Thursday, November 30, 2006

Turks Agree to Armenian Relations....With CONDITIONS

(PanARMENIAN.Net)
The overwhelming majority of Turks have a positive stance towards establishment of relations with neighboring Armenia, in case the latter meets “certain conditions,” returns of a sociological survey in Turkey indicate. 82% of respondents out of 8 thousand 714, questioned by Association for Struggle against Ungrounded Statements on Genocide have a positive stance over establishment of relations with Armenia, in case the latter meets “certain conditions.” These include refusal from “statements” on the Genocide, “apologizing to Turkey for these statements.” 53% of respondents listed a whole range of preconditions, including “Armenians should apologize to Turks for pogroms during WWI,” “demolish” memorial to victims of the Armenian Genocide in Yerevan, withdraw from Nagorno Karabakh.

16% of those questioned considered “breaking off relations with the Armenian communities of Europe and US and refusal from statements on the Genocide” sufficient. 18% of interviewees do not wish establishment of relations between Armenia and Turkey at all. Meanwhile, the percentage of those willing to establish relations without preconditions is not mentioned, reports RFE/RL.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Digging Past Big Numbers

Ara at (Martuni or Bust ) has a very interesting analysis of the recent ArmeniaFund telethon, which purported to raise over $13.5 million.


"The annual "Hayastan" All-Armenian Fund telethon, which is the most successful government controlled collectors of Diaspora monies reported that they successfully collected $13.7 million.

Running the numbers, we discover that $9.8 million were given by 7 donors (who gave $500k or more), $270,000 were given by 4 donors of $50k or greater, $1.4 million were given by Germany, Belgium, Holland and Switzerland, and $1,200,000 was squeezed out of the natives of Armenia and Artsakh, totaling $12,670,000. This means a little more than $1 million was giving by the Diaspora of America, which makes up about 1 million of the better off financially Armenians of the world (less than 1% participated).

The above "success" is an indicator of the confidence the Armenian-American Diaspora has in the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund and its Board of Trustees. I would guess this has to do with the large Armenians from Armenia who have seen first hand how those in power use collected Disapora money."

Pope in Turkey

New York Times
ANKARA, Turkey, Nov. 28 — Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Turkey on Tuesday armed with a surprise gesture of good will aimed at blunting Muslim anger toward him: he backed Turkey’s long-stalled desire to join the European Union, reversing a statement he made two years ago.
The pope visited the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who founded the secular republic that Turkey is steadily shifting away from.
Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told reporters after a brief meeting with Benedict at the airport here that he had asked the pope to support Turkey in its attempt to become a member of the European Union.
“He said, ‘You know we don’t have a political role, but we wish for Turkey’s entry into the E.U.,’ ” Mr. Erdogan said the pope told him. “His wish is a positive recommendation for us.”
Although the Vatican does not play a formal role in the European Union, or delve publicly into domestic matters of other states, the pope’s gesture was nonetheless a piece of political stagecraft at a delicate time both in relations between Muslims and the West and in Benedict’s own damaged reputation among Muslims.
Long before he angered the Muslim world two months ago with a speech criticized as equating Islam with violence, Benedict was disliked here because of comments he made, as a cardinal in 2004, opposing Turkish membership in Europe. As the successor to the Ottoman Empire, Turkey had always stood, he said at the time, “in permanent contrast to Europe.”

(full story)

Friday, November 24, 2006

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIER AWARDED NATIONAL HUMANITIES MEDAL

Pres. Bush Honors Recipients at White House Ceremony
(anca.org)

WASHINGTON, DC - Armenian Genocide denier and controversial Middle East historian Bernard Lewis was amongst those honored by President Bush this month with the prestigious National Humanities Medal, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA.) President Bush, joined by First Lady Laura Bush, bestowed the medal at a November 9th ceremony held in the White House Oval Office.

"The President's decision to honor the work of a known genocide denier - an academic mercenary whose politically motivated efforts to cover up the truth run counter to the very principles this award was established to honor - represents a true betrayal of the public trust," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.

Bernard Lewis, Professor Emeritus at Princeton University in the department of Near Eastern Studies, began his career as a historian with an honest assessment of the Armenian Genocide as a "terrible holocaust." He soon reversed his position, serving as leading spokesman for the Turkish government's denial campaign, along with Princeton University Professor Heath Lowry. Lowry was exposed as a paid spokesman for the Turkish government's worldwide campaign of genocide denial in the seminal journal article, "Professional Ethics and the Denial of Armenian Genocide", ("Holocaust and Genocide Studies," 1995).

Lewis' genocide denial became international news on June 21, 1995, when a French court condemned him for statements he made during a 1993 interview with French newspaper "Le Monde." The case, which argued that Lewis' statements caused harm to Armenian Genocide survivors, was filed by the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism and the Forum of Armenian Associations, representing a number of French Armenian organizations, including the ANC of France. The Court found Lewis "at fault," stating that, "his remarks, which could unfairly revive the pain of the Armenian community, are tortuous and justify compensation." The court further affirmed that, "the historian is bound by his responsibility toward the persons concerned when, by distortion or falsification, he credits the veracity of manifestly erroneous allegations or, through serious negligence, omits events or opinions subscribed to by persons qualified and enlightened enough so that the concern for accuracy prevents him from keeping silent about them." Lewis was symbolically fined one franc and "Le Monde" was ordered to reprint portions of the French court judgment, which appeared two days later.

Nine individuals and one institution were awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2006, including: Fouad Ajami, James M. Buchanan, Nickolas Davatzes, Robert Fagles, Mary Lefkowitz, Bernard Lewis, Mark Noll, Meryle Secrest, Kevin Starr, and the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace at Stanford University.

The National Humanities Medal honors individuals or groups whose work has deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened citizens' engagement with the humanities, or helped preserve and expand Americans' access to important resources in the humanities. The award, given by the National Endowment for the Humanities, was established in 1988. The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent agency of the U.S. government that supports research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. It was created by the U.S. Congress in the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

WATCH SCREAMERS TRAILER

New System of a Down Film Soon To Be Released
(Official Site)

Documentary feature examining why genocides keep occurring -- from the Armenian genocide in 1915, to the Holocaust, Bosnia, Rwanda and now Darfur -- through the eyes and music of the Grammy award-winning rock band System of a Down, based in Los Angeles, whose members are all grandchildren of genocide survivors. As the band tours the world and touches on the locations and stories of genocide in the last century, the film follows the personal story of the lead singer's grandfather, a 96-year old survivor of the Armenian genocide, one of the few remaining survivors from his village in Turkey. With the arguments of Harvard Professor Samantha Power, the personal stories of survivors from Armenia, Rwanda and Darfur, policy critics and whistleblowers- "the screamers"- the film targets the problem of genocide denial, with specific reference to the Turkish government's current campaign to stop its citizens from discussing the genocide. When the band arrives back in the United States, they confront the hypocrisy of U.S. foreign policy in the debate on genocide recognition, with Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, actively blocking a vote in Congress. Through the band's efforts to get Dennis Hastert to "Do the Right Thing" and Power's thesis that America's interest has always been to stay neutral, no matter how wide-scale the carnage, the film shows how successive Presidents and corporate interests have conspired to turn a blind eye to genocides as they are happening "whether it be Iraqi Kurds in the 80s, Rwanda in the 90s or Darfur today. After the Holocaust, we may say "never again" -- but we don't mean it.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Azeri President Wages War on Armenian Diaspora


Even though there is a ceasefire in the Karabakh conflict, and Armenian forces control the territory, Azeri president Ilham Aliev has decided to open up a new front.

This new front to the Karabakh conflict has been opened in Los Angeles, and soon to expand into every Armenian populated and influenced region.

The belligerent statements made by Aliev purport to use Azerbaijan's newly utilized oil wealth to, "fight the Armenian lobby on its own turf."(read story)

These statements can be seen two ways.
  • To galvanize the efficacy of Armenian activism. To reassure Armenians that their efforts are heard and valuable.
  • To rally Armenians to further unite, join together and organize to combat this "new" enemy. The Karabakh conflict is no longer a military matter; it is a political one. The people of Karabakh bravely fought for their right to self-determination and now the Diaspora must make it a priority to secure international recognition of the Negorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR).
For a nation to decide to open embassies and consulates worldwide with the stated goal (not to serve their countrymen) but to counterbalance the "influence" of others is a great sign of weakness and anxiety on the part of Azerbaijan.