Recently Annie Totah, Co-Chair of ARMENPAC, the Armenian American Political Action Committee, had the opportunity to once again get together with Senator Hillary Clinton at her residence in Washington, D.C.
Clinton, whose Presidential candidacy was bolstered with victories in Ohio and Texas, met with supporters at an intimate event in her Washington residence. Clinton, whose solid record of support for Armenian-American issues goes way beyond that of the other presidential hopefuls, was recently endorsed by ARMENPAC.
“I always appreciate the opportunity to speak with the Senator about the issues most important to Armenian-Americans. It’s truly inspiring to think that Senator Clinton, who has been such a good friend to our community, may be the next President of the United States,” said ARMENPAC Co-Chair Annie Totah.
“Along with my fellow colleagues on the ARMENPAC Board of Directors, we make it a priority to meet with, work with and support candidates who are in a position to affect policy and legislation that can be beneficial to Armenians in America and our brothers and sisters on our homeland,” added Totah.
Annie Totah also had the opportunity while at this event to discuss Armenian-American issues with Maryland’s Governor Martin O’Malley, Senator Clinton’s Presidential Campaign Manager Terry McAuliffe and Mid-Atlantic Campaign Director Natalie Jones, among others.
My Canadian-Armenian friend Artin Boghossian just brought to my attention that Canada’s Jeffrey Buttle has won his first men’s title at the world figure skating championship performing to the soundtrack of the Canadian movie Ararat (about the Armenian genocide) and wearing a costume with Armenian motives. The soundtrack includes the famous Armenian song “Groong” and Zurna music.
Imagine 08
Azerbaijani and Armenian Student Retreat and Dialogue
June 3 – 11, 2008
If you are an Armenian or Azerbaijani student currently studying in the U.S. interested in engaging in a constructive dialogue with each other, please consider participating in the second Azerbaijani-Armenian Student Retreat and Dialogue program to be held in the United States from June 3-11, 2008 (specific location will be announced soon). Located in a serene natural setting the retreat employs a unique methodology that combines analytical dialogue and conflict resolution trainings with outdoor teambuilding and living together in a remote area.
The first Imagine Dialogue and Retreat program for Armenian and Azerbaijani students took place in May of 2007 with support from the US Department of State. The program brought together 12 young professionals from Azerbaijan and Armenia for a successful 8-day dialogue and retreat during which the participants explored their thoughts about the conflict and each other, as well as discussed the challenges Nagorno-Karabakh conflict poses for two societies. For more information on the program please visit Imagine website at http://www.imaginedialogue.com/
The aim of the Imagine Retreat and Dialogue is to lay a foundation for open communication by empowering Armenians and Azerbaijanis with conflict resolution skills. Though this experientially based retreat and dialogue focuses upon the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict, it will do so in a non-political manner that promotes no political agenda or particular position. The workshop will be led by a three-person team of co-facilitators (one American, one Armenian, and one Azerbaijani) with significant academic and practical experience in conflict resolution. The program will also include periodic follow-up activities during the 2008-2009 academic year.
Twelve scholarships are currently available for this year: Six for Azerbaijani students, and six for Armenian students. All winners will receive meals, round-trip travel support, and accommodations for the weeklong workshop.
Students interested in applying please fill out the enclosed program application and send it together with your CV to [email protected] by the closing date of Monday, March 30, 2008.
It is rare when France, the Russian Federation and the United States are part of a small group that vote the same way in the United Nations.
But today they joined the states of Angola, Armenia, India, and Vanuatu in voting against a General Assembly resolution by the Republic of Azerbaijan that calls on Armenian forces to withdraw from the Armenian indigenous region of Nagorno Karabakh – a de facto but internationally unrecognized republic in the ex-Soviet world.
The U.N. General Assembly on Friday demanded [on March 14, 2008] that Armenian forces withdraw from all occupied territories in Azerbaijan, but key mediators in the Azeri-Armenia dispute rejected the non-binding resolution.
[…]
There were 100 abstentions and many other countries chose not to participate in the vote, which Western diplomats said was a reflection of the fact that most people felt the Azeri resolution was not a balanced picture of the problem.
“This resolution was not helpful,” said a diplomat from one of the three co-chairs of the Minsk Group — Russia, the United States and France.
The Minsk Group is a committee of countries working to bring about a peaceful resolution of the disagreement over Nagorno-Karabakh, the disputed Caucasus mountain enclave. The group was established by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 1992.
A U.S. statement on the resolution said the three Minsk Group co-chairs all voted against the resolution because they agreed it represented a “unilateral” view of the dispute.
[…]
Last week Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said Kosovo’s newly declared independence from Serbia had emboldened Armenian separatists in Azerbaijan’s mountainous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of stoking the recent violence there.
The resolution passed by 39 countries voting in favor of Azerbaijan’s ‘territorial integrity,’ while 100 states chose to abstain or not show up at all. The Azerbaijani resolution, which calls for “the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal from all the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan,” was largely voted for by Muslim countries including Armenia’s historic enemy Turkey (where the indigenous Armenian population was eliminated during WWI), Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Iraq, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and others. Among others, the ex-Soviet states of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine – all in somewhat similar situation like Azerbaijan with breakaway regions – supported the resolution. From other former Soviet “Turkic” countries only Uzbekistan supported the resolution while the rest of Central Asian countries voted abstain or were not present. Serbia, which is still protesting the U.S.-backed breakaway of Kosovo, joined Azerbaijan in defending the latter’s “territorial integrity.”
Announcing support for the resolution on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Pakistan’s representative quoted Azerbaijani allegations of “destruction of Azerbaijan’s cultural and historical heritage, including Islamic monuments.” Ironically, Azerbaijan has continuously denied the European Parliament investigation of material heritage destruction in the South Caucasus – raising questions of its sincerity in protecting heritage. And needless to say, Azerbaijan’s rhetoric of “Armenian vandalism” only started in late December of 2005 – after an eyewitness videotape from the Iranian-Azerbaijani border showed servicemen of Azerbaijan’s army reducing the world’s largest Armenian medieval cemetery to dust.
According to the official United Nations website, Armenia’s representative argued that the Azeri-drafted resolution would undermine the peace process and contribute to Azerbaijan’s militant position in dealing with the indigenous population of Nagorno Karabakh:
The representative of Armenia said it was unprecedented for a draft resolution to be put to the vote without there having been any consultations on it, in cynical disregard of the foundation of the United Nations and every other organization. The purpose of the drafters had never been to encourage or facilitate discussion. It was simply a way for Azerbaijan to list its wishes on a piece of paper. If the intention had truly been to contribute to the success of ongoing negotiations, Azerbaijan would have put its energy into the existing Minsk Group negotiation format.
He said that, after Azerbaijan had militarized the conflict 20 years ago, there had been a full-scale war between Armenians of Nagorno Karabagh and Azerbaijan. The result was thousands dead, nearly 1 million refugees and lost territories on both sides. Today, there was a self-maintained ceasefire and negotiations under the auspices of the Minsk Group. Despite that and attempts by Azerbaijan to divert from the peace process, the talks were indeed moving forward. There was now a negotiating document on the table that addressed all fundamental issues, security being foremost among them. The Minsk Group co-chairs had presented the latest version to the two sides at the OSCE Ministerial Meeting in Madrid.
Yet, Azerbaijan risked sabotaging that process by presenting a draft that ignored fundamental international norms and the real issues, which must be addressed, he continued. In short, the draft was counterproductive. It called for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of armed forces, while ignoring the security vacuum that would result. Who would be responsible for the security of the population of Nagorno Karabagh, which was already vulnerable, in the absence of “international cover” safeguarded by those very armed forces?
The draft also called for self-governance within Azerbaijan, he noted. That had become impossible 20 years ago and was not possible today, when the security of the Armenian minority was clearly endangered. The international community had demonstrated that it understood that, in various conflicts around the world. The Government of Azerbaijan had forfeited its right to govern people it considered its own citizens when it had unleashed a war against them 20 years ago. Armenians would not return to such a situation. Just as victims of domestic violence were not forced back into the custody of the abuser, the people of Nagorno Karabagh would not be forced back into the custody of a Government that sanctioned pogroms against them, and later sent its army against them.
Noting that the draft also asked for commitment by the parties to humanitarian law, he questioned their commitment to the non-use of force, the peaceful resolution of disputes and all the other provisions of the Helsinki Final Act. The draft talked about territories and refugees, but not how the consequences of the conflict would be resolved if the original cause was not addressed. Refugees and territories had been created by an Azerbaijan that had “unleashed a savage war against people it claims to be its own citizens”. Only when the initial cause was resolved would the fate of all the territories and refugees in question be put right.
The draft was a “wasted attempt” to predetermine the outcome of the peace talks, he said. That was not how responsible members of the international community conducted the difficult but rewarding mission of bringing peace and stability to peoples and regions. The co-chairs had found that today’s text did not help the peace talks. Armenia also knew it would undermine the peace process and asked other delegations not to support it.
Nonetheless, an ultra-nationalist Turk has left a comment on my initial post saying that the “headline is just a lie.” Justifying the ceremony as “funny” and historically accurate in depicting “the crimes which armenians did,” the commentator demonstrates the mindset that allows such “celebrations” in Turkey (let alone the deliberate usage of lower-case “a” in the word “armenian”):
I know that celebrity.. actually it is a funny ametour one.. maden by the civils at Erzurum who celebrities to save their lifes from armenian bandits..
and It makes me suprise how your diaspora follow the things in Turkey and inform you with changing everything..
“armenians hanged in turkish ceremony” haha.. look at the pictures.. there is an İmam hanging on the picture.. and they are showing the crimes which armenians did to Erzurum civilians.. and after that Turkish army comes and save the civilians..
white clothed mans and the people who wears “cross” symbolize the armenians at that show.. the man who wears imam cloths symbolize the Turkish imam ofcourse.. and at that ceremony only that imam was hanged..
These headline is just a lie
In a sense, the demonstration isn’t just anti-Armenian but anti-Christian too. As the ultra-nationalist Turk writes, some of those who played Armenians had crosses on their acting shirts and hats.
It is important to note, however, that many Turks have harshly criticized the anti-Armenian ceremony – including some hard-liner nationalist newspapers. Sabah, a nationalist newspaper that has played down its anti-Armenian rhetoric after the January 2007 murder of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in Turkey, has published an article titled, “Ceremony of Hate.”
In the meantime, another article in The Turkish Daily News gives more details about the “celebration.” Interestingly, the actors who played Armenians were reportedly forced to do so:
[…]
Municipality workers who played the Armenians said the mayor issued orders and they obeyed.
One worker, Celal Akar, said his family, friends and neighbors criticized him for playing an Armenian. “Sometimes they even make fun of us. We don’t want to be part of the play, but when the mayor says it we can’t object. We have been doing this for at least 20 years,” he said.
The municipality is responsible for the organizing the event, but [town administrator – not the mayor] Şener was upset when he saw the play. “Next year’s celebrations will be without Armenians,” he said.
[…]
Some say that the celebration dates back to 1938 and is found in other places around Turkey. There is no doubt Turkey is changing and the omnipresent chauvinism is being challenged. But how long will it take for Turkey to honestly face its past is a question with many opposing answers.
Image: Turkish children – from the audience – looking at an actor portraying a Muslim religous leader who was hanged by a group of Armenians. The Armenians later massacre women and children until they are stopped by the Turkish army that liberates Erzrum in a ceremonal play in central Turkey. “We are actually raising murders,” writes a Turkish columnist about the “celebration.”
Supposedly, they had put on a representative play to prevent the young from forgetting the past. Eyes wide-opened in fear, small kids were watching drunk “Armenian militia” attack everybody, stab babies with bayonets and hanging the imam in punishment.
This must have been the worst-ever representative “reminder of history.” What is more, it was repeated year after year despite all objections. This year must have hit the zenith of bad taste. Once more supposedly, the objective is to raise some nationalist generations and to remind others of the bitter pages of the past
All it does is to indoctrinate young generations with grudges and to teach them to view Armenians as the enemy to be punished on sight. This is the mentality that led to the murders of Hrant Dink, priest Santoro and the three people at the publishing house in Malatya. We will never be able to save our young from the gangs that provide them with guns and incite them to murder as long as we continue to instill hostility in our youngsters.
There is no use in catching murderers and instigators and putting them in jail. Tomorrow, there will be others, for we infect those poor young brains with these primitive and inhumane ideas. The prime minister may talk of “brotherhood” as much as he wants to. Nothing will change as long as he overlooks such primitivism and does nothing to prevent it. He may be unaware of the fact that this is the very attitude that will gradually divide Turkey. The same youth that we now turn against Armenians will some day view all foreigners with hostility and will act out of the conviction that every “enemy” must be killed.
In other words, we are actually raising murderers. What is more, this nonsense is repeated every year despite all the negative criticism.
Unfortunately, there is only one side of the story for the BBC which reports that “Azeri authorities told the BBC Armenia had provoked the clashes to divert attention from its domestic problems. ”
Some of the Turkish media, including the nationalist Sabah and Hurriyet, have criticized yesterday’s celebration of the 90th anniversary of the Turkish “liberation” of the Armenian city of Erzurum. (An important part of Armenia’s historic homeland until the 1915 Genocide, there is not a single Armenian left in the city.)
The main part of the celebration includes a play in which drunken ‘Armenian bandits’ fire at a mosque, kill the Muslim leader and massacre women and children. Then, the Turkish army rescues the city and hangs the Armenians.
“Another important problem in these performances is casting. Nobody wants to be Armenian,” writes a Turkish acquaintance who shared the news in a mass e-mail.
Image: Feb 24, 2008 protest in Southern California via a press release
The protest in Little Armenia, a district in metro Los Angeles, is said to have started at noon on Sunday, March 2, 2008 (local time).
There was another protest a week ago in Little Armenia attended by thousands of Armenian-Americans according to a press release by the organizers. Some of the protesters, I am told from sources in California, are also angry with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s – a political party active in Armenia and the Diaspora – passiveness in the protests.
I have received two e-mails in regards to the article I reposted about vandalism at an Armenian Church in California. A painting of what appeared to be Turkey’s flag was deemed as a ‘hate crime’ by the local police. And while a Turkish-American who had nothing to do with the vandalism says he regrets the crime, the Armenian priest of the church says there was no vandalism and, thus, no need to apologize for it.
The first e-mail to me – the subject of which read, “i regret that your church was vandalized………..from a Turkish-American” – stated:
[…]
I regret what happened and I hope the culprit in the church vandalism is found soon.
[…]
Another e-mail, from a member of the church that was vandalised, informed me of a blog post by the church’s priest who sees no hate in the church vandalism. Fr. Vazken writes:
It started Sunday – we noticed a child’s drawing on the wall. It was a moon and a star. I received a call later in the afternoon from an officer at the Glendale Police Department. The graffiti-art had been reported as a hate crime to the department.
Monday morning, a reporter from the Glendale Newspress came by the church looking for the evidence. Horizon (Armenian TV) sent a camera man. The Diocese (one of the priests) called and asked “What happened? Did someone paint a Swastika on your church?” By midday, a non-story was taking form and shape.
And so… this morning, it didn’t surprise me when the Daily News headlined, “Vandal spray-paints Turkish flag on Armenian church wall”
Wow! A moon and a star had now been transformed into a Turkish hate crime against the Armenians! What is it about hatred and evil that makes good copy? I guess it sells newspapers.
[…]
Although it is amazingly kind of an Armenian priest not to see hate in the drawing, it is interesting that he refuses to call it a vandalism either.
Showing off? Perhaps, not. I have personally met Fr. Vazken and he is a very good person. This is the guy who organizes “Blood for Blood” event in April asking Armenians to donate blood in commemorating the Armenian genocide by the Turks.