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Trump calls historic nuclear talks with Kim ‘better’ than expected

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North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump at the start of their historic US-North Korea summit, at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore on June 12, 2018.

“It was not easy to get here,” the North Korean leader said, noting the two sides “overcame” obstacles to finally meet face to face in Singapore.

SINGAPORE — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his historic meeting here with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un went “better than anybody could’ve expected” and that the two leaders would be “signing” something before they parted ways.

But neither Trump nor Kim provided details on any possible agreement at the end of a half-day of meetings centered around U.S. efforts to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear program.

The summit was historic in and of itself: the first-ever meeting between an American president and his North Korean counterpart.

The first in a series of dramatic moments came as Trump and Kim shook hands Tuesday morning.

As the two men approached each other on a colonnade at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island here, with American and North Korean flags interspersed behind them, reporters could hear Kim or his interpreter say, “Nice to meet you, Mr. President.”

Then, they posed for photographs, stern-faced, before making their way to a meeting room where they spoke briefly to the media.

“We will have a terrific relationship,” Trump said. “I have no doubt.”

Bulgaria should press Turkey over historic compensation claim – president

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SOFIA: Bulgaria should press Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday on its claim for compensation for the descendants of Bulgarians who fled Turkey 100 years ago, its president said.

Prime Minister Boyko Borissov will meet Erdogan ahead of a European Union-Turkey summit in Bulgaria later on Monday but has not said if he will raise the historic grievance.

The summit is being held on what Bulgaria marks as Thrace Day, remembering the more than 250,000 Bulgarians who fled their homes in Eastern Thrace after the Second Balkan War in 1913 when the Ottoman Empire reclaimed some territories lost in 1912-1913 in the First Balkan War.

Thousands of Thracian Bulgarians were killed and organisations representing refugees’ descendants say Turkey owes them around US$10 billion for properties their ancestors left behind. There are between 800,000 and 1 million descendants of the refugees from 1913.

President Rumen Radev said Bulgaria should not miss the opportunity to press Erdogan.

“I expect Bulgaria not to remain in the role of a host. I hope that the prime minister will raise the issue of Turkey’s non-interference in our internal affairs… and also the compensation of the Thracian refugees,” he said.

The Socialist party (BSP), Bulgaria’s largest opposition party, also called on Borissov to raise the issue, saying: “Bulgaria’s role as a mediator between Europe and Turkey must not be at the expense of its national interest.”

Bulgaria says Turkey recognised its claims in a friendship treaty signed in 1925.

During a previous meeting with Borissov, Erdogan said that measures would be taken “if it is proven that our country has to pay out compensations over the properties of the Thracian refugees.”

(Reporting by Angel Krasimirov; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Source: Reuters
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/bulgaria-should-press-turkey-over-historic-compensation-claim—president-10077902

Historic Armenian chalices to be featured in Sunday services “ArmenianGenocide”

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By LEE B. ROBERTS lee.roberts@journaltimes.com,

CALEDONIA — Celebrations of the Divine Liturgy at Racine County’s Armenian churches will take on special significance Sunday, with the addition of historic chalices on loan to those congregations.

The chalices — which were recovered from a seminary that was destroyed during the Armenian Genocide of 1915-21 — will be used in the preparation and distribution of communion at St. Hagop Armenian Church, 4100 Newman Road, and St. Mesrob Armenian Church, 4605 Erie St., during Sunday’s morning services.

It will be the first time in more than 100 years that these liturgical vessels will be used for their intended purpose of holding bread and wine during Sunday worship, according to the Rev. Avedis Kalayjian, pastor of St. Mesrob. Kalayjian said that he and the Rev. Daron Stepanian, pastor of St. Hagop, are working together to share these historic treasures with their congregations.

“We hope to share them with the broader Racine community as well,” he said. “Armenians, fleeing persecution in the Ottoman Empire, have been in Racine for over a century. Being reunited with these liturgical vessels after all this time is a meaningful and profound opportunity for Armenians, and we would like to share this event with the community at large.”

Expression of faith

The chalices are on loan to the congregations from their current owners, Levon Saryan, a member of St. Hagop’s Board of Trustees, and Chuck Hajinian, a member of St. John the Baptist Armenian Church in Greenfield who has family ties to Racine. Both men are collectors of Armenian artifacts and together they recently purchased the chalices as part of collection of historic items from an estate sale.

Through documentation and research, they’ve discovered that these beautifully ornate, silver chalices, both dated from the 1800s, had been donated to the Armenian seminary of Armash, located outside of Istanbul, in the 19th century. During the genocide, Armash’s Armenian residents (including monastery graduates) were rounded up by Ottoman authorities and sent on death marches to Syria, and the seminary was looted of its priceless artifacts before its monastery was destroyed, according to Hajinian and Saryan.

“The chalices are an expression of faith, which those priests paid for with their lives in the Armenian Genocide,” Hajinian said.

And, being able to use them again in church gives people a lot of comfort and a connection to their past, Rev. Kalayjian said.

Back to the people

While they aren’t certain of what happened to the chalices following the genocide, the collectors assume that they became property of the Turkish government and eventually reached the antiques market in Europe, Saryan said. He and Hajinian purchased them from the estate of another Armenian collector, who lived in Washington, D.C., and specialized in Armenian needlelace and embroidery.

While they legally own the chalices, both Saryan and Hajinian said that, from an emotional standpoint, they feel the chalices belong to the monastery and the Armenian people. They hope to eventually donate them to a museum or other institution, where they can be preserved for future generations and continue to tell the story of the Armash monastery.

In the meantime, they would like to share the chalices and their story with as many people as they can in this area, and said they are available to give presentations to any interested groups. Inquiries can be sent to Saryan at lasaryanphd@gmail.com or to Hajinian at hajinian@yahoo.com.

On Sunday, the chalices will be used in the morning Mass, during the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, the Mother of God, at St. Hagop and St. Mesrob Armenian churches. Sunday is one of the Armenian Church’s five principal feast days. Service times are 9:30 a.m. at St. Mesrob, and 10 a.m. at St. Hagop.

Source: http://journaltimes.com/news/local/historic-armenian-chalices-to-be-featured-in-sunday-services/article_8ee77c34-1ca9-5515-ae71-3baa18c4f9f6.html

Garo Paylan wrote for Agos: Let’s correct this historic mistake

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Recently, HDP MP Garo Paylan had been banned from the parliament for 3 sessions and subjected to verbal assault for he used the word “genocide” and his speech was removed from the parliamentary minutes. Paylan wrote for Agos, telling what happened before and after the speech and what was his intention in the first place.

Last week, I was in Berlin for attending the conference organized in memory of Hrant Dink. The day after the conference, I had a meeting with a group of deputies in Bundestag. When I entered Reichstag building where Bundestag is located, I heard a very nice piano melody. I asked the people who welcomed me where this melody was coming from. They said, “From the hall of general assembly.” 

I couldn’t help to peak inside the hall and they said that there was an event for commemorating the Holocaust. The hall was full. All deputies, Chancellor Merkel and ministers were present at the hall of the general assembly. All of the parliament warmly applauded this piano recital and speeches in memory of the Holocaust. 

I should admit that I envied. German Parliament was commemorating the victims of the great crime that was committed by Nazi government in the recent history. And I was coming from an entirely different atmosphere; from my country, where the atrocities of yesterday haven’t been acknowledged and the atrocities of today go on with impunity… I felt sorry for my country and went to the meeting with teary eyes…

Just a week before this meeting, I was banned from the parliament because I mentioned what happened to my people at the end of Ottoman period. While I, as an Armenian deputy, wasn’t allowed to speak about 102-years-old sins; all German deputies, leftists, rightists, members of the ruling and opposing parties, were sitting side by side with a great self-confidence and confronting with their mistakes. And none of them was thinking that German identity is defamed by that.

The constitution that Odyan wrote

In Turkey, looking at the pages of the history is getting more and more difficult. Let me tell you how I experienced it. One week before the commemoration event in Berlin, I began to talk about the proposed constitutional amendments by saying, “We are about to make a historic mistake.” I said, “We long for a social contract which every one living in our common homeland can call my constitution.”

My purpose was to take the deputies back to the days when the constitution was discussed in the Ottoman period. I wanted to remind the mistakes that were made back then. In fact, few people know that our first constitution was written in 1876 by a committee consisting of various identities and Krikor Odyan was the one who wrote it. This constitution was suspended by Abdulhamid and a period of autocracy started, which continued until 1908. And you know the rest… Seeking for democracy, coup by Talat and Enver and the great disaster…

Today, MHP defines the proposed amendments that had been discussed in the parliament as “the constitution of the Turkish nation”. It makes me frightened, because Talat and Enver had a similar mentality and tried to implement the constitution of the Turkish nation. They regarded some people as acceptable citizens, while they ignored some others. In fact, they even exterminated some of the people. During 1913-1923, great massacres, genocides, population exchanges and pogroms took place. We lost majority of Armenian, Syriac, Greek and Jewish people. 

However, when I told about these facts in the parliament, all hell broke loose! An unprecedented punishment was imposed on me because I said “genocide”. I was banned from the discussions for 3 sessions. My speech was deleted from the parliamentary minutes. 

Many of my friends who read about the incident on internet said, “Garo, you are right, but is this the right time for speaking about the genocide? We are heading towards a dictatorial regime.” This was understandable, because media was making a fuss about the word “genocide”. My two cognates made statements to the press and said that they found my speech “irrelevant and untimely”. I wasn’t surprised. Some people just bow down in times like these. Fear and worry are understandable feelings.

“Well then, you name it”

However, my purpose was not to say “genocide” at all costs in the midst of the uproar caused by the discussion on the amendments. In fact, I have said “genocide” or “Armenian Genocide” in the parliament for many times. There was no trouble before. This time again, I called what happened to my people “genocide” just like I always do. 

However, something different happen; insults and crisis… I said, “Well then, you name it,” to the ones who objected me. That night, MHP threatened AKP with not supporting the proposed amendments, if I am not punished. Thus, I was banned from the parliament with the votes of AKP, MHP and CHP. I was subjected to the lynching campaign of the nationalist front.

However, I didn’t intend to cause a polemic; my purpose was to make people learn from the past and prevent them from making the same mistakes. I wanted to talk about how the process of writing constitution at the end of the Ottoman period led a pluralist society to a mentality of homogeneity, the abuses and disasters caused by one-man-regimes and what all of these mean to us who are trying to write a constitution in 2017.

I know very well that what happened to my grandfather and the great disasters took place in Anatolia were caused by the mistakes that politicians like us made. A system that abolishes the parliament would create the dreadful atmosphere that was created by Talat and Enver who abolished the same parliament. The proposed constitution makes the government and will dependent on one person; it imposes ideology of homogeneity. This is nothing but the repetition of the disasters that took place back then. 

I am aware of it and not talking about it would make me feel like I am betraying this country, these lands and the people that I live together.

We can win together

I am worried. The parliament that took action for “writing the constitution of the Turkish nation”, imprisoned Kurdish deputies with great enthusiasm before taking action and doesn’t have enough confidence to let its members vote secretly is giving all the authority to one person; no good can come of this. 

Think about it, Christian and Jewish peoples, who constituted 40% in the past, are just one out of thousand now because of a mentality seeking for homogeneity. We suffered gravely. However, it is not only us; every one is missing something. Every one is tainted because of the mistakes of a couple of men. 

For me, the problem is not only about violation of my freedom of expression in the parliament, disrespect to the elected will or whether I cannot use “that word”. These are important of course, but what really matters is this: Turkey is determined to take the path about which its own history warns and heading at full speed towards intolerance that became a matter of national consensus and to an authoritarian regime that lacks a mechanism of balance and control. 

The ones who will be ignored by the new period will either lapse into silence or revolt, or they will just leave the country. Just like 100 years ago… The country will be damaged and impaired. We might live in a period during which we all lose. 

However, we can win together. 

On these agonized lands, in which we buried Hrant Dink 10 years ago, every one lives in the restlessness of a dove. This restlessness is not groundless. We, Armenians, know it only too well. That is why I am addressing you, the majority.

Let’s correct this historic mistake before it’s too late.  

Historic Assyrian church in Turkey given to Islamic school foundation

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Yet another example of intolerance has taken place in the southeastern Turkish city of Sanliurfa (Urfa)—the historic Assyrian Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in the city is now being used as a municipality-owned cultural center and the foundation of the Islamic school of Harran University, The Armenian Weekly reports.

According to sources, the church was used actively until 1924, when Assyrians (Syriac Christians) left for Aleppo.

Locals call the church “the Regie Church”, because Tekel, the Turkish tobacco and alcoholic beverage company, had once used it as a tobacco factory. This tobacco factory had been known as the Regie Tobacco Company in Ottoman times, and was nationalized in 1925.

It was also used as a grape storehouse for decades. After its restoration in 1998, it hosted a carpet-making class. In 2002, it became the “Kemalettin Gazezoglu Cultural Center,” named after the governor of the city. Today, a part of it has been given to a foundation that runs the Islamic school at the city’s university.

Turkey has used the historic church for many different purposes—except for its intended purpose: a church.

Called Edessa in ancient times, Urfa has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The modern city was founded in 304 B.C by Seleucus I Nicator.

In the late 2nd century, as the Seleucid dynasty disintegrated, it successively became a Parthian, Armenian, and Roman state, and eventually an Eastern Roman (Byzantine) province. It was frequently conquered during periods when the Byzantine central government was weak, due to its location on the eastern frontier of the Empire. It fell to the Muslim conquest in 639 but was briefly retaken by Byzantium in 1031. It then fell to the Turkic Zengid dynasty in 1144, and was eventually absorbed by the Ottoman Empire in 1517.

Edessa was an important early center of Syriac Christianity. For Armenians, too, the city is significant since it is believed that the Armenian alphabet was invented there.

But the traces of Assyrian, Armenian, and Greek Christians have been systematically erased from the city by Muslim governments and residents throughout centuries.

Related links:

The Armenian Weekly. Turkey: Historic Urfa Church Given to Islamic School Foundation

Time for Armenia’s ‘historic role’ to connect Europe with Asia – Caroline Cox

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caroline-cox-armeniaArmenia, which is at the intersection between Europe and Asia, has real chances to build good bridges between the two continents, Baroness Caroline Cox of the British House of Lords said today in Yerevan.

Speaking at the Eurasian Cooperation’s first international conference, the baroness called particularly for stronger efforts towards raising the country’s “pivotal role” in making the Eurasian Economic Union a “smart region”.
The baroness said she is absolutely confident that the country can now return its one-time status of a connecting bridge, opening the gateway between Russia and the United States, and the Arab countries.
Noting that she has 85 times visited Armenia since the 1990s war over Nagorno-Karabakh, Ms Cox said she now sees a real progress inspiring belief about a prosperous future.
Meantime, she admitted that the country faces objectively reasoned impediments due to closed borders with the eastern and western neighbors (Azerbaijan and Turkey). But the baroness said she doesn’t think that the problem is absolutely insurmountable. In her words, “the moment has now arrived for building the historic bridge.”

Source Panorama.am

Pope finishes historic trip to Armenia

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f576fe07b37ca7_576fe07b37cdd6:46pm The papal plane has taken off from the Yerevan international airport.

6:02pm Wrapping up his three-day visit to the world’s first Christian country, Pope Francis on Sunday evening headed to the Zvartnots International Airport on Sunday evening to fly back to Rome.
The pontific is accompanied by President Serzh Sargsyan, Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II, high-ranking clergymen and top government officials.

The Pope, who offered his Peace Prayer in Yerevan’s Republic Square on the first day of his visit, will be remembered in Armenia as a great philanthropist who never recoiled at voicing historical truths, condemning the Armenian Genocide and calling for peace over Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Pope also stood out with his modest conduct and plain way of communicating with ordinary people in Armenia.

 

In the course of his historic journey, the Pope visited the Mother See of St Echmiadzin, the second largest city, Gyumri, and the monastery Khor Virap (where, together with the Armenian patriarch, he released doves towards Mount Ararat as a sign of peace).

Matthew Karanian’s ‘Historic Armenia’ wins gold for best history book (Video)

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karanian.thumbMatthew Karanian’s groundbreaking book Historic Armenia After 100 Years received the top honor for best independently published history book during the annual Benjamin Franklin Book Awards ceremony held on April 8 in Salt Lake City.
The Independent Book Publishers Association, the largest association of publishers in the US, awarded the prize, the Armenian Weekly reports.

It is the first time that a book about Armenia has earned this top award.

Nearly 1,400 titles, all published in 2015, competed for recognition. The award is one of the highest national honors for independent publishers in the US.

Historic Armenia After 100 Years is the first-ever historical guide to the cultural sites of Western Armenia, and includes 125 color photographs and maps.

Karanian accepted the gold medal during a gala awards ceremony that was attended by more than 250 authors and publishers from throughout the US Karanian told the group that he wrote the book in order to shine a bright light on the often-overlooked history of Armenia.

“Armenia is one of the oldest nations in the world that nobody’s ever heard of,” Karanian told the audience. He added that the book is a celebration of Armenia, and not a eulogy.

“Armenia was almost destroyed in 1915 during the first genocide of the 20th century. But the nation survived. This book is a celebration of that survival,” Karanian said during his acceptance speech.

The Benjamin Franklin Book Award is known informally in the publishing industry as a “Benny” and has been awarded each year since 1983. The award recognizes the best independently published books among diverse categories, which include fiction, memoir, photography, travel, and history. A panel of publishing professionals and librarians judge the books each year.

This is the second time this year that Historic Armenia has been recognized with a prestigious national award. Foreword Reviews recognized the book earlier this year as a finalist in the INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards. The top winner of that book prize will be celebrated during a program at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla. in June.

 

Egyptian expert: Historic moment of Armenian Genocide recognition is not far

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egypt-armenian-genocidetYEREVAN. – The historic moment of Armenian Genocide recognition is not that far, Ayman Salama, Egyptian historian, scientist and specialist of international law told Armenian News – NEWS.am.  He said that it was his already second visit to Armenia. “I offer sincere and deep condolences to the Armenian people, Armenian families, who suffered from the genocide committed in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 during WWI,” Ayman Salama said.

According to the expert, Article 1 of the Genocide Convention (adopted by UN General Assembly on December 9, 1948) defines genocide as an international crime regardless of being committed in time of peace or in time of war. “Therefore, it is actually a clear and undeniable refutation to the Turkish side’s allegations. If you ask lawyers, attorneys and human rights activists all over the world, 90 per cent of them will respond that the Armenian Genocide was a typical genocide, defined by international law, international humanitarian law and Geneva Convention,” Salama added.

According to the historian, the Turkish government should address not the Armenian nation but its own people, so that the latter can understand what actually happened.

Historic Cemetery Returned to Armenians in Istanbul

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MEZARLIKISTANBUL—The Armenian community of Turkey has won a legal battle for the ownership of a historic cemetery in Istanbul in the latest success story for the return of properties seized from minorities in the wake of legal amendments, the Daily Sabah reports.

The Turkish Prime Ministry’s Directorate General of Foundations, which oversees properties belonging to religious and ethnic minorities, has handed over the title deed for an ancient Armenian cemetery in Istanbul’s central Şişli district to an Armenian church organization.

Following new laws requiring the return of properties to their rightful owners, Beyoğlu Üç Horan (Yerrortutyun or Trinity) Church Foundation had applied to the Directorate in 2011 for the ownership of the cemetery. After four years and a settlement of legal matters, the Directorate granted ownership to the foundation for the cemetery, which covers some 41,950 square meters in the heart of Istanbul.

The cemetery’s history dates back to the 19th century in which a Sultan’s decree ordered its handover to the Armenian community. In the 1930s, its ownership was transferred to the Istanbul Municipality. Yet, Armenian families were allowed to bury their deceased next of kin in the cemetery even though they had no official deeds for the plots.

Among the cemetery’s notable occupants are Arman Manukyan, a notable professor of economy from Boğaziçi University, opera singer Toto Karaca, composer Onno Tunç, Armenian patriarchs, and Armenian lawmaker Berç Keresteciyan Türker, who is known for his contributions to the Turkish War of Independence.

The place is the latest property that the Armenian community has obtained back after their confiscation by the state. In 2012, the Directorate General of Foundations had returned the title deed of the Armenian Catholic Cemetery in Şişli to the community and a valuable plot in Zeytinburnu district to Yedikule Surp Pergich Hospital Foundation.

Foundations set up by non-Muslim minorities were granted the right to acquire properties in 1912 but a new law in 1935 ordered them to declare the properties they owned and register their title deeds. In 1936, a list of entire properties owned by minorities was handed to the Directorate General of Foundations and minorities were prevented from acquiring any property other than those in the list, thanks to an unofficial ban that was viewed as the state’s hostility towards minorities who were treated as “second-class” citizens. In 1976, the Turkish Supreme Court of Appeals had effectively enforced the ban and also ordered the return of properties minorities had acquired until that year. Soon, countless plots and buildings, especially in upscale districts of Istanbul, were handed to the Treasury after their seizure from Greek and Armenian communities.

Markar Esayan, a columnist for Daily Sabah, says minorities have suffered from “illegal policies” of the state-run foundations authority that exploited legal loopholes. “Until [2008], they suffered at the hands of fascistic measures,” he says, referring to the year that an amendment in the relevant laws “helped the state to repair its past mistakes.”

“Laws in the past dealt a blow to the self-sustainability of the churches whose survival solely depended on schools, hospitals and other sources of revenues,” Esayan says. He noted that a series of decrees helped minorities to regain their rights in terms of return of properties. “Currently, properties returned constitute 10 percent of the total properties supposed to be returned. Nevertheless, it is a very important, democratic step that the state stopped seeing minorities as enemies,” Esayan says. He said that minorities complain of several technical shortcomings in laws regarding church foundations that sometimes complicate the procedure of returning the properties. “The rate of returns is not sufficient. Yet, what matters more now is a change in the mindset, a very radical change (in the view of minorities by the state),” he says.

Associate Professor Toros Alcan, chairman of Armenian community’s Surp Haç Tibrevank Foundation and board member of Directorate General of Foundations, says the return of properties was “what the minorities yearned for decades.” “I can safely say on behalf of minorities that we are very happy with decisions to return the properties,” Alcan says. He said what then prime minister and incumbent president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan once said, “It is not a blessing by the state for minorities but rather a resumption of their rights.”