Reports on Twitter of Turks Apologizing to Armenians

Reported on Twitter:

#ErmenilerdenÖzürDiliyorum, meaning “I apologize to Armenians” is the #1 trending topic in Turkey right now. #ArmenianGenocideCentennial

Armenians Step Out of the Shadows in Turkey 100 Years After Genocide

One hundred years after the Armenian Genocide, Islamized Armenians across Turkey are beginning to make their presence known.

Armenian massacres: Descendants emerge from the shadows in Turkey
Only now, 100 years after the mass murders of Armenians, are their nervous descendants in eastern Turkey daring to declare their ancestry and explore their roots
The Telegraph (telegraph.co.uk) | April 23, 2015

 

List of Countries that Officially Recognize the Armenian Genocide is Growing

This year we mark the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide committed by the Turkish Government throughout the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

Which countries officially recognize the Armenian Genocide?

According to the International Business Times, 20 sovereign governments recognize the Armenian Genocide, as well as 43 of 50 states in the U.S.

This year Austria and Germany are joining this list.

In addition, the European Parliament, which recognizes the Armenian Genocide, is urging Turkey to do so.

For the country list and more, read:

Who Recognizes Armenian Genocide? 20 States That Acknowledge 1915 Events
International Business Times | April 21, 2015

There are diplomatic concerns which world powers such as the U.S. and Israel cite as reasons for not officially using the g-word.  However, their leaders have made their views clear on the issue.

Genocide scholars worldwide recognize the Armenian Genocide. All questions and debate about this issue are politically motivated, because Turkey refuses to apologize for the Armenian Genocide and spends millions of dollars annually, to lobby governments and influence opinion makers not to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Turkey also funds university chairs and fights local school districts in courts around the world, to prevent the Armenian Genocide from being included in school curriculums.

If we want to do our parts to stop genocide, we must demand that our leaders speak out truthfully. Genocide and genocide denial cannot be tolerated anywhere.

Armenian Genocide Centennial Media Coverage Worldwide

After Pope Francis spoke about the Armenian Genocide during his mass at the Vatican, and Kim Kardashian paid homage to her Armenian ancestors and laid a wreath at the Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, the world started remembering the Armenians and what happened in 1915 in Ottoman Turkey.

Here are some of the news stories from around the world:

The Souls and Stories That Vanished in the Armenian Genocide of 1915
newsweek.com | April 21, 2015

Remembering the Armenian Genocide
newyorker.com | April 21, 2015

Photographing Armenian Lives Around the World
Radio Broadcast: Here & Now, wbur.org | April 21, 2015

After the Armenian Genocide, a Group of Survivors Transform into Assassins
Radio Broadcast: The Leonard Lopate Show, wnyc.org | April 21, 2015

Jews and the Armenian Genocide
The 100th anniversary is the time for Israel to rethink the moral concession it has made by abetting Turkish denial
Tabletmag.com | April 20, 2015

The Kardashian factor and the G-word
A PR battle rages between Turkey and Armenians 100 years after the mass killings
alijazeera.com | April 19, 2015

Turkey’s Willful Amnesia
Opinion: The Editorial Board
nytimes.com | April 17, 2015

How Novel About Armenian Genocide Became Bestseller in Warsaw Ghetto
Jewish Daily Forward (Forward.com) | April 17, 2015

A Century After Armenian Genocide, Turkey’s Denial Only Deepens
nytimes.com | April 16, 2015

When the Pope Calls It Genocide
Radio Broadcast: The Brian Lehrer Show, wnyc.org | April 15, 2015

European Parliament Urges Turkey to Recognize Armenian Genocide
nytimes.com | April 15, 2015

Op-Ed On Armenian genocide, go ahead and offend Turkey
LATimes.com | April 15, 2015

Armenians and Ottoman Turks
nytimes.com | April 15, 2015

Be as brave as Kim Kardashian and the pope, Mr. President: Call the Armenian Genocide a ‘genocide.’ A century after more than 1 million Armenians were killed by the Ottomans, Obama should call this atrocity what it was.
WashingtonPost.com | April 14, 2015

Simon Heffer: Kim Kardashian and Pope Francis left Turkey in PR disaster over Armenian genocide
International Business Times (ibtimes.co.uk) | April 13, 2015

The Kardashians Show Support for Armenia
nytimes.com | April 13, 2015

Pope Angers Turkey by Calling Armenian Genocide a Genocide
Slate.com | April 12, 2015

A New Chapter In The Century-Old Debate Over The Massacre Of Armenians
Radio Broadcast: The Diane Rehm Show, npr.org | April 14, 2015

Interview: ‘Turks and Armenians should escape vicious circle of assertion and denial’
HurriyetDailyNews.com | April 13, 2015

Armenians and Turks in the shadow of 1915
HurriyetDailyNews.com | April 9, 2015

April Marks The Centennial Of Armenian Genocide
Radio Broadcast: National Public Radio (npr.com) | April 8, 2015

Lessons not learned: The Armenian Genocide
Jerusalem Post (jpost.com) | April 8, 2015

Vatican Archives Shed Light on Tragedy of Armenian Genocide
thebostonpilot.com | March 21, 2015

A Century of Silence
A family survives the Armenian genocide and its long aftermath
newyorker.com | January 5, 2015

Armenian Genocide NYC Times Square 2015

April 24, 2015 marks the 100th anniversary of the day Armenians commemorate as the beginning of the genocide committed by the Ottoman Turks, which claimed the lives of 1.5 million Armenians.

This month there are commemorations being held in cities and towns all over the world.

Date and time for New York City Armenian Genocide Centennial Observation:

Where: Times Square
When: 1:45 PM — Sunday, April 26, 2015

(There will be a Divine Liturgy celebrated by Archbishop Khajag Barsamian at St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral at 10:00 A.M. The cathedral is located at 630 Second Avenue between East 34th Street and East 35th Street. A procession to Times Square will depart at 12 Noon.)

 

More irrefutable Armenian Genocide evidence comes to light via Germany’s archives

Noted Turkish scholar Taner Akcam has said that the government archives of the US, Great Britain, France, and Germany, as well as Turkey, contain a wealth of Armenian Genocide documentation. (The Armenian Church also has extensive records in Yerevan and Jerusalem, but the Church’s archives are not open.)

A new window into the German archives has opened with the publication of “Alman Belgeleri: Ermeni Soykirimi 1915-1916 (German Documents: Armenian Genocide 1915-1916). This 1,000-page book is printed in Turkish. Issued on January 12, 2012 by Belge Publishing House – whose owner Ragip Zarakolu has been imprisoned and put on trial for speaking out on behalf of the Kurds and Armenians in Turkey – the book contains translations “into an extremely comprehensible and beautiful Turkish” of documents from the German Foreign Ministry archives during the First World War. First published in German in 2005, Wolfgang Gust, “the famous German journalist and writer,” put it together.

Read more in the Armenian Reporter here:

German archive material raises stir in Turkey
Armenian Reporter | July 31, 2012

Astrid Aghajanian survived the Armenian Genocide

When we focus on the number, 1,500,000 massacred in the Armenian Genocide, it is easy to lose sight of the individual lives touched by this man-made tragedy. Learning the stories of individuals is a meaningful way to come to know history.

The UK’s Independent published this powerful obituary which honors the life of Helen Astrid ‘Astghig’ Aghajanian, nee Gaidzakian:

Astrid Aghajanian: Survivor of the Armenian genocide who narrowly escaped death
June 14, 2012 | Independent.co.uk

Helen (Astghig/Astrid) Gaidzakian was born in Albistan, Turkey, March 28, 1913. She survived the deportation and massacre of the Armenians during the Armenian Genocide in Turkey. In 1942, she married Gaspar Aghajanian. The Aghajanians had two daughters. Widowed in 2007, Mrs. Aghajanian died in Gloucester May 11, 2012. Read about her life.

97 years after 1915

Every April 24th Armenians around the world answer Hitler’s question, “Who remembers the Armenians?” This day is the anniversary of the rounding up, imprisonment, and eventual deportation and murder of Armenian intellectuals in Turkey in 1915.

Ninety-seven years after 1915, Armenians and non-Armenians, world leaders, governments around the world, and more and more Turkish intellectuals condemn the Turkish Government for its choice to actively deny the Armenian Genocide. The Turkish Government’s immoral genocide denial campaign extends beyond its borders. The Turkish Government’s propaganda has insidiously infiltrated the highest levels of many democratic governments, including the United States.

At least one and one half million Armenians (two-thirds of Armenians) died in the Armenian Genocide. Over six million Jews died in the Holocaust. Many believe Hitler was emboldened to carry out his plan to exterminate the Jews because he was inspired by Turkey’s near success with its systematic destruction of the country’s indigenous Armenian population.

Ninety-seven years after 1915 the world community continues to stand by and monitor genocides (e.g. Rwanda, Darfur). An evil dictator such as Syria’s Assad takes license to kill within his country’s borders because he believes he can get away with his crimes.

In a world in which the Iranian President can deny the Holocaust and incite fanatics to wipe Israel off the map, we must look inward and ask ourselves how we allow this behavior. We must vote out government leaders who enable genocide denial and genocidal regimes. We must mean what we say, when we declare “Never Again”.

This blog is dedicated to the memory of every Armenian victim of the massacres, pogroms, mass deportation and genocide committed by the Turkish government.

CHANGE DUE to WEATHER for NYC Armenian Genocide Commemoration Sunday April 22 2012

The site for the Armenian Genocide Commemoration scheduled on Sunday April 22, 2012 in New York Cityhas been changed. Due to rain, today’s commemoration will be held at the St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral complex on Second Avenue (between East 34th and East 35th streets).

See “2012 Armenian Genocide Commemoration Events in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Massachusetts” (Posted April 8, 2012) for more details about the event, schedule, and contact information).

April is Genocide Awareness Month

April is Genocide Awareness Month.

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) is widely viewed by historians as a major pogrom at the beginning of the Holocaust. The coordinated attacks were carried out on November 9 and 10 1938 in Nazi Germany and parts of Austria. Six million Jewish people were murdered in the Holocaust

The Rwandan Genocide began on April 6, 1994. Over a 100-day period, over 800,000 Rwandans (mostly Tutsis) were murdered.

April 24th is the day Armenians commemorate the Armenian Genocide because the Ottoman Turkish Government rounded up  and imprisoned Armenian intellectuals and leaders on this day in 1915. Most of these men were eventually murdered. One and a half million Armenian people lost their lives during the mass deportations and pogroms conducted as part of the Genocide.