Loussapatz - The Dawn - 33,1018, 1 - 2014

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SERZH SARGSYAN: ALL PARTS OF OUR PEOPLE FORMED OUR ARMY

YEREVAN/NEWS.am -- President Serzh Sargsyan on Tuesday issued an address on Army Day, the 22nd anniver- sary of the Armenian Armed Forces.

“When the Armenian nation was re- storing its independence, the Armenian Army became the first established state structure. The creation of the Armed Forces of Armenia was the first and the greatest accomplishment of our country.

“But this does not mean that army- building has lost its relevance. Literally days ago, we witnessed the feat of the soldier protecting our country’s borders, who performed his task at the cost of his life.

“The 20th anniversary of the signing of the ceasefire will be marked in May 2014. Our army and the entire so- ciety live under the conditions of ‘no war, no peace,’ for the past two decades. But our army fulfills its mission with honor.

“All parts of our people together formed our army at the battlefield. The Armenian Army proved and proves that the boasting of the adversary is worth nothing because the trained and alert Armenian soldier stands at the bor- der. We will stand as long as it is necessary.

“The Armenian Armed Forces and the Nagorno-Karabakh [, or Artsakh,] Defense Army said one simple thing to the adversary and to all: Artsakh’s freedom is above everything else. We realize that no one will award us free- dom, but we are ready to fight, and we triumphed.

“We look ahead with confidence because we have a reliable defender, the Armenian Army. I wish peace and prosperity to us all,” President Sargsyan’s address specifically states.

ARMY DAY: PRESIDENT SARGSYAN FIRST PLACED FLOWER TO ARMEN HOVHANNISYAN’S TOMB

YEREVAN/NEWS.am -- On the 22nd anni- versary of the Armenian Armed Forces, President Serzh Sargsyan, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan, ministers, and MPs vis- ited Yerablur Military Pantheon of capital city Ye- revan on Tuesday.

They laid wreaths to the tombs of the fallen heroes, the Armenian News-NEWS.am reporter informs.

The Armenian senior officials also placed flowers to the tomb of Junior Sergeant Armen Hovhannisyan, who was killed on January 20 as a result of the Azerbaijani military diversion at- tempts.

Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan, Govern- ment members led by PM Tigran Sargsyan, Na- tional Assembly (NA) deputies led by NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan, Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan, Police

Chief Vladimir Gasparyan, and the MOD staff likewise came to pay tribute to the fallen heroes.

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ARMENIAN ARMY IS GUARANTOR OF PEACE IN SOUTH CAUCASUS – MOD

YEREVAN/NEWS.am -- In the twenty years since the signing of the ceasefire agreement in the Karabakh War, the Armenian army has strengthened, deserved the respect of the armies of other countries, and earned the love and trust of the Armenian nation.

Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan stated the aforesaid at Mon- day’s special MOD session devoted to the 22nd anniversary of the Ar- menian Armed Forces.

“Glory and honor to all those who fell at the battlefield, to those who fought to the end, who were killed, or went missing. We pass their bright memory on to the future generations. We triumphed in this way and, in parallel with the fight, we created an army,” the minister stated.

Ohanyan stressed that the might of the Armenian army is a guaran- tee for the maintenance of peace in the South Caucasus.

As per the minister, now, the Armenian military servicemen are entrusted with conducting peacekeeping mis- sions at other conflict zones in the world.

“The world likewise trusts us. In the year past alone, we have taken part in dozens of multinational military exercises, and held high the honor of Armenia and the Armenian nation,” the defense minister noted.

Ohanyan added that the Armenian army has recorded a great success also within international defense cooper- ation, and has consolidated the Armenian party’s achievements in the legal domain.

“About thirty interstate, intergovernmental, and interdepartmental agreements were signed within one year,” Seyran Ohanyan stressed.

ANOTHER ARMENIAN SOLDIER KILLED IN KARABAKH

STEPANAKERT -- An Armenian soldier has been killed in Nagorno-Karabakh in continuing ceasefire viola- tions on Armenian-Azerbaijani “the line of contact,” military authorities in Stepanakert said on Wednesday.

The Karabakh Defense Army said that the 19-year-old conscript, Karen Galstian, was killed on Tuesday by sniper fire from Azerbaijani army positions northeast of Karabakh. “An investigation is underway to clarify details of the incident,” read a short statement released by the army.

Another Armenian soldier, Armen Hovannisian, was shot dead in that area on the night from January 19-20 in what the Armenian military says was an Azerbaijani commando raid. Skirmishes on the Karabakh frontline and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border dramatically increased following that incident. At least two Azerbaijani servicemen, both of them officers, have been killed by Karabakh Armenian forces since then.

According to Armenia’s Defense Ministry, the truce violations have somewhat decreased this week. “I can’t say that tensions have been defused. But compared with January 20-22, they have eased a little,” the ministry spokesman, Artsrun Hovannisian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).

In a related development, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced late on Tuesday that its forces have captured a member of an Armenian commando which it said tried to infiltrate western Azerbaijan. The captive, Mamikon Khojoyan, turned out to be a 77-year-old resident of Verin Karmiraghbyur, a border village in Armenia’s northeastern Tavush province.

Some Azerbaijani media outlets reported that Khojoyan was in fact detained by Azerbaijani villagers and handed over to military authorities. They circulated photographs and video of the shabbily dressed man surrounded by Azerbaijani civilians.

The Verin Karmiraghbyur mayor, Kamo Chobanian, said on Wednesday that Khojoyan has suffered from mental disorders in recent years and apparently crossed into Azerbaijan by accident. Chobanian said that the elderly man was last seen by his neighbors on Tuesday afternoon.

“He carried a bucket and told people that he is going to pick grapes or berries. Grapes in winter?” Chobanian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).

Spokesman Hovannisian laughed off the Azerbaijani authorities’ claims about Khojoyan. “I congratulate the Azerbaijani army on catching such saboteurs,” he said with sarcasm.

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FRANCE’S STANCE ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE UNCHANGED, HOLLANDE SAYS IN TURKEY

ANKARA -- On a visit to Tur- key French President Francois Hollande has made it clear that France’s fundamental stance on the Armenian genocide was unchanged.

At a joint prss conference with Turkish President Abdullah Gul both sides stuck to their positions in a row over France’s official recog- nition of a genocide by Ottoman Turks of Armenians in World War I — something Turkey contests, AFP reports.

An attempt by French lawmak- ers in 2011 to declare it a crime to deny the genocide was struck down in February last year.

But Hollande made it clear that France’s fundamental stance was unchanged.

“The task of remembering is always painful, but it must be done,” he said. “What we have to work for is rec- onciliation by looking for what happened and by recognising what happened.”

Gul for his part said that “woes of 100 years ago are our common woes.... It is not right to pass these woes from generation to generation.”

“What should be done, instead of reviving these woes, is to leave these to historians. This issue can not be tackled unilaterally,” he said.

Hollande also touched on the need for “intense joint work” on the issue on the eve of the centennial anniver- sary of the 1915 events, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

French president did not give a sign of renewing attempts to ban the denial of the genocide, but underlined that they would be “whatever the laws stipulated,” referring France’s recognition of the mass killings of Armenians as genocide in 2000.

LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL RECOGNIZES NAGORNO-KARABAKH

NEWS.am -- U.S. Los Angeles City Council unanimously adopted a resolution recognizing the Nagorno- Karabakh Republic as an independent and sovereign state.

“The text of the resolution follows:

RESOLUTION REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH

WHEREAS, we take great honor in recognizing the continuing vibrancy of the independent and sovereign REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH; and

WHEREAS, the REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH has a long and storied history dating back thousands of years, and holds a cherished place in the Armenian people's history and culture; and

WHEREAS, the REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH declared its independence on December 10, 1991, after a long struggle that in some respects continues to this day, and the persistent demand for self-determination was an inspi- ration to people of many nationalities in the region and was one of the catalysts for the breakup of the former Soviet Union; and

WHEREAS, through the course of the last two decades, the people of the REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH have shown tenacity and perseverance in the face of war, massacres, economic deprivation and other tremendous hard- ships; and

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WHEREAS, the REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH has for more than twenty years stayed true and faithful to its citi- zens by remaining independent while working to bring change and stability to the Caucasus region, and by holding free and fair elections and referendums that were widely declared as a model for the region; and

WHEREAS, on April 24, 2012 the City of Los Angeles recognized its friendship relationship with the city of Shushi in the REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that by the adoption of this resolution, the City of Los Angeles honors the REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH and its citizens, and recognizes the sacrifices, dedication and resolve shown by the people of the REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH in the face of extreme adversity; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Los Angeles extends its best wishes to the REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH and its citizen for peace, prosperity and continuing success, and calls upon the international community to give appropriate recognition to the REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH as a free, independent, and sovereign state.”

NO PROGRESS REPORTED IN ARMENIAN-AZERI TALKS

PARIS -- International mediators and the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan reported no progress towards a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict after fresh talks held by them in Paris late on Friday.

Official Baku and Yerevan exchanged barbs, while the U.S., Russian and French me- diators co-heading the OSCE Minsk Group warned that increased truce violations in the conflict zone are reducing chances of a break- through in the long-running negotiation process.

“The Co-Chairs expressed their deep con- cern over continued violence in the region, and stressed that recent incidents undermine negotiations and diminish the prospects for peace. They called on the sides to fully and unconditionally respect the terms of the ceasefire agreement,” read a statement released by the troika.

“We need a greater political commitment from all parties to find a peaceful settlement for Nagorno-Karabakh. Status quo should be unacceptable,” James Warlick, the Minsk Group’s U.S. co-chair,” wrote on his Tweeter ac- count separately.

Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Tigran Balayan was quick to leave the following comment there: “We need to force Azerbaijan to stop provocations and irresponsible actions and hate propaganda,” he said.

Foreign Ministers Edward Nalbandian of Armenia and Elmar Mammadyarov met in Paris for a second round of talks aimed at building on progress that was reportedly made at the most recent Armenian-Azerbaijani summit held in Vienna last November. The mediators said earlier that Nalbandian and Mammadyarov will try to “prepare for the next summit.”

The co-chairs’ statement on the Paris talks made no mention of the next meeting of the Armenian and Azerbai- jani presidents. It said instead that Warlick, Russia’s Igor Popov and France’s Jacques Faure will again visit the conflict zone soon to “continue talks with the Presidents.”

The Paris meeting was overshadowed by an upsurge in skirmishes on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and “the line of contact” around Karabakh. The Armenian side says it resulted from a Azerbaijani commando raid on a Karabakh army outpost on January 19.

According to a statement by the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Nalbandian accused Baku of escalating tensions, making fresh bellicose statements and voicing territorial claims to Armenia when he met with Mammadyarov and the mediators. He called that a “serious blow to the negotiation process.”

For his part, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev quoted Mammadyarov as saying in the French capital that the conflict will be resolved “as soon as Armenia’s armed forces liberate Azerbaijan’s occu- pied territories.” “Restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity is the basis of negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Abdullayev said in a statement cited by the Trend news agency.

Balayan dismissed the statement, saying that it “does not correspond to the content of the negotiations.” “One gets the impression that the Azerbaijani side has negotiated with itself,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

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PRESIDENT SARKISIAN’S $186,000 ‘REJUVENATION TREATMENT’ IN SOUTH KOREA REVEALED

SOUL -- President Serzh Sarkisian has undergone stem cell therapy in South Korea aimed at rejuvenating his body, a Korean newspaper revealed on Friday.

The daily “Chosun Ilbo” reported that Sarkisian became this month the first foreign head of state to receive treat- ment at Chaum Center, a reju- venation clinic located in the Gangnam district of the capital Seoul. A photograph pub- lished by it showed him seated in a medical arm-chair and surrounded by South Korean doctors, his chief bodyguard Vachik Ghazaryan (in red sweater) and Ara Abrahamian, a Russian-Armenian busi- nessman, President of Union

of Armenians in Russia. "Since opening in 2010, Chaum has drawn many rich people from around the world who come to Seoul in

their private jets. Among them were Chinese and Canadian business tycoons, the prime minister of Kazakhstan and Saudi and UAE royalty," The Chosunilbo reports.

“The group visited Chaum every day during their weeklong stay here and had treatment including stem cell therapy, spa and anti-aging therapy, body polishes and massages and weight-control programs,” wrote the paper. It said the treatment which lasted from January 9-17 cost around $186,000, a sum exceeding Sarkisian’s annual sala- ry.

The presidential administration essentially confirmed the information. Sarkisian press secretary, Arman Saghatelian told Epress.am that the president visited the South Korean clinic for “preventive medical purposes” while on vacation.

Saghatelian said that the individuals accompanying Sarkisian were also treated there. “The cost of medical services provided to Serzh Sarkisian made up only a very small portion of the [reported] total and it was paid from his officially declared assets,” he claimed.

That Sarkisian has had stem cell therapy was first suggested last week by the Yerevan newspaper “Haykakan Zhamanak,” which quoted unnamed sources close to the Armenian government. Saghatelian, dismissed this as “lu- dicrous gossips” in comments to A1Plus.am on Tuesday.

Saghatelian shrugged off suggestions that the Armenian leader may have health problems. The spokesman for ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), Eduard Sharmazanov, likewise insisted on Friday that Sarkisian is “very healthy.”

Levon Zurabian, a leader of the opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK), questioned those claims. “If he had problems with health they should have been presented to our society. It turns out that they tried to hide them but failed to do even that,” Zurabian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). He described news of the rejuvenation treatment as “scandalous.”

Incidentally, Sarkisian sacked Armenia’s ambassador to South Korea shortly after the “Haykakan Zhamanak” report. There was no official explanation for the move.

Sarkisian went on vacation on January 7. The presidential press service said at the time that he will spend it in an unspecified foreign state. It gave no details.

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CONSTITUTIONAL COURT SUSPENDS ARMENIAN'S PENSION REFORM LAW

YEREVAN -- The Constitution- al Court suspended on Friday the controversial reform of the national pension system pending a ruling on an appeal lodged by Armenia’s lead- ing opposition parties.

The four parties appealed to the court last month after failing to scut- tle the passage of a corresponding government bill by the Armenian par- liament. The bill, which came into effect on January 1, requires Armeni- ans born after 1973 to pay social se- curity taxes equivalent to between 5 and 10 percent of their monthly wag- es, in addition to contributions made by their employers.T he government says the reform will ensure decent pension plans for citizens when they retire at age 63.

The reform has sparked vehement objections from young and relatively well-paid professionals. Thousands of them as well as other disgruntled Armenians took to the streets of Yerevan last Saturday to protest against what they see as an unfair and unconstitutional measure.

Representatives of the opposition minority in the National Assembly also joined the protest. They claim that that the pension reform breaches, among other things, citizens’ property rights guaranteed by the Armenian consti- tution.

The Constitutional Court announced that it will open hearings on the opposition appeal on March 28. In a statement, the court said the reform will be suspended at least until it hands down a ruling.

Meanwhile, President Serzh Sarkisian again defended the controversial reform, saying that it will bear fruit and be recognized as “historic” in the future. Visiting the Ministry of Labor and Social Reforms, Sarkisian instruct- ed officials there to do a better job of explaining its merits to affected citizens. “You should mobilize not only the entire ministry staff but also various experts, people, our supporters so that they explain in detail the essence, signif- icance and purpose of the reform,” he said.

PACE DOES NOT CHALLENGE ARMENIAN DELEGATION’S MANDATE

NEWS.am -- The winter session of the Parliamentary Assem- bly of the Council of Europe (PACE) got underway Monday in Strasbourg, France, and the approval of the national delegations to the PACE was discussed as a priority issue.

Member of Armenian National Assembly (NA) delegation to PACE, non-pro-government Prosperous Armenia Party NA Faction Secretary Naira Zohrabyan told the aforementioned to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Even though information was disseminated in the media that, at the start of the session and at the initiative of opposition Heritage Party NA Faction Head Zaruhi Postanjyan—who is former member of the Armenian delegation to the PACE—, ten PACE MPs were to challenge the legitimacy of the current Armenian delegation,

Zohrabyan informed that no PACE deputy questioned the mandate of the delegation.

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Zohrabyan added that although Postanjyan—who is in the US, at present—was invited to the session, she did not travel to Strasbourg.

The European Peoples’ Party (EPP), which is the largest faction at the PACE and which Postanjyan is a mem- ber of, had invited her to Strasbourg but had not covered the respective expenses. The media had informed that Postanjyan had petitioned to NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan to find money in order for her to head from the US to France, but Abrahamyan had turned down this petition.

ARMENIAN DELEGATE TO PACE: AZERBAIJANI CAVIAR BECOMES SERIOUS POLITICAL FACTOR

YEREVAN/NEWS.am -- Member of the Armenian delegation to PACE Naira Zohrabyan urged the Council of Europe to take concrete moves against Azerbaijan’s attempts to turn international organizations into arena of political corruption.

In her speech, Zohrabyan said it is time to make “changes in the po- litical thought and consider Azerbaijani caviar as serious political factor”.

“It is unacceptable to gain democracy through petrodollars and cavi- ar that is being carried out by a member of the Council of Europe - Azer- baijan. Moreover, some of our colleagues are the first among those ac- cepting caviar dollars. However, no international structure that was reached by Azerbaijani caviar hands has taken real steps against this phe-

nomenon that violates democratic values,” she said, addressing the PACE delegates. Armenian delegate recalled that a group of observers headed by Pino Arlaki called the recent presidential elec-

tions in Azerbaijan “free, fair and transparent”. “Naturally, such an unprecedented shameful assessment has caused a scandal in the European Parliament. And

how do you think Arlaki justified himself? He said he had lied in the interests of Italy. That is, he lied as Italy has oil interests in Azerbaijan. What is this if not a public statement about political corruption?” Zohrabyan wonders.

All this is the result of inaction of international organizations towards caviar policy of Azerbaijan, she said, calling not to allow corruption in the international structures.

ARMENIAN MEMBER TO PACE CALLS FOR BRINGINGAZERBAIJAN PRESIDENT TO CRIMINAL ACCOUNT

NEWS.am -- At the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Winter Session, member of the Armenian National Assembly (NA) delegation to PACE, non-pro-government Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) NA Faction Secretary Naira Zohrabyan raised the matter of bringing Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev to criminal account.

Based on the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) proposal to criminalize speeches with a racist connotation, the PAM MP called for filing a criminal case against Aliyev for his anti-Armenian and racist statements.

KARABAKH MILITARY COLLEGE WILL BE MOST MODERN IN CIS

NEWS.am -- The committee for the project to build a military college in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, or Artsakh, released a statement.

“The construction of the military college, which is named after legendary Armenian Generals Suvorov and Madatov, is in progress within the framework of ensuring the security of Artsakh.

“The future students of the college will receive military education from a school age.

“The college will meet all international modern-day norms and standards, and deservedly be considered the most modern in the CIS [i.e., the Commonwealth of Independent States] expanse.

“Aside from the military and housing buildings, the college will also have a large sessions’ hall, a football

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field with stands, stages for boxing, wrestling and weightlifting, basketball, volleyball and tennis courts as well as an orchard and a flower garden.

“The Lezgins, Talish, Avars, Tsakhurs, and Tats [likewise] will have the right to be enrolled [in the college],” the statement specifically reads.

ICRC NOT MANAGED TO VISIT ARMENIAN OLD MAN TAKEN INTO CAPTIVITY IN AZERBAIJAN

YEREVAN/NEWS.am -- Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have not yet managed to visit Mamikon Khojoyan, a citizen of Armenia who appeared on the Azerbaijani side.

The ICRC delegation is trying to visit the captive as soon as possible after receiving of- ficial notification from Azerbaijani authorities that a man had been detained, representative of Yerevan ICRC office Zara Amatuni told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“On our side, we are in constant contact with Baku colleagues,” Zara Amatuni said.

Mamikon Khojoyan (77), a resident of Tavush Region, was taken into captivity on Tuesday. According to some reports, the man lost his way.

It should be noted that the reports of Azerbaijani state agencies differ. According to the Commission on POWs, he is a civilian. However, Azerbaijani defense ministry claims the old man (who was called mentally ill by the villagers) is a “guide of sabotage group”. The difference in reports suggests the claims about alleged involve- ment of an old man to any act of sabotage are a made up story.

U.S. FIRM BUYS VORODAN ENERGY FACILITIES IN ARMENIA

YEREVAN -- A U.S. energy company acquired on Wednesday Armenia’s largest cascade of hy- droelectric plants in a $250 mil- lion deal that represents the single largest U.S. investment in the Armenian economy to date.

Under a takeover agreement signed with the Armenian gov- ernment in Yerevan, the New York-based group ContourGlobal is to pay $180 million and invest $70 million in the three plants making up the Vorotan Hydro Cascade.

The Soviet-built facilities are located on the Vorotan river flow- ing through southeastern Syunik province. With a combined opera- tional capacity of 405 megawatts, they are nearly as powerful as the Metsamor nuclear plant that accounts for roughly 40 percent of Armenian electricity production.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to play an integral role in the Armenian power system and to make a significant and lasting contribution to a key part of the country's infrastructure,” Joseph Brandt, the ContourGlobal chairman, said in a statement.

Garry Levesley, Brandt’s deputy who signed the agreement in Yerevan, also stressed its significance. “We will do our best to contribute to Armenia’s energy security,” the government’s press office quoted Levesley as saying at the signing ceremony attended by Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian.

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John Heffern, the U.S. ambassador to Armenia, was also present at the ceremony, underlining Washington’s strong support for the acquisition. Heffern was reported to say that it will strengthen U.S.-Armenian relations.

The Vorotan cascade’s impending sale was announced by the U.S. State Department last November following a meeting in Washington of the U.S.-Armenia Joint Economic Task Force. The department said that the deal will be partly financed by the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).

ContourGlobal already owns or operates 33 power plants in 17 countries, including Poland, Ukraine and Ro- mania. “ContourGlobal has extensive knowledge and experience in operating in the region and looks forward to adding these significant power plants into our portfolio and making further improvements and investments in them,” Levesley said.

The U.S. firm plans to create 150 new jobs at the Vorotan plants as part of a six-year modernization plan en- visaged by the deal.

The deal also marked a first-ever multimillion-dollar Western investment in Armenia’s energy sector dominat- ed by Gazprom and other Russian energy companies.

ARMENIAN NATIONAL INSTITUTE WEBSITE SEES 1 MILLION MORE HITS IN 2013

WASHINGTON, DC — With the con- tinuing expansion of the information on the Armenian Genocide available on the Arme- nian National Institute (ANI) website, a marked increase in the number of visitors was registered this past year, jumping by one million hits, and growing the site from two million to close to three million hits in 2013.

Public and scholarly interest is clearly registering with ever growing utilization of ANI materials. Both in anticipation of heightened worldwide interest as the centen- nial approaches in 2015 and as a result of increasing Turkish openness on the subject of the Armenian Genocide, ANI has been preparing major resources and making them available to the public, to support educators, to encourage researchers, and to assist Ar- menian community efforts.

In March 2013, ANI, along with, the Armenian Genocide Museum of America (AGMA), and the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly), issued a digital exhibit titled WITNESS TO THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: Photographs by the Perpetrators’ German and Austro-Hungarian Allies. The ten-poster set included an introductory page, a detailed timeline, a color-coded map geographically matching the photographs with their location, and sev- en pages displaying 34 captioned historic photographs depicting the deportations, massacres, and concentration camps. Since its release, over 75,000 copies have been downloaded. Additional downloadable exhibits will be made available, and as with the 2013 digital and printable exhibit, they will be distributed free of charge.

As part of its ongoing program to promote the teaching of genocide and human rights and the lessons of the Armenian Genocide, in early 2013 ANI announced the release by Routledge publishers of the fourth edition of Centuries of Genocide: Essays and Eyewitness Accounts, the genocide and human rights studies textbook widely used in college and high school courses. This new edition addresses examples of genocides perpetrated in the nine- teenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. The chapter on the Armenian Genocide, which has appeared since the first edition of the publication, is authored by ANI Director Dr. Rouben Adalian. More than 50,000 copies of the publication have been sold over the years.

This publication was followed by the release of the online and print versions of the second edition of the En- cyclopedia of Race and Racism issued by Macmillan Reference, a major publisher of educational materials, to

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which Dr. Adalian contributed an entry on the Armenian Genocide. The article appears in a section dedicated to Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity that includes entries, among others, on the Assyrian Massacre, Bosnia, Cambodia, Japanese Occupation, Mayan Genocide in Guatemala, Rwanda, and Sudan.

As part of its continuing service to educators and to coincide with the release of Centuries of Genocide, ANI expanded its “Resource Guide” and other sections of the “Education” component of the ANI website. Dozens of resources were selected for their instructional value and are listed for the benefit of students and teachers. ANI also expanded the database it maintains on Armenian Genocide memorials.

ANI2ANI also introduced a new section to its website documenting the extent of “Press Coverage” and dis- cussion of the Armenian Genocide over the course of the past decade. As part of this expansion, the section docu- menting the growing trend of international affirmation of the Armenian Genocide was also updated.

The “Affirmation” section of the website reflects municipal, state, and federal level recognitions from around the world. With 174 official documents posted supporting the record of affirmation by 43 of the United States, an- other 50 posted official enactments attest to the extent of international affirmation of the Armenian Genocide with 21 countries formally on record. To facilitate navigation of the growing list of international recognitions, a sum- mary page listing the countries in alphabetical order is provided.

Continuing its services, ANI, in coordination with AGMA and the Assembly, is preparing to issue by April 2014 a major new online exhibit on the Armenian Genocide featuring extensive new photographic and documen- tary evidence.

JEWISH COMMUNITY OF ARMENIA MARKED HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY

YEREVAN/NEWS.am -- The Jewish community of Arme- nia on Monday marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Members of the community and representatives of other or- ganizations laid flowers at the memorial to the victims of Arme- nian Genocide and Holocaust installed in the center of Yerevan.

Another event will be held together with Israel’s Embassy in Armenia at 6:30p.m. on February 4 in the Chamber Music Hall, head of the community Rimma Varzhapetyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is marked all over the globe on January 27 when in 1945, the largest Nazi death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, was liberated by Soviet troops. The Holocaust resulted in annihilation of 6 million Jews.

LAST FAREWELL TO ARAM GHARABEKIAN

YEREVAN (Armradio.am) -- The public funeral service for renowned conductor Aram Gharabekian was held at the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall today. The ceremony was attended by Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian.

Aram Gharabekian, who passed away on January 10, was laid to rest at the City Pantheon in Yerevan.

Born in 1955, he graduated from the New England Conservatory with a Master’s degree in Composition, and continued his postgraduate studies in Musical Phenomenology at MainzUniversity in Germany. He studied con- ducting with Franco Ferrara in Italy, and was one of a few pupils of the legendary conductor Sergiu Celibidache. He was also granted a fellowship to study composition and conducting under Jacob Druckman and Leonard Bern- stein at TanglewoodMusicCenter.

From 1997 until 2010 Mr. Gharabekian served as Music Director of the National Chamber Orchestra of Ar- menia, leading this acclaimed ensemble on tours to Greece, the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus, Switzerland, Eng- land, Russia, Lebanon, Georgia, Germany, France, Canada and the U.S.

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MANANA YOUTH CENTER WINS MAJOR UNITED NATION’S DEMOCRACY FUND GRANT IN 2013

YEREVAN -- The Manana Youth Center won a major two-year grant from the United Nation’s Democracy Fund, which enables the Manana Youth Center to conduct a dozens of weeklong multimedia workshops for children throughout Armenia.

“We have been working towards the goal of enabling all of country’s young people to benefit from our proven educational pro- grams.” Said Ruzan Baghdasaryan, Execu- tive Director of the Manana Youth Center. “Our workshops will introduce basic skills in the areas of journalism, photojournalism and filmmaking.”

Participants, under the supervision of our expert instructors, produced films, shot photos and conducted inter- views. An exhibition and film screening was held in Gyumri in the fall to feature Manana student’s works from the various regions. In 2014, these workshops will continue and a curated final exhibition will be held in Yerevan.

In August, Manana Youth Center organized a crowd funding campaign on Indiegogo and raised $5,000 for Sand Animals. The students of the Manana Animation Studio are currently implementing this animation project.

“This is the seventh year The Paros Foundation is providing support to the Manana Youth Center in the form of a grant for operational funding and quality program and office space. Said Peter Abajian, Executive Director of The Paros Foundation. “It is inspiring that the Manana team has attracted prestigious funding for their training and the development of specific creative projects. Providing these opportunities for Armenia’s children encourages a young persons curiosity and his or her ability to express themselves.”

Other 2013 milestones included the presentation of two feature film documentaries at the Golden Apricot In- ternational Film Festival by Manana Films, the film production division of Manana Youth Center.

The Beginnings, a co-production documentary with Turkey, directed by Somnur Vardar, and Hit The Road: India - a travel adventure documentary, recognized later as an amazing adventure film of 2013 by Vimeo and Vani- ty Fair Italy were both well received by audiences. Hit The Road: India is now being successfully distributed via major digital platforms and will be broadcasted by several TV channels in 2014. The Manana film Everyone, who will meet me, won the Highlight Award at Young Filmmaker International Festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Manana Youth Center is located in Yerevan, Armenia and provides multimedia training and afterschool education to 75 students ages 8 to 18 in the areas of filmmaking, journalism, photography and animation. Children engage in these hands-on activities, but most importantly, the skills they learn greatly improve their critical think- ing.

In 2014 funding is needed to upgrade their equipment and to expand the program for an additional 20 children. The Manana Youth Center depends on support from the community and donors to meet its important mission. To get involved please contact Peter Abajian (310) 400-9061; and, to contribute please visit www.mananayouth.org. Support from The Paros Foundation underwrites all administrative expenses allowing donor contributions to be al- located directly to Manana’s student programs.

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SCHIFF MEETS WITH BISHOP NALBANDIAN OF DAMASCUS DIOCESE

WASHINGTON—This week, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) met with Bishop Armash Nalbandian, primate of the Armenian Church of Damascus, who is in the United States with several other Syrian Christian leaders to dis- cuss the plight of Syria’s Christians.

“Bishop Nalbandanian and his colleagues described the extreme insecurity and fear of their people and asked Congress and the President to speed the disbursement of aid to the millions of Syrians who have suffered from the civil war, but remain in Syria,” said Schiff. “The Bish- op’s report echoes what I have been hearing from other sources about the disparity in resources directed to Inter- nally Displace Persons (IDPs) and those who have es- caped to one of the neighboring states.

“I have been focused on Syria and the plight of Christians there since the start of the uprising against Bashar Assad. We must continue to press for greater assistance and to permit the humanitarian parole of Syrians with approved immigrant petitions to the United States, many of whom are Christians.”

“We want to share our appreciation for all the good work that His Grace Bishop Armash Nalbandian is doing here in Washington to educate legislators and engage American leaders in the urgent task of addressing the dire and dangerous circumstances facing Armenians, other Christians, and all at-risk Syrian minorities,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA.

“Clearly, the U.S. government must do much more with our global partners to close the longstanding aid de- livery gaps that have, for far too long, left vulnerable Armenians in Syria – particularly in the Aleppo area – beyond the reach of international assistance programs,” added Hamparian.

Reps. Schiff and Frank Wolf (R-VA) wrote last year to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) urging the use of humanitarian parole – which would provide a temporary visa for those in an emergency situation – to the estimated six thousand Syrian nationals’ cases with approved immigrant petitions. This would allow Syrians who have been waiting for a visa to reunite with their family members in the United States without delay. Of the fleeing refugees, members of religious minorities, including the country’s Christian population, are especially at risk, and many have sought refuge in the United States.

Bishop Nalbandian will be a featured speaker during a February 10 lecture organized by the Syrian-Armenian Relief Fund, scheduled to be held at the at the Nazareth and Sima Kalaydjian Hall at the Western Diocese in Bur- bank.

Bishop Nalbandian will be joined by Dr. Krikor Adanalian for the event.

“This is a great opportunity for our concerned community to hear first hand the status quo on the ground and renew our commitment to reach out and help the Syrian Armenians survive this crisis,” remarked Zaven Khanjian, SARF Executive Committee Chairperson.

SARF PRESENTS A LECTURE ON THE SYRIAN ARMENIAN CRISIS

GLENDALE -- “The Syrian Armenian Crisis” is the title of a lecture organized by the Syrian Armenian Relief Fund (SARF) Executive Committee, which will be held on Monday, February 10, 2014, at 7:00 p.m., at the Naza- reth and Sima Kalaydjian Hall of the Western Diocese, 3325 N. Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank, CA 91504.

The Primate of the Armenian Church Diocese of Damascus, Bishop Armash Nalbandian, and Dr. Krikor Adanalian from Aleppo, Syria, will be the two lecturers.

“This is a great opportunity for our concerned community to hear first hand the status quo on the ground and

Rep. Adam Schiff with Damascus Diocese Primate Bishop Armash Nalbandian

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renew our commitment to reach out and help the Syrian Armenians survive this crisis!” remarked Zaven Khanjian, SARF Executive Committee Chairperson.

Admission is free to the public.

*** The following churches, charities and organizations came together to form the Syrian Armenian Relief Fund in

August 2012: Armenian Catholic Eparchy in North America; Armenian Evangelical Union of North America; Western Diocese of the Armenian Church; Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America; Arme- nian General Benevolent Union; Armenian Missionary Association of America; Armenian Relief Society of West- ern U.S.A.; Armenian Democratic Liberal Party; Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Western U.S.A.; and Social Democrat Hunchakian Party-Western U.S.A. The SARF mailing address follows: P.O. Box 1948, Glendale, CA 91209-1948; the web site address follows: www.SyrianArmenianReliefFund.org.

SYRIAN-ARMENIAN COMMUNITY HAS FOOD CRISIS – EXPERT

YEREVAN/NEWS.am -- The Armenian community of Syria faces serious security and crucial issues. The Syrian Armenians struggle not only to stay alive, but to obtain food and medication.

Arab Studies specialist Araks Pashayan stated the aforesaid at a press conference on Monday.

“Our main community, Aleppo, has suffered. There is a food cri- sis in Syria,” Pashayan added.

In the words of the expert, more than 100 Armenians have lost their lives so far as a result of the ongoing unrest in Syria.

“The number of victims may rise. It is also perilous that the Ar- menian neighborhoods are being abandoned; the Syrian Armenians are leaving the country,” Pashayan noted.

But the Arab studies specialist is convinced that regardless of which force will prevail in Syria, no danger threatens the Armenian community, and the national minorities of the country will continue to live the same way.

“The Armenian community certainly is a target for the Islamic radicals, but even they will not touch the na- tional minorities,” she noted.

And in response to the reporters’ query, Araks Pashayan stated: “There are a few Armenians in the [Syrian] government forces.”

SYRIAN PRESIDENT FINALLY RECOGNIZES

THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

By Harut Sassounian

Publisher, The California Courier

In a lengthy interview last week with Agence France Presse (AFP) on the tragic situation in Syria, Pres. Bashar

al-Assad made an unexpected reference to the massacres of 1.5 million Armenians. This is the first time that any

Syrian head of state has acknowledged the Armenian mass murders and identified the perpetrator as Ottoman Tur-

key.

During the interview, Pres. Assad compared the Armenian Genocide of 1915 to the brutal killings of civilians

by foreign fighters nowadays in Syria: “The degree of savagery and inhumanity that the terrorists have reached re-

minds us of what happened in the Middle Ages in Europe over 500 years ago. In more recent modern times, it re-

minds us of the massacres perpetrated by the Ottomans against the Armenians when they killed a million and a half

Armenians and half a million Orthodox Syriacs in Syria and in Turkish territory.”

Not surprisingly, two days later, Bashar Jaafari, Syria’s Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, made a

similar remark: “How about the Armenian Genocide where 1.5 million people were killed?”

The only other high ranking Syrian official who has acknowledged the Armenian Genocide was Abd al-Qader

Qaddura, Speaker of the Syrian Parliament, when he inscribed a poignant statement in the Book of Remembrance

of the Armenian Genocide Monument and Museum in Yerevan on July 16, 2001: “As we visit the Memorial and

Museum of the Genocide that the Armenian nation suffered in 1915, we stand in full admiration and respect in front

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of those heroes that faced death with courage and heroism. Their children and grandchildren continued after them

to immortalize their courage and struggle.... With great respect we bow our heads in memory of the martyrs of the

Armenian nation -- our friends -- and hail their ability for resoluteness and triumph. We will work together to liber-

ate every human being from aggression and oppression.”

While the Parliament Speaker’s 2001 statement was a candid and heartfelt message with no political over-

tones, the same cannot be said about Pres. Assad’s words on the Armenian Genocide as he clearly intended to lash

back at the Turkish government’s hostile actions against the Syrian regime. It is well known that Turkey has played

a major role in the concerted international effort to topple Pres. Assad, by dispatching heavy weapons and arranging

the infiltration of foreign radical Islamist fighters into Syria.

Relations between Syria and Turkey were not always hostile. Before the start of the Syrian crisis in 2011, the

two countries were such close political and economic allies that the Assad regime banned the sale of books on the

Armenian Genocide, and did not permit foreign film crews to visit Der Zor, the killing fields of thousands of Ar-

menians during the Genocide. Mindful of possible Turkish backlash, Pres. Assad’s staff cancelled my courtesy

meeting with the President in 2009 after they discovered on the internet my countless critical articles on Turkey.

Moreover, during the honeymoon period between the Syrian and Turkish governments, Pres. Assad advised the

visiting Catholicos Aram I that Armenians should maintain good relations with Turkey and not dwell on the past!

In his recent interview with AFP, Pres. Assad also complained about the failure of Western leaders to compre-

hend developments in the Middle East: “They are always very late in realizing things, sometimes even after the sit-

uation has been overtaken by a new reality that is completely different.” Frankly, one could make the same criti-

cism about Pres. Assad for realizing at his own detriment only too late the dishonesty and duplicity of Turkey’s

leadership.

Regrettably, the Syrian President is not the only head of state who has failed to decipher the scheming mindset

of Turkey’s rulers. Countless Middle Eastern, European, and American leaders have made the same mistake, trust-

ing Turkey’s feigned friendship, only to be let down when the time came for Turkey to keep its end of the bargain.

In recent months, with the increasing dissatisfaction of the international community with Prime Minister

Erdogan’s autocratic policies and belligerent statements, it has become crystal clear that no one knows the true face

of Turkey better than Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks and Kurds, who have suffered countless brutalities, massacres

and even genocide under despotic Turkish rule.

Despite Pres. Assad’s political motivations, Armenians should welcome his belated statement on the Armenian

Genocide. After refraining from acknowledging the Genocide for all the wrong reasons for so long, at least now the

Syrian President is on record telling the truth about past and present Turkish atrocities!

REGARDING SYRIAN ARMENIANS’ CRISIS By Bedros Kojian, M.D.

There is a great disparity in a statement of establishing a magnanimous Private Foundation in Armenia, suc- cessful fund raising activities and donations to NON-VITAL, but important Armenian causes. And the GLARING absence of funds and/or donations to the Syrian Armenian CRISIS, eloquently stated in “Will You Be The First to Call” article by Mr. Zaven Khanjian.

It is unconscionable that most of us, Armenians, like the rest of the world are acting as if we are oblivious that the entire vibrant and prosperous Syrian Armenian Community is in a catastrophic state. To survive, most of them were forced to leave their destructed and looted homes, businesses and belongings that took them a century to built or acquire, hoping that in a “short period the nightmare” will be over, and they will return, reclaim and rebuild, but unfortunately as the conflict lingers it is becoming more and more clear that this is an illusion rather than a reality.

As an American Armenian, and the son of genocide survivors, (both parents) I, among others feel their pain and suffering. It reminds me of my parents’ stories of survival of the Armenian Genocide. At that time they were somewhat unfortunate because no one actually helped them except their skill, hard work and the determination to survive.

Now times have changed, thanks to the United States of America and other nations, we not only have a roof on our head and food on our table, we also have enough to spare to help others, especially our own Syrian Armenians that are destitute and in critical need.

Fridtjof Nansen, the Norwegian, scientist, explorer, statesman, humanitarian, and Noble Prize Laureate, after World War 1, was commissioned by the League of Nations to settle refugees and prisoners. He successfully helped settle hundreds of thousands of Germans, Austrians, Greeks, Turks, Russians and Armenians. In 1925, he was able

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to settle about seven thousand Armenians in soviet Armenia, ten thousand in Lebanon, and 40 thousand in Syria. The task was enormous and he needed additional funds, but his request to the League of Nations and his affluent friends for additional funds fell to deaf ears.

Demoralized he returned to his desk and noticed an envelope made of cheap paper addressed to him. Curiously he opened the envelope and found “a dime” and a note that said:” We are poor, and all we can afford is a dime, but we feel the pain and suffering of the Armenian refugees.” That gave him the idea to talk to people and lecture, thus he raised 10 cents and more at a time and eventually he raised hundreds and thousands of dollars to help settle many more refugees.

Now in this gravel state of the Syrian Armenian community, it is our turn to become “Fredtjof Nansens.” Through facebook, emails, texting and twitting, within seconds we can spread the word to our family, friends and others. And if we each contribute $5.00 or $10.00 or $1,000.00 or whatever else; me, you or others can afford, ANYTHING EXCEPT NOTHING, we will raise substantial amounts of money, and hopefully even enough to spare some to our Syrian brothers and sisters.

Please write your checks to SARF (Syrian Armenian Relief Fund) and mail to: SARF (Syrian Armenian Relief Fund) POBox 1948 Glendale, CA 91209-1948

All donations are tax-deductable.

If you need additional information please get in touch with Zaven Khanjian Chairman of SARF Executive Committee at Zaven@kanjyanrealty.com

I am not a committee member, nor a Syrian Armenian. Thank you. I am counting on you.

MEANINGFUL STEPS:

A ROADMAP FOR TURKEY AS 2015 APPROACHES By Raffi Bedrosyan

In a previous article about the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide in 2015, I argued about the need to focus our limited resources to supporting independent academic research, to continue to reveal the truth and facts of 1915 and establish a “common body of knowledge” between Turks and Armenians. In this article, I will elaborate on the necessity to deliver those facts directly to the Turkish people; will outline some of the obstacles created by the denialist policies of the Turkish state; and finally, will provide a few suggestions for the Turkish state to consider by 2015.

Meaningful dialogue between two conflicting parties can only happen when both parties are aware of the facts and the truth. Even though the Turkish state has not allowed the truth of 1915 to come out until very recently, there are now clear signs that the taboos are finally being broken and that this “common body of knowledge” is emerging among Turkish opinion makers and ordinary citizens.

For four generations, Turkish citizens were brainwashed about the genocide by the state education system and the media. The Turkish people, however, can no longer be defined as a homogenous, uniform group. Clashes be- tween the Turkish state and the sizable Kurdish/Alevi population, as well as the prosecution and punishment of the “deep state” leaders who ruled Turkey until a few years ago, have led some to question the state’s version of history regarding 1915. A few bright personalities/opinion makers in politics, academia, media, and literature have advo- cated for increased democratization, freedom of speech, and minority rights; moreover, they have acknowledged the truth about the genocide and demanded that the state do so as well. There is now a small but fast-increasing segment of the population that wants the state to face its past.

To date, there have been very few attempts for dialogue between the Armenian world and this liberalized seg- ment of the Turkish population. Apart from the activities of the Hrant Dink Foundation based in Istanbul, the only contact has been through a few individuals in academia, film, media, music, and culture; and organizationally, by the Zoryan Institute in the academic field, by the Armenian NGO Civilitas through its recently opened office in Is- tanbul, and some recent political exchanges between Kurdish political parties and representatives of the ARF. Ar- menian academia, NGOs, and opinion makers should aim to establish direct contact with their Turkish counterparts to convey the truth through jointly organized conferences, seminars, TV programs, films, and translated publica- tions.

Ordinary Turks, for example, should find out about the courageous Turkish officials who resisted the inhu-

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mane government decisions to annihilate the Armenian population in 1915. They should learn about the fate of the properties left behind by the annihilated Armenians, including hundreds of thousands of houses, fields, shops, warehouses, factories, mines, churches, and schools, all confiscated by the state, the Ittihat Terakki leaders, or local Muslim notables. They should understand that most of the Ataturk House Museums scattered all over Anatolia once belonged to deported or murdered Armenian citizens of the Ottoman state. They should be reminded that the very residence where the Turkish president sits today in Ankara was once owned by an Armenian family.

Of course, the Turkish state will continue to use all of its resources to prevent its citizens from finding out the truth. Notwithstanding the boasts of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan that the archives are open and have nothing to hide, the reality is that the Ottoman archives are not entirely open and have gone through two major cleanups.

The first cleanup and destruction of files was back in 1918, when the Ittihat Terakki leaders escaped from Is- tanbul in a German warship to avoid prosecution as war criminals, carrying several trunkloads of documents with them. At the same time, the main planner of the Armenian deportations and massacres, Special Organization Chief Bahattin Shakir, also burned rooms full of documents related to their activities.

The second purging was in the 1990Ys when the Ottoman archives were reorganized, translated into modern Turkish, and digitized. A team of diplomats, historians, retired ambassadors, and military officers sifted through millions of documents with the objective of eliminating any incriminating reference to the Armenians.

Recent WikiLeaks documents indicate that the Ottoman archival documents, initially estimated at 50 million records, numbered more like 200 million and therefore, the intended purge could not be carried out effectively. Clearly, several thousand documents escaped scrutiny and a few prominent Turkish scholars like Taner Akcam, Umit Kurt, and Ugur Ungor have been able to produce significant historic facts about the intended annihilation of the Armenians and the confiscation of their properties based only on these archives. Recently it was revealed that all researchers delving into the Armenian issue in the Ottoman archives were being tracked and monitored. If their work was deemed to be against the state version, there would be harassment and funding repercussions against them, as well as the institutions where they worked/studied. Meanwhile, Turkish researchers who pro- duce/falsify/create documents minimizing Armenian losses are encouraged and rewarded. In 2005, Murat Bardakci, an investigative journalist, published Talat Pasha’s diary, revealing that Talat had kept detailed records about the numbers and destination of the deported Armenians. He had tallied the loss of Armenians at 972,000, but had also stated that the total missing could exceed 1.2 million due to unaccounted relocations.

During a recent TV talk show about history called “Rear Window of History,” Bardakci invited a history pro- fessor from Sakarya University, a state-sponsored “expert” on the Armenian issue. This expert announced that the archives show that the Ottoman government took all precautions to care for the 300,000 Armenians, who were tem- porarily deported only from the eastern war front; that only a few thousand died from illness; and that most of them returned home safely after the war. Bardakci confronted him by producing Talat Pasha’s diary and the numbers that Talat himself had quoted. The expert said he was only able to work with whatever is available in the state archives. He also announced that Turkish historians have now “proven” that all the genocide allegations are “fiction” based on American Ambassador Henry Morgenthau’s book, which, he said, was specifically produced as a propaganda tool to drum up support for the United States to enter the war. Even Bardakci found this expert’s comments embar- rassing for Turkey, as it would result in more ridicule internationally and weaken Turkey’s hand further on the eve of 2015.

If Erdogan really wants to prove that Turkey has nothing to hide, all he has to do is order the release of two sets of critical documents—the deportation books and the deeds. The first set of documents are the 33 dossiers of the Deportation and Liquidation Commissions formed in 1915-16 in various Ottoman Anatolian provinces. They recorded, listed, appraised, and held on to the assets of the deported Armenians for their eventual return, but also sold or distributed some of these assets to Muslim refugees. The whereabouts of these dossiers is a mystery, but it is speculated that they are still intact and kept in the prime ministry offices. The second set of documents contain the Ottoman land registry and property deeds records. In 2005, when the government attempted to comply with Euro- pean Union (EU) modernization initiatives by translating and opening these records up to the public, it was pre- vented from doing so by a stern warning—dated Aug. 26, 2005—from the National Security Committee of the Turkish Armed Forces, which stated, “The Ottoman records kept at the Land Register and Cadaster Surveys Gen- eral Directorate offices must be sealed and not available to the public, as they have the potential to be exploited by alleged genocide claims and property claims against the State Charitable Foundation assets. Opening them to gen- eral public use is against state interests.”

Recently, it came to light that a former prime minister had come close to taking a positive step toward resolv- ing the Armenian issue. Being a very pragmatic politician, in the early 1990Ys Turgut Ozal had sought to end Tur-

35

key’s denialist policy and had commissioned a study to quantify the amount of compensation owed to Armenians worldwide. It is reported that the study did come up with a monetary figure, but no further steps were taken, either because the cost would be exorbitant, or because Ozal mysteriously died in 1993. His sudden death is still a subject of speculation today, 20 years later; his body was recently exhumed and examined for the presence of poison. It is said that he was severely criticized by the military and the deep state, not only for this Armenian episode, but more critically, for his desire to end the separatist Kurdish issue by giving concessions.

Based on the feedback and comments my past articles have garnered, there seems to be a significantly wide readership in Turkey, even within their government circles. A recurring theme I hear is that the present government, unlike the previous ones, has taken many positive steps toward Armenians, but that there has been no acknowl- edgement or reciprocating goodwill from the Armenian side. The positive examples often cited include the restora- tion of the Akhtamar Holy Cross Church (note that the church is still known as the Akdamar Museum in Turkey); the return of several confiscated properties belonging to the Armenian church and charitable foundations (note that these returns are still less than 10 percent of the properties seized after the 1930Ys, and include none from before 1915, and no private properties); and increased freedom of speech, with the utterance of the term “Armenian Geno- cide” no longer a punishable offense (note that people like Hrant Dink can still get killed for saying that term, and that his real murderers remain hidden). I do acknowledge that these are positive steps in the right direction, but they are only a few steps in a very long journey.

Perhaps the journey cannot be completed by 2015, but several concrete and specific steps must be taken by Turkey in order to achieve some credibility and respectability. Instead of diversionary tactical steps, like Foreign Minister Davutoglu’s recent visit to Armenia, which achieved nothing, I humbly offer a few suggestions for con- sideration by my Turkish government acquaintances:

1. Open the border with Armenia without any preconditions. Rename the Alican border-crossing the Hrant Dink Gate, in honor of the heroic advocate for dialogue.

2. Grant citizenship to all living descendants of the deported Ottoman-Armenian citizens.

3. Clean up the textbooks at all levels of the educational system by eliminating the falsifications, hatemonger- ing, and discrimination toward the Armenians (and other minorities).

4. Initiate a state program by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to restore the more than 2,000 destroyed or deteriorating Armenian monasteries and churches, and return them to their rightful owner, the Armenian Church (Istanbul Armenian Patriarchate).

5. Offer a symbolic but meaningful apology to the Armenian people for all the crimes of 1915, by returning Mount Ararat and Ani to Armenia, perhaps as part of a territorial exchange based on equivalent land area.

6. Open up to the public the afore-mentioned documents related to the deportation/liquidation records and the Ottoman property deeds related to the deported Armenians.

7. Allow the compensation cases by descendants of Ottoman-Armenian citizens to proceed in Turkish and in- ternational courts.

8. Offer free transit and duty-free port facilities for Armenia at a Black Sea city such as Trabzon and Rize, as partial compensation for the economic losses of Ottoman-Armenian citizens.

Turkish acquaintances in government circles complain that the Armenians’ insistence on using the word “gen- ocide” is a barrier to any progress toward dialogue about 1915. None of the suggestions above refer to that word, and all of them are doable by 2015, if there really is goodwill.

Once there is knowledge of the facts, followed by dialogue about the truth of 1915, among the Turkish opinion makers and ordinary citizens, the far-reaching result would be the creation of voters aware of the truth. Knowledge- able voters would then vote-in knowledgeable parliamentary members and eventually governments, which would set policies and decisions according to the voters’ preferences. I suggest that decisions taken in the Turkish Parlia- ment respecting the truth of 1915 will be far more effective than any decision taken in the parliaments of third-party states.

Sources

Vatan daily newspaper, Sept. 12, 2011, “Bavul dolusu Ermeni belgesi kacirildi” (Trunkloads of Armenian documents were taken out).

Zaman daily newspaper, April 24, 2012, “Ozal Yasasaydi Ermeni Sorununu Cozecekti” (If Ozal had lived, he would have solved the Armenian issue).

Internethaber news online, Dec. 12, 2013, “Turkiye’de skandal: Ermeni meselesini calisan ogrenciler fislendi” (Scandal in Turkey: Students researching the Armenian issue are being monitored).

Murat Bardakci, Talat Pasanin Evrak-i Metrukesi (Talat Pasha’s Black Book), 2005, Everest Yayinlari (Everest Publish- ing House).

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