the world. He wants to send ten million more Muslim “immigrants” to Europe.

The Greek Genocide is less well known in the West, probably because the Italian, French, British, and U.S. governments attempted to minimize the number of deaths and atrocities reported in order to maintain favorable diplomatic relations and commercial opportunities with the nationalist government of Kemal Ataturk, which had taken effective control of the Turkish government and army in May 1919. In Smyrna in 1922, Allied naval vessels were ordered to observe strict neutrality in evacuating only their own nationals from the burning city, while tens of thousands of Greek refugees attempting to escape the wrath of the Turks perished by fire, slaughter, and drowning. Finally, British, American, French, and Italian naval commanders, acting against the orders of their own governments, began rescuing thousands of Greeks, eventually totaling 250,000. An American YMCA employee, Rev. Asa Jennings, negotiated the use of over 50 Greek Navy ships and their crews, which rescued over 250,000 people, bringing the total rescued from Smyrna to over 500,000. In 1927, the Greek government awarded Jennings its highest military and civilian medals. He never received any official recognition by the U.S. government.

Tragically, most of Western Europe is still deceived by the Big Lie that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance. Many American leaders are also ignorant of the true nature of fundamentalist Islam and suffer under the delusion that Islam can be accommodated or appeased without fatally undermining the foundations of Western civilization and Judeo-Christian survival and religious liberty.

Source: http://www.thetribunepapers.com/2017/05/10/the-genocide-of-armenian-and-greek-christians-revisited-new-discoveries-and-politically-correct-memory-loss/

Filed Under: Genocide, News Tagged With: Armenian, Genocide, Greek

Among worldwide Armenian genocide observances, Lebanon’s is first among equals

April 29, 2017 By administrator

By Nabih Bulos,

The thump of the bass drum reverberated through the neighborhood.

It was the cue for the dozens of young scouts in two-tone uniforms to take their positions in a procession through Beirut’s Christian quarter to the Patriarchate of the Armenian Catholic Church.

The solemn march Monday afternoon marked the 102nd anniversary of the start of the Armenian genocide, which began in 1915 and resulted in the deaths of as many as 1.5 million Armenians.

Turkey has long disputed that a genocide took place, arguing that the killings can’t be separated from the historical context of global upheaval during World War I, and that many Turks also were killed. But most historians outside Turkey describe an orchestrated effort of ethnic cleansing by the Ottoman Turkish government that meets the definition of genocide.

around an ornate column topped by a cross that stood at the center of a courtyard as a monument to the genocide.

Nearby, a few of the hardier boys raised poles with the Armenian blue, orange and red flag fluttering alongside Lebanon’s flag. Some of their classmates’ faces turned a shade of scarlet as they blew trumpets raised to the sky.

“Wherever there are Armenians, there will be this ceremony.… It’s a duty. They come show respect and appreciation,” said Aram Karadaghlian, 31, one of the event’s organizers.

The stick on his jacket lapel featured an infinity sign around the number 102 underlined by a phrase in elegant Armenian script which declared: “On the verge of the new century, but with the same commitment as the previous one.”

It was a reference to the continuing struggle to keep the memory of the genocide alive, he said. “It’s about remembrance, because we don’t forget.”

His sentiment was echoed by Mehran Najarian, a 44-year old businessman who had brought his family to the ceremony.

“In this country we have the privilege to be able to express ourselves,” he said. “Each community does this here.”

“I’m the third generation of Armenians here. And as you can see the fourth is standing in front of you,” he said, turning to his 10-year-old son, Sarkis.

Although there were commemorations for this event all over the world, said Samvel Mkrtchyan, Armenia’s ambassador to Lebanon, “the Armenian community in Lebanon is the most important.”

Lebanon’s more than 100,000 Armenians “are the descendants of those who perished in the beginning of the 20th century,” he said.

“Those orphans and impoverished families found refuge in Lebanon and they grew from the ashes and rebuilt their lives and became one its most important communities.”

Later, as night fell on the city, thousands descended on the downtown district to Martyrs’ Square, which had been named to remember Lebanese who had been executed there during Ottoman rule in 1931.

Rows of plastic chairs had been laid out before a stage ringed by powerful lights and a large screen displaying “100+2.”

Looking on were a dozen or so leather-clad members of the Armenian Brigade Motorcycle Club.

They would soon provide a high-revving escort for the march, tailing the marches out of the square with the motorcycles that now stood arrayed in a neat row to the side, their chrome gleaming from the spotlights.

“Today it’s a duty on every Armenian to join this event for the recognition for the Armenian genocide,” said the leader of the club, Danny Dervishian, whose nickname, “The Godfather,” was stitched on his vest

Lebanese Armenian officials and politicians addressed the crowd.

One official, Annie Yepremian, gave a defiant speech in Armenian remarking on the global nature of the proceedings.

The anniversary was being marked “from Beirut to Paris, from Aleppo to New York, from Tehran to London,” said Yepremian.

A representative of Michel Aoun, the country’s newly appointed president, described the day as both “sad and brilliant.”

“It is sad because of the genocide against an alive, great, free people, the Armenians of Lebanon and the world,” he said.

But it was brilliant because of the achievements of the Lebanese Armenians in the country.

“A salute from the president,” he told the crowd to polite applause.

Source: http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-lebanon-armenian-genocide-20170424-story.html

Filed Under: Genocide, News Tagged With: Genocide, Lebanon, observances

California senate committee approves freeway sign for Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial

April 28, 2017 By administrator

Senator Anthony Portantino’s legislation, SCR 25, which will install a sign in Pasadena to direct the public to the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial, passed the Senate Transportation Committee with unanimous support, Asbarez reported.

“Just a few short days ago, at the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial we commemorated the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Hundreds of community members came to the memorial to pay tribute to the victims and to remember the lessons learned from the first genocide of the twentieth century. This kind of community commemoration makes accessibility to this memorial so important. I am proud to carry this legislation that will install a freeway sign to help direct visitors to the memorial, and I am happy to have the unanimous support of my colleagues along the way. Installing a freeway sign will help direct visitors, raise awareness about the Armenian Genocide and serve as a reminder that fighting crimes against humanity is an ongoing process that requires our continuous attention,” commented Portantino.

The Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial was unveiled in April 2015.

Filed Under: Articles, Genocide Tagged With: California, Genocide, sign

Israelis Commemorate Genocide as Government Still Doesn’t Recognize

April 27, 2017 By administrator

Armenian Genocide

An Armenian child holds a map commemorating those murdered in the Armenian genocide of 1915. Taken in the Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem on April 24, 2017. (Photo: Yoav Loeff/i24News)

Members of the Armenian community in Jerusalem pay tribute to the 1.5 million massacred from 1915-1923

JERUSALEM, Israel (i24 News)—Hebrew University professors and students along with representatives of the Armenian community in Jerusalem gathered Tuesday in order to pay tribute to the 1.5 million Armenians massacred by Ottoman soldiers in the Armenian genocide committed from 1915 to 1923.

The Armenian genocide, commemorated annually on April 24th, coincided with Israel’s national Holocaust Memorial Day this year. While 29 governments and parliaments recognize the systematic murder and deportation of Armenians, also known as the “Armenian Holocaust,” Israel does not. Turkey vehemently rejects the use of the term “genocide” to describe the mass killing of Armenians during World War I, arguing the episode was a collective tragedy in which both Turks and Armenians died.

Honorary Consul of the Republic of Armenia in Jerusalem Tsolag Momjian addressed the crowd and affirmed that he hopes for a day when Israel recognizes the Armenian genocide.

“Yesterday Armenians all over the world commemorated the anniversary of the Armenian genocide,” he said. “Yesterday Israel also marked annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, on this occasion I would like to express my solidarity with the Jewish people who died during the Second World War.”

Very Reverend Father Samuel Aghoyan of the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem speaks at a ceremony honoring those killed in the Armenian genocide on April 25, 2017. (Photo: Yoav Loeff/i24News)

Very Reverend Father Samuel Aghoyan, who spoke on behalf of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, explained that, while Armenians were being killed, the world remained silent.

“The world at the time was silent and never tried to stop it, thus Armenians lost more than one and half million of their people,”Aghoyan said. “My parents were the lucky ones to escape from being killed but their relatives and brothers were the victims.”

“Turkey today vehemently denies that its ancestors committed such barbaric acts and it is sad to say that the Israeli government has not the courage to side with justice by recognizing the historical fact of genocide of the Armenians,” he said.

Aghoyan affirmed that the world has not learned the lessons of the past.

“It seems that the world has not been changed since 1915, because today we hear of and witness new genocide being carried out on different scales and in different parts of the world, “ he said, affirming that “the great powers could care less- by shutting their eyes they silently permit them to happen.”

Aghoyan issued a call saying that “It is time for Turkey to stop lying,” and admit to the “horrible and inhumane” massacres committed by its ancestors.

Filed Under: Genocide, News Tagged With: Armenian, Genocide, Israeli

Los Angeles Thousands of LA Armenians march toward Turkey consulate

April 25, 2017 By administrator

Armenian Genocide MarchThousands of Armenians in Los Angeles are taking part in marches on the 102nd anniversary of Armenian Genocide.

Two respective marches are planned in the city, according to Fox 11 news.

The participants plan to march toward Turkey’s consulate general in Los Angeles.

US Congressman Adam Schiff also will take part in the marches.

It was noted that about 60,000 people participated in the march last year.

April 24 is a solemn and sacred day. It marks the beginning of a campaign of murder, rape, and forced displacement carried out against the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire 102 years ago. In the end, one and a half million Armenians were murdered in the Armenian Genocide.

We will never forget those who were lost. And we will keep fighting to recognize the Armenian Genocide both here at home and around the world.

Filed Under: Genocide, News Tagged With: Armenian, Genocide, Los Angeles

Istanbul police hamper Armenian Genocide march

April 24, 2017 By administrator

The police in Istanbul hampered Armenian Genocide commemoration events after members of the opposition People’s Democratic Party started a peaceful march from their headquarters in the city’s Şişli district.
Held under the slogan Confront the Genocide, the event was joined also by Armenian youth association Nor Zartonk (new awakening).
Speaking to reporters at the protest site, a spokesperson for the organization, Norayr Olgar called for the different ethnic groups in Turkey must to eventually come to terms with their past to make future peace possible.
Melis Tatan, the head of the party’s district headquarters, said he sees Turkey still continuing its genocidal policies.
“They continue committing genocide by naming the schools and streets here after Talaat [Pasha] and Armenian-populated districts – after Turkish villains. The Genocide  continued also with the covering up of the murders of Hrant Dink, Sevak Balikci and Marisa Kucuk,” he said.

Filed Under: Articles, Genocide Tagged With: Armenian, Genocide, İstanbul, police

Lyon France Armenians stage protest near Turkey consulate general

April 23, 2017 By administrator

About 100 French Armenians assembled nearby the Consulate General of Turkey in Lyon on Saturday, the eve of the 102nd anniversary of Armenian Genocide.

Also, the picketers held a banner that read, “Armenian Genocide, Unpunished Genocide.”

But no offenses or clashes were recorded at the demonstration, reported mLyon.

On April 24, Armenians and the civilized world honor the more than 1.5 million Armenians that were killed in this atrocious crime, which the Ottoman Empire had committed against humanity.

All Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople—Istanbul of today—were arrested on April 24, 1915, and killed. Hence, April 24 has become the Armenian Genocide commemoration day.

Numerous countries and most of the US states have formally recognized and condemned this tragedy.

This calamity is recognized also by the Vatican, the European Parliament, and the World Council of Churches.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: commemorate, France, Genocide, Lyon

U.S. Wyoming State recognizes the Armenian Genocide

April 22, 2017 By administrator

Wyoming Recognize armenian Genocide

Wyoming Recognize armenian Genocide

U.S. Wyoming State has recognized the Armenian Genocide, thus becoming the 45th U.S. state to accept the 1915 events as a genocide.

In a letter dated April 21 and addressed to the Armenian National Committee of America Western Region (ANCA-WR), Wyoming Governor Matthew H. Mead has recognized the Armenian Genocide and praised the work of Armenian American grassroots.

“The atrocities of both the Armenian and Jewish Holocausts were unimaginable,” reads Governor Mead’s letter, “but it is important for all to remember—history must not repeat itself,” Wyoming Governor noted in his letter, according to a report by the Armenian Weekly.

Matthew Mead also praised the activities of the Armenian National Committee of America, concluding his letter with the following statement: “My thoughts are with you as you gather for the Colorado State Capitol Armenian Genocide Commemoration.”

The news of Wyoming’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide also received praise by elected officials and activists in the state.

Filed Under: Articles, Genocide Tagged With: Armenian, Genocide, recognize, U.S. Wyoming

California Senate declares April month of Armenian Genocide Recognition VIDEO

April 19, 2017 By administrator

The California State Senate on April 17 passed Senate Resolution 29 declaring April as a month of Armenian Genocide Recognition, commemorating the Armenian Genocide, calling for Turkey to return historic church properties to rightful congregations and requesting that the United States Government formally recognize the Armenian Genocide, Asbarez reported.

In his floor speech presenting SR 29, State Senator Anthony Portantino outlined the importance of the State Senate’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide for California residents and for the United States. He also shared details of the resilience of the Armenian people by reciting passages from William Saroyan in the Armenian language.

“It is an honor to represent the largest Armenian American community in the country and to be entrusted to appropriately commemorate the Genocide in the State Senate. It is our hope that California’s loud and clear voice once and for all gives Washington and the President the confidence to do the right thing and help people finally have the chance to heal from the horror perpetrated 102 years ago,” commented Portantino.

SR 29 was authored by Portantino and co-authored by the other members of the State Senate California, Armenian & Artsakh Select Committee: Pro Tem Kevin De Leon, Scott Wilk, Tony Mendoza and Josh Newman. Portantino is the Chair of the Select Committee.

In addition to recognizing actress Angela Sarafyan from The Promise on the Senate floor, Portantino and the Senate Select Committee helped facilitate the California Capitol screening of The Promise during Advocacy Day. Academy Award winning Director Terry George from The Promise was hosted at a reception in the State Capitol prior to the passage of SR 29. The State Senate ceremony began with a prayer from Very Reverend Father Dajad Ashekian and Very Reverend Father Pakrad Berjekian. Homenetmen Scouts from Santa Clara Ani Chapter conducted the Pledge of Allegiance and a broad coalition of Armenian American community leaders were introduced by Portantino as part of Advocacy Day during the commemoration.

 

Filed Under: Genocide, News Tagged With: Armenian, California, Genocide, state

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