18 November 2006
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Recognise the Armenian Genocide of 1915"
Sign the e-petition to the Prime Minister:
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/armeniangenocide
More than a million Armenians were massacred by the government of Ottoman Empire (now Turkey) in the twentieth century's first genocide. We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister and Her Majesty's Government to recognise the Armenian Genocide of 1915 because denial is "killing them twice."
14 November 2006
European Commission Report on Turkey Fails to Reflect Armenian Issues
"On Wednesday, November 8th, the European Commission released its regular report on Turkey. The political dimension of the negotiation process has been removed from this document and is now included in a second report, entitled, "Enlargement strategy and the Main Challenges 2006-2007."
As for the Armenian issues, it should be noted that the regular report failed to denounce the denial campaign waged by Turkey, both on its own territory and throughout the Union. Previous mentions of the Genocide in previous reports - characterized euphemistically as "tragic events" - were not reflected in this new document. On freedom of speech, only Article 301 of the Turkish penal code was mentioned.
The European Commission failed to denounce the other provisions of Turkish law aimed at freedom of speech, especially Article 305, which penalizes the affirmation of the Armenian Genocide. Finally, in the technical chapters related to the Acquis Communautaire, the blockade of Armenia by Turkey is described using the dismissive terminology, "closed border."
05 November 2006
Mass Burial of Possible Armenian Genocide Victims Discovered in Turkey
"Turkish Gendarmerie has instructed local villagers of a southeastern region to keep silence about a mass grave, discovered on October 17, that might contain remains of Armenian Genocide victims. According to a Kurdish newspaper published in Turkish Ulkede Ozgur Gundem, villagers from Xirabebaba (Kuru) were digging a grave for one of their relatives when they came across to a cave full of skulls and bones of reportedly 40 people. The Xirabebaba residents assumed they had uncovered a mass grave of 300 Armenian villagers massacred during the Genocide of 1915.
They informed Akarsu Gendarmerie headquarters, the local military unit, about the discovered remains. Turkish army officers, according to the Kurdish newspaper, instructed the villagers to block the cave entrance and make no mention of the remains buried in it. The officers said an investigation would take place. The newspaper reported on the developments and the Turkish military's attempt to hide the news. Journalists, who had arrived to obtain more information, were denied access to the cave."
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