UN Human Rights Council adopts Genocide Prevention Resolution initiated by Armenia

March 24, 2018 By administrator

Genocide Prevention Resolution

Genocide Prevention Resolution initiated by Armenia was adopted at the 37th session of the UN Human Rights Council by consensus in Geneva on March 23. Nearly 6 dozens of countries introducing all the regional groups of the Human Rights Council joined Armenia and co-authored the resolution. The resolution will be open for the co-authoring for two more weeks, the press service of the MFA Armenia reported.

“Armenia’s representative emphasized in his speech that the initiation of the mentioned resolution is the demonstration of Armenia’s resolve and continuous commitment to the prevention of the crime of genocide. He underlined the special importance of adopting the resolution on Prevention of genocide by consensus by the HRC in the year marking the 70th anniversary of the first UN international agreement on human rights.

The resolution reaffirms that fight against impunity is a key factor for preventing genocides. It expresses concern over the attempts to deny or approve genocides, stressing that they undermine the fight against impunity, reconciliation of peoples and crime-prevention efforts.

The resolution pays special attention to the exposure of signs and reasons of genocides.

It welcomes the call of the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide to for a universal adoption of the resolution ahead of the 70th anniversary of the Convention.

The document also expresses satisfaction over the declaration of December 9 International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime by the UN General Assembly.

The resolution recommends the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to organize a high-level discussion during the September session of the HRC dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Convention on preventing and punishing the crime of genocide.

The resolution also envisages that the Secretary General of the UN will prepare a report based on the information received from the Member States on genocide education and the illustration of the Convention.

Chilean parliament rejects pro-Azerbaijani resolution

June 23, 2016 By administrator

chilean reject azeri The Chamber of Deputies of Chile rejected a project promoted by Azerbaijani diplomacy to declare its total repudiation of the “Khojaly genocide” and express their firm condemnation of the “military occupation of the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan,” Prensa Armenia reports.

The rejection came after the same Chamber unanimously passed a historic resolution that condemns the “armed attack of Azerbaijan against the Nagorno Karabakh Republic” on May 18.

The rejected project sought to be a diplomatic response to the political setback that suffered the government of Azerbaijan in May. The resolution even called to nullify “any other manifestation of a contrary intention expressed before.”

Armenian Ambassador to Argentina and Chile Alexan Harutyunyan was present during the voting because he traveled to present his credentials to President of Chile Michelle Bachelet. Harutyunyan sent a letter to all the Deputies signed by the Armenian community of Chile, Archbishop Kissag Mouradian, Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church for Argentina and Chile, and the Ambassador explaining the position of Armenia before the Chamber took the decision.

The project of the Azeri lobby was introduced by Congressmen Gabriel Silber Romo, Roberto Leon Ramirez, Ivan Flores Garcia and Aldo Cornejo Gonzalez of the Christian Democratic Party, Javier Hernandez Hernandez, Romilio Gutierrez Pino and Osvaldo Urrutia Soto of the Independent Democratic Union, Marcos Espinosa Monardes of the Radical Social Democratic Party, Lautaro Carmona Soto of the Communist Party and Daniel Farcas Guendelman of the Party for Democracy. Many of those who introduced the project voted against it after receiving the letter of the Armenian community in their country.

Armenian Americans discuss Bundestag’s resolution at German consulate in LA

June 11, 2016 By administrator

german consuler Leaders representing a cross-section of Armenian-American community organizations on Friday met with officials at the German Consulate General in Los Angeles to discuss last week’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the German legislature–the Bundestag, Asbarez reported.

The community delegation was comprised of Daron Der Khachatourian (ARF-Dashnaktsutiune), Gabriel Moloyan (Social Democratic Hunchakian Party), Dr. Raffi Balian (Armenian Democratic Liberal Party–Ramkavar), Very Rev. Muron Aznikian (Western Prelacy), Father Pakrad Berjekian (Western Diocese), Rev. Berdj Djambazian (Armenian Evangelical Church), Talin Yacoubian (AGBU) and Maro Papapzian (ARS).

The meeting was held with Stefan Biedermann, the acting Consul General who was accompanied by Kai-Uwe Spicher, the Consulate’s head of administration) and Peter Schmitt, the Consulate’s Deputy Cultural Attaché.

The discussion centered on the June 2 Bundestag resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide, with the Armenian delegation highlighting that the comprehensive resolution not only included language about Germany’s recognition of the Genocide, but went further to accept Germany’s complicity in the crime press for reparations and the return of Armenian assets, such as churches.

The delegation also discussed German President Joachim Gauck’s April 2015 speech during a centennial commemoration mass at Berlin’s Oberpfarr and Dom Church recognizing the Armenian Genocide and urging Turkey to follow suit.

The German representatives told the delegation that it was Germany’s historic responsibility to recognize the Genocide and set the historical record straight, through which it hopes to advance the world’s responsibility for justice and human rights.

Resolution as a contribution to reconciliation between Turks and Armenians – Tessa Hofmann (Part II)

June 10, 2016 By administrator

Continued

Presently, there are a lot of discussions about possible problems between Turkey and Germany. The Turkish authorities are now very aggressive. They also recalled their ambassador from Germany. What kind of process do you think we should expect from Turkey? Will that be a real problem in the Turkish-German relations?
Already two days after the issuance it becomes obvious that very soon we shall be back to routine business with Turkey. As the Chancellor mentioned, German-Turkish relations are too numerous and complex (to be disturbed by a resolution on memory and history politics). Recalling ambassadors has also become a routine in the history of now 26 recognitions by national legislators, and as a rule the diplomatic representatives are very soon back to their offices. As you know, the head of government, i.e. the Chancellor, her deputy Gabriel and the FO Minister Steinmeier were absent during the debate and voting. This was certainly done with the intention to indirectly help Erdoğan to preserve his reputation as Turkey’s strongman. As a sign of undeclared gratitude Turkey’s new PM has already announced that the EU-Turkey agreement on refugees will not be damaged by the resolution – and this risk of damage has certainly Angela Merkel’s biggest concern.
The German Bundestag admits its share of responsibility for the Armenian Genocide. Can we such an admission serve as grounds for asking compensation from Germany too?
Already in the 2005 resolution the Bundestag has acknowledged the involvement of Imperial Germany for the ‘massacres’ and ‘expulsion’ of the Ottoman Armenians. Please do not overestimate such concessions, for they are constructs that help Germany to comment on the historical guilt of another country. The German legislators then and today found themselves in the difficult situation that it would not be convincing if Germany blames Turkey for genocide, whereas during the 20th century Germany was twice the only author of serial genocides: in Namibia against the Herero, Nama and other indigenous people during 1904-1908 (albeit the first genocide of the 20th century) and during WW2 against European Jews and the Sinti/Roma people. Therefore the German lawmakers already in 2005 decided to emphasize German involvement in the WW1 genocide against the Armenians and other indigenous Christians of Asia Minor and Mesopotamia and by this way to remind Turkey that it is necessary for countries and societies with genocidal pasts to pro-actively address this past. If you wish, the mention of German involvement constitutes a tactical approach for officially commemorating the Armenian genocide. In its official response to a parliamentary enquiry by an oppositional Socialist fraction, the Federal Government declared in 2011 that it recoils from the term ‘genocide’ as long as juridical cases on Armenian compensation claims against German banks are pending in the USA.
As you are certainly also aware, such cases are ongoing since more than ten years.
In the given context we have also to determine what precisely would be a German co-responsibility for the Armenian genocide? Ottoman Turkey was a sovereign state, and the ruling war regime of Ittihatist nationalists did not need German inspiration to commit genocide. Since the mid-1960s, scholars of history agree that under the given circumstances and political morals of the period, the German pursuit of national interests was not extraordinary. The view of these scholars – and in my view also – the responsibility lies in the fact that the German government, despite all its firsthand knowledge on the scope and the speed of the destruction of Ottoman Christians stayed more or less indolent, for fear of risking a relevant military alliance. In addition, the (meanwhile bankrupt) German firm Philipp Holzmann, which has been charged with the construction of the Baghdad railways, benefited from Armenian slave labor in 1915/6. Thirdly, Armenians and other Ottoman Christians had immense deposits at German and other foreign banks. Where heirs of the murdered Christians remained, these deposits are the subject of the above mentioned court cases in the USA and other countries. A parliamentary resolution may be helpful, but is not mandatory for such legal proceedings.
As far as the current parliamentary resolution is concerned, the financial commitment will be in the field of historical research, genocide awareness education and cross-community projects that serve reconciliation.

Source: tert.am

Germany’s Genocide resolution to boost worldwide recognition campaign – debate

June 4, 2016 By administrator

The German Bundestag’s recently adopted resolution, acknowledging the Ottoman-era killings of Armenians as genocide, essentially broadens the worldwide campaign towards Genocide recognition, according to an expert.
Commenting on the resolution’s wording at a news conference today, Vladimir Hakobyan, who specializes in international law, highlighted particularly the legal aspect of the decision.
“The recognition of a crime and its appropriate labeling are extremely important,” he said, meantime ruling out possible legal consequences for Turkey.
Ruben Melkonyan, a deputy dean at the Yerevan State University’s Department of Oriental Studies, highlighted the complicity factor, noting that Germany, as a major European state, is known also for its multi-vector cooperation with Turkey.
“Unfortunately, they run counter also to the Armenian interests. It is important to remember that Germany gave home to Talaat, Enver and Cemal Pashas; hence the euphoria we see in Armenia is absolutely pointless,” he added.
Questioning the possibility of legal consequences, Melkonyan also called attention to the decision’s timing.
“What we need to consider further is why they recognized [the Genocide] especially now. With the German-Turkish relations being considerably entangled today, Europe really needs certain restraint mechanisms,” he added.
Melkonyan noted that the 11 Turkish parliament members, who backed the resolution, now face persecution by the Turkish authorities.
But he agreed that the fact is of cornerstone importance in the context of the international recognition campaign.

“What’s more important for me is the step which is to come next. Hence it is now time to bring them to light as evidence of a true happening and a tool to further reinforce the factual bases of the Armenian Genocide,” Melkonyan added.

German Bundestag set to approve Armenian Genocide resolution

May 31, 2016 By administrator

213591 Co-chairman of the German political party Alliance ’90/The Greens Cem Ozdemir –who is of Turkish descent – said that the Bundestag memberswill on June 2 approve a resolution on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, Ermenihaber.am reports citing Zaman newspaper.

On June 2, the Bundestag intends to approve a resolution condemning the century-old Ottoman massacre of Armenians by describing it as genocide. The majority of foreign policy specialists from the relevant parties have given a clear signal that they will support the resolution.

Ozdmir slammed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s proposal of creating a panel of historians for studying the issue as pointless.

According to him, Turkey must clarify its prioroties in the framework of the Armenian Question, adding that the Muslim country made a mistake by first signing the Zurich Protocols and later backing from them.

The Zurich Protocols constituted an agreement signed in 2009 between Armenia and Turkey designed to allow the opening of borders and to set up formal diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Germany: A resolution on the Armenian Genocide in preparation

May 27, 2016 By administrator

Genocide preparation Berlin, May 26, 2016 (AFP) – A resolution recognizing the first genocide of the Armenians by the Ottoman Empire and the “responsibility” of Germany in these crimes is being prepared in the Bundestag, according to a draft the text obtained by AFP Thursday.

The Bundestag, the lower house of the German Parliament “deplores the acts committed by the Young Turk government of the time, which led to the almost total annihilation of the Armenians”, in the text entitled “Remembrance and commemoration of the genocide of Armenians and other Christian minorities there 101 years. “

The resolution presented by both the members of the coalition parties in power in Berlin – conservative CDU-CSU and SPD Social Democrats – and the opposition Greens, evokes “the movement and annihilation planned more one million Armenians “, and must be voted on Thursday.

The Bundestag also regrets “the deplorable role of the German Reich which, as the main military ally of the Ottoman Empire and despite explicit information of diplomats and German missionaries on the movement and organized the extermination of the Armenians, n has done nothing to stop this crime against humanity. “

“The empire bears a share of responsibility for these events,” the text of the resolution, echoing what was said last year President Joachim Gauck, Germany’s first senior official to be qualified as genocide the massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman empire in 1915.

“The experience of Germany face its own history shows how difficult it is for a company to take on the darkest chapters of its past”, yet the text says, referring to slow the country’s working memory of the Nazi period but also the difficulties of Turkey against the Armenian issue.

Like its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey accuses those who recognize the genocide “to support claims based on Armenian lies.”

The Bundestag vote on this text thus risk of stoking German-Turkish tensions, already weakened by a controversy over a satirical poem insulting Erdogan, designed by a German comedian.

Friday, May 27, 2016,
Stéphane © armenews.com

UCSC Student Government Passes Armenian Genocide Recognition Resolution

May 26, 2016 By administrator

UC Santa Cruz Armenian Students’ Association

UCSC SANTA CRUZ—On Tuesday, May 24th, the student government at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz), the Student Union Assembly (SUA), unanimously voted to pass the “Armenian Genocide Commemoration Resolution.” The effort was led by the Armenian Students’ Association (ASA) at UC Santa Cruz. Approximately thirty students attended the SUA meeting at the school’s campus.

The resolution sheds light on the massacres of the 1915 Armenian Genocide and the Ottoman Empire’s attempt to systematically annihilate the Armenian people. Furthermore, it brings awareness to the Republic of Turkey’s continuous genocide denial campaign and efforts to hide its crimes against humanity.

Four Armenian students at UC Santa Cruz, Maral Tatoian, Nara Avakian, Daniel Sarkissian, and Haik Adamian, worked on finalizing the language of the resolution. At last Tuesday’s SUA meeting, Tatoian presented about the resolution, speaking on the history of the Armenian Genocide, the cycle of genocide that continues today, as well as what the passing of the resolution would mean for genocide education and the recognition of the Armenian Genocide on a national level.

“Being one of the co-founders that re-established ASA [at UC Santa Cruz], I have seen this organization grow over the past four years and partake in movements like this. It is very touching for me and truly shows the impact we are making on campus in order to make our voices heard. After all, they tried to bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds and we will continue to grow!” said Tatoian, a fourth-year linguistics major and education minor undergraduate at UC Santa Cruz.

The resolution calls on SUA to not only commemorate the Armenian Genocide, but also “condemn those attempts made by governments as well as other entities, both public and private, to distort the historical reality and legal relevance of the Armenian Genocide to the descendants of its survivors and humanity as a whole.”

Through this resolution, the students hope to raise awareness about the Armenian Genocide and the ongoing denial by the Republic of Turkey and the United States. Moreover, they hope to work with SUA to educate students on campus about the cycle of genocide that continues with denial.

“For me, the passing of this resolution means a lot. Having a prominent student association recognize our cause as Armenians is a big step. But this is only the first step of many toward the recognition of the Armenian Genocide” said Nara Avakian, a first-year sociology major and global information and social enterprise studies minor undergraduate student.

Furthermore, through the passing of this resolution, SUA “supports the efforts of the Armenian-American community at UC Santa Cruz to establish April 24th as the official Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide.”

“For me, this means the progress of the marginalized Armenian Diaspora. As I am a descendent of genocide survivors, it is an honor to have represented my nation in a monumental step on our campus. With Turkey launching a major anti-genocide [recognition] campaign, every step we take as Armenians towards recognition is valuable to our community” said Daniel Sarkissian, a second-year neuroscience undergraduate student.

The ASA at UC Santa Cruz will be meeting with the school’s Executive Vice Chancellor to discuss the next steps that need to be taken to ensure that April 24th will become Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day at UC Santa Cruz

“Passing the resolution marks the beginning of the battle for getting UC Regents, and other authorities to give up their strategic ties to bodies and companies who are active participants in Turkey’s genocide denial and normalization campaigns. At the very least, we can help to expose the role of the education industry in the widespread denial of the Armenian genocide” said Haik Adamian, a second-year anthropology major at UC Santa Cruz.

Armenian students at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), California State University, Northridge (CSUN) and California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) ensured the adoption of similar genocide recognition resolutions last year on their respective campuses.

Last June, the UC Santa Cruz ASA introduced and ensured the unanimous adoption of “A Resolution to Divest from the Republic of Turkey to End the Perpetuation of the Armenian Genocide”, which calls for UC Santa Cruz, the UC Santa Cruz Foundation, and the University of California to divest $72.6 million dollars worth of University of California bonds and investments in the Republic of Turkey for its crimes in, and continued denial of the Armenian Genocide. The resolution was a part of the greater #DivestTurkey campaign led by the Armenian Youth Federation – Western United States (AYF-WUS) and campus-based ASAs.

Germany: Bundestag resolution on Armenian ‘genocide’ is imminent

May 22, 2016 By administrator

G-0,,19210908_303,00 In June, the Bundestag intends to approve a resolution condemning the century-old Ottoman massacre of Armenians by describing it as “genocide.” The nomenclature would anger Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

When German Chancellor Angela Merkel meets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, she will presumably have to deal with his anger at plans by a broad Bundestag coalition to describe the crimes of the Ottoman Empire against ethnic Armenians as “genocide.” For the first time, the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) parties and center-left Social Democrats and Greens look set to make the nomenclature official.

There have been debates on the subject for years, and those ratcheted up in the context of last year’s centenary of the events that left more than a million Armenians dead or deported from the land that would become Turkey. Bundestag President Norbert Lammert and German President Joachim Gauck have already used the term “genocide,” which provoked protests from Ankara. However, several attempts to reach consensus on how to officially refer to the tragedy have been put off.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier remains skeptical as to whether the Bundestag’s likely position will be helpful in regards to coming to terms with the past. A resolution that the Greens had wanted to put forward back in February was postponed in order not to sabotage negotiations as the European Union sought a controversial deportation deal with Turkey when refugees continued to arrive in large numbers. In return, Volker Kauder, the parliamentary leader of the CDU-CSU bloc, shook hands with Greens co-chair Cem Özdemir and promised that a joint resolution would move forward in the first half of 2016. Though critics said Germany was caving on the issue once again, Kauder appears to have kept his word.

“I’m going by the Bundestag’s published timetable,” Raffi Kantian, the chairman of the Hanover-based German-Armenian Society, told DW.

And, indeed, the Bundestag website indicates that an hour has been set aside on June 2 for agenda item No. 5: “Remembrance and Commemoration of the Genocide of Armenians and Other Christian Minorities 101 Years Ago.” A CDU-CSU parliamentary spokeswoman confirmed that the session would go ahead. After all, she said, the text of the resolution is ready, having been prepared by no less than three parliamentary working groups. However, there will not be a roll-call vote on the declaration on June 2. This means that members of parliament will not be obliged to attend. The resolution will be voted on by a show of hands.

The majority of foreign policy specialists from the relevant parties have given a clear signal that they will support the resolution. “There may well be trouble with Ankara,” Özdemir told the Sunday edition of the mass-circulation broadsheet Bild. “But the Bundestag does not allow itself to be blackmailed by a despot like Mr. Erdogan.” CDU-CSU foreign policy spokesman Franz-Josef Jung and Bernd Fabritius, who represents the CSU in the human rights committee, both noted that Germany had historical responsibility in the matter.

Germany culpable, too

In 1915, the German Reich, a predecessor to the modern state, was military protecting the Ottoman Empire in accordance with a strategic wartime alliance. The German side received numerous indications of atrocities and ethnic cleansing by the Young Turk government of the day. According to scholarly estimates, as many as 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire were deported and killed. The German Reich did not intervene; furthermore, it guaranteed postwar asylum for the responsible parties after they had been stripped of their power.

Germany now intends officially to apologize for this. Kantian, of the German-Armenian Society, hopes that this apology will be part of the final text to be approved on June 2. That much isn’t certain yet, but the Left party and the Greens have both demanded not only that the term “genocide” be used but that Germany apologize.

The Greens even put as much in writing back in February: “The German Bundestag regrets the inglorious role of the German Reich, which, despite unequivocal information, including from German diplomats and missionaries, about the organized expulsion and extermination of the Armenians, did not attempt to stop these crimes against humanity.”

Germany MP: Bundestag will pass Armenian Genocide resolution this time

May 19, 2016 By administrator

Recognize G YEREVAN. – After struggling for years for the Armenian Genocide recognition at our Bundestag (parliament), the respective resolution shall finally be adopted on June 2, and where it will be called like it is: genocide.

Ursula “Ulla” Jelpke, Left Faction member of the German Bundestag and member of Die Linke Party of Germany, on Thursday stated the aforementioned at a press conference in Armenia’s capital city of Yerevan.

The German MP, however, stated that such a resolution should have passed a long time ago.

“The document, which we have submitted to the Bundestag, contains a more important point,” Jelpke stated. “We underscore the acceptance of Germany’s accountability and complicity [in the Armenian Genocide].”

And when asked how confident she is that the resolution will pass this time, Ulla Jelpke noted that she is sure of this.

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel was criticized for conducting a deal with Turkey,” the MP added. “So, the Bundestag MPs want to express their clear [respective] position, and say that we have our own view.”