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BELGIUM Federal Account majority recognize the Armenian Genocide

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arton112580-475x317The head of R. Denis Ducarme group said that the initiative was taken before the Kir Ozdemir and polemics.

The four political groups in the federal majority (N-VA, MR, CD & V, VLD) currently discussing a resolution to be tabled in the House for recognizing the Armenian Genocide by the assembly. “The text is being finalized,” says Denis Ducarme us. It should however not be debated in plenary before the end of the year. The MR group leader said that the initiative was taken before the Kir Ozdemir and polemics.

The N-VA is at the initiative of this resolution, co-signed by the MR, the CD & V and VLD. On the side of the CD & V, we stressed the need “to also talk with the opposition: our ambition is to involve the opposition.”

Monday, 1 June 2015
Stéphane © armenews.com

Brazil becomes 24th country to recognize Armenian Genocide

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Brazil-flagThe Federal Senate of Brazil has passed a resolution condemning the Armenian Genocide.
“Brazil has become the 24th country to recognize the Armenian Genocide,” the head of Armenian President’s Chief of Staff, Vigen Sargsyan, said in a Facebook post.
According to the RA Foreign Ministry, the resolution adopted unanimously says that the “Federal Senate recognizes the Armenian Genocide, the centennial of which was marked on April 24, 2015. The Senate honors the memory of Genocide victims and highly appreciates the contribution to the economy and culture by the Genocide survivors and their heirs, who found shelter in Brazil,” the document says.
It also emphasizes that no genocide should be forgotten.
Commenting on the decision, RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said that “the irreversible process of the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide continues. Brazil made its contribution to the prevention of crimes against humanity.”

Source: panarmenian

—————————– Armenian genocide By Turks ——————-

The Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres, and deportations involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, the Italian Chamber of Deputies, majority of U.S. states, parliaments of Greece, Cyprus, Argentina, Belgium and Wales, National Council of Switzerland, Chamber of Commons of Canada, Polish Sejm, Vatican, European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.

Spain’s Santa Margarida recognizes Armenian Genocide

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santa-matgaridaSanta Margarida, municipality in Spain, has joined the Spanish cities that have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide.

The municipality decided to support recognition of the Armenian Genocide as well as restitution demands. The municipality demands recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Spain, taking into account the resolution adopted by the European Parliament.

Edhem Eldem: Turkish Intellectuals Who Have Recognized The Armenian Genocide

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By: Hambersom Aghbashian

Edhem Eldem

Edhem Eldem

Professor  Edhem Eldem (born in Geneva in 1960) is a renowned Turkish historian who teaches at the Department of History at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. He completed his Ph.D. degree  in 1989 at Provence University , (Université de Provence, Aix-Marseille I, Institut de Linguistique Générale et d‟Études Orientales et Slaves), and worked as an associate professor at Boğaziçi University (1989- 91), Tenured  associate professor (1991-98) then full professor. He was a visiting professor, Centre d’études du domaine turc, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris (2001-08), then  In (2011-2012) he was a fellow at The Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. His research focus lies on the late Ottoman social and economic history, intellectual biographies and the history of archaeology.(1)

According to (http://www.esiweb.org), In September 2005, Prof. Halil Berktay, joined by fellow intellectuals Murat Belge, Edhem Eldem and Selim Deringil, organised a conference on the fate of the Ottoman Armenians. Justice Minister Cemil Cicek attacked the organizers in the Turkish parliament with the familiar charge of “stabbing the Turkish people in the back. And according to (The California Courier), June 2, 2005, ” Fearing that these scholars were about to disclose a version of history which was not in line with that approved by the Turkish government, the Governor of Istanbul called Ayse Soysal, the rector of Bogazici University, and ordered her to cancel the meeting. She declined. She also refused requests later that day from the Chief Public Prosecutor to hand over the texts of the papers to be delivered at the conference.”
In December 2008, two hundred prominent Turkish intellectuals released an apology for the “great catastrophe of 1915″. This was a clear reference to the Armenian Genocide, a term still too sensitive to use so openly. The signatories also announced a website related to this apology, and called on others to visit the site and sign the apology as well. The brief text of the apology is: ” My conscience does not accept the insensitivity showed to and the denial of the Great Catastrophe that the Ottoman Armenians were subjected to in 1915. I reject this injustice and for my share, I empathize with the feelings and pain of my Armenian brothers and sisters. I apologize to them. Professor Edhem  Eldem is one of the Turkish intellectuals who signed the apology. (5)
“Today’s Zaman”, wrote on September 26, 2014, “A group of academics, journalists, artists and intellectuals have released a statement condemning in the harshest terms what they define as expressions that include “open hatred and hostility” towards Armenians in Turkish schoolbooks, which were recently exposed by the newspapers Agos and Taraf. The two newspapers recently published reports on hateful remarks targeting Armenians in the textbooks used in history classes. A letter accompanying the text of the condemnation, written by historian Taner Akçam, notes that including such expressions as lesson material to teach children is a disgrace. The signees said textbooks in schools should seek to encourage feelings of peace, solidarity and living together over inciting hatred towards different religious and cultural groups. Edhem Eldem is one of the intellectuals who signed the statement.”(2)
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1- http://www.lisa.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de/content.php?nav_id=3971
2- http://www.todayszaman.com/national_group-of-intellectuals-condemn-anti-armenian-statements-in-textbooks_359935.html

Youth of the European People’s Party approves resolution on Armenian Genocide

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f5559c006b4830_5559c006b4867.thumbThe 10th Congress of the Youth of the European People’s Party (YEPP) approved a resolution recognizing and condemning the genocides of Armenians, Pontic Greeks, and Assyrians.

The document reads, in particular:

“The youth wing of the European People’s Party urges the member states of the EU and the European Council, as well as the international organizations, to recognize and restore the historical reality in memory of the victims of the genocides of the Armenians, Pontic Greeks and Assyrians. All the interested sides recognize the genocides of the Armenians, Pontic Greeks and Assyrians and adopt April 24 and May 19 as the remembrance days of the Armenian Genocide and the Genocide of Pontic Greeks respectively.”

Chairman of the youth organization of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) noted that the resolution, which had been submitted by the Greek delegation, was unanimously approved.

Knight Templars ink protocol on Genocide in Yerevan

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192249Around 30 Templars from 10 countries worldwide inked a protocol on recognition of the Armenian Genocide on behalf of the Order of Knight Templars.

As the Great Commander of the Great Command of Armenia of the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem Bagrat Lalayan stressed, “our brothers and sisters came to Yerevan to pay tribute to the memory of the innocent victims.”

As he noted, the Armenian Order of Knight Templars is a public organisation which continues to protect the Chiristian faith, and support the statehood along with the Church of Armenia.

As the Great Commander noted, the number of Templars worldwide totals 25000, with Armenia home to around 100.

The Templars visited the memorial to the victims of the Armenian Genocide, where the protocols were signed, with the ceremony followed by planing a tree in the alley of memory.

Related links:

Newsarmenia.ru: Տաճարականների (թամփլիեր) ուխտը Հայոց ցեղասպանության ճանաչման վերաբերյալ արձանագրություն է ստորագրել

Vatican to Recognize Palestinian State in New Treaty

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CE6hwN9UEAAsODDThe Vatican said Wednesday that it had concluded a treaty to recognize Palestinian statehood, a symbolic but significant step that was bound to be welcomed by many Palestinians but was likely to cause deep concern for the Israeli government.
Formal recognition of a Palestinian state by the Vatican, which has deep religious interests in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories that include Christian holy sites, lends a powerful signal of legitimacy to the efforts by the Palestinian Authority’s president, Mahmoud Abbas, to achieve statehood despite the long paralyzed Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Israel has grown increasingly alarmed about the increased international acceptance of Palestine as a state since the United Nations upgraded the Palestinian delegation’s status in 2012 to that of a nonmember observer state. A number of European countries have also signaled their acceptance of Palestinian statehood.
Pope Francis, the leader of the world’s 1 billion Catholics, has long signaled his wish for a Palestinian state. For the past year, the Vatican had informally referred to the country as “state of Palestine,” in its yearbook as well as in its program for Francis’ 2014 visit to the Holy Land.
A statement from a joint commission of Vatican and Palestinian diplomatic officials, posted on the Vatican news website, said “the work of the Commission on the text of the agreement has been concluded,” and that it will be submitted for formal approval and for signing “in the near future.”

Sırrı Süreyya Önder Turkish Intellectuals Who Have Recognized The Armenian Genocide

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By: Hambersom Aghbashian

sirm-sureyya-onderSırrı Süreyya Önder (born 7 July 1962- in the Southeastern Anatolian city of Adıyaman), is a Turkish film director, actor, screenwriter, columnist and politician. In 1980, he enrolled in Ankara  university to study political science. There, he joined a political student movement to protest the military junta, which had overturned the government on September 12, 1980. He was arrested and sentenced to twelve years in prison. In 2010, Önder began a columnist career at the newspaper BirGün, he then continued to write at the daily Radikal. Currently, he writes for Özgür Gündem . Önder was elected into the parliament in 2011as an independent but backed by the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), he later joined the BDP. He was involved in the 2013 Taksim Gezi Park protests and was reportedly hospitalized. He competed in 2014 Istanbul mayoral race, as the candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), the sister party of the BDP. Currently he acts as a MP of HDP from Istanbul. Önder’s 2006 film “The International” was awarded the Best Picture Prize at the 2007 International Adana Golden Boll Film Festival, and was entered into the 29th Moscow International Film Festival . He has many other films.(1)

Taraf Newspaper of 20th April 2010 wrote “ …. the anniversary of the 1915s events, this year will be remembered in Turkey, too. The commemoration organized by the “Say Stop!” Group, will start and held at Taksim tram stop. A group of intellectuals, which will be joined also by intellectuals as Ali Bayramoğlu, Ferhat Kentel, Neşe Düzel, Perihan Mağden and Sırrı Süreyya Önder, for the first time in Turkey will commemorate this year on 24 April as the anniversary of the events of 1915.” “This pain is OUR pain. This mourning is for ALL of US.” was part of the groups campaign.(2)

According to ” www.bianet.org “,” At the 97th anniversary of  1915 Armenian Genocide -April 2012- a commemoration event organized at Taksim Square. 500 people came together in front of the tram stop at Taksim Square; Rakel Dink, Orhan Dink, Arat Dink, artist Metin Kahraman, Prof. Dr. Gencay Gürsoy, BDP parliamentarians Sabahat Tuncel and Sırrı Süreyya Önder, journalist author Oral Çalışlar, Prof. Dr. Baskın Oran, artist Ferhat Tunç and the family of Sevag Balıkçı were among them. Participation in this year’s commemoration event was much more crowded than the previous two years.(3)

Under the title “Armenian Genocide-recognizing MP becomes Istanbul mayoral candidate”, “news.am” wrote on April 12, 2013, ” Ertugrul Kurkcu, Vice-Chairman of the newly founded Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) of Turkey, announced that MP Sirri Sureyya Onder is their nominee for the office of the Mayor of Istanbul. To note, Sirri Sureyya Onder had announced in the Turkish parliament, on April 24, 2012, that a great massacre of the Armenians had taken place in 1915 and that this massacre is called “genocide” in all languages.(4)

According to ” The Armenian Weekly”, April 25, 2012, “In a more meaningful gesture, and according to reports, Parliamentarian Sırrı Süreyya Önder is working on bringing a motion declaring April 24 a ‘Day of Mourning and Sharing the Pain of the Armenian victims of 1915’.”(5)

During the Turkish parliament’s hearings on the proposal for fight against the financing of terrorism, the “Peace and Democracy Party” (BDP) MP Sirri Sureyya Onder reflected on the court ruling on the case of Hrant Dink, the founder and former chief editor of Istanbul’s Agos Armenian weekly, who was killed in 2007. “The person [Erhan Tuncel] who was punished in the trial was punished for placing a bomb in a hamburger-selling company [McDonald’s]. In Turkey, the life of an Armenian citizen is not as important as an American company that sells hamburgers. You cannot touch a hamburger seller, but you can kill an Armenian,” Sirri Sureyya Onder said, Turkish Haberx news agency informs.(6)

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1- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C4%B1rr%C4%B1_S%C3%BCreyya_%C3%96nder

2- http://setasarmenian.blogspot.com/2010/04/good-thoughtful-and-ugly-from-turks-on.html

3- http://www.bianet.org/english/minorities/137858-97th-anniversary-of-genocide-and-the-tradition-of-unsolved-murders

4- http://news.am/eng/print/news/183868.html

5- http://armenianweekly.com/2012/04/25/ak-party-founding-member-apologizes/

6- http://recordarmenews.blogspot.com/2012_02_01_archive.html

 

Ümit Kıvanç: Turkish Intellectuals Who Have Recognized The #ArmenianGenocide

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By: Hambersom Aghbashian

Ümit Kıvanç

Ümit Kıvanç

Ümit Kıvanç (born in 1956), is a Turkish writer , documentary filmmaker and journalist. He is a columnist of the daily Radikal. He has worked in the New Agenda weekly news magazine and also wrote for Taraf. Ümit Kıvanç published more than 12 books, translated may others, wrote scenarios and made more than six films and has two musical albums. His father Halit Kıvanç is a Turkish television and radio presenter, humorist, sports journalist, writer and the best known sports commentator in Turkey.(1)(2)
Ümit Kıvanç is one of the Turkish notable intellectuals who signed “I Apologize Campaign” which was launched in December 2008 in Turkey by 200 journalists, writers, politicians, and professors that called for an apology for what they considered as the “Great Catastrophe that Ottoman Armenians were subjected to in 1915”. The campaign was launched by Prof. Ahmet Insel, politician Baskin Oran, Dr. Cengiz Aktar, and journalist Ali Bayramoğlu. The campaign emphasizes regret on behalf of Turkey that Armenian requests for recognition of the 1915 genocide has been actively suppressed within Turkey (3)
According to http://setasarmenian.blogspot.com, under the title “24 April, the anniversary of the 1915 events, will be remembered this year in Turkey, too.”, Taraf Newspaper of 20th April 2010 wrote ” A group of intellectuals, among them Ali Bayramoğlu, Ferhat Kentel, Neşe Düzel, Perihan Mağden and Sırrı Süreyya Önder, for the first time in Turkey, will commemorate this year on 24 April as the anniversary of the events of 1915, under the leader-ship of “Say Stop!” group. The commemoration will start in front of the tram station in Taksim Square. The group will be dressing in black and carry photos of massacred Armenian intellectuals who were deported from that station.” the following abstracts are from the text of the commemoration activity, “This pain is OUR pain. This mourning is for ALL of US. In 1915, when our population was just 13 million, 1,5 to 2 million Armenians were living in these lands…. In April 24, 1915 it was started “to send them”. We lost them. They are no longer available. They have not even graves. But the “Great Pain” of the “Great Disaster” , with its utmost gravity EXISTS in our pain”. Ümit Kıvanç was one of the intellectuals who signed the text.(4)
Ümit Kıvanç is one of the 37 Turkish intellectuals who, in 2012, signed a Petition Against Denialist Exhibit in Denmark. ” Don’t Stand Against Turkey’s Democratization and Confrontation with its History! ” was the message to the Royal Library of Denmark who has given the Turkish government the opportunity to present an “alternative exhibit” in response to the Armenian Genocide exhibition.(5)
According to “Today’s Zaman”, September 26, 2014, “A group of academics, journalists, artists and intellectuals have released a statement condemning in the harshest terms what they define as expressions that include ‘open hatred and hostility’ towards Armenians in Turkish schoolbooks, which were recently exposed by the newspapers Agos and Taraf. A letter accompanying the text of the condemnation, written by historian Taner Akçam, notes that including such expressions as lesson material to teach children is a disgrace. The statement said ‘The revolutions history and history textbooks should be collected immediately, with an apology issued to everyone and particularly to Armenian students.” The signees said textbooks in schools should seek to encourage feelings of peace, solidarity and living together over inciting hatred towards different religious and cultural groups. Ümit Kıvançwas is one of the many most respected Turkish intellectuals who signed it.(6)
In his article “Papa’ya yakışmamış, ama size yakışıyor”, ” It does not fit the Pope, but it fits you”, “Radikal, April 14, 2015”, Umit Kavanc responded stiffly the criticisms, especially done by PM Davoutoglu, concerning Pope Francis’ declaration of 1915 Armenian massacre in the Ottoman empire as a Genocide and accusing Turkey of committing “the first genocide of the 20th century” against the Armenian people. He mentioned also that sometimes he likes to put himself in the place of those shameless denials, and said “I fell a horrible exasperation, insomuch, I can’t explain, how hard it is to excuse a crime and live with so many lies.” hinting to the Armenian Genocide and the Turkish forged official history and anti Genocide recognition policy.(7)
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1- http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Cmit_K%C4%B1van%C3%A7
2- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halit_K%C4%B1van%C3%A7
3- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Apologize_campaign
4- http://setasarmenian.blogspot.com/2010/04/good-thoughtful-and-ugly-from-turks-on.html
5- http://www.aga-online.org/signature/detail.php?locale=am&alertId=6
6-http://www.todayszaman.com/national_group-of-intellectuals-condemn-anti-armenian-statements-in-textbooks_359935.html
7- http://www.radikal.com.tr/yazarlar/umit_kivanc/papaya_yakismamis_ama_size_yakisiyor-1334951