Armenian News...A Topalian...Protesters at Istanbul German Consulate screaming: "Best ‪ Armenian is a dead Armenian," "Death to the Armenian Diaspora" ‪ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en-7tYzkkV0&sns=em BBC Radio World Service My grandmother's darkest days http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03x4cdz =

RFE/RL Report
4 Syrian Armenians Killed In Aleppo Shelling
Naira Bulghadarian
03.06.2016

Four ethnic Armenian civilians have reportedly been killed and dozens
of others wounded in Syria's formerly largest city of Aleppo in
continuing clashes between Syrian government troops and rebel forces.

According to local Armenian activists, they died on Thursday evening
when an Armenian-populated government-controlled district of the
war-ravaged city was shelled by insurgents. Three of the male victims
were said to have been burned to death inside a small workshop that
caught fire, while the fourth man was killed by a rocket moments
later.

Zarmig Boghigian, the editor of the Aleppo-based Armenian magazine
Kantsasar, said the shelling lasted for two hours, leaving several
dozen other Syrian Armenians wounded.

"Last past night was really bad. Armed terrorist groups fired around
40 rockets and gas tanks within two hours," Boghigian told RFE/RL's
Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) by phone. The gunfire seriously
damaged an Armenian church and a school, she said.

Boghigian claimed that the Armenian-populated Nor Kyugh district was
deliberately targeted by "pro-Turkish" rebels.

"Kantsasar" reported earlier that an Armenian nursing home in Aleppo
was shelled and partly destroyed last week. It said one Syrian
Armenian, a woman, was killed and two others wounded as a result.

Aleppo was home to the majority of an estimated 80,000 ethnic
Armenians who lived in Syria until the outbreak of the bloody civil
war five years ago. Only up to 10,000 of them reportedly remain in the
war-ravaged country now. Many are said to be unable to flee the war
zone or simply have nowhere to go.

Fighting in and around Aleppo intensified in February as Syrian
government troops backed Russian warplanes began making major gains
there, sending tens of thousands of Syrians fleeing towards the
Turkish border. 

Complete text of resolution on Armenian Genocide adopted 

by Bundestag 

Armenian News-NEWS.am introduces the complete text of the 

resolution on the Armenian Genocide adopted by the German 

Bundestag. 
"In the memory the Armenians’ and other Christians’ Genocide 

in the Ottoman Empire 101 years ago.“

The Bundestag bows to the Armenians and other Christian minorities 

in the Ottoman Empire who were forcefully displaced and massacred 

101 years ago.

The Bundestag condemns the actions of the Young Turks' Government 

that resulted in almost a complete extermination of the Armenians who 

had lived in the Ottoman Empire. Other Christian minorities - Assyrians , Chaldeans – fell victims to the pogroms as well.

Based on the decree of the Young Turks’ government on April 24 

of 1915 there began planned exiles and massacres of more than 

1 million Armenians of the Ottoman Constantinople. The 20th century 

is marked with horrible fate of those people. Their fate is an example 

of mass deportations, ethnic, expulsions and , of course , a Genocide (Völkermord). At the same time, we realize the distinct features of the 

Holocaust, for which Germany bears its guilt and responsibility.

The Bundestag recognizes the historical responsibility of Germany 

[in the Genocide of the Armenians].

The Bundestag honors not only the martyrs who fell victims to the 

incredibly brutal crime but also those who more than 100 years ago 

in that difficult situation opposed their government to save the 

Armenian women, children, and men.

The Bundestag calls on the Federal Government to pay attention 

to the remembrance ceremony of the victims of the massacres and 

deportations that took place in 1915.

Thus, the Bundestag calls on the Federal Government

- to continue further public discussions about mass deportations 

and exterminations of the Armenians in 1915 - 1916 as well as 

about the responsibility of the German Reich in that horrible event, 

in the spirit of the debates that took place in the Bundestag on 

April 24 of 2015 on the occasion of the 100th centennial of the 

Armenian Genocide;

- to stimulate the Turkish side to face the expulsions and massacre 

perpetuated during that period and, thereby, lay the foundation for 

the necessary reconciliation with the Armenian side;

- to continue promoting reconciliation between the Armenians and

the Turks , which should take place by reviewing the past, restoring 

relationships , and apologizing for the historical guilt;

- to continue undertaking scientific, civic, and cultural events in 

Turkey and Armenia;

- to re-evaluate the historical events , by means of which Armenia 

and Turkey will make the first step towards reconciliation; to support 

the settlement of the overdue matured Armenian - Turkish relationships;

- to stimulate the governments of Turkey and Armenia to restore 

stagnated inter-governmental relations;

-to make efforts in the matter of ratification the Zurich protocols 

of 2009 by the Turkish and the Armenian governments that envisage 

to create a commission of scholars to restore diplomatic relations 

and open borders; 

- to stimulate Turkey to continue contributing to the preservation 

of the Armenian monuments in Turkey and intensify that process;

- to continue supporting research, cultural projects, and initiatives 

in Germany concerning the events of 1 915-1916 as far as the 

financial means allow.


Protesters at Istanbul German Consulate screaming:
"Best ‪ Armenian is a dead Armenian,"
"Death to the Armenian Diaspora" ‪ 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en-7tYzkkV0&sns=em 

BBC Radio World Service
My grandmother's darkest days 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03x4cdz
=


RFE/RL Report
France Hails German Recognition Of Armenian Genocide
03.06.2016

France pledged to strive for greater international recognition of the
195 Armenian genocide in Ottoman Turkey after welcoming a
corresponding resolution adopted by Germany's parliament on Thursday.

"I welcome the Bundestag vote for recognition of the Armenian
genocide," French Secretary of State for European Affairs Harlem Desir
wrote on Twitter shortly after the passage of the resolution.

"France will continue to fight for universal recognition of the
Armenian genocide," added Desir.

France is one of 24 countries of the world that have officially
recognized as genocide the 1915 slaughter of some 1.5 million Armenian
subjects of the Ottoman Empire. It did so with a special law enacted
in 2001. French President Francois Hollande was among foreign leaders
who attended in April 2015 official ceremonies in Yerevan marking the
centenary of the Armenian genocide.

Four years ago, the French parliament passed another law which made it
a crime to publicly deny the genocide. France's constitutional court
subsequently struck it down as unconstitutional, however. The law was
initiated by Hollande's predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Unlike Germany, France is home to a large Armenian community that
mostly consists of descendants of genocide survivors. The CCAF, an
umbrella structure uniting the community's main organizations, was
quick to welcome the Bundestag vote as a "fatal blow" to Turkey's
long-running policy of genocide denial.

"This vote marked a decisive stage in the fight for Turkey's
recognition of this historical fact, universal condemnation of the
genocide, and justice and reparations for the Armenian people," the
CCAF said in a statement.

The leading Armenian advocacy groups in the United States also hailed
the German resolution angrily condemned by Ankara. They have for
decades been lobbying for an official U.S. recognition of the
genocide.

"The Armenian Assembly of America applauds the Bundestag's principled
stand, especially as Turkey continues to blockade Armenia, refuses to
normalize relations with Armenia and unconditionally supported
Azerbaijan's recent attempt to once again wipe Armenians off the map
in Nagorno-Karabakh," said its executive director, Bryan Ardouny.

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), for its part, used
the "historic vote" in Berlin to again decry President Barack Obama's
failure to honor his past pledges to refer to the Armenian massacres
as genocide. "There is still time for President Obama to follow
Germany's lead, reject Turkey's gag-rule, and speak honestly about the
Armenian Genocide," said Aram Hamparian, the ANCA director.

International Business Times
June 4 2016
Armenian Genocide Recognition: Turkish President Erdoğan 

Calls It ‘Blackmail’
By Charles Poladian  
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called Germany’s recognition as
genocide the mass killing of Armenians during World War I by the
Ottoman Empire “blackmail” during a televised speech Saturday, Agence
France-Presse reported. The Turkish government said the German
Parliament’s vote would strain the relationship between the two
countries as well as Europe itself.

“I am addressing the whole world. You may like it, you may not. Our
attitude on the Armenian issue is clear from the beginning. We will
never accept the accusations of genocide,” Erdoğan said. The Turkish
president said the Ottoman Empire was under a constant state of attack
during 1915-16, and what happened to Armenians in Anatolia was not a
coordinated effort led by the government at the time.

“There is no shameful incident in our past that would make 

us bow our heads,” Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildrim said 

after the vote Thursday.

Germany’s recognition of the Armenian genocide comes during a period
of tension as Europe works to resolve the Syrian refugee crisis. In
March, the European Union and Turkey agreed on a controversial
resettlement deal. Under the agreement, refugees arriving in Greece
from Turkey must apply for asylum. If they do not, or if their request
is denied, they will be sent back to Turkey. In exchange, a Syrian
refugee already in Turkey will be resettled in Europe. Turkey would
also receive financial compensation as part of the deal.

More importantly for Turkey, the resettlement deal would open up
discussions regarding the country’s membership into the European
Union. Turkey has been seeking acceptance into the EU since 1987.

The recognition of the killing of a reported 1.5 million Armenians
could threaten the resettlement deal. Erdogan did not explicitly say
Turkey would pull out of the deal in the wake of the vote, but his
comments hinted at such a possibility. “Either we find solutions to
our problems in a fair way. Or Turkey will stop being a barrier in
front of the problems of Europe. We will leave you to your own
worries,” Erdoğan said. 

EurasiaNet.org
June 4 2016
Recriminations And Arrests In Armenia Follow Losses To 

Azerbaijan
by Joshua Kucera
Repercussions from the "four-day war" with Azerbaijan in April
continue to resonate in Armenia, with several senior officials
arrested on corruption charges and one prominent political figure
accusing the government of "deceiving" Armenians about their military
capabilities.

Three senior officials were arrested on Monday. “They were arrested
for different criminal charges. They are suspected of various
wrongdoings. In one case accepting poor quality supplied goods, in
another case, according to preliminary data, procurements with
exaggerated expenses,” said Sona Truzyan, a government spokesman, as
reported by commonspace.eu.

This follows the firing of three other senior Ministry of Defense and
armed forces officials at the end of April, also amid various
corruption-related investigations. All this is in reaction to the
results of fighting in early April in the disputed territory of
Nagorno Karabakh, which resulted in the greatest number of casualties
since a ceasefire between the two sides was signed in 1994, and during
which Azerbaijan for the first time since then captured some new
territory.

Further underscoring Yerevan's desire to shake things up, President
Serzh Sargsyan replaced one of the fired MoD officials with a relative
outsider, David Pakhchanian, as Deputy Defense Minister Chairman of
the State Military Industrial Committee.

The appointment of Pakhchanian, a young technocrat, may be partly
motivated by a desire to find someone outside corrupt patronage
networks. But the more significant reason, journalist and regional
analyst Emil Sanamyan told The Bug Pit in an email interview, was as
"a response to technical gaps related to [Azerbaijan's acquisition of]
Israeli weapons that were revealed in April."

Public debate over the shortcomings of the armed forces has continued
in Armenia, most notably with a blunt television interview given by
Samvel Babayan, a former head of the defense ministry of the de facto
Nagorno Karabakh government who still commands substantial authority
in Karabakh (and is a potentially strong candidate in next year's
presidential elections in the unrecognized republic, Sanamyan noted).

In the interview, Babayan accused Armenia's military leadership of
"deceiving its own people," by understating the loss of territory in
Karabakh in the four-day war and by minimizing the risks faced by
Armenia in case an all-out war breaks out:

Imagine, they are setting up various Israeli, Russian rocket launchers
in Nakhicivan. The question arises: for what? To attack Karabakh? For
that they could install them on the border with Karabakh, not in
Nakhicivan. That is, when we say that we are ready to launch an
attack, the enemy will absolutely use those to attack Yerevan. From
Yerevan to Nakhicivan is 42 kilometers. These weapons, these rocket
launchers, have a range of 70 to 150 kilometers... Are we prepared to
defend against these, defend our cities and villages? It won't do to
say we'll drink tea in Baku. You may be able to drink tea in Baku, but
I worry that they will more likely make it to Yerevan and drink tea
here. You shouldn't wear a general's uniform and talk like a kolkhoz
chairman. Our soldiers won't be able to withstand this many rockets...
if they launch 25,000 shells at the front in one minute, will a person
be able to hold his ground? What does it mean that our morale is high?
... We need to think of the safety of our soldiers.

For the most part, this sort of self-criticism has not been seen in
Baku, most obviously because Azerbaijan's armed forces performed
better than they had been expected to, successfully taking some
territory. But one Azerbaijani military analyst said the country
should not become complacent and should follow Armenia's example.

"It's a measure of how serious findings were made in Yerevan and that
the Armenian leadership is not afraid to admit that in their army
there is a serious failure and problems," said the analyst, Uzeir
Jafarov in an interview with the Turan news agency. "We should act in
the same spirit and we should not be taken away by the euphoria of
success." In particular, Jafarov identified several former senior
commanders who are no longer in service but should, in his opinion, be
brought back. 

Trend News Agency (Baku, Azerbaijan)
June 3, 2016 Friday
President Aliyev: Sargsyan with his lies could enter 

Guinness Book of Records
The 4th Congress of World Azerbaijanis kicked off in Baku on
June 3, with participation of the country's President Ilham Aliyev.

President Aliyev said that while addressing the May 31 meeting of the
Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Astana, Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan lied four times.

"Everyone is aware of the results of the April battles. It is very
surprising that in this situation, the Armenian leadership tries to
deceive the world. It tries to deceive its people, and the
international community as well," said the president.

"As a result, Armenia puts itself in a ridiculous position. First they
said that they haven't lost territories, on the contrary they occupied
the Azerbaijani lands. Further they said that they have gained
victory, then said that they have lost those territories and those
lands have no value," said President Aliyev.

"Then they said that these territories have value and Azerbaijan
should return those lands. If those territories have no value, then
why should Azerbaijan return them? They got completely confused,"
added the president.

President Aliyev pointed out that the Armenian leadership exposed
itself with its remarks.

"The latest example for this was the remarks made by Armenia's
president during the recent meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic
Council in Astana. He said that Azerbaijan carried out these
activities in April, the "army of Nagorno-Karabakh" took control of
the situation and Azerbaijan asked Russia to ensure the suspension of
fighting. He lied four times in one sentence," said President Aliyev.

The president pointed out that Armenia was the instigator of the April
battles, because it doesn't want peace.

When Armenia saw increasing pressure on it regarding the peaceful
settlement of the conflict, changing the status quo which means the
withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied lands, it resorted to
provocations, said President Aliyev.

"They were attacking our positions before the April battles as well,
and not only on the line of contact, but in the other direction, in
Gazakh, our serviceman was killed," he said. "They were constantly
shelling our villages, launching attacks on our territories."

The president recalled that in 2014, Armenians staged another
provocation: Armenian military helicopter violated the airspace on the
contact line.

"The helicopter was shot down and Armenians used this as a pretext.
The talks were frozen for a year. That is, Armenians always resort to
provocations when they see increasing pressure on them," he added.

President Aliyev said the April battles were the similar kind of
provocation, adding that the Azerbaijani army gave an adequate
response and stopped the enemy.

"It was the first lie. The second lie is that the "army of
Nagorno-Karabakh" took the situation under control. What kind of
control is this if they admit that they have lost 800 hectares of
territories? It is a very strange control. First, I should mention
that the Azerbaijani army liberated not 800 hectares, but 2,000
hectares of territories from the occupants," said the president.

President Aliyev noted that over 2,000 hectares of territories have
been liberated from the occupants in Aghdere, the administrative
territory of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, Fizuli and
Jabrayil districts.

"Currently, the Azerbaijan army controls several times larger
territory and the Armenian army can't move there," said the president.

The third, the "army of Nagorno-Karabakh" doesn't exist, said the
president, adding that it is a myth, mythology misleading the
international community.

"The servicemen serving in the Armenian armed units in
Nagorno-Karabakh are Armenian citizens," said the president, adding
that 80 percent of them are Armenian citizens and the "army of
Nagorno-Karabakh" is a myth.

The fourth lie is that allegedly, Azerbaijan asked Russia to ensure
the suspension of the April battles, said the president, adding that
it is a lie, Azerbaijan hasn't made such a request.

President Aliyev noted that after these clashes, Azerbaijan carried
out a counteroffensive and immediately gained the needed positions.

"After this, the Armenian army attempted to regain those positions
throughout 2-3 days. Seeing that they can't succeed, suffer losses and
if they do not stop, they will lose more territories, Armenians
appealed to Russia," said Azerbaijan's president.

President Aliyev noted that the chief of General Staff of Russian
Armed Forces made a phone call to the chief of General Staff of
Azerbaijani Armed Forces, saying that Armenia asks for restoring the
ceasefire and invited the chief of General Staff of Azerbaijani Armed
Forces to talks in Moscow.

"After this, Russia's president made a phone call to me and put
forward the same proposal -- to restore the ceasefire and we agreed to
restore the ceasefire on April 5," said the president.

"It is the reality and I don't know another president who lied four
times in one sentence. It should necessarily be included in the
Guinness Book of Records as an anti-record. Let Armenia take the first
place in the world at least in something," he added.

President Aliyev said that the April battles once again showed
Azerbaijan's power and the strength of the Azerbaijani army.