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Yes, It’s Genocide – The New York Times

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f57517d942d881_57517d942d8ba.thumbBelow is an article by the Editorial Board of The New York Times

In what has become an almost annual exercise, Turkey has thrown a fit because someone has spoken the truth about its dark past. This time, it has pulled its ambassador from Berlin and threatened dire consequences over a resolution, passed overwhelmingly by the German Parliament on Thursday, declaring that the century-old massacre of Ottoman Armenians was a genocide. That is what Turkey does every time a foreign government dares to challenge its discredited claim that the Armenians perished in the cruel fog of World War I, and not in a premeditated attempt to eradicate a people. Germany’s claims to the contrary, Turkish legislators huffed in a statement, are “based on biased, distorted and various subjective political motives.”

No, it was a genocide, the first of the 20th century. Historians have established beyond reasonable doubt that as many as 1.5 million Armenians were deliberately killed or sent on death marches in 1915-16 by the disintegrating Ottoman Empire, fearful that they and other Christian minorities could side with Russia in the war.

For Armenians, millions of whom were left scattered around the world, gaining recognition that the slaughter was a genocide — a deliberate atrocity, and not collateral damage — has been a long and passionate national mission, which has resulted in formal recognition by more than 20 countries.

The Armenians are fully justified in their quest for a historical reckoning. But the more the world has recognized that, the more aggressively Turkey has stormed and shouted. A couple of years ago, when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was still a relatively broad-minded prime minister, he seemed prepared to take a more conciliatory stance on the Armenian issue. It never happened, and the increasingly autocratic Mr. Erdogan warned Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, in advance that relations with Germany — “bilateral, diplomatic, economic, trade, political and military” — would be damaged by the resolution.

Mr. Erdogan’s threats are not without effect. Turkey is a crucial NATO ally in the upheavals of the Middle East, and especially important to Germany and the European Union as they try to stem the flow of Syrian refugees. Ms. Merkel was not present for the vote, though she did not oppose it. President Obama, who as a candidate in 2008 pledged to recognize the events of 1915 as a genocide, has failed to do so.

The damage done to Turkey’s relations with the Armenians and its NATO allies is the responsibility of that large majority of Turks who refuse to acknowledge a dark blot on their history, not those who seek to commemorate the tragedy. The Germans, who have admirably confronted the terrible genocide in their own history, did the right thing in defying Mr. Erdogan’s threats.

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Turkish journalist to nationalists: Yes, Ozbiliz is Armenian – any questions?

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yes Ozbilis ArmenianThe journalist of the Turkish Milliyet, Serdar Sarıdağ, strictly addressed those fans who made offensive remarks over Aras Ozbiliz transfer to Turkey’s Beşiktaş.

Sarıdağ noted that he was very happy to learn that a footballer like Aras was returning to Turkey.

“Thanks to the President of Beşiktaş. We know, he had been dealing with this issue for 3 years.

Now let’s pass on to Aras. His father is a Diyarbakir Armenian, and Aras was born in Bakırköy, Istanbul, and left for the Netherlands as a child. As an Armenian, he apparently chose the Armenian Squad. He could also have chosen the Turkish Squad, but it was up to him. Nobody can say anything here. We are proud of Mesut Özil, aren’t we? Football is above nationality. Nowadays anyone can choose any squad they like.

Yes, Aras Ozbiliz is an Armenian. Does anyone object to this? And I’m a Turkish journalist. And Ribéry is a French Muslim. And Einstein was a Jewish German scientist. What is the point in saying such shameful things about nationality in football?” the Milliyet correspondent wrote.

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Scot-Free-No Scots vote ‘no’ in independence referendum

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Scotland stepped back from the brink of ending the 307-year-old union with England and Wales and was on track to remain part of the United Kingdom by a comfortable scot-free-nomargin, the Guardian reports.

With more than half of Scotland’s local authorities having declared including the major cities of Glasgow and Aberdeen, an estimated 55% of voters were expected to reject the prospectus for independence.

But the yes campaign scored a handful of notable successes, succeeding in the largest city of Glasgow by 53% to 47%, winning 54% in West Dunbartonshire and a convincing 57% win in Dundee.

Prime Minister David Cameron and the Queen will both move to calm tensions when they deliver statements on Friday. The prime minister will seek early in the day, in the words of one cabinet minister, to “cement in” the no vote by outlining how he will deliver the deepening of Scotland’s devolution settlement, the Guardian says.

The Queen, who has monitored the referendum with interest, will make a written statement on Friday afternoon. It is understood that her remarks will focus on reconciliation.

Labor’s exit polling in 30 out of Scotland’s 32 councils suggested they were on course to win by 55% to 45% – a finding that the early results appeared to confirm.

Some 4,283,392 people had registered to vote in the busiest day in Scottish electoral history. Across the board turnouts were high, often well over 80%, although it dropped to 75% in Glasgow.

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800-page book on Armenian-American achievements, just published, Yes, We Have: Expanded

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LOS ANGELES—Yes, We Have: Expanded, a sweeping overview of Armenian contributions to the United States, has been released by the Armenian Arts Fund.

YesWeHave-SmallThe 800-plus-page volume comprises over 700 short biographies and US patents awarded to Americans of Armenian descent. The book also includes a number of more extensive entries on such luminaries as Oscar H. Banker (Asadoor Sarafian), father of the automatic transmission and inventor of the multicolor printing press, among others.

“Even after five years of research, I am still pleasantly surprised by the enormous scale and variety of Armenian accomplishments in America; it’s simply breathtaking,” said Stepan Partamian, who compiled the book. “Those accomplishments are presented in Yes, We Have: Expanded in chronological order, encompassing art, culture, literature, politics, technology, cinema and television, sports, journalism, the military, and other fields.”

“As importantly,” Partamian continued, “I am delighted to have learned over the course of my research about the wonderful contributions to American civilization made by a great many Armenian women. This fact, of course, is also amply documented in the book.”

Yes, We Have: Expanded is the fifth, and most extensive, installment of a series of books sharing the Yes, We Have title. Partamian launched the series in 2009.

As with previous installments of the series, proceeds from the sale of Yes, We Have: Expanded will support an ongoing research and publishing project titled “The Armenian World.”

“The Armenian World” is a multi-year initiative which seeks to document all significant expressions of Armenian life in America and throughout the world, including landmarks, institutions, monuments, and pubic signs, with full-color photos and text published in book form. The initiative began with the large-size, full-color volume The Armenian in America (2012), for the preparation of which Partamian drove across the United States and took thousands of photos.

“Just as proceeds from sales of my previous publications have made possible the release of subsequent books, proceeds from Yes, We Have: Expanded will facilitate the publication of the book The Armenian World,” Partamian said. Toward that goal, he explained, he has traveled across the Middle East and Europe earlier this year, documenting “a treasure trove of dynamic aspects pertaining to Armenian life.”

Partamian said he is dedicated to completing the project, by continuing his documentary research in Europe and elsewhere, and aiming to publish The Armenian World by April 2015, the 100th anniversary of the “failed” Genocide.

Partamian appealed to the worldwide Armenian community to support this project by purchasing copies of Yes, We Have: Expanded or making a financial contribution through www.letuseducate.com. “With every $50 you donate, a copy of Yes, We Have: Expanded will be gifted to an American elected official of your choice,” he explained. “What we’re trying to accomplish here is to ‘educate one official at a time’ about the outstanding contributions to American civilization made by Americans of Armenian descent. I think this is an extraordinary way of enhancing the public image of the Armenian-American community, and, ultimately, making sure that our voice is heard at the highest levels of the American government.”

Yes, We Have: Expanded, priced at $40 plus shipping and handling, is available from TheArmenian.com.

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