Speech by H.E. Vardan Oskanian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia

The following is an excerpt from the speech by H.E. Vardan Oskanian at the Royal Conservatory of Belgium on 25 April 2007.

"Armenians were one of the largest minorities of the Ottoman Empire. Where did they go? Is it possible that all our grandmothers and grandfathers colluded and created stories? Where are the descendants of the Armenians who built the hundreds of churches and monasteries whose ruins still stand today? What kind of open and honest discussion is possible with a government that loudly and proudly announces its renovation of the medieval Armenian jewel of a church, Akhtamar in Lake Van, while it carefully, consistently, removes every reference to its Armenianness from all literature and signs? What is Turkey afraid of?

It is a political reality that Armenia is not a security threat to Turkey. It is a political reality that both Turkey and Armenia exist today in the international community with their current borders.

Today, as the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia, as the grandson of genocide survivors, I can only say that Armenia and Turkey are neighbors who will remain neighbors. We share a border. We can only move forward together."

British Reports on Ethnic Cleansing in Anatolia, 1919-1922: The Armenian–Greek Section

“British Reports on Ethnic Cleansing in Anatolia, 1919-1922: The Armenian-Greek Section, is a provocative new book that clearly and vividly demonstrates that from 1919 to 1922, the Turkish Nationalists under Mustafa Kemal perpetrated an organized scheme of wholesale ethnic cleansing upon the indigenous Armenians of Asia Minor and Cilicia, and the Greeks of Pontus.

This important book, compiled by Attorney Vartkes Yeghiayan, chronicles how the Turkish forces, after invoking a “War of Independence,” massacred innocent civilians and looted and appropriated Armenian and Greek cathedrals, monasteries, churches, institutions, fields, orchards, stores and factories, while the victorious Allies looked away.

WW I “ended” when the defeated Ottoman Empire signed the Mudros Armistice, which dictated categorically that the Ottomans had to renounce their empire, with the exception of Anatolia, and the Allies would have the right to occupy the Six Armenian Provinces in Asia Minor (Anatolia) in case of disturbances.

Ten days after the signing, the victorious British took charge of Constantinople and formed the Armenian-Greek Section to deal with all urgent and outstanding issues related to the Armenians and Greeks in Turkey. The victorious British also persuaded the Sultan to dissolve the Ottoman Parliament. In a Proclamation on 6 December 1918, Sultan Mohammed VI announced, “My sorrow is profound at the mistreatment of my Armenian subjects by certain political committees acting under my government.”

The remnants of the Young Turk Regime, however, especially those who had gotten rich by the wholesale looting of Armenian and Greek assets, rejected such acts of contrition and sabotaged all efforts that would reverse their ill-begotten fortunes.

“British Reports on Ethnic Cleansing in Anatolia, 1919-1922: Minutes of the Armenian Greek Section,” is the verbatim record of 87 reports the British High Commission compiled for the use of the British Foreign Office. These reports are yet another “smoking gun” that confirm that the genocide of the Armenian people did not end with the end of the Great War. Kemalist forces systematically evaded the Armistice terms, and instead, implemented a scorched earth policy of a massive ethnic cleansing. The reports collected in this book cumulatively confirm without the shadow of any doubt, that the genocidal policy started by the Young Turks was brought to its merciless and bloody climax by the Nationalists.

The first official meeting between the A.G.S. and the American, Greek, and Armenian representatives took place on 5th March 1919, with the participation of Dr. Tavitian, and Mr. Tchakirian, representing the Armenian Patriarchate, and Dr. Theotokas representing the Greek Patriarchate.

Here is a sample of the war crimes committed by Turks that are recorded in the minutes of the A.G.S.:

“Dr. Tavitian stated that he had received news from Boghazlian, Yozgat and Caesarea to the affect that repatriated Armenians were now being accused of having murdered Turks and so were obliged to leave again.”

“At Yozgat a secret anti-Christian movement had been started, and as a result of a telegraphic order received from Mustafa Kemal Pasha, many volunteers had been enrolled.”

“Dr. Tavitian reported that the same state existed everywhere, at Everek (Caesarea) boycottage of Christians was being carried on, and the Mufti was preaching in the Mosque ordering his people not to sell to Christian. From Sivas and Samsoun many reports of outrages, cruelty and brigandage had been received, thus confirming the reports of Relief Officer in those districts.”

“Information from Sivas showed that a number of the more notorious malefactors of the time of the massacres were re-appearing; for instance, Rassim Bey, an ex-Deputy, has offered himself for election” “The Kemalists have requisitioned the Armenian Cathedral and are using it as a prison. (They have also taken over) the Armenian Church of St. Saviour; the Convent of St. Nishan; the Armenian College; the Archbishop’s residence; the Armenian Protestant Church; the Greek Church; the Jesuit School and the School and Residence of the Sisters. The Authorities have also requisitioned about 2500 kilos of brass Church ornaments.”

Turkish propagandists have recently intensified their efforts to distort these truths so clearly stated in these damning reports. One of the false narratives the Turks have been pushing is the lie that after the war ended, thousands of Armenians were allowed to return and reclaim their homes and properties. The reports gathered in this book prove otherwise. British Colonel Graves, who ran the Greek-Armenian Section, asserts in these reports that, “the locality from which these disturbances were reported was precisely that in which returned Armenians had managed to a certain extent to resettle; one would say that since November the Turks were trying to rid themselves of these few Armenians too.”

In another report we read, “The Kemalists blocked the Armenian quarter on the pretext that the Armenians had helped the Circassians, pillaged their houses and murdered the men. They then collected all the women, young girls and children in the Armenian church to which they set fire and burnt them alive. They finally reduced the Armenian quarter to ruins.

And finally, “This report described at length and in detail the terrible sufferings which the Armenian population had undergone through the systematic endavours of the Kemalists to completely annihilate the Armenian race by requisitioning their houses, schools, churches; their land (40%), cattle, merchandise and provisions for the needs of the Kemalist Army. Crushing taxes were being imposed upon these unfortunate people. Young Armenian Orphans were being recruited into the Turkish Labour Battalions and turned on to road mending.”

“British Reports on Ethnic Cleansing in Anatolia, 1919-1922: Minutes of the Armenian Greek Section, forms a continuum with the “Blue Book” by Viscount Bryce that chronicled the massacres and ethnic cleansing of Armenians in 1915.

When it became clear to the British that they couldn’t neutralize Ataturk, they shut down the A.G.S., abandoned Constantinople, abandoned the Armenians and Greeks still stuck under the yoke of triumphant Turks, declared victory, and return to England – after having secured rights to Mosul oil.

Soon after, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk became the President of the Republic and ever since, successive Turkish governments have denied that, their “War of Independence” was nothing else but the ethnic cleansing of Greeks and Armenians from their millennia-old natural habitats.

This important book sets the record straight.

The book is part of the Genocide Remembrance series published by CAR, the Center for Armenian Remembrance.

Armenian Genocide commemorated at the Houses of Parliament

On Armenian Genocide Day, Parliamentarians, Armenians and supporters gathered for the first commemorative service within the Houses of Parliament Church (St Mary's-under-Croft), and for a major international conference in the Grand Committee room of the House of Commons. The events were organised by Armenia Solidarity, the British-Armenian All-Party Parliamentary Group and Nor Serount Publications. The Church service was led by the Rev Frank Gelli who called for the government to be more proactive in the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Soprano Seta Tokatlian sang the Hayr Mer coincidentally with the chimes of Big Ben. Two wreath -laying ceremonies took place, the first one at the Monument to the Innocents, Westminster Abbey, officiated by the Dean R Reece of the Abbey with the participation of representatives of the Darfur Union of the UK and the Aegis Trust. Seta Tokatlian read the poem "We are Few" by Barouyr Sevak. The second ceremony took place at the Cenotaph where E. Williams appealed for more efforts to add to the 104 MPs who have signed Early Day Motion 357 in Parliament, recognising the Genocide, through sustained lobbying by all Armenians. The conference was chaired by distinguished parliamentarian Lord Avebury, Farhad Malikian. director of the Centre for International Criminal Law, Uppsala, Sweden, dealt with the legal aspects of crimes against humanity and genocide. The full force of international law applied to the perpetrators of this genocide as their international obligations under treaties had not been met. Historians Christopher Walker and Greg Topalian focussed on the tactics used by denialist historians and the British government facilitated by the reluctance of the US and UK governments to recognise the genocide. Author Desmond Fernandes stressed that political and ideological trends based on selective documentation meant the reality of the Armenian Genocide was not being allowed to get through. Dr Margaret Brearley brought out the parallels between the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust. Linda Melvern,Vice President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, read the powerful open statement to the Prime Minister of Turkey that the genocide was fully accepted by that organisation and this conclusion could not be varied by bilateral dialogues between Turkey and Armenia. Professor Theo Van Lint brought out the genocide in the context of the rich and varied cultural life that was extinguished with the Armenian communities in Eastern Anatolia. Ambassador Gabrielyan stated any discussions on the detail of history was futile and that politics was at the core of this issue. This explains Armenia's belief in inter-governmental contacts to address the changes in attitudes needed on both side of the closed border. The British government does have a role to play and the Republic of Armenia considers that UK recognition an essential step in this process. A clear and unequivocal message from the UK based Muslim Public Affairs Committee, recognising that what happened to the Armenians was Genocide, Holocaust , and a Crime against humanity, was read by Odette Bazil of the British Armenian All Party Parliamentary Group. She also read a reply from Geoff Hoon , MP on behalf of the government, to the dismay of the attendees that demonstrated that the British government's position was at variance with the position of the overwhelming majority of genocide scholars and experts in the UK and worldwide. A vote of thanks was given by the well-respected campaigner in parliament on the issue, Baroness Cox. The proceedings of the conference, together with statements received from Genocide experts such as Prof. Donald Bloxham (Edinburgh University), Dr. Mark Levene (Southampton University), Prof Martin Shaw (Sussex University) and Armenian intellectuals will be presented to the government in the course of the next few weeks by Lord Avebury and Baroness Cox. This will be supported by documentation including the compilation by John Torosyan presented to the Holocaust Memorial Trust and bibliography for the government to study. The government will also be invited to contact other well-known UK Genocide experts directly such as Professor Jurgen Zimmerer of Sheffield University and Dr. Cathie Carmichael of the University of East Anglia. It is now clear that despite statements to the contrary neither this government or any previous UK government have consulted any of the experts on genocide listed in this release. It is high time for them to review and renounce their present position.

Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day in London

The following commemorative events organised by Armenia Solidarity, British-Armenian All-Party Parliamentary Group, Nor Serount Publications and the Armenian Genocide Trust took place on 24th of April in London.

1. Leafleting at the gates of House of Commons, Strand and the Embankment

2. Memorial service at St Mary-under-Croft chapel of the House of Lords

3. Laying of memorial wreath by the Baroness Cox, organisers and the Darfuri representative at the Monument to the Innocents outside Westminster Abbey

4. Presentation of evidence for the Armenian Genocide in the Grand Committee Room of the House of Commons, co-chaired by Lord Avebury and Baroness Cox and sponsored by John Bercow MP

5. Laying of memorial wreat at the Cenotaph

Letter to the Most Revd and Rt Hon Archbishops of Canterbury and York and Bishops of the Church of England

Armenian Genocide Trust of Great Britain
London WC1N 3XX

Armenian Genocide Trust's letter to the Most Reverend and the Right Honourable Lords Archbishops of Canterbury and York and Bishops of the Church of England on the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

The history of Christian faith includes many martyrs who have suffered in the name of Jesus Christ Our Lord, but few nations have to carry the Cross like we, the Armenians. Ever since the times of St Gregory the Illuminator we were tested in our Faith by unending waves of wars and conquerors bent on destroying our kingdoms, cities and churches or forcefully converting us from our Faith. Having largely succeeded in destruction of our temporal possessions, they have miserably failed in destruction of our Faith and our ancient nation. After every war, after every conquest, we rebuilt our churches, our cities, and put our trust in God. However, there was one Great Calamity which would almost annihilate our nation and cut the Armenian history in two - before and after the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

Ninety-two years later absolute majority of historians and others who took the trouble of researching the overwhelming evidence of this horrible crime committed by the Ottoman government agree that it completely and fully deserves to be described as genocide. However, there are still falsehearted people, including in this country, who prefer to close their eyes not to see this crime nor hear the cries of over one million Armenian children, men and women, murdered, hanged, raped, drowned and starved to death in the deserts of the former Ottoman empire. It is excruciating to describe the overwhelming sadness of having to live in a world where not only this crime against humanity was not stopped, but is still not universally and unreservedly recognised.

We pray to the Almighty to give us strength to carry our Cross and to forgive our murderers and their accomplices past and present. Every year on this day, the 24th of April, please remember with us our brothers and sisters in Christ who were slaughtered like lambs, and pray with us for their Eternal Peace and recognition of their suffering.

For and on behalf of the Armenian Genocide Trust

Congress weighs resolution on mass killings of Armenians

WASHINGTON - Every April 24, U.S. presidents commemorate the official day of remembrance of the Armenian genocide with a speech or statement carefully crafted to avoid use of the word "genocide." U.S. officials have avoided the word because Turkey, a key ally, strongly opposes the characterization to describe the early 20th century deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks. In the past, members of the House and Senate have proposed resolutions calling on the president to utter the phrase "Armenian genocide," but the efforts have run aground in the face of political concerns voiced by both Democratic and Republican administrations. In the last year, however, the struggle over the word "genocide" has received international attention through a series of high-profile news events, commencing with the passage of a law in the lower house of the French parliament criminalizing denial of the Armenian genocide and extending to the political murder of a prominent Turkish-Armenian journalist. The issue has caught the attention of many U.S. lawmakers, and with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., sympathetic to the cause, advocates are hopeful that by next year's commemoration survivors and their descendants will find closure to a 92-year struggle to gain official recognition for the mass killings that took place in the Ottoman Empire in World War I. Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America, a Washington-based lobbying group, said that if the resolutions came to a vote in the full House and Senate, they would pass. "It's time to let public policy catch up with the truth," he said. The House version is co-sponsored by 190 lawmakers, with 29 senators supporting the nearly identical Senate version presented by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. Should the measures reach the floor, it would be the first time since 2000, when then House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., responded to a request from the Clinton administration by pulling a resolution on the use of the word "genocide" only minutes before a scheduled vote. The bill's advocates had hoped that Pelosi, a longtime advocate for recognition of the Armenian genocide, would bring the bill to a floor vote by Tuesday. Yet the bill is still lingering in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, where it has not been scheduled for a vote. As a member of NATO and a key transit link for Caspian oil, Turkey has long been an important U.S. ally, and officials at the highest levels of the Bush administration are wary of straining that relationship. In a letter to Pelosi and House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Tom Lantos, D-Calif., last month, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates wrote that Turkey - which borders Syria, Iraq and Iran - is "a linchpin in the transshipment of vital cargo and fuel" to U.S. troops engaged in the Middle East. A negative reaction from Turkey to a resolution on the Armenian genocide "could harm American troops in the field, constrain our ability to supply our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and significantly damage our efforts to promote reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey," Rice and Gates wrote. Daniel Fried, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, added to the alarm in March when he told Lantos' committee that Turkey could respond to a genocide bill by blocking U.S. access to Incirlik air base, a transit point in southeastern Turkey for nearly three-quarters of all military cargo headed for Iraq. But some legislators see the administration's warnings as misapplied fear-mongering. "You can essentially sum up the argument against recognition in one word: expediency," said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who is author of the House resolution and represents a district with the largest ethnic Armenian population in the country. "I don't see how we can speak with moral authority on the genocide in Darfur if we're unwilling to speak with clarity about the genocide against the Armenians," Schiff said. "It cannot be our policy that we'll recognize genocide when it's committed by the politically weak, as in Sudan, but not the politically strong, as in Turkey."

Saying 'genocide' kills a career (Michael Doyle)

Ambassador John Evans ended one life and started another when he uttered one remarkable word: genocide. As the U.S. ambassador to Armenia, and a career diplomat, Evans knew the uses of circumlocution. Some words, he understood, must be avoided. But then, speaking in Fresno, Los Angeles and Berkeley, Calif., two years ago, Evans violated U.S. policy by declaring that Armenians were the victims of a genocide from 1915 to 1923. "Clearly, I had stepped out of the box," Evans said in an interview. "But what I didn't know precisely was what the reaction would be." He found out soon enough. Evans' State Department superiors published apologies in his name. They cut him out of decision-making, then ended his ambassador's posting altogether. His Foreign Service career collapsed, while his fellow diplomats debated whether he was heroic or foolhardy. "I had some colleagues who managed to tell me I did the right thing," Evans said, "and I had others who were dubious." The fallout continues: The United States still lacks a permanent ambassador in Yerevan because of Senate discontent with Evans' treatment. Today is the day Armenians worldwide commemorate the start of the 1915 horrors. Members of Congress will give speeches. President Bush will issue a traditional declaration, but won't say "genocide." Evans will speak freely at the National Press Club, something he couldn't do during his 35-year State Department career. He's also written a manuscript, for which he's seeking a book publisher. "I came to what I felt was an ethical dilemma," Evans said. "I felt I could not carry out the policy of denial of the Armenian genocide."

Bush yet again fails to utter the G-word

"Each year on this day, we pause to remember the victims of one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century, when as many as 1.5 million Armenians lost their lives in the final years of the Ottoman Empire, many of them victims of mass killings and forced exile. I join my fellow Americans and Armenian people around the world in commemorating this tragedy and honoring the memory of the innocent lives that were taken. The world must never forget this painful chapter of its history. All who cherish freedom and value the sanctity of human life look back on these horrific events in sorrow and disbelief. Many of those who survived were forced from their ancestral home and spread across the globe. Yet, in the midst of this terrible struggle, the world witnessed the indomitable spirit and character of the Armenian people. Many of the brave survivors came to America, where they have preserved a deep connection with their history and culture. Generations of Armenians in the United States have enriched our country and inspired us with their courage and conviction. Today, we remember the past and also look forward to a brighter future. We commend the individuals in Armenia and Turkey who are working to normalize the relationship between their two countries. A sincere and open examination of the historic events of the late-Ottoman period is an essential part of this process. The United States supports and encourages those in both countries who are working to build a shared understanding of history as a basis for a more hopeful future. We value the strong and vibrant ties between the United States and Armenia. Our Nation is grateful for Armenia's contributions to the war on terror, particularly for its efforts to help build a peaceful and democratic Iraq. The United States remains committed to working with Armenia and Azerbaijan to promote a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We are also working to promote democratic and economic reform in Armenia that will advance the cause of freedom and justice. Laura and I express our deepest condolences to Armenian people around the world on this solemn day of remembrance. We stand together in our determination to build a more peaceful, more prosperous, and more just world."

Early Day Motion 357 by Bob Spink MP

"That this House believes that the killing of over a million Armenians in 1915 was an act of genocide; calls upon the UK Government to recognise it as such; and believes that it would be in Turkey's long-term interests to do the same." As of 24 April 2007, 103 Members of Parliament have signed the Motion.

Early Day Motion 1239 by David Drew MP

"That this House notes that Armenian Genocide Day is on 24th April, and that at noon on this day the genocide will be commemorated with a wreath-laying by Armenian and Darfuri representatives at the Monument to the Innocents by Westminster Abbey; further notes that a major presentation of evidence will be given in the Grand Committee Room at 4.00 p.m.; and encourages hon. Members to wear a white poppy in Parliament during the week leading up to Armenian Genocide Day to remember the victims of the Armenian and other subsequent genocides."

Armenia Marks Genocide Anniversary

Tens of thousands of people silently marched in Yerevan on Tuesday in an annual remembrance of some 1.5 million victims of the Armenian genocide in Ottoman Turkey. The day marked the 92nd anniversary of the start of the 1915-1918 mass killings and deportations that affected virtually the entire Armenian population of the crumbling Ottoman Empire. Nearly two dozen countries, among them France, Canada and Russia, have recognized the massacres as the first genocide of the 20th century. As always, the official commemoration of the anniversary began with a prayer service at the genocide memorial on Yerevan’s Tsitsernakabert Hill that was led by the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Garegin II, and attended by President Robert Kocharian and other top government officials. Ordinary Armenians laid flowers around the memorial’s eternal fire throughout the day. The stream of people walking to the memorial was thinner than usual due to heavy snow which is highly unusual for this time of the year in Armenia. Mourners were again joined by representatives of foreign diplomatic missions in Yerevan. In a written address to the nation, Kocharian evoked the increasingly successful Armenian campaign for international recognition of the genocide. “The international community has realized that genocide is a crime directed against not only a particular people but the entire humanity,” he said. “Denial and cover-up of that crime is no less dangerous than its preparation and perpetration.”

Why Armenia pays high price for genocide campaign

Gevork Melikyan, aged 94, stares off into the distance with cloudy eyes. His daughter-in-law says he has trouble remembering what happened last week, but he remembers with startling clarity the day when his family fled Turkey – right down to the name of the dog they left behind. He was called "Challo," the old man recalls, dentures clacking. "I remember my mother telling me, 'Lock the door and throw the key over the gate.' " When they fled, they left the dog behind to guard the house. Mr. Melikyan is one of the last remaining survivors of the mass killing and expulsion of ethnic Armenians from Turkey that took place between 1915 and 1917, which is widely recognized as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey disputes that characterization, however, saying there was no organized campaign to kill Armenians and that the deportations took place in the context of war. As the last witnesses reach the twilight of their lives, the question of how to judge what happened in those years remains center stage in the region's complex politics. The international campaign for universal recognition of the massacres as a genocide has been generally led by the Armenian diaspora, many of whom are descendants of families scattered from 1915-17. While the Armenian government and most Armenians support the campaign, there is also a growing recognition within the country that Armenia pays a heavy price for continued tensions with Turkey. Currently there are no diplomatic relations between the two countries, and Turkey has closed all land borders to Armenia, in part because of the genocide recognition issue. All trade between the two countries must pass through neighboring Georgia, which levies heavy taxes on goods. "I think our position is that we are open and we are ready for cooperation," says Ashot Tovmasyan, a young gas company employee who was out on an afternoon stroll with his family. "I don't think that most people have hatred for Turks." But, he added, recognizing the genocide is "a matter of historical truth."

The politics of saying 'genocide' (Los Angeles Times)

ON TUESDAY, President Bush will be obliged, by law, to wrap his double-talking mouth around one of the most curiously persistent debates in modern geopolitics: Whether to call a 92-year-old genocide a "genocide." Every April 24 since 1994, the U.S. president has delivered a proclamation honoring the people Congress has declared to be "the victims of genocide, especially the 1 1/2 million people of Armenian ancestry who were the victims of the genocide perpetrated in Turkey between 1915 and 1923." And every year since 1994, the U.S. president has managed to do it without once uttering the G-word. It's a ritual of linguistic realpolitik in deference to the massive objections from Washington's important NATO ally, Turkey. But 2007 may be the year that the cop-out finally blows up in a president's face. What was once the obscure obsession of marginalized immigrants from a powerless little Caucasus country has blossomed in recent years into a force that has grown increasingly difficult to ignore. In 2000, the Armenian issue helped fuel one of the most expensive House races in U.S. history; two years ago, it turned a mild-mannered career U.S. diplomat into an unlikely truth-telling martyr. Now the question of how to address these long-ago events is having an impact on next month's elections in Turkey. What's more, Congress appears poised to vote on a resolution urging the president to say the words "Armenian genocide" when observing the awkwardly named "National Day of Remembrance of Man's Inhumanity to Man" on April 24 — the date in 1915 when the Ottoman predecessors of modern Turkey launched the genocide by rounding up 250 Armenian intellectuals for eventual execution. The resolution won't take effect on Tuesday. The Bush administration, ever mindful of its delicate relationship with Turkey (especially with a war in Iraq next door), takes the bill so seriously that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates warned in a joint letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) that it could "harm American troops in the field." The lobbying has been successful enough that the House has delayed its vote until after this year's April 24 commemoration. But passage later this year would still be an enormous blow to the White House.

EU makes it against law to condone genocide - but not Armenian Genocide

"All 27 EU nations will be obliged to criminalise “publicly condoning, denying or grossly trivialising crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes” but the test for prosecution was set deliberately high to secure agreement in Luxembourg. Cases will succeed only where “the conduct is carried out in a manner likely to incite violence or hatred”. The definition of genocide will be that set at the Nuremberg trials and by the International Criminal Court, meaning that it will include Nazi crimes and those in Rwanda and Yugoslavia but not the Armenian genocide — a definition disputed by Turkey."

Senator Obama speaks out on the Armenian Genocide

On Thursday, April 12, 2007, over one hundred Illinois residents had an opportunity to hear Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) speak out on the importance of recognizing the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). The Senator's remarks were offered at a weekly Washington, DC "breakfast briefing," an Illinois tradition started more than a decade ago by the late Sen. Paul Simon (D-IL). At the briefings, the Praire State's two Senators, Obama and Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-IL), have the opportunity to field questions from constituents on a variety of issues. Taking part in the breakfast briefing were ANCA Eastern Region Executive Director Karine Birazian and ANCA Legislative Affairs Director Raffi N. Karakashian, Esq. On several occasions over the past four years, Birazian, a Northbrook native, has attended the briefings on behalf of the Armenian National Committee of Illinois and has questioned her Senators on matters of importance to the state's Armenian American community. When invited to ask a question, Birazian thanked Senator Durbin for spearheading the Armenian Genocide Resolution, S.Res.106, as well as leading the effort to pass targeted divestment legislation relating to Darfur. Birazian also encourage Senator Obama to cosponsor S.Res.106. In his response, Senator Obama stated: "For those who aren’t aware, there was a genocide that did take place against the Armenian people. It is one of these situations where we have seen a constant denial on the part of the Turkish Government and others that this occurred. It has become a sore spot diplomatically. . ."

Armenia Solidarity - Report on House of Commons Meeting

20 February 2007 Armenia Solidarity, The Temple of Peace, Cardiff Tel: 07876561398 (Int: ++447876561398) E-mail: eilian@nant.wanadoo.co.uk An invitation was extended on 20 February to Peers, MPs and members of the public to meet the HE Vahe Gabrielyan, the Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia, in Westminster following two Early Day Motions in the House of Commons concerning the Turkish blockade of Armenia (EDM 344) and the Turkish denial of the Armenian Genocide (EDM 357). The meeting was organised by Armenia Solidarity in conjunction with the British Armenian All Party Parliamentary Group and Nor Serount Publications. The ambassador gave the views of the Armenian Government to the two EDMs both of which were welcomed by the Republic. Armenia supported the application of Turkey as a prospective candidate to joining the European Union in the expectation that its international obligations and its standards of foreign policy would be raised to Western standards. To do so, it would have to open its border with Armenia, the only closed border in Europe and an illegal act according to international law, and recognise the Armenian Genocide. President Kocharian had just reiterated his 2005 response to the Turkish proposal for a commission of historians to examine the events of 1915. This issue was a political matter that had to be dealt with an inter-governmental commission. Turkey should first establish diplomatic relations with Armenia without any pre-conditions from either side as a necessary step to resolving significant long-standing regional issues. These positions were given support by members of both Houses of Parliament: Baroness Cox, Lord Avebury, Bob Spink, Quentin Davies, Nia Griffith, Andrew Dismore and Paddy Tipping. Other MPs in attendance were Phil Mulholland, John Leech, Mark Hunter and Helen Goodman. Baroness Cox expressed the desire that the local recognitions on Wales and Scotland would translate into a national one for the whole of the UK. Lord Avebury described the efforts of British parliamentarians to engage in two way dialogue with the Turkish Grand National Assembly both sides after the Turkish parliament had asked in 2005 that the contents of the Blue Book be repudiated. There has been no response to collective or individual letters to each of their parliamentarians which contrasts with the publicised aim of the Turkish government to engage in such discussions. Ways and means were discussed to persuade the British government to a more constructive approach to resolving these issues. The UK's stance of uncritical support for the Turkish position needs to change to enhance Turkey's prospects of joining the EU. In particular it is in s strong position to persuade Turkey that its policy towards diplomatic relations with Armenia, its blockade of Armenia with damage to a developing nation, and its refusal to recognise the Armenian Genocide now accepted by all independent historians, is damaging its reputation and its prospects of being accepted into Europe. There has been some movement recently: Geoff Hoon, the Minister of Europe in a recent letter to a MP through the request of a constituent accepts that "over a million ethnic Armenian citizens were killed" but then reverted back to the traditional line of defence to explain this tragedy. However it is not at all clear which historians the government consulted to arrive at this conclusion. Nor is it known when, by what means and by whom such a decision was made. It would be particularly helpful if the government replaced its current secretiveness with transparency on this matter so that its conclusions are challenged. The meeting received advice from Andrew Dismore who tabled the original Early Day Motion that eventually led to the implementation of the UK Holocaust Memorial Day as well as from Nia Griffith. MP's awareness of this event needs to be raised as well as the general knowledge of the population at large as a pre-requisite for any progress. The Armenian community and supporters of change to British policy need to write to MPs and get them to sign the EDMs. The Turkish application to the EU is a source of leverage on Turkey and the British government. MPs need to be contacted regularly and persistently and this campaign should be extend to UK Members of the European Parliament. The arguments presented should link to the present to capture imagination. Persistence, dedication and pressure were the ways to achieve any results. In particular, constituents should encourage their MP to write to the Minister of Europe so that these issues became more of a priority in the Minister's portfolio. The chair closed the meeting by mentioning that momentum was picking up. A further meeting in parliament is planned for 24 April, the symbolic date of commemoration for the victims of the genocide. Before then, a delegation will lobby the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference as had already been done with the Labour Party.

Nobel Laureates Urge Turkish-Armenian Dialogue

More than fifty Nobel laureates from around the world appealed to Armenia and Turkey on Monday to unconditionally establish diplomatic relations, open their border, and step up contacts between their civil societies. In an open letter, they also implicitly urged the Turkish government to acknowledge that the 1915-1918 mass killings and deportations of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire constituted a genocide. They endorsed a 2003 independent study which concluded that the slaughter of an estimated 1.5 Ottoman Armenians fits into the internationally accepted definition of genocide. “An open border would greatly improve the economic conditions for communities on both sides of the border and enable human interaction, which is essential for mutual understanding,” read the joint appeal signed by 53 prominent academics, writers, economists, and scientists who have won a Nobel Prize in their respective fields in the last three decades. Among them is Elie Wiesel, a world-famous Holocaust survivor, and Frederik de Klerk, a former South African president who presided over the collapse of apartheid in his country. The signatories said the Turkish and Armenian governments should ease their lingering tensions “through additional treaty arrangements and full diplomatic relations” which they believe would facilitate bilateral academic links and student exchanges. They also called for the abolition of an article of the Turkish Penal Code which makes it a crime to “denigrate Turkishness” and has been used against dissident intellectuals questioning the official denial of the Armenian genocide. “Armenia also should reverse its own authoritarian course, allow free and fair elections, and respect human rights,” the laureates added.