Armenian News... A Topalian -
Due to conditions down to format issues, We are not able to present a better post at this time!...Thank you for your understanding.
Click on the attached article the events in the Venice Biennale
where Armenia's very original pavilion unanimously won the top
prize.
The article is very informative on how the political machinations
today are influenced by the dark pages of history one hundred
years ago even in the area of culture. Therefore a must-read.
COMMENTARY
The Golden Lion for Best National
Participation at Venice Biennale
2015, whose slogan is “All the
World’s Futures”, has been awarded
to the Republic of Armenia, “for forming a pavilion based on a people in diaspora . . . [in] a year that witnesses a significant milestone for the Armenian people”. The winning pavil- ion bears the title “Armenity/Haiyutioun: Contemporary artists from the Armenian Dia- spora”; and “milestone” is a polite euphemism for the centenary of the genocide of Armenians by Ottoman Turks. The pavilion houses the work of sixteen artists who live and work outside Armenia – in Aleppo, Istanbul, New York, Buenos Aires and elsewhere – but have one thing in common: they are descendants of genocide survivors, part of a network that is transparent, yet tangible. What could make a diaspora, marked by a century of genocide and its denial, the best representative of our future?
We have a starting date for the Armenian genocide: April 24, 1915, when the Turkish police arrested hundreds of Armenian intellec- tuals in Istanbul, marking the beginning of a
to the Republic of Armenia, “for forming a pavilion based on a people in diaspora . . . [in] a year that witnesses a significant milestone for the Armenian people”. The winning pavil- ion bears the title “Armenity/Haiyutioun: Contemporary artists from the Armenian Dia- spora”; and “milestone” is a polite euphemism for the centenary of the genocide of Armenians by Ottoman Turks. The pavilion houses the work of sixteen artists who live and work outside Armenia – in Aleppo, Istanbul, New York, Buenos Aires and elsewhere – but have one thing in common: they are descendants of genocide survivors, part of a network that is transparent, yet tangible. What could make a diaspora, marked by a century of genocide and its denial, the best representative of our future?
We have a starting date for the Armenian genocide: April 24, 1915, when the Turkish police arrested hundreds of Armenian intellec- tuals in Istanbul, marking the beginning of a
VICKEN CHETERIAN
vast project of mass deportation and murder. What we do not have is an end date. Compare this to the Holocaust, which is remembered on the day the Red Army liberated Auschwitz, putting an end to the atrocity. For Armenians, the end never came, since Turkey continues to deny the crime. Much of the debate has focused on whether what happened is techni- cally a “genocide” or not – but that is silly. What matters is that Turkey is not ready to recognize its responsibility. This fact has con- sequences: survivors cannot bury their dead, refugees have never been allowed to return to their land, and Turkey still imposes a severe blockade on land-locked Armenia.
Armenians were, of course, a people of diaspora even before the genocide of 1915. Following the nomadic invasions from Central Asia in the eleventh century, which destroyed the Bagratid Kingdom, Armenians lived for many centuries without a proper state. They survived by preserving their distinct identity, thanks, in part, to the Armenian Apostolic Church (the national Church of the Armeni- ans), and to the distinctive features of their cul- ture, which crystallized around the Armenian alphabet and language. Diaspora communities sprang up and blossomed in distant merchant colonies, from Isfahan to Dacca, Cairo to War- saw. This dispersed nation, globalized before its time, could always count on new recruits from its historic heartland where a significant number of Armenians remained, divided between the “East Armenians” living in the Persian and later Tsarist Empire, and “West Armenians” under Ottoman domination.
The deportations and massacres during the First World War brought a fundamental shift not only in the ethnic composition of the Mid- dle East, as its major Christian populations (Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians) were uprooted, but also in the numerical balance between the two components of the Armenian nation, two-thirds of whom were living under Ottoman rule. The emergence of an independ- ent Armenia following the collapse of the Soviet Union brought yet more complications: Armenia became an independent republic, which had the effect of marginalizing the dia- spora. In the Middle East, war and instability threatened the survival of Armenian commu- nities, leading to further exodus. Today, large traditional Armenian communities in Syria are being dispersed once again, as Armenian neighbourhoods in the historic centre of Aleppo have become battlefronts. Recent communities, such as the growing Armenian population in California, face problems of a new type: today’s generation is losing its his- toric knowledge of the Armenian language, and churchgoers are dwindling in number. As a result, increasing numbers of people have become pessimistic about the survival of an Armenian identity abroad.
“The Armenians are exemplary as a people, in the sense that in the last hundred years they
vast project of mass deportation and murder. What we do not have is an end date. Compare this to the Holocaust, which is remembered on the day the Red Army liberated Auschwitz, putting an end to the atrocity. For Armenians, the end never came, since Turkey continues to deny the crime. Much of the debate has focused on whether what happened is techni- cally a “genocide” or not – but that is silly. What matters is that Turkey is not ready to recognize its responsibility. This fact has con- sequences: survivors cannot bury their dead, refugees have never been allowed to return to their land, and Turkey still imposes a severe blockade on land-locked Armenia.
Armenians were, of course, a people of diaspora even before the genocide of 1915. Following the nomadic invasions from Central Asia in the eleventh century, which destroyed the Bagratid Kingdom, Armenians lived for many centuries without a proper state. They survived by preserving their distinct identity, thanks, in part, to the Armenian Apostolic Church (the national Church of the Armeni- ans), and to the distinctive features of their cul- ture, which crystallized around the Armenian alphabet and language. Diaspora communities sprang up and blossomed in distant merchant colonies, from Isfahan to Dacca, Cairo to War- saw. This dispersed nation, globalized before its time, could always count on new recruits from its historic heartland where a significant number of Armenians remained, divided between the “East Armenians” living in the Persian and later Tsarist Empire, and “West Armenians” under Ottoman domination.
The deportations and massacres during the First World War brought a fundamental shift not only in the ethnic composition of the Mid- dle East, as its major Christian populations (Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians) were uprooted, but also in the numerical balance between the two components of the Armenian nation, two-thirds of whom were living under Ottoman rule. The emergence of an independ- ent Armenia following the collapse of the Soviet Union brought yet more complications: Armenia became an independent republic, which had the effect of marginalizing the dia- spora. In the Middle East, war and instability threatened the survival of Armenian commu- nities, leading to further exodus. Today, large traditional Armenian communities in Syria are being dispersed once again, as Armenian neighbourhoods in the historic centre of Aleppo have become battlefronts. Recent communities, such as the growing Armenian population in California, face problems of a new type: today’s generation is losing its his- toric knowledge of the Armenian language, and churchgoers are dwindling in number. As a result, increasing numbers of people have become pessimistic about the survival of an Armenian identity abroad.
“The Armenians are exemplary as a people, in the sense that in the last hundred years they
a deep similarity. Both are fragile: the smallest
of the post-Soviet republics, Armenia has been
under siege by two of its neighbours since it
gained independence in 1991; bordered by
hostile states, it is itself like a Venetian island
in the mountains of the Caucasus. Both have
had a global influence incompatible with their
size: Armenia through its diaspora, San Laz-
zaro through the Mekhitarist Congregation.
“We have a pavilion which has existed for 300
years”, von Fürstenberg says.
For Biennale 2015, the walls of the San Lazzaro monastery have been transformed into showrooms, its ancient manuscripts raw material for art. Just like the Mekhitarist Con- gregation, the sixteen artists have gathered remnants of an Armenian past in order to give them new life. References to this traumatic past are omnipresent: Nigol Bezjian in his installation “Witnessed.ed” introduces the tragic poet Daniel Varoujan, symbol of the Armenian intelligentsia, who was arrested on April 24, 1915 and murdered in deportation. Through old newspaper texts and contempo- rary video installation, the artist gives life to the poet. “Treasures”, Silvina Der-Meguerdi- tchian’s installation, is inspired by a text about folk medicine written by her grandmother in Turkish in the Armenian alphabet; the intro- duction of additional texts and various objects makes for a meaningful exploration of identity and longing. In the photographs of Aram Jibil- ian, subjects wear masks based on characters in the paintings of the Armenian-American Arshile Gorky.
By reviving fragments of the past, the artists of “Armenity” overcome both the pain of anni- hilation and the borders of modern nation- states. This is well illustrated by the work of Sarkis Zabunian, who exhibits “My memory is my homeland” on San Lazzaro, and, as the sole exhibit of the Turkish pavilion in the Arsenale, his new magnum opus “Respiro”. For this, a large hall in the Arsenale has been divided by two huge mirrors marked with large coloured fingerprints painted in watercolour by seven children from Istanbul. At the two extremities of the hall are neon rainbows representing “the first magical breaking point of light”, the beginning of existence. Lining the walls are thirty-six stained-glass panes on which one can find Hrant Dink, the Turkish-Armenian journalist assassinated in front of his editorial offices in Istanbul on January 19, 2007, hold- ing a pomegranate and smiling; a reproduction of the Archangel Gabriel as depicted on the walls of Haghia Sophia; Christ on the cross; a woman participating in the Gezi Park protests of 2013; war in Africa; candles in an old medieval church; and the filmmaker Sergei Parajanov sitting on his bed. There is much suffering in these images, yet Sarkis has made from it something beautiful. After one hundred years of separation, Sarkis, a diaspora Arme- nian who was born in Istanbul and lives in France, has brought his art back to Turkey.
An even more poignant expression of dia- spora art is “Streetlights of Memory – A Stand
For Biennale 2015, the walls of the San Lazzaro monastery have been transformed into showrooms, its ancient manuscripts raw material for art. Just like the Mekhitarist Con- gregation, the sixteen artists have gathered remnants of an Armenian past in order to give them new life. References to this traumatic past are omnipresent: Nigol Bezjian in his installation “Witnessed.ed” introduces the tragic poet Daniel Varoujan, symbol of the Armenian intelligentsia, who was arrested on April 24, 1915 and murdered in deportation. Through old newspaper texts and contempo- rary video installation, the artist gives life to the poet. “Treasures”, Silvina Der-Meguerdi- tchian’s installation, is inspired by a text about folk medicine written by her grandmother in Turkish in the Armenian alphabet; the intro- duction of additional texts and various objects makes for a meaningful exploration of identity and longing. In the photographs of Aram Jibil- ian, subjects wear masks based on characters in the paintings of the Armenian-American Arshile Gorky.
By reviving fragments of the past, the artists of “Armenity” overcome both the pain of anni- hilation and the borders of modern nation- states. This is well illustrated by the work of Sarkis Zabunian, who exhibits “My memory is my homeland” on San Lazzaro, and, as the sole exhibit of the Turkish pavilion in the Arsenale, his new magnum opus “Respiro”. For this, a large hall in the Arsenale has been divided by two huge mirrors marked with large coloured fingerprints painted in watercolour by seven children from Istanbul. At the two extremities of the hall are neon rainbows representing “the first magical breaking point of light”, the beginning of existence. Lining the walls are thirty-six stained-glass panes on which one can find Hrant Dink, the Turkish-Armenian journalist assassinated in front of his editorial offices in Istanbul on January 19, 2007, hold- ing a pomegranate and smiling; a reproduction of the Archangel Gabriel as depicted on the walls of Haghia Sophia; Christ on the cross; a woman participating in the Gezi Park protests of 2013; war in Africa; candles in an old medieval church; and the filmmaker Sergei Parajanov sitting on his bed. There is much suffering in these images, yet Sarkis has made from it something beautiful. After one hundred years of separation, Sarkis, a diaspora Arme- nian who was born in Istanbul and lives in France, has brought his art back to Turkey.
An even more poignant expression of dia- spora art is “Streetlights of Memory – A Stand
“Les Réverbères de la Mémoire” (Streetlights of Memory), 2010–15, by Melik Ohanian
Island of memory
The art of the Armenian diaspora at Biennale 2015
The art of the Armenian diaspora at Biennale 2015
Swiss parliament recognizing the genocide of
the Armenians as such – when the executive is
able to censor that recognition and override the
democratic process? How can the UN and
other societies for global peace defend us from
future calamities, if they dare not even mention
the name of a genocide committed a hundred
years ago? Are we surprised to see the UN,
tasked with preventing atrocities in Syria and
elsewhere, so helpless? After seeing “Res-
piro” in the Turkish pavilion, the censorship of
art by politicians looks even more ridiculous.
The members of the Les Réverbères asso- ciation were becoming anxious. “Armenity” had never been popular – and nor were the descendants of genocide survivors. Since the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 that created the foundations of modern Turkey, their quest for justice has never been a cause célèbre. The great powers of Turkey mattered; Armenians did not. Now, a century later, the rejection of Streetlamps was reopening old wounds.
The artwork did what diasporas have always done: it found a new home, and became the very story it was representing. Yet this success remains fragile. Not only did the name of the sculpture have to be qualified for the Biennale by the addition of the phrase “A Stand by Memorial 2010/2015”, but the sculpture itself changed its appearance: instead of proud, erect lamps, their base deep in the soil, it became a heap of broken pieces, eighty-seven in total, piled on the ground. Where these pieces will go when the Biennale ends in November remains to be seen.
The members of the Les Réverbères asso- ciation were becoming anxious. “Armenity” had never been popular – and nor were the descendants of genocide survivors. Since the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 that created the foundations of modern Turkey, their quest for justice has never been a cause célèbre. The great powers of Turkey mattered; Armenians did not. Now, a century later, the rejection of Streetlamps was reopening old wounds.
The artwork did what diasporas have always done: it found a new home, and became the very story it was representing. Yet this success remains fragile. Not only did the name of the sculpture have to be qualified for the Biennale by the addition of the phrase “A Stand by Memorial 2010/2015”, but the sculpture itself changed its appearance: instead of proud, erect lamps, their base deep in the soil, it became a heap of broken pieces, eighty-seven in total, piled on the ground. Where these pieces will go when the Biennale ends in November remains to be seen.
TLS JULY 17 2015
TLS JULY 17 2015
“Respiro”, 2015, by Sarkis Zabunian
were migrants par excellence”, explains Ade- lina Cüberyan von Fürstenberg, the curator of “Armenity/Haiyutioun”. “They show how it is possible to live within the culture and laws of the country while preserving their proper cul- ture.” The title she gave to the pavilion derives from the French arménité (loosely, “the art of being Armenian”), and the pavilion itself is located neither in the Giardini nor the Arsenale (the two traditional exhibit spaces of the Bien- nale) but on San Lazzaro degli Armeni, a twenty-minute journey by vaporetto from San Zaccaria.
There could be no better place to represent arménité than the tiny island that bears the name of the patron saint of lepers. In 1717, the Venetian Republic gave San Lazzaro to the Armenian monk Mekhitar to found a monas- tery. Mekhitar was born in Sebastia (Sivas, in today’s Turkey), and established an Armenian Catholic order in Constantinople. But he was persecuted both by the Sultan and by the majority Armenian Apostolic Church, event- ually finding refuge in the Peloponnese, then under Venetian rule. When Ottoman forces attacked and occupied the Morea peninsula, Mekhitar and his followers fled with the retreating Venetian forces. From this small island in faraway Venice, armed with the power of a printing press, the Mekhitarist Con- gregation played a central role in the revival of Armenian culture, printing dictionaries and books, educating teachers, and providing shel- ter for the persecuted. It was here on San Laz- zaro that Lord Byron came in late 1816 to learn classical Armenian. He is considered the island’s most famous visitor, and the room where he stayed still bears his name.
Standing today on San Lazzaro, in the midst of the Venetian Lagoon, one is initially struck by the contrast between this small island and mountainous Armenia – between the heart of Renaissance Europe and a lost corner of Asia Minor. Yet, on closer consideration, they bear
were migrants par excellence”, explains Ade- lina Cüberyan von Fürstenberg, the curator of “Armenity/Haiyutioun”. “They show how it is possible to live within the culture and laws of the country while preserving their proper cul- ture.” The title she gave to the pavilion derives from the French arménité (loosely, “the art of being Armenian”), and the pavilion itself is located neither in the Giardini nor the Arsenale (the two traditional exhibit spaces of the Bien- nale) but on San Lazzaro degli Armeni, a twenty-minute journey by vaporetto from San Zaccaria.
There could be no better place to represent arménité than the tiny island that bears the name of the patron saint of lepers. In 1717, the Venetian Republic gave San Lazzaro to the Armenian monk Mekhitar to found a monas- tery. Mekhitar was born in Sebastia (Sivas, in today’s Turkey), and established an Armenian Catholic order in Constantinople. But he was persecuted both by the Sultan and by the majority Armenian Apostolic Church, event- ually finding refuge in the Peloponnese, then under Venetian rule. When Ottoman forces attacked and occupied the Morea peninsula, Mekhitar and his followers fled with the retreating Venetian forces. From this small island in faraway Venice, armed with the power of a printing press, the Mekhitarist Con- gregation played a central role in the revival of Armenian culture, printing dictionaries and books, educating teachers, and providing shel- ter for the persecuted. It was here on San Laz- zaro that Lord Byron came in late 1816 to learn classical Armenian. He is considered the island’s most famous visitor, and the room where he stayed still bears his name.
Standing today on San Lazzaro, in the midst of the Venetian Lagoon, one is initially struck by the contrast between this small island and mountainous Armenia – between the heart of Renaissance Europe and a lost corner of Asia Minor. Yet, on closer consideration, they bear
by Memorial 2010/2015”, by the French-
Armenian Melik Ohanian. It is placed at the
entrance to the island, outside the walls of the
Mekhitarists, and away from the rest of the
exhibit. One’s first impression on disembark-
ing is that the work is simply a heap of metal,
or outsized parts of pipes or trumpets; in fact,
“Streetlights of Memory” (“Les Réverbères de
la Mémoire”) is a work which was supposed to
have been erected long ago and has never been
completed. It was intended as a gift by the
Armenian community to the city of Geneva, an
expression of gratitude for the refuge provided
by that city to the orphans of the genocide, and
for the humanitarian aid Geneva supplied to
survivors. It followed Geneva’s recognition in
2005 that the mass killings of 1915 were
indeed a genocide, following earlier acknowl-
edgements by the Canton of Geneva in 1998,
and the Swiss Federal Assembly in 2003.
Given these precedents, the city authorities
did not imagine that they would be triggering
controversy in 2008 when they announced an
international art competition for the construc-
tion of a memorial. The work was to have been
unveiled on April 24, 2009.
The jury’s choice of “Streetlights of Memory” was unanimous. The artwork was to be composed of nine streetlights, each 8 metres high and with unique forms and orna- ments. Each lamppost is engraved with words in Armenian or French. The text runs upwards towards the chrome teardrops that take the place of lightbulbs. These were to be illumi- nated at night by orange lamps on the ground. An individual standing beneath the teardrop would thus see his own reflection, and a walk in the park would be transformed into an invi- tation to meditate on collective trauma.
The municipality of Geneva proposed the Bastion de Saint-Antoine, in the old part of the city, as the location for the sculpture, but this idea was opposed by conservationists who had discovered ancient remains at the site. They proposed that “Streetlights” be placed instead in the international part of the city. The munici- pal authorities consequently made a second suggestion: the park of the Ariana Museum, located on the Avenue de la Paix, midway between the Palais des Nations (the Geneva
The jury’s choice of “Streetlights of Memory” was unanimous. The artwork was to be composed of nine streetlights, each 8 metres high and with unique forms and orna- ments. Each lamppost is engraved with words in Armenian or French. The text runs upwards towards the chrome teardrops that take the place of lightbulbs. These were to be illumi- nated at night by orange lamps on the ground. An individual standing beneath the teardrop would thus see his own reflection, and a walk in the park would be transformed into an invi- tation to meditate on collective trauma.
The municipality of Geneva proposed the Bastion de Saint-Antoine, in the old part of the city, as the location for the sculpture, but this idea was opposed by conservationists who had discovered ancient remains at the site. They proposed that “Streetlights” be placed instead in the international part of the city. The munici- pal authorities consequently made a second suggestion: the park of the Ariana Museum, located on the Avenue de la Paix, midway between the Palais des Nations (the Geneva
headquarters of the United Nations) and the
offices of the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC). Surely no better spot could
be chosen to commemorate the victims of war
and crimes against humanity. A new deadline
was given: 2013. But in October of that year,
the Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu
visited his Swiss counterpart, Didier Burkhal-
ter, in Bern, and the two sides agreed on a “stra-
tegic partnership”. One of the prices paid by the
Swiss side was to oppose the construction of
the memorial for the Armenian victims. The
Turkish authorities were also exercising heavy
pressure on the United Nations to prevent the
project’s completion. Although the Turkish
arguments were never made public, their diplo-
mats succeeded in blocking the artwork, win-
ning over politicians already willing to listen.
The necessary permits were delayed. Although the construction plans did not face any administrative obstacles, cantonal author- ities opposed the project, concerned that “Streetlights” might cause difficulties for the leadership of Geneva’s UN offices. The asso- ciation Les Réverbères, which was composed of Swiss-Armenians supporting the project, contacted the United Nations Office at Geneva, and received written assurances that the UN had not intervened and that it was the responsibility of Geneva’s authorities to take the necessary decisions. Based on this, in November 2014, a few months before the cen- tenary, the cantonal authorities promised that the permit was finally ready to be issued: the monument would be erected by April 24, 2015.
Soon after, however, Bern intervened, and the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs sent a letter to the cantonal authorities, demanding that the project be stopped. According to infor- mation leaked to the Swiss media, the Swiss foreign ministry argued that in order “to pre- serve an impartial and peaceful setting allow- ing the United Nations and other international organizations to carry out their functions in the best possible working conditions” it was nec- essary to “refuse to grant a building permit in the planned location”. It is a great irony that this declaration was made in the name of the UN, an organization founded to prevent wars
The necessary permits were delayed. Although the construction plans did not face any administrative obstacles, cantonal author- ities opposed the project, concerned that “Streetlights” might cause difficulties for the leadership of Geneva’s UN offices. The asso- ciation Les Réverbères, which was composed of Swiss-Armenians supporting the project, contacted the United Nations Office at Geneva, and received written assurances that the UN had not intervened and that it was the responsibility of Geneva’s authorities to take the necessary decisions. Based on this, in November 2014, a few months before the cen- tenary, the cantonal authorities promised that the permit was finally ready to be issued: the monument would be erected by April 24, 2015.
Soon after, however, Bern intervened, and the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs sent a letter to the cantonal authorities, demanding that the project be stopped. According to infor- mation leaked to the Swiss media, the Swiss foreign ministry argued that in order “to pre- serve an impartial and peaceful setting allow- ing the United Nations and other international organizations to carry out their functions in the best possible working conditions” it was nec- essary to “refuse to grant a building permit in the planned location”. It is a great irony that this declaration was made in the name of the UN, an organization founded to prevent wars
and genocides, and to protect civilian popula-
tions. The UN officials in Geneva made no
public statement to distance themselves from
the manoeuvres of the Swiss foreign minister.
These interventions by the Swiss minister raise a number of questions: what is the value of democratic decisions – in this case, the
These interventions by the Swiss minister raise a number of questions: what is the value of democratic decisions – in this case, the
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prensaarmenia.com.ar
Latin American Parliament recognizes Armenian Genocide
01 Aug 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
The Latin American Parliament(Parlatino) approved on Friday June 31 a
resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide. The Panama-based body
that was created in 1964 with the Declaration of Lima, and is composed
by the National Congresses and Legislative Assemblies of all
Iberoamerica, Prensa Armeniareports.
This new recognition of the crime against humanity perpetrated by the
Turkish state, adds to the resolutions adopted by Parliaments in South
America this year, as was the case of the Chamber of Deputies of
Chile, the Federal Senate of Brazil and the State Legislature of Rio
de Janeiro.
`Among many other topics covered by Executive Board of the Latin
American Parliament and the Caribbean Declaration, the recognition of
the Armenian Genocide was supported almost unanimously (with one
abstention),' wrote National Deputy of Montevideo Alfredo Asti a few
minutes later. `Uruguay was a pioneer in the world in this recognition
50 years ago and today we strongly supported this position.'
news.am
Armenian Genocide recognition by Latin American Parliament
is message to civilized world
01.08.2015
YEREVAN. - The adoption of the resolution acknowledging the Armenian
Genocide on the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide by the
Latin American Parliament uniting 23 legislative authorities of Latin
American and Caribbean basin is solidarity and supportive message to
the civilized world in its struggle against denial, Armenian FM Edward
Nalbandian's statement on the adoption of the resolution reads.
According to the statement, `The process of acknowledgement is
irrevocably underway at state, public and multi-lateral levels. It can
be said with confidence that the expression of the principle stance
over Armenian Genocide by such an authoritative institution is a
forcible contribution to the prevention of genocides and crimes
against humanity.'
The Latin American Parliament unanimously passed a resolution
acknowledging the Armenian Genocide on Friday.
armenpress.am
MFA: TURKISH AUTHORITIES ARE RECONCILED TO FACT
THAT GENOCIDE RECOGNITION PROCESS IS IRREVERSIBLE
31 July, 2015
YEREVAN, JULY 31. The Turkish government did not call back
is ambassador from Belgium because they are reconciled to the fact that
the Genocide recognition process is irreversible and starts to realize
that the solution to the Genocide issue moves from the capitals of
the countries which have recognized that tragedy to the capital of
Turkey. As 'Armenpress" was informed from the Department of Press,
Information and Public Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of the Republic of Armenia, this was the answer of the Deputy Foreign
Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan to the following question of "News.am"
news agency: After the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Belgium
Turkey did not call back its ambassador as it usually does.
aysor.am
Special project: `The Armenian Genocide: Breaking the Silence'.
Turkish journalist: Denial is a severe trauma
Ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Aysor.am
presents a special project whose purpose is to feature the cultural
projects being carried out now.
Turkish journalist, columnist Serdar Korucu has been studying and
covering problems of the country's national minorities, including
Armenians for a long time and has authored articles appearing in
leading Turkish newspapers.
Korucu is the author of "The Kurdish Issue in the Eyes of Foreign
Journalists" and "After Syria Went to Wreck and Ruin". He also
co-authored the book "1965: 50 years before 2015, 50 years after
1915." Towards the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Serdar
Korucu, as a representative of the younger generation, spoke of the
attitude of young people in Turkey towards the issue and prospects of
recognition of the Genocide.
- What would serve as a "wake up call" to a young man like you in
Turkey? What would make them take interest in the matter?
- I think it's more related to the environment they grew up in. I live
in Sisli. It is a cosmopolitan district: Greeks, Jews, Armenians. We
all live side by side. Many of the districts in Istanbul lack this
atmosphere, but Sisli still retains it. In our neighborhood, Easter
and Christmas are celebrated.
- Being Turkish, is it easy to use the word 'Genocide'?
- Yes, and I easily use it thanks to Rafael Lemkin. The word
'Genocide' was coined by Lemkin. I do not care for the ideological
aspect of the word. Lemkin clearly explained the phenomenon he named
genocide. Therefore, the word fully reflects what happened to the
Armenians. After all, Lemkin said that the word also described what
had happened to the Armenians.
- Among young people, the idea circulates that "Armenians were killed,
but their number did not reach 1.5 million."
- Even if 500 Armenians were killed, it's a genocide all the same. The
phenomenon has nothing to do with quantity. Nowadays, the largest
mosques in Urfa are former Armenian churches.
In this case, we're asking ourselves, "Where is the community? Where
are the people who attended these churches?" Jugding by the size of
the churches, we can assume a large community.
- Once, there were Armenians, today only their traces remain, which
are being erased, are they not?
- Yes, once there were Armenians. The cultural genocide continues and
that's the worst of it. First of all, the cultural genocide must be
stopped, or else nothing will be left for the future. Armenians have
left in these lands a cultural legacy created throughout the
centuries, which is now being destroyed.
- Looking at the new generation of Turks, what can we say? Is there hope?
- Turkish educational system teaches student that we were killed by
Armenians. And not every person is an intellectual or a researcher to
have the opportunity to study this issue.
- Does this mean that the generation is not going to change unless the
textbooks change?
Yes, it is not going to change. However, nowadays social networks and
the Internet in general are also important. People communicate through
them. Ideas are being exchanged more openly. For insctance, I consider
the ceremony commemorating the victims of the Armenian Genocide in
Taksim Square in Istanbul an important event. Civil society's opinion
is very important. The Armenian Diaspora also plays an important part
in the settlement process.
- The Armenian Diaspora is not particularly liked in Turkey. Why?
- Yes, and there is always a discrimination. Ankara tells the
Armenians in Turkey, "You're good, it is your diaspora that puts you
against us." But it is also necessary to understand the Diaspora's
pain. They lost their names, their surnames. Their family tree was
destroyed. They lost their ancestral homes. Their properties were
lost. This is a terrible thing.
- Sometimes my Turkish acquaintances tell me, "100 years have passed.
Let's forget what happened and move forward." I think they absolutely
do not understand our pain. Do you think the Turks will ever
understand what we feel?
- I think what most cuases pain to Armenians is that those who do that
do not admit their guilt. Denial is a severe trauma. Armenians endure
the pain because their grief is not recognized.
- Perhaps Turks avoid recognition, fearing of being branded as
descendants of a genocidal nation?
- First we have to understand what we mean by saying 'Turkish'. The
fault lies with "Ä°ttihat ve Terakki": Turks, Cherkesians and others.
This means Turks were not the only culprits. As far as I am aware,
Sunni Muslims in general participated in the genocide by "Ä°ttihat ve
Terakki's" order. Now, is it right to say that Turks were the only
ones who committed genocide? A significant part of the property of
Armenians was despoiled by Kurds. "Ä°ttihat ve Terakki" transformed
Western Armenia into Kurdistan. Today, Kurds live in Van.
- How do you think recognition should take place?
- In my opinion, recognition cannot occur by acknowledging and
apologizing alone.
- Does that mean that the compensation is necessary?
- That should be jointly discussed by Armenians of the Diaspora,
Armenia and Turkey. They should come to a consensus about what they
want. In any case, the descendants of those who survived the Genocide
must be given something. Even if it is something symbolic, it must be
given.
- Looking ahead to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, do
you have something to say? A message?
- I don't know... You are asking for something difficult... What can
I say to people with an indescribably painful past.
The project was prepared with the assistance of the Information and
Analytical Center of the Armenian Government Staff.
Astghik Igityan/Istanbul
news.am
Motorist and motorcyclist march commemorating Armenian
Genocide reaches Yerevan
01.08.2015
YEREVAN. - `We are for peace,' beneficial initiative members, who have
organized Moscow-Yerevan motorist and motorcyclist march have today
reached capital city of Yerevan.
According to the organizers, the key aim of the march is to have their
little contribution in the acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide.
30 motorcyclists took part in the march dedicated to the Armenian
Genocide Centenary, among them Russians and Armenians, but for various
reasons only two motorcyclists and two cars were able to cross the
border. The rest will join their friends on Monday. They will arrive
in Armenia by plane.
March organizer Zorik Tovmasyan told Armenian News ` NEWS.am that the
initiative members will stay in Armenia for two weeks. During this
period they are going to hold marches to a number of residencies in
Armenia and Artsakh.
The initiative members are also going to visit Armenian Genocide
Memorial Complex Tsitsernakaberd with all their staff.
01.08.2015
YEREVAN. - `We are for peace,' beneficial initiative members, who have
organized Moscow-Yerevan motorist and motorcyclist march have today
reached capital city of Yerevan.
According to the organizers, the key aim of the march is to have their
little contribution in the acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide.
30 motorcyclists took part in the march dedicated to the Armenian
Genocide Centenary, among them Russians and Armenians, but for various
reasons only two motorcyclists and two cars were able to cross the
border. The rest will join their friends on Monday. They will arrive
in Armenia by plane.
March organizer Zorik Tovmasyan told Armenian News ` NEWS.am that the
initiative members will stay in Armenia for two weeks. During this
period they are going to hold marches to a number of residencies in
Armenia and Artsakh.
The initiative members are also going to visit Armenian Genocide
Memorial Complex Tsitsernakaberd with all their staff.
EXCERPTS FROM TWO RECENT BOOKS
Staff, July 2015
People familiar with Turkey's denialist strategy know a favorite
Ankara tale is that the leaders of the Ottoman Empire deported the
Armenians in 1915 because the latter were conspiring with the Russian
Empire to dismantle the country and establish an independent Armenia.
In the last two paragraphs of the chapter devoted to the Armenian
Genocide, Eugene Rogan ("The Fall of the Ottomans", Basic Books,
2015) looks at another aspect of the Young Turks' plot.
"The bitter irony is that the annihilation of the Armenians and other
Christian communities in no way improved the security of the Ottoman
Empire. The Allies never mounted an attack on the Cilician coast to
justify the deportation of Armenians there. The deportations actually
undermined the Ottoman war effort in Mesopotamia when Armenians
working on the Berlin-Baghdad railway were condemned to a death march.
"The extermination of Armenian communities in eastern Anatolia did
nothing to protect the Caucasus from Russian invasion. Tsarist forces
met little resistance in conquering the fortress town of Erzurum in
February 1916. The Russian army swept through the Black Sea port of
Trabzon and the market town of Erzincan later that year--defeats that
could not be blamed on Armenian collaborators after the deportations.
"It was in the Dardanelles that, against the odds, the Ottomans
succeeded in defending their territory against the combined armies
of France, Britain, and the dominions through the courage and
determination of the soldiers--not through the annihilation of
minority communities."
Rogan fails to mention that a significant portion of the Ottoman army
at Gallipoli and elsewhere was composed of Arabs, Kurds, Armenians,
Greeks, and Assyrians. When Ankara boasts about the rare Ottoman
victory, the Ottoman army suddenly transforms into a Turkish army
and the minorities are shunted into oblivion. Turkey and Turkish
historians also minimize the key role played by German generals
(particularly Otto Liman von Sanders) and numerous officers in the
rare Ottoman army victory.
*******
George Friedman, founder and chairman of Stratfor think tank which
specializes in political, military and economic intelligence, has
a new book titled "Flashpoints" where he focuses on the dangers
Europe faces. Friedman, a neo-con who left Hungary in late '40s with
his parents, is a long-time Turcophile. The Austin,Texas-based Cold
Warrior promotes Stratfor as "the world's leading private intelligence
company." Below are typical paragraphs from the chapter titled
"Turkey on the Edge". Upper case by Keghart.com.
"Kurdistan is not Turkey's only flashpoint in the east. The other
is Armenia. We visited a PLACE called Ani on the Turkish side of the
border. It was the medieval capital of Armenia, the first Christian
country in the world, and one that occupied eastern Turkey in the
MIDDLE AGES. Ani sits on a flat, dry, and windy plateau across a
river from Armenia. Turks are excavating the site, much to the anger
of the Armenians. When the Ottoman Empire fell AND THE TURKS HAD TO
DEFINE DEFENSIBLE BOUNDARIES, there was INEVITABLY ETHNIC CLEANSING,
in which vast numbers Armenians were killed. The Armenians have not
forgotten it. The Turks will not admit it, and THEY MAKE CLAIMS OF
THEIR OWN ABOUT ARMENIAN BEHAVIOR. As in Europe, memories are long
and a hundred years hardly counts. The ancient capital is in Turkish
hands and Armenia can't do much about it."
A paragraph later, Friedman says: "A cousin of a friend in Istanbul
met us in the town of Gole (pronounced Gole-ee), about an hour's
drive from Kars..."
Throughout the chapter, Friedman tries to convince the reader that
Turkey is a European country and has shaped European history as
much as any European power did. "Its history was as much European as
anyone else's".
In recent years Friedman has visited Azerbaijan but not Armenia.
Staff, July 2015
People familiar with Turkey's denialist strategy know a favorite
Ankara tale is that the leaders of the Ottoman Empire deported the
Armenians in 1915 because the latter were conspiring with the Russian
Empire to dismantle the country and establish an independent Armenia.
In the last two paragraphs of the chapter devoted to the Armenian
Genocide, Eugene Rogan ("The Fall of the Ottomans", Basic Books,
2015) looks at another aspect of the Young Turks' plot.
"The bitter irony is that the annihilation of the Armenians and other
Christian communities in no way improved the security of the Ottoman
Empire. The Allies never mounted an attack on the Cilician coast to
justify the deportation of Armenians there. The deportations actually
undermined the Ottoman war effort in Mesopotamia when Armenians
working on the Berlin-Baghdad railway were condemned to a death march.
"The extermination of Armenian communities in eastern Anatolia did
nothing to protect the Caucasus from Russian invasion. Tsarist forces
met little resistance in conquering the fortress town of Erzurum in
February 1916. The Russian army swept through the Black Sea port of
Trabzon and the market town of Erzincan later that year--defeats that
could not be blamed on Armenian collaborators after the deportations.
"It was in the Dardanelles that, against the odds, the Ottomans
succeeded in defending their territory against the combined armies
of France, Britain, and the dominions through the courage and
determination of the soldiers--not through the annihilation of
minority communities."
Rogan fails to mention that a significant portion of the Ottoman army
at Gallipoli and elsewhere was composed of Arabs, Kurds, Armenians,
Greeks, and Assyrians. When Ankara boasts about the rare Ottoman
victory, the Ottoman army suddenly transforms into a Turkish army
and the minorities are shunted into oblivion. Turkey and Turkish
historians also minimize the key role played by German generals
(particularly Otto Liman von Sanders) and numerous officers in the
rare Ottoman army victory.
*******
George Friedman, founder and chairman of Stratfor think tank which
specializes in political, military and economic intelligence, has
a new book titled "Flashpoints" where he focuses on the dangers
Europe faces. Friedman, a neo-con who left Hungary in late '40s with
his parents, is a long-time Turcophile. The Austin,Texas-based Cold
Warrior promotes Stratfor as "the world's leading private intelligence
company." Below are typical paragraphs from the chapter titled
"Turkey on the Edge". Upper case by Keghart.com.
"Kurdistan is not Turkey's only flashpoint in the east. The other
is Armenia. We visited a PLACE called Ani on the Turkish side of the
border. It was the medieval capital of Armenia, the first Christian
country in the world, and one that occupied eastern Turkey in the
MIDDLE AGES. Ani sits on a flat, dry, and windy plateau across a
river from Armenia. Turks are excavating the site, much to the anger
of the Armenians. When the Ottoman Empire fell AND THE TURKS HAD TO
DEFINE DEFENSIBLE BOUNDARIES, there was INEVITABLY ETHNIC CLEANSING,
in which vast numbers Armenians were killed. The Armenians have not
forgotten it. The Turks will not admit it, and THEY MAKE CLAIMS OF
THEIR OWN ABOUT ARMENIAN BEHAVIOR. As in Europe, memories are long
and a hundred years hardly counts. The ancient capital is in Turkish
hands and Armenia can't do much about it."
A paragraph later, Friedman says: "A cousin of a friend in Istanbul
met us in the town of Gole (pronounced Gole-ee), about an hour's
drive from Kars..."
Throughout the chapter, Friedman tries to convince the reader that
Turkey is a European country and has shaped European history as
much as any European power did. "Its history was as much European as
anyone else's".
In recent years Friedman has visited Azerbaijan but not Armenia.
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