90 years Turks learnt to deny Armenian Genocide

http://news.am/en/news/17699.html

Newly found photographs document Shushi's 1920 destruction

http://www.reporter.am

Baku violates ceasefire over 100 times over past week

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=44863

RA Government endorsed Iraqi Armenians’ integration concept

http://news.am/en/news/17565.html

من اللوبي الصهيوني إلى اللوبي الكردي أو السرياني

http://www.azad-hye.org/news.php?op=details&id=700

Is Ankara trying to regain the Diaspora?

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=44818

Comment: Turkey tries in vain to stop the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Sooner or later, it will be forced to admit the historical fact.

Serbian parliament to consider Armenian Genocide motion

http://news.am/en/news/17678.html

Arman Kirakosyan: Armenia will never question the fact of genocide

http://www.armradio.am/news/?part=pol&id=17109

Israeli parliament to discuss Armenian Genocide in April

http://news.am/en/news/17640.html

تحضيرات الحكومة الأرمينية لذكرى المجزرة

http://www.azg.am/AR/2010032301

Turkish NGOs: "PM Erdoğan Incites Hatred"

http://www.bianet.org

Did Turkey’s Ambassador Really Lobby For Passage of Genocide Resolution?

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier

Thousands of articles are posted on the internet every day. But, very few make us fall off our chairs!
Last week I came across a shocking news item posted by the Turkish Forum -- the largest website for Turkish news. It was titled: "Forgotten Ambassador in Sierra Leone Uses Armenian Genocide Resolution to solve his Problem." Here is the summary in translation of that incredible article:
"In recent years, parliaments of several countries have adopted resolutions on the Armenian Genocide. In retaliation, Turkey has recalled its ambassadors from these countries. It has been revealed that some opportunistic ambassadors exploited this situation, by abusing their position.
"According to a Foreign Ministry announcement this morning, Orhan Emin Turkone, Turkey’s Ambassador in Sierra Leone for the past 12 years, has been fired for having lobbied for the passage of the Armenian Genocide bill in that country’s Parliament.
"During a press conference this morning, the Foreign Ministry’s Undersecretary Ersin Ozbukey explained: ‘Recently, it came to our attention that the so-called Armenian Genocide bill was placed on the agenda of the Parliaments of Chad, Eritrea, and Djibouti. But, when we saw that this bill was unanimously adopted by the Parliament of Sierra Leone, we started suspecting that something had gone terribly wrong.’ Ozbukey added: ‘We formed an investigative committee that uncovered some interesting, but disturbing information.’
"’We confirmed that Amb. Turkone had carried out lobbying activities in favor of the Armenian Genocide bill,’ Ozbukey stated. ‘Of course, this can’t be excused, but the Ministry also has its fault in this affair. This man was abandoned and forgotten in a far away country. He got that idea, after [Turkish] Ambassadors were recalled following the adoption of the genocide resolution by other countries. Twelve years is a long time,’ Ozbukey admitted.
"Ozbukey then provided the details of Amb. Turkone unbelievable actions in publicizing the Armenian Genocide in Sierra Leone. Ozbukey said that whenever the Ambassador visited a bar, he would write on facebook: ‘We massacred the Armenians in such a nasty way.’ He told bartenders: ‘My grandfather alone killed 100-150 Armenians whose bones are in the basement of our home.’ The Ambassador made up such falsehoods and lies. He basically said whatever came to his head. Sierra Leone is a small place. Word spreads quickly. No one had ever heard of either Armenia or Turkey. But, within a month, everyone in the whole country was agitated over this issue. People were dancing in the streets when they learned that the genocide was recognized. This shouldn’t have happened, but unfortunately, it did!
"Ozbukey explained that after this revelation, the Turkish government started paying more attention to the agenda of various parliaments. In order to avoid such situations in the future, instead of recalling ambassadors, ‘we are now considering the possibility of cutting off trade relations, until the resolution is removed from the Parliament’s agenda,’"
Even though this article sounded too good to be true, the amount of detail and specific names mentioned in it led dozens of Turkish websites to post it, without realizing that it was a hoax! After learning that Turkey did not have an embassy in Sierra Leone, the Turkish Forum deleted the fake news from its website. It was also not true that Armenian Genocide resolutions were being considered by parliaments of Chad, Djibouti and Eritrea in recent months.
It is not known who concocted this elaborate hoax. Given the extensive amount of criticism directed at Prime Minister Erdogan within Turkey in recent weeks, the author could well be a disgruntled Turk with a sense of humor who decided to take a sarcastic swipe at his Don Quixotic leader. The article was accompanied by an authentic looking photo of three African officials along with a non-African individual at a signing ceremony. The photo gave the false impression that the latter was the Turkish Ambassador to Sierra Leone.
It is not at all surprising that several Turkish websites fell for this ruse, as the government of Turkey has made a practice of recalling its ambassadors from France, Canada, the United States, and other countries for having recognized the Armenian Genocide.
Namik Tan, the newly appointed Turkish ambassador to Washington, was recalled on March 4 after the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the Armenian Genocide resolution. It was reported that he might stay in Ankara until after April 24. This is great news for Armenian-American activists, as they can lobby Congress without facing any opposition from the Turkish Ambassador during the crucial weeks leading to April 24, when he needs to be in Washington trying to block the Genocide Resolution in the House and persuade Pres. Obama not to refer to the Armenian Genocide in his annual statement!
To the best of our knowledge, Amb. Tan did not lobby Congress for passage of the Armenian Genocide resolution, as did the fictional ambassador in Sierre Leone, in order take an extended vacation with family and friends back home. However, judging from Prime Minister Erdogan’s recent self-defeating statements, sometimes truth is indeed stranger than fiction!

Shoe thrown at Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8530028.stm

“I've finally reached him in popularity, now we are co-winners”, should say Erdogan.

Ari Armen

Armenia wants non-aggression pact with Azerbaijan

http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/03/20/5475220.html

Rampant Turks Still in Denial

http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=114357

لهيئة الوطنية الأرمنية تحذر من محاولات تضليل الرأي العام العربي

http://www.azad-hye.org/news.php?op=details&id=694

تظاهرة في اسطنبول احتجاجا على تصريحات اردوغان بشأن الارمن

تعليق: ليس الأرمن من يقولون بوقوع الإبادة الأرمنية لعام 1915 فحسب، بل يعترف بها الغالبية العظمى من مؤرخي الإبادة، و 23 دولة في العالم، و42 ولاية أميركية، إلى جانب البرلمان الأوروبي وهيئات وشخصيات دولية عديدة.

http://news.maktoob.com/article/3402559/تظاهرة-في-اسطنبول-احتجاجا?utm_source=Latest&utm_medium=Latest-News&utm_campaign=News-Homepage

أردوغان يهدد بطرد مهاجرين أرمن غير شرعيين

http://ara.reuters.com

رئيس الوزراء التركي يواجه انتقادات لتهديده بطرد الأرمن المقيمين بشكل غير قانوني في تركيا

http://www.radiosawa.com/arabic_news.aspx?id=8037670

Turkish opposition leaders accuse Erdogan in making two crimes

http://www.panorama.am/en/region/2010/03/20/erdoghan/

Sooner or later Turkey will have to do what she has avoided for about 100 years.

http://www.panarmenian.net/details/eng/?nid=1186

Erdogan threatens Armenians: You will pay for this

http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2010/03/20/erdoghan1/

مشروع قانون لجنة العلاقات الخارجية في الكونغرس

http://www.azg.am/AR/2010032003

Bulgaria to discuss recognition of Armenian Genocide

http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2010/03/19/bulgaria/

US Holds Firm on Issue of 1915 Massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks

My Comment: It is not correct that the US did not recognize the Armenian Genocide. President Ronald Reagan in a presidential proclamation issued in 1981 recognized the Armenian Genocide. So did the US House of Representatives twice (in 1975 and 1984).

http://www1.voanews.com/english

The Armenian community responds to Turkish Ambassador

http://www.jwire.com.au

Growing calls for Armenian Genocide recognition in Australia

http://www.armeniadiaspora.com

Armenia getting prepared for 100th anniversary of the Genocide

http://www.panorama.am/en/society/2010/03/17/genocide-100/

رئيس الوزراء البولندي يزور نصب ضحايا مجزرة الأرمن

http://www.khabararmani.com/site/News/files/2010/0254.htm

رئيس برلمان أرمينيا يبعث برسالة شكر الى رئيس برلمان السويد الذي أقر مشروع قرار المجزرة الأرمنية

http://www.khabararmani.com/site/News/files/2010/0252.htm

Russian patriarch visits Armenian genocide memorial in Yerevan

http://en.rian.ru/Religion/20100317/158229365.html

جدال بين المراسل الأرمني لصحيفة الطرف التركية من إسطنبول سيفان نشانيان والمؤرخ التركي يوسوف هالاج أوغلو

http://www.khabararmani.com/site/News/files/2010/0248.htm

Turkish PM teaches Armenia how to deal with Diaspora

http://news.am/en/news/16813.html

Advice to Prime Minister Erdogan: Continue Denying the Armenian Genocide

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier

It is a well-known fact that Turkish leaders are exceptional diplomats. However, as soon as they hear the words Armenian Genocide, Greece, Cyprus or Kurdistan, these diplomats lose their "cool" and resort to emotional outbursts and undiplomatic actions that harm their own interests.

Realizing that this is the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Turkish officials have been nervously preparing themselves for the upcoming tsunami of commemorations that would remind the international community of the crimes against humanity committed by Ottoman Turks.

The first unexpected shot was fired on February 26 by the Parliament of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia, Spain, when it unanimously recognized the Armenian Genocide. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu immediately contacted his Spanish counterpart and Catalonian officials venting his anger and demanding an apology!

Two days later, an expose of the Armenian Genocide was aired by CBS’s 60 Minutes, showing bones of Armenian victims still protruding from Syrian desert sands, almost a century later! The Turks were livid, accusing Armenians of unduly influencing the CBS network and questioning, as usual, the authenticity of the bones and the sand!

Four days later, the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee adopted a resolution acknowledging the Armenian Genocide. Turkey lost despite:
n Pressuring the Obama administration to oppose the resolution;
n Hiring multi-million dollar lobbying firms;
n Sending teams of Turkish parliamentarians to Washington;
n E-mail campaigns by Turkish and Azeri Americans; and
n Threatening to boycott U.S. defense contractors if they did not oppose the resolution.

Immediately after losing that vote, Turkey recalled its Ambassador from Washington, indicating that he may be kept in Ankara until after April 24. State Minister Zafer Caglayan postponed his U.S. visit, intended to develop economic ties, "until the United States corrects its mistake." A scheduled trip by the executive board of the Turkish Industrialists' & Businessmen's Association to Washington on March 16 and 17 was also canceled, and anti-American protests were held in Turkish cities. More importantly, Prime Minister Erdogan indicated that he might cancel his planned participation in the global summit on nuclear security to be held in Washington next month.

Before Turkish passions had cooled down, Sweden’s Parliament dealt a second devastating blow to Ankara on March 11, by reaffirming the genocide of Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks, by a vote of 131-130. Once again, Turkey recalled its Ambassador, and Prime Minister Erdogan canceled his upcoming trip to Stockholm which was to be accompanied by a large trade delegation. And, anti-Swedish demonstrations were held in several Turkish cities.

These overly dramatic reactions prompted Turkish and foreign commentators to have a field day, speculating that if more countries recognize the Armenian Genocide, Turkey won’t have ambassadors left anywhere in the world, and Turkish officials won’t be visiting other countries, having to cancel their overseas trips. Furthermore, Turkey would be left without any imported goods and a weakened military, having canceled all purchases from the outside world. Turkey’s isolation is a just retribution for its denialist policy. By trying to punish others, Turkey is simply punishing itself.

Vahe Magarian of Cincinnati, Ohio, sent a pointed letter to the New York Times last week, suggesting that Turkey’s recalled Ambassadors, "rather than flying home, should be made to march home on foot. Forced marches were the preferred means of travel during the dying days of the Ottoman Empire."

Prominent Turkish commentator Can Dundar wrote in Haber1 an article titled: "Are we going to recall all our Ambassadors?" He stated that, at this rate, by the time the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide rolls around in 2015, there won’t be a single country left not accusing Turkey of genocide. Isn’t it about time that we search out what dirty work our fathers did 95 years ago? Shouldn’t we ask what did we do wrong, Dundar implored.

The main reason why Turkish officials panic every time the Armenian Genocide is acknowledged by yet another country is their fear of being asked to pay compensation for Armenian losses and return the occupied lands. Prime Minister Erdogan and his colleagues don’t seem to understand that Genocide recognition by itself does not lead to legal claims. How many inches of land have Armenians managed to liberate from Turkey as a result of such recognition by more than 20 countries? If Turkish leaders would only understand that parliamentary resolutions have no legal effect, maybe they would not get so excited over them!

Nevertheless, there should be no doubt that Armenians still demand the return of their ancestral lands located in Eastern Turkey. Such claims have to be pursued in various courts, unless an unexpected cataclysmic event occurs first, causing the collapse or dismemberment of the Turkish State.

In the meantime, we advise Mr. Erdogan to continue denying the Genocide at every opportunity, in order to encourage Armenians to persist in their efforts to expose Ankara’s lies. Were it not for Turkish officials’ vehement denials, there would not have been a worldwide outcry to reaffirm the facts of the Armenian Genocide by airing TV documentaries and adopting genocide resolutions.

Mr. Erdogan, please keep up the good work. Armenians need your kind assistance to pursue their cause until justice is done.
　

كم من السفراء ستسحب تركيا بعد بسبب الاعتراف بالمذابح؟

http://www.ishtartv.com/viewarticle,28046.html

Safrastian: We should bring a formal accusation against Turkey

http://www.aysor.am/en/news/2010/03/13/ruben-safrastyan2/

Resolution on the Armenian Genocide is a way to show Turkey its place in the world community

http://www.panarmenian.net/details/eng/?nid=1180

Swedish MPs of Turkish origin voted for Armenian Genocide Resolution

http://news.am/en/news/16577.html

Turkish Government is visionless and conservative: Hurriyet

http://news.am/en/news/16589.html

Documentary on Armenian Genocide screened in Berlin

http://www.panorama.am/en/society/2010/03/11/berlin/

Bad blood: Armenia’s Kurds, Yezidis at loggerheads over identity issues

http://armenianow.com

Obama and the Denial of Genocide

http://www.armeniadiaspora.com

هجوم الجوزو على «أرمن لبنان» يتفاعل، الحريري «استاء» منه والسنيورة عاتبه

http://www.khabararmani.com/site/News/files/2010/0230.htm

اوغاسابيان: نرفض مواقف الجوزو في حق الطائفة الأرمنية

http://www.khabararmani.com/site/News/files/2010/0229.htm

نقولا: الأرمن في لبنان ليسوا في صدد أخذ درس بالوطنية من أي شخص لا سيّما من أمثال الجوزو

http://www.khabararmani.com/site/News/files/2010/0236.htm

Armenians happy with Swedish stance

http://www.euronews.net

Why the Armenian Genocide Matters

http://www.huffingtonpost.com

تركيا تستدعي سفيرتها في السويد بعد اعترافها بإبادة الأرمن

http://news.naseej.com

Swedish Parliament recognized Armenian Genocide

http://news.am/en/news/16443.html

Turkey has called off its ambassador to Sweden

http://www.itar-tass.com

Sweden to recognize Armenian genocide

http://www.thelocal.se/25468/20100311/

Sweden. MPs recognize Armenian genocide

http://www.ottawacitizen.com

Yerevan to revoke signatures from Protocols if ratification delayed

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=44053

المهجرين والمهاجرين ترفض قرار بعض الدول الأوربية بترحيل العراقيين الموجودين على أراضيها قسرا

http://www.4thpa.net/ar/index.php?act=artc&id=3921

اردوغان: سفير تركيا لن يعود لواشنطن قبل تلقي اشارة بشأن الارمن

http://ara.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idARACAE6280J820100309

الزنبقة تحاور الأمين العام لمجلس رؤوساء الطوائف المسيحية في العراق

http://www.ankawa.com/forum/index.php/topic,394594.0.html

القضية الأرمنية في الوثائق الألمانية

http://www.azg.am/AR/2010031001

Robert Fisk: Living proof of the Armenian genocide

http://www.independent.co.uk

Czech journalist rebuffs Azeri misinformation (About Khojalu-Khojaly events)

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=43964

Embassy Magazine: Azerbaijan continues looking for scapegoats in Khojalu (Khojaly) fiasco

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=43927

Genocide/ by Ahmet Altan in Taraf Turkish newspaper

You can find the Turkish version at the below link.
http://www.taraf.com.tr/makale/10325.htm
Genocide
06.03.2010
Ahmet Altan

Everyone is in front of their tv, watching in excitement as if it's a national football game. What is going on? A commission of the US Congress is voting on the “Armenian Genocide” resolution. We lose the “game” 23-22 as a result of various lobbying activities.

And all hell breaks loose.

Comments, discussions, spewing fury at the US , questions of “will the Incirlik base be closed down?” directed at the minister of foreign affairs. Amongst all this hoolabaloo, my favorite comment comes from a speaker who denounces this decision: “ Turkey is no longer a country that can easily be humiliated.”

When a commission of the US Congress votes for “genocide”, we are “humiliated”. Do you know what humiliation is?

Humiliation is millions of people holding their breaths for the outcome of a few votes in somebody else's parliament. That is humiliation.

Humiliation is to find the result of that commission's vote of vital importance, to feel defeated because of the vote of one man. Humiliation is the conviction that the whole of one's national identity depends on the decision of one commission; humiliation is to have to wait the outcome of a vote in some other country's parliament, biting one's fingernails.

Turkey is not humiliated because that commission approved that resolution with a difference of one vote. Turkey is humiliated because it itself cannot shed light on its own history, has to delegate this matter into other hands, is frightened like hell from its own past, has to squirm like mad in order to cover up truths.


The real issue is this:

Why is the “Armenian Genocide” a matter of discussion in American, French and Swiss parliaments and not in the parliament of the Turkish Republic ? Why can we, ourselves, not discuss a matter that we deem so vital that we perceive the difference of one vote as a source of humiliation?

If you cannot discuss your own problems, you deserve to be humiliated. If you keep silent in a matter that you find so important, you deserve to be humiliated. If you try to shut others up, you are humiliated even more. The whole world interprets the killing of so many Armenians, -a number we cannot even estimate properly- as “genocide”.

Genocide is a legal term. The massacre carried out by the Unionist largely conforms to the description of that legal term. For Turks and Armenians, the word “genocide” has become an obession. The Turks insist that “it never was genocide” and the Armenians call anyone who says it was not genocide “liars”.

Both sides spend millions of dollars to convince the world that thier viewpoint is the valis viewpoint. It is almost as if their mutual efforts have created a “genocide sector”. Why then, can we not speak about this incident in detail?

How many hundreds of thousands of Armenians did the Unionists kill? Why? We claim “Armenians attacked us, that's why we killed them”. Fine, but the “attacking” Armenian gangs were on the Eastern border, what crime did hundreds of thousands of Armenians living elsewhere in Anatolia commit, other than being Armenian?

Can someone be punished purely because of his ethnic origin?

What do you call punishing someone not because they “committed a crime” but because they “belong to the same ethnic group as someone who you say committed a crime”?

This is murder. And to tell the truth, hundreds of thousands of murders targeting the same ethnic group does fall into the category of “genocide”. Unionists committed heinous murders; the cruelty they subjected Armenians to is byond imagination. Why are we trying to cover up this horrible crime, why are we trying to defend the murderers, to disguise their crimes, why are we squirming to keep truth buried, even at the risk of being humiliated?

The history of every society is tainted with crime and blood. We cannot undo what has been done but we can show the courage to face the truths, to discuss the reality. We can give up trying to silence the world out of concern for incriminating the founders of the republic.

We can ask questions.

And the first question would be “how come we never read about an incident that involves the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in our history lessons?” Even this reality makes the situation “suspicious”. If you are not brave enough to face a truth that happened ninety-five years ago, you deserve to be humiliated. If you struggle to hide an incident that happened a century ago and base how seventy million people relate to the world at large on a “lie”, you deserve to be humiliated.

No one dares humiliate brave people who are not afraid of the truth. If you feel humiliated, you should take a hard look at yourself and what you hide.

Armenian-Americans Should not Allow Obama and Clinton to Bury Genocide Bill

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier

It was bad enough that Pres. Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had failed to keep their campaign pledge to reaffirm the facts of the Armenian Genocide. They sunk to a new low last week, when Mrs. Clinton announced that she and the President opposed adoption of the Armenian Genocide resolution by the full House, following its passage by the Foreign Affairs Committee.

When asked by journalists why she and the President have reversed course on this issue, Mrs. Clinton unabashedly replied: "Well, I think circumstances have changed in a very significant way…. We do not believe that any action by the Congress is appropriate and we oppose it." She added that the administration does not believe the full House "will or should" vote on the resolution. How can the facts of a genocide that took place 95 years ago change overnight? In reality, nothing has changed except Secretary Clinton’s moral compass, assuming she had one to begin with!

It is shameful that the Obama administration is caving in to threats from a third world country that needs the U.S. more than the U.S. needs it. As Aram Hamparian, the Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America said last week: "Turkey does not get a vote or a veto in the US Congress!" Neither does the U.S. President nor the Secretary of State, on a non-binding congressional resolution.

A White House spokesman announced last week that the presidents of Turkey and United States had spoken by phone on the eve of the Committee vote. Soon after, Mrs. Clinton warned Committee Chairman Howard Berman that "further congressional action could impede progress on normalization of relations" between Turkey and Armenia. Strangely, Mrs. Clinton seems to have appointed herself as supreme arbiter of what’s in Armenia’s best interest, while Armenian-Americans and Armenia’s leaders have repeatedly declared that they support the adoption of the genocide resolution. Indeed, Mrs. Clinton has put herself in the ridiculous position of knowing better than Armenians what’s good for them!

After claiming for months that the Armenia-Turkey Protocols have no preconditions and not linked to any other issue, Mrs. Clinton now asserts that the Protocols pave the way for a commission that is supposed to study the facts of the Armenian Genocide. "I do not think it is for any other country to determine how two countries resolve matters between them," she stated. This confirms the worst fears of Armenian opponents of the Protocols. Clearly, the Secretary believes that ratification of the Protocols would prevent consideration of the Armenian Genocide issue by third parties. This is precisely what the Turkish side had been stating, to the dismay of most Armenians. Interestingly, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made a similar announcement last week, expressing his surprise that the Armenian Genocide resolution is once again on the agenda of the U.S. Congress. All along, the intent of Turkish leaders has been to stop third parties from raising the Armenian Genocide issue, as they drag out the Armenia-Turkey reconciliation process.

It was no accident that almost all Congressmen, who spoke against the genocide resolution in the Foreign Affairs Committee, used the lame excuse that their opposition to this bill was prompted by a desire not to undermine the Protocols which ostensibly would bring Armenian-Turkish reconciliation. Despite their sugar-coated rhetoric, those who opposed the resolution and supported the Protocols were in fact acting against Armenia’s best interests on both counts. The Protocols are now dead and buried anyway, thanks to Turkey’s refusal to ratify them, unless Armenia accepted extraneous preconditions.

While Armenian-American voters cannot settle their score with Pres. Obama this year, since he is not on the ballot in November, 18 of 22 opponents of the resolution are! Armenian-Americans should do everything in their power to prevent the re-election of all those who voted against the genocide resolution on March 4: Russ Carnahan (D-MO), Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Michael McMahon (D-NY), Mike Ross (D-AR), Brad Miller (D-NC), David Scott (D-GA), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ron Paul (R-TX), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Mike Pence (R-IN), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Connie Mack (R-FL), Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Ted Poe (R-TX), Bob Inglis (R-SC), and Dan Burton (R-IN). Bill Delahunt (D-MA) and John Tanner (D-TN) are retiring from Congress. Gresham Barrett (R-SC) is running for Governor, while John Boozman (R-AR) is a candidate for the U.S. Senate. The latter two should be opposed in their new campaigns.

In addition, Armenian-Americans should campaign against the re-election of Steve Cohen (D-TN), Ed Whitfield (R-KY) and Kay Granger (R-TX), for sending a joint letter to Foreign Affairs Committee members urging them to vote against the genocide resolution. All three are members of the congressional Turkish Caucus.

The next culprits are CEO’s of five major American aerospace and defense companies: Lockheed Martin Corp., Boeing Co., Raytheon Co., United Technologies Corp., and Northrop Grumman Corp. They sent a joint letter to the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee urging him to reject the Armenian Genocide resolution, in order not to jeopardize their sales to Turkey. These CEO’s have committed not only an immoral act by placing a higher premium on profits -- blood money -- over human rights, but also ignored the fact that Turkey cannot forego its purchases from their firms, because by doing so it would only weaken itself. Armenian-Americans should counter these firms by staging demonstrations in front of their headquarters and factories. Those employed by these firms should communicate their anger to the CEO’s of these firms. Stockholders should go to the next annual meeting of these companies to make their concerns known and seek removal of the CEO’s. Similar protest actions should be taken against the Aerospace Industries Association, which represents more than 270 member companies. The AIA sent a separate letter to Congress against the Armenian Genocide resolution.

The Congressmen and companies who opposed the resolution on March 4 should pay a heavy price for their immoral act. Ignoring their negative votes and letters would encourage them to oppose the resolution again, when it reaches the House floor. If Armenian-Americans could cause the defeat of just one of these scoundrels in November, the rest of them will get the message that voting against genocide recognition can cost them their political careers. They will then think twice before casting such a vote.

As far as Pres. Obama and Secretary Clinton are concerned, Armenian-Americans should not allow them to dictate to the U.S. Congress. Given the fact that most Americans are disillusioned with the failed policies and unfulfilled promises of the Obama administration, all elected officials nationwide are seriously worried about their re-election. This is the perfect time to demand action from politicians and punish those who do not cooperate. Armenian-Americans should contact their representatives in every congressional district throughout the country, even in remote areas, and tell them that unless they support the genocide resolution, they will not get their vote in November. Politicians would rather listen to the voices of their constituents than to Pres. Obama who is the main cause for their seats being in jeopardy. Therefore, the fate of the resolution is ultimately in the hands of Armenian-Americans. If they work hard and get enough congressional supporters, Speaker Pelosi would have no choice but to bring the resolution to the House floor, regardless of what the administration tells her to do. Otherwise, voters who are angry on many other issues could toss out of office the incumbents, jeopardizing her own speakership!

Armenian-Americans should not forget to express their profound gratitude to Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) and 22 other Congressmen who voted for the resolution on March 4. They are: Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa), Donald Payne (D-NJ), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Diane Watson (D-CA), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Gene Green (D-TX), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Jim Costa (D-CA), Keith Ellison (D-MN), Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Donald Manzullo (R-IL), and Edward Royce (R-CA), Elton Gallegly (R-CA), and Ron Klein (D-FL). The Armenian community should enthusiastically support their re-election.

Finally, some Turkish circles are consoling themselves simply because the resolution was adopted by a difference of one vote. Since House Committee members who opposed the resolution for unrelated reasons explicitly stated that they did not dispute the facts of the Armenian Genocide, the vote could have been 45 to 0, not 23-22, in terms of genocide acknowledgment -- a great victory for the truth and a major defeat for Turkish denialists and their backers. No one should be surprised therefore, if in the coming days Turkish leaders cancel the multi-million dollar contracts of their failed lobbying firms!

Turkish MP calls to admit Armenian genocide and apologize to Armenia

http://news.am/en/news/16123.html

الحلبي: لردع المفتي الجوزو الذي بات كلامه يشكل خطرا على السلم الأهلي

http://elnashra.com/news-1-420519.html

Why 46th congressman did not vote on Genocide resolution

http://news.am/en/news/16039.html

Muslim congressman stood Turkey up voting last moment for resolution

http://news.am/en/news/16088.html

هدية الإبادة الجماعية: عطر في أرمينيا

http://arabic.euronews.net

RA NA Speaker sent letter of gratitude to Nancy Pelosi

http://news.am/en/news/16076.html

البرلمان السويدي يناقش قانون يدين المجازر

http://www.khabararmani.com/site/News/files/2010/0193.htm

Iraq: 2,000 Christians killed, 600,000 have fled nation since 2003

http://www.catholicculture.org

تعقيب على مقالة: "ابتزاز إسرائيلي لتركيا اردوغان- لعبد الباري عطوان

http://www.alquds.co.uk/index.asp?fname=today\05z50.htm&storytitle=ffإبتزاز%20إسرائيلي%20لتركيا%20اردوغانfff&storytitleb=عبد%20الباري%20عطوان&storytitlec=

ليست الأمور هكذا يا سيد عطوان !!

يبدو أن السيد عطوان يعترف ضمنا بحقيقة الإبادة الأرمنية بقوله: "جميع جرائم الإبادة والتطهير العرقي مدانة بالمطلق، أيا كان ضحاياها، وأياً كانت ديانة أو هوية مرتكبيها.."، فكان من الأجدر به أن يدعو السيد أردوغان وحزبه المسمى "العدالة والتنمية"، الذي يزعم أنه إسلامي، لأن يحقق العدالة، وأن لا يتنكر للحقيقة التاريخية للإبادة الأرمنية وينصف المظلوم، حتى إن كان الظالم هو جده العثماني، وأن لا يتستر على هذه الجريمة النكراء المرتكبة بحق الإنسانية. كما لا بد من دعوة السيد أردوغان وحكومته للتوقف عن قمع 12-14 مليونا من الأكراد، فضلا عن العلويين والأرمن واليونانيين في تركيا.

ولا ننسى هنا دور الجاليات الأرمنية ونضالها الطويل وإصرارها على الدفاع عن قضيتها العادلة وضغطها المتواصل على البرلمانات وحكومات الدول التي تقطن هذه الجاليات فيها، ولا علاقة لهذا باللوبي الإسرائيلي. وكان نتيجة هذا النضال اعتراف 22 دولة بالعالم و 42 ولاية أميركية بالإبادة الأرمنية، إلى جانب البرلمان الأوروبي، وهيئات وشخصيات دولية عديدة. ويدافع الأرمن عن جميع قضايا الشعوب العادلة، وهم يدينون جرائم الاحتلال الإسرائيلي بحق الشعب العربي الفلسطيني في الأراضي العربية المحتلة، وفي العراق ورواندا وجميع بقاع العالم، بغض النظر عن قومية أو ديانة مرتكبيها.

إن تصويت لجنة العلاقات الخارجية في الكونغرس الأميركي على مشروع القرار الخاص بالإبادة الأرمنية هو ليس الأول من نوعه. فقد سبقه تصويت عام 2007، من قبل اللجنة نفسها، ومرر بأغلبية أفضل (27 ضد 21). فإذا كانت العلاقات بين أنقرة وتل أبيب عام 2007 على أفضل حال واللوبي الإسرائيلي والإدارة الأميركية برمتها عملت ضد مشروع القرار منذ البداية، فهل من المنطقي أن يلعب اللوبي الإسرائيلي "دورا قويا" في تصويت اللجنة ويمرر مشروع القرار هذه السنة بأغلبية صوت واحد (23 صوتا مؤيدا في مقابل 22 صوتا معارضا)؟! وحتى المصوتون ضد مشروع القرار لم ينكروا حقيقة الإبادة الارمنية في كلماتهم قبل التصويت، كما يفعل السيد اردوغان وحزبه، بل صوتوا ضد مشروع القرار، بسبب انه يتعارض مع المصالح القومية العليا للولايات المتحدة، بحسب زعمهم.

ولا يرتبط التصويت على مشروع القرار بجهود المصالحة بين تركيا وأرمينيا، كما يؤكد المسؤولون في أرمينيا. فقد بات من المعروف أن تركيا قد استخدمت البوتوكولين الموقعين مع أرمينيا لإيقاف مد الاعتراف الدولي بالإبادة الأرمنية، بحجة أن هنالك عملية مصالحة، وعلى الأطراف الثالثة أن لا تتدخل لعدم التأثير فيها. ويلجأ المسؤولون الأتراك الآن، عبر التصريحات والأفعال، إلى عرقلة المصادقة على البروتوكولين من قبل البرلمان بشتى الذرائع.

إن جرح "الخلاف" الأرمني-التركي لم يقطع "شوطا مهما على طريق الالتئام"، كما يبدو واضحا من تطور الأحداث، لأن تركيا تصر على إنكار حقائق الإبادة الأرمنية، أو تسويغها. فلا تزال تركيا تستخدم، بلا جدوى، جميع إمكانياتها السياسية والدبلوماسية والاقتصادية والعسكرية لوقف الاعتراف الدولي بالإبادة الأرمنية. وعلى تركيا استخلاص العبر من دروس الماضي والتصالح مع ماضيها إذا أرادت فعلاً أن تكون جزءاً من العالم المتحضر.

وكان الرئيس الأميركي رونالد ريغان قد اعترف بالإبادة الأرمنية في بيان رئاسي عام 1981، واعترف مجلس التواب الأميركي بها في عامي 1975 و 1984. إن اعتراف الكونغرس والرئيس الأميركي بهذه الحقيقة سيؤكد مرة أخرى الاعترافات السابقة التي لم توتر العلاقات بين واشنطن وأنقرة في حينها.

لا يخفى على السيد عطوان أسباب تنكر الرئيس اوباما لوعده الانتخابي واختياره "أنقرة كمحطته الأولى في العالم الإسلامي"، وهي الحرص على تحقيق المصالح الأميركية وضمان استمرار الدعم التركي لواشنطن في قضايا المنطقة، وبالأخص في أفغانستان والعراق.

ومعلوم للجميع أسباب الانقلاب الذي تقوم به المؤسسة العسكرية التركية على مدى تاريخ تركيا الحديث، وهي الحفاظ على المبادئ العلمانية لكمال أتاتورك، وهي ليست مرتبطة بأية مؤامرات أو بعلاقة تركيا بدول المنطقة، ومنها إسرائيل.

آرا آشجيان

يريفان، أرمينيا

http://www.azad-hye.org/news.php?op=details&id=693

Linking Armenian Genocide to Armenian-Turkish process is unpromising for Turkey

http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=43811

Pricey real estate deals in Dubai raise questions about Azerbaijan's president

http://www.washingtonpost.com

Kosovo is not Aghdam: Azerbaijan acknowledges frauds

“Azerbaijan’s state-controlled media resources and propaganda organisations appear to have been overdoing, and made serious mistakes and falsifications. Thus, ‘taking the vanish off’ Armenians, some our on-line media were so overzealous, that borrowed photos from Turkey, Palestine, and other countries, presenting them as Armenia-made crimes in Khojaly,” Zerkalo.az edition had to acknowledge.

http://www.aysor.am/en/news/2010/02/25/xocali-azerbaijan/

British House of Commons initiates second reading on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day bill April 30

http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2010/03/04/genocide2/

Armenian Genocide Resolution full text

http://news.am/en/news/15984.html

Catalonian Parliament recognized Armenian Genocide

http://news.am/en/news/16017.html

الشعب الأرمني ضحية التاريخ والتسييس بعد تسعة عقود على مأساته

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/9799/0,,1584471,00.html

الخارجية التركية تطلب من أمريكا عدم عرقلة تطبيع العلاقات بين أنقرة ويريفان

http://ar.rian.ru/policy/foreign/20100305/125367332.html

French insurer pays Armenian descendants

http://www.ottawacitizen.com

House Foreign Affairs Committee Recognizes Armenian Genocide

http://newsjunkiepost.com

House Panel Says Armenian Deaths Were Genocide

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/05/world/europe/05armenia.html

Over Turkish protests, House panel calls killing of Armenians 'genocide'

http://www.washingtonpost.com

White House Rebuffed In Effort to Kill Vote on House Bill Recognizing Armenian Genocide By Turks

http://blogs.abcnews.com

الابادة الجماعية للارمن في تركيا

http://rtarabic.com/news_all_info/28490

لجنة في الكونغرس الامريكي تصوت على قرار يصف المذابح التي تعرض لها الارمن بالابادة الجماعية وانقرة تستدعي سفيرها

http://rtarabic.com/news_all_news/43350

A Changed U.S. House to Vote on Armenian Genocide

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/us/04iht-genocide.html

إحياء ذكرى ضحايا المجزرة ضد الأرمن في سومغاييت في مختلف أصقاع العالم

http://www.khabararmani.com/site/News/files/2010/0188.htm

لجنة الدفاع عن القضية الارمنية: السلطات الاذرية تمجد الذين ارتكبوا اعمال العنف ضد الارمن

http://www.khabararmani.com/site/News/files/2010/0187.htm

انقرة تحذر واشنطن من الاعتراف بابادة الارمن

http://www.khabararmani.com/site/News/files/2010/0186.htm

احتجاجات اليزيديين في أرمينيا

http://www.khabararmani.com/site/News/files/2010/0174.htm

If Turks had not Denied the Genocide, CBS wouldn’t have Aired this Show

By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier

Turks have only themselves to blame for their unhappiness with the airing of a revealing program on the Armenian Genocide by CBS on February 28.

Were it not for the Turkish government’s constant denials and distortions, the Armenian Genocide could have become a forgotten episode in world history. Yet, because Turks refuse to face their crimes and persist in concocting outrageous lies, fair-minded people everywhere take various measures to set the record straight, as CBS did in “60 Minutes” last Sunday. As long as Turks continue their refusal to acknowledge the truth, they will suffer the indignation of being called mass murderers and genocide deniers by the international community -- an deserved punishment for committing such heinous crimes, and then covering them up! The Triumvirate of executioners of the Armenian nation -- Talaat, Enver, and Jemal -- could have never imagined that millions of people around the world, a century later, would still remember the dastardly crimes they committed in 1915?

It was noteworthy that several days before CBS aired this program, Turkish organizations were already urging their members to write to the network’s executives to complain about the segment on the Armenian Genocide, even though they had no clue about its content! The well-known Armenian saying, "kogh sirde togh," aptly describes this bizarre Turkish behavior. Loosely translated, this expression characterizes "a thief afraid of being exposed." With a guilty conscience, Turks constantly fear of being blamed for committing genocide and loudly proclaim their innocence, long before anyone accuses them of perpetrating such a crime.

The 12-minute segment on the Armenian Genocide totally debunked the Turkish myth of innocence in a most dramatic fashion. CBS correspondent Bob Simon along with Prof. Peter Balakian traveled all the way to Deir Zor, Syria -- “the Armenian Auschwitz” -- where they uncovered bone fragments of Armenian victims, by simply scratching the surface of the desert sand with their fingertips.

The shocking images must have left an indelible mark on the minds of millions of viewers. Fast talking Turkish denialists could not wipe away what the audience saw with their own eyes! No one could believe former Turkish Ambassador Nabi Sensoy’s deceptive words, that Armenians were not killed but simply deported. When pressed by Bob Simon, Sensoy first dismissed the significance of the unearthed bones, and then tried to couch his falsehoods in an aura of respectability by stating that UN’s definition of genocide required the element of "intent." He finally admitted that many Armenians "perished," but that was not the Turks’ intent. How could 1.5 million men, women, and children, rounded up from all corners of the Ottoman Empire, vanish into thin air? Turkey’s Ambassador to Washington, who was unceremoniously dismissed from his post after that interview, conveniently forgot to mention another clause of the UN definition of genocide: "Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction." It is regrettable that CBS provided a national platform to this genocide denialist -- something it would never do when airing a program on the Holocaust. Would CBS put on the air a Nazi or a Holocaust denier to present "the other side of the story?"

Of course, it is not possible to cover all facets of the Armenian Genocide in 12 minutes. The segment on “60 Minutes” could have been even more devastating to the Turks, had the producers of been a bit more diligent in their investigation. For example, it is not true that "no U.S. President has ever uttered the word genocide." It is well known that Pres. Reagan, in his Presidential Proclamation of April 22, 1981, made reference to the Armenian Genocide.

Bob Simon also stated that Turkish-instigated political pressure blocked the passage of a congressional resolution on the Armenian Genocide in 2007. What he neglected to mention were the two resolutions that were adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives in 1975 and 1984. When Simon asked the Turkish envoy why eight former U.S. Secretaries of State had rallied behind Turkey to kill the 2007 resolution, Amb. Sensoy responded by pointing to Turkey’s importance to the United States. He was implying that geopolitical considerations far outweighed the loss of 1.5 million lives!

Finally, Bob Simon wrongly asserted that the Armenia-Turkey Protocols contained a clause calling for the formation of a historical commission "to rule on whether a genocide took place." Although this clause is vaguely worded, it does not call for the establishment for such a fact-finding commission.

Regardless of these errors, millions of Americans who watched the program must have come away with the clear understanding that in 1915 the Turks had engaged in "race extermination," as U.S. Ambassador Henry Morgenthau had reported to the State Department.

In order to counter the negative Turkish comments inundating CBS, readers are urged to send e-mails thanking "60 Minutes" for its enlightening program that effectively fights genocide denial. To view the TV program and send a comment, please click on: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6253043n.

We also thank Prof. Balakian for his eloquent explanations and for accompanying the CBS crew to the Syrian desert.

البابا يطالب الحكومة العراقية بحماية المسيحيين وتظاهرات في بغداد والموصل تندد باستهدافهم

http://www.azzaman.com

مسيحيون معماريون وصيارفة وأطباء وتجار وصيادلة أثروا التنوع الاثني والفكري والاجتماعي منذ تأسيس الدولة العراقية

http://www.azzaman.com