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The Gaurdian

Why is the UK government so afraid to speak of Armenian genocide?

Giles Fraser

Britain’s strategic relationship with Turkey has been more important than telling the truth. If Armenians are to find closure, we must recognise their suffering

Jesus’s preaching was predominantly directed at his fellow Jews. It was St Paul who later directed this message outwards towards the wider world. Which is why Paul’s birthplace in Tarsus, near the Mediterranean coast in south-eastern Turkey, has always attracted missionaries, looking for inspiration. And it was also why missionaries were among the first to report back on the true extent of the Armenian genocide.

In the early fourth century, the Armenians were the first people to adopt Christianity as their official religion. In 1914 there were 2 million Armenian Christians living in Turkey. By 1922, there were only 400,000 left. What happened to these people has been largely forgotten, or denied, or ignored – except, of course, by the Armenians themselves, who have continued to pass on their horrendous stories of rape, death squads and forced conversions.

There is no doubt what happened was genocide. The Armenians were branded as an enemy within by the Ottoman government, which used the cover of the first world war to systematically dispose of more than 1 million people, forcing great columns of humanity to march off into the Syrian desert to die of heat, starvation and disease. Speaking to his generals some 25 years later, Adolf Hitler said: “I have sent my Death’s Head units to the east with the order to kill without mercy men, women and children of the Polish race or language. Only in such a way will we win the Lebensraum that we need. Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”

The term genocide was coined in the early 1940s by a Polish Jewish lawyer, Raphael Lemkin, as a way to capture in law the extent of Nazi atrocity. “I became interested in genocide because it happened so many times,” he explained in an interview with CBS. “First to the Armenians, then after the Armenians, Hitler took action.” So why is it so difficult for many western governments – ours included, Israel’s included – to use the “g” word when it comes to Armenia?

Barack Obama promised to say the “g” word when he became president. But he deliberately hasn’t. And the UK government has used every manner of evasion – including trying out the preposterous argument that because the term genocide was adopted by the UN in 1948, it couldn’t be applied retrospectively. It withdrew this argument when it was pointed out that this would mean the Holocaust itself wasn’t genocide. Now the official line is one of studied avoidance.

The real answer to our avoidance of the “g” word is less than 30 miles up the road from Tarsus: the massive Incirlik airbase, used by the US air force and the RAF. From here, US and UK forces are easily deployed throughout the Middle East. The Foreign Office came clean in a 1999 memorandum: “Given the importance of our relationships (political, strategic, commercial) with Turkey, and that recognising the genocide would provide no practical benefit to the UK … the current line is the only feasible option.” It is worth noting that the foreign secretary at the time was Robin Cook – and remember his “ethical foreign policy” speech in 1997?

For many governments, the denial of the genocide of the Nazis is itself a crime. Yet when it comes to the Armenians, genocide avoidance (because the evidence is too unequivocal for denial) remains semi-official policy. Little wonder the Armenians find it difficult to move towards closure on this issue.

Back in Tarsus, the home of Christianity’s greatest missionary, the faith Paul once proclaimed has now been eradicated. Some of those who survived the forced march into the desert settled in places such as Aleppo in Syria and Mosul in Iraq, where they built Armenian churches – churches that have once again been reduced to rubble by Bashar al-Assad’s barrel bombs and Islamic State’s murderous caliphate. The very least the British government can do is to acknowledge the extent of their suffering by calling it what it is.

• This article was amended on 3 June 2015. An earlier version said incorrectly that Baroness Cox had argued in the House of Lords in 1999 that recognising the genocide would provide no practical benefit to the UK and “the current line is the only feasible option”. Those words came from a Foreign Office memorandum. Baroness Cox had made a strong case for recognition of the Armenian genocide in her House of Lords speech.

Public Radio of Armenia

April 22 2019

Turkey's policy unchanged 104 years after the Armenian Genocide, experts say 

Karen Ghazaryan

104 years after the Armenian genocide, the situation has not improved in terms of Turkey’s policy, expert of Turkish studies Ruben Safrastyan says. Furthermore, according to him, the atmosphere of fear has strengthened in Turkey over the past years, and this, in turn, affects the truthful speeches about the genocide.

Speaking to reporters today, Safrastyan said the voice of brave representatives of Turkey, who had been trying to speak the truth about the Armenian genocide, has now weakened. He believes the trend will be maintained in the coming years.

“We see an atmosphere in Turkey that aims to silence the public,” he said.

According to him, the policy of denial has not undergone changes in Turkey, while the atmosphere is less conducive to speaking the truth about the Armenian Genocide. 

Expert of Turkish studies Anush Hovhannisyan notes, in turn, that “the window of 2009-2010 that enabled a small number of media outlets and intellectuals to discuss the issue is now closed.” 

Speaking about the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, Ruben Safrastyan noted that the process intensifies, when the relations with Turkey reach a “bad haven” and aggravate. 

 “When the Turkish-Israeli relations aggravate, Knesset starts actively discussing the issue, and everyone forgets about it, when relations normalize,” Safrastyan says. 

Anush Hovhannisyan also sees no changes in Turkey’s official policy regarding the Armenian Genocide, and an evidence of this is Ankara’s response to French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to declare April 24 as Armenian Genocide commemoration day and the Italian Parliament’s vote on Armenian Genocide motion.

According to her, Ankara has already sent a delegation to prevent the discussions on the Armenian Genocide Resolution in the US Congress. 

“Every effort will be made to prevent the passage of the resolution. That means official Ankara will maintain its policy of denying the Armenian Genocide, condemning all countries and parliaments that adopt genocide resolutions,” she said.  

What will the Armenian Genocide recognition give us? Experts say it will be more of moral importance. 

HurriyetDailyNews.com

April 23 2019 

Life continues

By YUSUF KANLI 

When was I last in Diyarbakır? Five years ago? More? Definitely before the November 2015 murder of peace advocate Tahir Elçi, the Bar Association chief of the city.

On the walls of the Sur district most of the scars of the 2015 operation are gone, but some bullet holes are still visible.

The military operation aimed to take back the city from terrorists who had infiltrated there with all sorts of weapons because of an atmosphere of gross security negligence produced by an insincere “Kurdish opening.”

The front facets of the houses and shops were all renewed with a wholesale mentality. Shop signs were replaced with an awful example of tastelessness. How could someone think of placing the same style of distasteful shop signs all through a neighborhood? A direct result of government-ordered reconstruction of a neighborhood devastated in 2015 security operations.

The aim of our visit was to meet with local journalists, listen to their problems and explain how they might benefit from an EU-funded “Democracy for media / Media for democracy” program we just started at the Association of Journalists in Ankara. Our initial intention was to gather the region’s journalists at Mardin. All of the hotels were full because of revived tourism. Batman was in much of the same situation. So was Urfa. Thus, we ended up in Diyarbakır, and colleagues from Siirt, Mardin and Batman attended our meeting there as well.

Problems are abundant. Free media and press freedom are the fundamental demand.

The Emergency Rule period has ended. Yet, because of an awkward requirement of law, people sacked from public offices or private sector companies under emergency rule decrees, these people cannot be officially employed. Hundreds of journalists were laid off, or their magazines, newspapers or news agencies were closed down under Emergency Rule decrees.

Pluralism is a requirement of democracy. No one is obliged to conform to the ideology of people in power. If uniformity was to be the rule, how would it be possible for mankind to come out of that cave of the Stone Age? However, progress comes only through conflict and confrontation of ideas and perceptions.

The area around Surp Gragos Armenian church is still closed to public, but the historic Minaret with Four Legs, the very same spot where Elçi was murdered in November 2015, was surrounded by domestic and foreign tourists on Sunday. Despite bullet marks, the Minaret was standing tall as a witness and victim of life in 2015, particularly to the murder of Elçi, meters away from its four legs. With terrorism being replaced with tourism, the cafes were full, hotels fully booked with tourists… Life, despite difficulties, is continuing.

Panorama, Armenia

April 22 2019

The third Armath Engineering Laboratory opened in Georgia

The official opening ceremony of the third Armath Engineering Laboratory in Georgia took place on Monday in Armenian populated Damala village of Georgia’s Javakheti region.

 The event coincided with Damala Day celebrations.

The initiative was implemented by "Support to Javakheti" Foundation and the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises (UATE). The of Chairman of the board of trustees at "Support to Javakheti" Foundation Sos Sahakyan addressed the participants of the event, stating the opening of the new laboratory comes to support Javakheti development.

As Sahakyan noted, the Foundation has translated the Armath Laboratory curriculum into Georgian and expressed readiness to work along with Georgian authorities to include the education programme into Georgian schools as well.

The Head of Armath Laboratories Sedrak Vardanyan, in turn, noted arrangements are underway to open further laboratories in 5-6 countries.

To remind, earlier Armath Laboratories opened in in the village of Heshtia of Ninotsminda region and Akhalkalak town of Georgia.

Currently, more than 265 engineering laboratories operate on the territory of Armenia, Artsakh, and Georgia. More than 6600 students are involved in the programmes. The laboratory enables children aged 10-18-years-old to explore engineering. At the age of 14, graduates are given the opportunity to work.

iTel.am, Armenia

April 22 2019

DataArt to support Yerevan Testing Days, Armenia’s principal testing conference

DataArt is the platinum sponsor of Yerevan Testing Days conference, which will be held in American University of Armenia on April 29-May 1.

On April 29 DataArt QA Manager Eugene Efimov will perform as a member of the jury for the Software Testing Armenian Cup. DataArt will award special prizes to the best team and the best contestant.

On April 30 Eugene will hold the presentation “How to ruin you testing department in three simple steps”, and members of the audience that ask the best questions will be awarded prizes.

The guests are going to have three days to get acquainted with the company and the staff at DataArt stand. There they will be able to not only ask questions, but also compete in Skillotron, a tech quiz by Data Art, and improve their CVs via another DataArt service, CV Duck.

On April 28, a day before the official opening of the conference, DataArt will hold a meeting for QA experts to discuss the peculiarities of the testing market in Yerevan, as well as the best methods and approaches.

DataArt announced the launch of activity in Armenia in March. The company plans to open the office in Yerevan in May or June of 2019 and hire no less than 30 experts before the year-end.

Yerevan Testing Days are organized by Armenian Software Testing Qualifications and Quality Testing Lab (ArmSTQB), as well as Armenian Association of Quality Assurance Professionals, TestinArt company and American University of Armenia. 

DataArt creates, develops and supports unique software facilitating advancement of the clients’ business in various industries. DataArt has earned the trust of companies such as Nasdaq, Travelport, Ocado, Betfair, Regus, Meetup and Apple Leisure Group. DataArt consolidates the experience of over 2700 specialists from 22 cities in U.S., Western and Eastern Europe, and Latin America.

By Denying the Armenian Genocide,

Turkish Leaders Publicize it Even More

By Harut Sassounian

Publisher, The California Courier

          

More than a century after the mass crime of Genocide against Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks, most Turks still feel self-conscious as April 24 approaches and whenever someone refers to their Crime Against Humanity.

Many Turkish officials and journalists feel compelled to defend their country’s tarnished reputation by trying to cover up the Genocide committed by their ancestors. By doing so, they automatically associate themselves with the guilt of their forefathers and in turn become guilty themselves for denying one of the most heinous crimes in the history of mankind.

Why would Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, on April 15, 2019, falsely claim that Turkey “has not committed any genocide” in its history? How many leaders of other countries have made such a statement? Cavusoglu knows well that the Ottoman Turks did commit

Genocide as he is desperately trying to conceal their crimes. Cavusoglu and his fellow denialists do not seem to realize that the more they proclaim their innocence, the more they affiliate themselves with the Genocide and become accessories to that barbaric crime.

Each time Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or his underlings talk about the Genocide, even in a dismissive manner, they are actually publicizing worldwide the facts of the Genocide and informing everyone that Turks are accused of committing Genocide.

Interestingly, Cavusoglu warned that “the Turkish government will not stay silent against some countries trying to lecture Turkey on history.” This is exactly what Armenians want him to do. The more he talks about the Genocide, the more he exposes the Turkish crime to the

world. Cavusoglu and other Turkish denialists find  rhemselves in the ironic situation of “damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.” In other words, if they remain silent against the accusations of Genocide, they would be acknowledging it, and if they deny it, they would be spreading the news about their historic crime. There is no

positive outcome for them. They are caught in the horns of a serious dilemma.

In early April, at a NATO meeting in Antalya, Turkey, Cavusoglu criticized French President Emmanuel Macron for declaring April 24 as a National Day in France for the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. By lashing out at Pres. Macron, the Turkish Foreign Minister made the situation even worse for his own country. In protest, a

French Parliamentarian walked out of the NATO meeting, which was covered by the worldwide media, further publicizing the Armenian Genocide.

This incident caused some hateful Turks to threaten the life of the French Parliamentarian, which further  disseminated the true facts of the Armenian Genocide.

Another example of Turkish self-consciousness is the article by commentator Ozan Ceyhun in the Daily Sabah newspaper. He correctly wrote that “April 24 is used as a day for ‘getting even,’ by those who do not wish to see Turkey as an EU member due to various reasons, those who do not wish to see it become stronger in the region, or countries like the U.S. that want to see Turkey as a dependent state.”

My response is that no one wants to see a brutal and unrepentant country as a member of international military and economic alliances. Turkish leaders are the ones forcing themselves out of such alliances by behaving in an uncivilized and undemocratic manner. They have no one else to blame but themselves.

Ceyhun wonders why no one cares about the opinions of “Armenians living in Turkey.” The answer is very simple. Armenians in Turkey, having survived the Genocide and many other repressions since then, know all too well that if they dared to say anything negative about Turkey’s oppressive regime, they will be locked up, if not killed.

The Turkish commentator then shamelessly mentions Armenian journalist Hrant Dink who was assassinated by a Turk for expressing himself on Turkish-Armenian relations. Ceyhun selectively quotes from Dink as

stating that outsiders should not meddle in the “events” that happened in the past and that this issue should be resolved between Armenians and Turks. Dink had made many statements which were often contradictory depending on whether he made them while he was inside or outside Turkey.

It suits Turkish denialists to quote statements that third parties should not meddle in the Armenian-Turkish issue. If it were not for the Armenian Diaspora lobbying the international community for decades, the Armenian Genocide would have been forgotten long ago.

Furthermore, Ceyhun prefers that outsiders listen to the views of Turkish Armenians who are suppressed and are unable to express their honest opinions on the Armenian Genocide. As immediate descendants of the Genocide, they know exactly what happened to their ancestors, but

they cannot talk about it openly, fearing for their lives.

Just as irritating are the Azerbaijani denials of the Armenian Genocide. Fortunately, it is easier to deal with the Azeris as they are not as powerful as Turkey and Armenians have already shown their power by recovering their historic territory of Artsakh from Azerbaijan. If Azeris do not behave and continue to insult Armenians by their denials of the Armenian Genocide, Armenia’s leaders may halt the negotiations with Azerbaijan and incorporate Artsakh in the Republic of Armenia.

California Couriert

Armenian Billionaire donating money for Notre Dame

Russian billionaire of Armenian descent Andrey Andreev (Andrei Vagnerovich Ogandjanyants), founder of the social discovery and dating network Badoo, will give part of the company’s revenues to the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral after the devastating fire in Paris.

The fire that engulfed the Notre Dame, the 850-year-old Unesco world heritage landmark in Paris, was brought under control on the morning of April 16, while the Cathedral’s main structure as well as its two towers were saved.

“In light of the terrible tragedy that befell the Cathedral of Notre Dame, I allocate a significant donation for its restoration. I pledge to transfer 100 percent of the revenue that Badoo will receive from its 22 million users in April to France. My heart goes to the people of France,” he said.

Andreev said he learnt about the tragedy in Paris from social networks and immediately turned on the TV.

“This whole situation was a huge shock to me,” Forbes cited him as saying.

The businessman did not specify the amount of money he is going to donate to the cause.

Notre Dame was set to host a liturgy for Armenian Genocide victims on April 22.

France marked April 24 as a commemoration day of the Armenian Genocide, with the relevant decree signed by President Emmanuel Macron on April 10.

According to the document, a ceremony paying tribute to the genocide victims will be held in Paris on this day every year. Similar events may also be held in every city at the initiative of the local governments.

Macron announced his decision to make April 24 as a national day of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide at the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations (CCAF) gala in Paris on February 5.

The French leader’s move drew strong criticism from Turkey, which accused Paris of “manipulating history.”

Representatives of the Armenian community in France and French  politicians visit the Komitas Monument and Armenian Genocide Memorial in Paris on 24 April every year to pay homage to the Armenian Genocide victims.