Gagrule.net

Gagrule.net News, Views, Interviews worldwide

Armenia should be more active over Armenian Genocide problem – MP

By

armenian-mpIn an interview with Tert.am, Armenian crossbencher Edmon Marukyan spoke of the approaching centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

“The government has its functions, but is should not always raise problems that could cause harm to its international relations.

Relevant organizations represent the interests of Armenians in the west and raise the problem of their rights,” the MP said

The organizations in question would act correctly if their raised their problems within law, in Turkey’s judicial bodies, he added.

“I am not naïve to believe that Turkey’s courts will uphold the claims. However, it would be a start. That is, by employing the mechanisms they could take their cases to the European Court of Human Rights. Numerous verdicts against Turkey have been returned in Cyprus-related cases,” Mr Marukyan said.

It is important to record seizure of property and murders.

“As a state, Armenia could raise the problems at the United Nations, but the way of doing it should be different from that of organizations,” Mr Marukyan said.

Certain issues need to be raised jointly, others do not. Since Armenia is negotiating re-opening of border with Turkey, raising such problems could prevent the negotiation from producing results.

“Let the border be opened and diplomatic relations established, and organizations defend their rights.”

 

UN: Attacks on Iraq’s Yazidis may constitute attempted genocide

By

0,,17999015_303,00Iraq’s Yazidi religious minority is facing what may amount to attempted genocide. A week-long visit to the country revealed evidence that “strongly indicates” an effort to wipe out the community.

The campaign against the Yazidis by the “Islamic State” (IS) could constitute attempted genocide, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic said on Tuesday.

“The evidence strongly indicates an attempt to commit genocide,” Simonovic said after meetings with some 30 people – officials and displaced people in Irbil, Baghdad and Dohuk – during the week-long visit.

Hundreds of Yazidis are believed to have been killed when IS swept across northern and western Iraq in August. Many fled to Kurdish-held parts of northern Iraq, while some 7,000 are believed to have stayed behind and converted to the harsh interpretation of Islam promoted by IS.

Simonovic said it appeared that IS militants – who claim the Yazidis are “devil worshippers” – had the intent of destroying a religious group.

‘Bought and sold’

In a recent issue of its Dabiq magazine, IS reportedly boasted that it was selling Yazidi women and children as slaves, saying members of the group were singled out because of their unique customs.

Earlier this month, the Human Rights Watch group released a report saying abducted woman were subject to sexual assault and were being bought and sold by IS fighters.

According to the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the term genocide represents an intent to destroy – either in whole or in part – a national, ethical, racial or religious group.

The means of doing so, according to the convention, include the killing of members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members, and deliberately inflicting conditions that would bring about the destruction of the group.

They also include preventing births within a given community or the forcible transfer of children from the group to another group.

During the IS onslaught, thousands of Yazidis were trapped on a mountain near to their main hub, the town of Sinjar, for days in August. They were subsequently helped to safety in Kurdish-held areas with the aid of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

rc/lw (AFP, AP, Reuters)

Assyrian Genocide Monument Unveiled in Athens

By

assyrian-genocide-monument-athensATHENS (Greek Reporter)—A memorial for the Assyrian victims of the Turkish genocide of Christians during World War I was unveiled in Athens, Greece, a city that hosts approximately 8,000 Assyrians. According to estimates from that era, the Turkish genocide claimed 750,000 Assyrians, 1.5 million Armenians and 500,000 Pontic Greeks.

The ceremony for the unveiling of the monument was attended by four hundred people, including members of the Assyrian, Greek and Armenian communities, as well as representatives from the Armenian embassy. The monument was officially presented by the current and former Mayors of the Greek capital.

President of the Assyrian Union of Greece Kyriakos Betsaras opened the ceremony, while both the Director of the Assyrian Genocide Research Center, Sabri Atman, and the former Mayor of Egaleo gave speeches.

The three communities have cooperated in the past regarding the issue of the Turkish genocide. In fact, in 2010, the Greek Parliament held a discussion on the topic of “Three Genocides, One Strategy.”

Discussions about the erection of a monument began almost three years ago, and last year, the Assyrian Union of Greece’s request to build a monument to commemorate the victims of the Assyrian genocide was met.

This is the world’s 9th Assyrian genocide monument. Other monuments have been erected in: Jonkoping, Sweden; Liege, Belgium; Arnouville, France; Yerevan, Armenia; Fairfield, Australia; Wales, United Kingdom; Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois.

My film is not is not devoted to Genocide, says Turkish director (it is against Taboo)

By

the cut-filmFatih Akin, the Turkish-German director whose movie “The Cut” stirred up anger over the Genocide issue in Turkey, has complained about facing threats.

In an interview with Evrensel, Akin said the film is neither political nor devoted to the Armenian Genocide per se. He said he was inspired by book written by Hassan Cemal, Cemal Pasha’s grandson.

“If the grandson of someone who was responsible for the era uses the word, why shouldn’t I use it? The book is on sale in book-stores and displayed on shop-windows,” he noted.

“I didn’t search the topic; it found me itself. As a child of a family from Turkey, it was always of interest to me, especially when it turned into a taboo. When something is banned, you become curious and studious. ”

Asked whether the topic still remains a taboo in Turkey, Akin said he sees that a lot has changed since the assassination of Hrant-Dink, the editor-in-chief of the Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos.

“If, seven years ago when Hrant Dink was killed, you tried to speak about the Genocide in any café, those sitting at the table would show resistance. You can now speak about it without whisper almost everywhere,” he answered.

Akin blamed the Turkish propaganda for diverting the Turkish society from the historical truth.

“If one nation was permanently cheated by historians and politicians [who said] ‘nothing of the kind happened; it’s a big lie’ etc., and heard nothing else from families, textbooks and newspaper, I cannot blame them.

“But the politicians calls for leaving history to historians is wrong. History belongs to us, the people …” he added.

Armenia may declare Dec 9 commemoration day for victims of genocides (Pontic Greeks, Assyrians, Yezidis and other ethnicities)

By

183798A member of Heritage opposition party Zaruhi Postanjyan submitted to parliamentary consideration a package of bills on condemnation of the genocides of Pontic Greeks, Assyrians, Yezidis and other ethnicities in the Ottoman Empire, with the draft laws latters included on the agenda of the Cabinet of Ministers’ next session.

The government, however, suggested instead declaring December 9 a commemoration day for the victims of genocides, to mark the United Nations Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide adopted December 9, 1948.

“Based on the abovementioned, the government will consider the initiative acceptable in case its suggestion is approved, with Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan to be appointed as a co-rapporteur in consideration of the initiative,” the government’s statement said.

‘Remember’ – Armenian musician’s new song dedicated to Genocide centennial

By

remember-songThe project is the brainchild of Armenian singer and musician Ara Gevorgyan who is going to release a new music video in commemoration of the Genocide centennial.

“I have now written a new song which has been recorded in both Armenian and English. The Armenian version is entitled ‘We are and We will Be’; the name for the English variant is ‘Remember’. The English text’s author is Daniel Decker from the United States. The Armenian text was written by Levon Blbulyan,” Gevorgyan told Tert.am, introducing his initiative.
Remembering the song’s prehisitory, the musician said that they launched the project with the late writer and satirist Aramayis Sahakyan. “Then we talked to Henrik Anasyan, a wonderful musician who lives in the United States, but because what he had written was too much to the point and featured fight and cruel episodes, we turned to Levon Blbulyan for mitigating all that a little bit, and I think it turned out a very good text,” he added.

Gevorgyan said they have recorded the song under the guidance of the State Philharmonic Orchestra’s chief conductor, Eduard Topchyan, and the director of the Armenian State Academic Choir, Hovhannes Chekijyan. He thanked the Public Television of Armenia and the National Cinema Center for the support.
The music video, which is still half-finished, has been shot at the Genocide Memorial Park. Gevorgyan sayshe hopes that the project will be really fine after it is complete.
But he said it isn’t their end-goal, as the group’s next step will be achieving an international reaction. “We have already got an agreement with Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan for asking the the diaspora choirs which came to Armenia to sing the song to perform it in English in their streets on April 24, 2015. The negotiations are now in progress, and we are seek an international reaction to have it broadcast by TV companies in different states,” he added.

German churches to commemorate Genocide centenary with joint prayer

By

183195Ahead of the Armenian Genocide centenary, the German Inter-Church Council has called on the churches across the country to commemorate the victims of the tragic massacres.

According to Tert.am, in an official statement adopted after its annual assembly in Magdeburg, it the Council urged to respect the memory of the 1.5 million Armenians slaughtered in the Ottoman Turkey.

“We honor the memory of the Armenians, as well as around 600,000 Aramaic, Assyrian, and Greek Christians, including Catholics and Protestants, killed along with their Armenians brothers and sisters.”

“The Armenian Apostolic Church in Germany is a member of the Inter-Church Council, and in solidarity with it, we’ll commemorate the Genocide centenary in 2015. In 2005, the German Bundestag highlighted Germany’s historical and moral responsibility for it. As functioning churches in Germany, we jointly bear that responsibility and consider it necessary to refer to it every time.

“Hence, the 2014 Inter-Church Council Assembly in Magdeburg encourages and calls upon its member churches and communities to commemorate it with prayers and memorial events,” reads the statement.

The participants also considered a 2012 proposal for organizing joint prayers with the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek churches.

Turkey launches “Turkish Genocide by Armenians” contest

By

genocideGazi University of Turkey, in conjunction with the Azerbaijan embassy in the country, has announced a contest which inseminates enmity and hatred towards Armenians.

Articles with the theme, “When All were Asleep: The Armenians’ Massacres from Anatolia to the Caucasus,” will be submitted to the contest, reported Birgun website of Turkey.

The text of the competition notes that in 1915, there was no place in Turkey’s east and west, where Armenians had not massacred the Turks.

And January 19, the day of the murder of Hrant Dink—the founder and chief editor of Agos Armenian weekly of Istanbul, who was shot dead on January 19, 2007 in front of his weekly’s office—has been set as the day for announcing the contest results.

source: news.am

Aram I condemns blasting of Armenian church in Deir ez-Zor

By

aramCatholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I condemned blasting of the Armenian church in Deir ez-Zor, Syria.

It is with deep sorrow that Catholicos learned about the blasting of the church in Deir ez-Zor, the statement reads.

According to information which has come down, blasting of the church, erected in memory of the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide, as well as of the adjacent museum, was a planned crime.

Catholicos strongly condemned this criminal act: “We believe this is barbaric crime committed on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and the day of the 23rd anniversary of Armenia’s independence. Those who are behind this crime, should be aware that they can not erase memories about our martyrs and Deir ez-Zor that symbolizes the struggle of our people for justice, a shrine of the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide,” the statement reads.

No alternative to int’l censure of Armenian Genocide: President

By

The 1915 Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire will be properly accessed, there being no other alternative, President Serzh Sargsyan stressed during the opening of the 182616photo exhibition “A Fable of the East: Challenges Facing Christianity in the New Millennium” at Vittoriano Museum Complex in Rome.

“In a few months we’ll be commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, a crime against humanity, which, unfortunately, has not been properly characterized by now. However, there is simply no alternative: sooner or later it will be given a complete, comprehensive and unequivocal characterization.

The truth is that we can’t ensure a peaceful and safe future without condemning the crimes of the past,” the President said.

“Failing to give a clear and unambiguous characterization of genocides, dissemination of xenophobic sentiments, barbaric annihilation of cultural values and all other atrocities of such kind in due time results in the repetition of all that. I can give you a lot of examples.

I will give you only one of them. Some time ago we saw Jugha’s medieval Armenian cross-stones, the prominent monuments of the Armenian people’s identity, culture and belief, deliberately exterminated. The extermination of Jugha’s century-old cemetery with its thousands of finely-designed and unique cross-stones dating from the 9th to 16th centuries in the last two decades is the brutal manifestation of the policy aimed at complete extermination of the Christian-Armenian cultural heritage across the entire territory of Nakhijevan and Azerbaijan, which has not yet properly characterized by the international community. The autrocity might lead thousands to believe that age-old cultural monuments of an entire people can be wrecked to the ground without impunity. Of course, very many of them did so. In that case why not repeat such an easily implemented act in Iraq, Syria and in some other place?

One thing is certain: There is not a moment to lose if we are to inculcate tolerance, including religious tolerance. We do not have a right to remain irresolute,” the Armenian leader stressed.

Vatican Insider-ի անդրադարձը նախագահ Սերժ Սարգսյանի` Վատիկան կատարած պաշտոնական այցին. Panorama.am