For More Information About the Venues and Times of the Worldwide

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

For More Information About the Venues and Times of the Worldwide Commemorating the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide Worldwide Reading on 21st April, 2015 Events in: Appeal for a worldwide reading on April 21st 2015 ARGENTINA Asociación Cultural Armenia, Buenos Aires | ARMENIA 1st Armenian Literary Agency, ArtBridge Bookstore Café / The international literature festival berlin (ilb) and the Lepsiushaus Civilnet Online Television, Yerevan; The Armenian Literature Foundation, Yerevan; Marine Karoyan, Tekeian Art Center, Yerevan; Potsdam are calling for a worldwide reading on 21 April 2015 - the day that marks 100 years since the beginning of the Armenian Goethe-Institut Georgien, Yerevan; Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, Tsitsernakaberd, Yerevan; Centre of Juridical-political Genocide. and cultural diplomacy NGO, Yerevan; DAAD Armenien, Cafesijan Center for the Arts, Yerevan; The Armenian Educational Several hundred Armenian intellectuals – poets, musicians, Foundation, Yerevan | AUSTRALIA Armenian Book Club Australia, Theme and Variations Studios, Sydney; Pen Melbourne, parliamentary representatives and members of the clergy – were Melbourne | Anna Pfeiffer, FREIRAD 105.9 (Radio), Innsbruck | Thorsten Baensch, Aïda Kazarian, Boulevard arrested in Constantinople (today Istanbul) on 24 April 1915, AUSTRIA BELGIUM and deported to the Turkish interior where most of them were Jamar 19, Brussels; Anita Bernacchia, Ioana Belu, Bookshop EuropaNova, Brussels | BOLIVIA Bolivian PEN Centre, Plaza Callejas, murdered. It was the start of a crime against humanity. The Santa Cruz | BRAZIL Sibila journal, Sao Paulo; Lenira Buscato, Bandeirantes School, Sao Paulo | BULGARIA Armenian General extermination of the Armenians during World War One was the first Benevolent Union (AGBU) Plovdiv Chapter, Bourgas; AGBU Plovdiv Chapter, Haskovo; AGBU Plovdiv Chapter, Rouse; AGBU systematically planned and executed genocide of modern times. More than a million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire died during Plovdiv Chapter, Sliven; AGBU Plovdiv Chapter, Veliko Tarnovo; AGBU Plovdiv Chapter, Varna; Eojeni Sakaz, St.Kliment Ohridski this genocidal campaign. University, Sofia | CANADA Marsha Skrypuch, Brantford Public Library, Ontario; Tekeyan Cultural Association of Montreal, Tekeyan The events took place before the eyes of the whole world and Armenian Cultural Center, Montreal | EGYPT Armenian Democratic Liberal Party – Culture Committee, Goganian Club, Cairo | were clearly documented by German, Austro-Hungarian, Italian, FRANCE Esther Heboyan, Librairie La Terrasse de Gutenberg, Paris; The Publishing House Tripode and Conférences du Salon de American, Scandinavian, Armenian and Ottoman sources as well as by a great number of historical research projects. As early as Littérature arménienne, Maison de la Poésie de Paris, Paris | GERMANY internationales literaturfestival berlin, Literaturhaus August 1915, The New York Times reported on a methodically Berlin, Berlin; Tuncay Gary, Galerie Terzo Mondo, Berlin; Heide Rieck, Kulturzentrum: ROTTSTR5 H.O.F., Bochum; Lepsiushaus planned programme of ethnic cleansing and extermination which Potsdam, Hans Otto Theater und Potsdam Museum, Potsdam Museum Veranstaltungssaal, Potsdam; Bildungsstätte Anne Frank, was unprecedented in history up to that time. The German Reich’s Frankfurt; Peter Völker, Petra M. Jansen, Gelnhausen; Tuchfabrik Trier e.V., Trier | ISRAEL Herzel Hakak, Old Yishuv Court Museum, government, which was allied to the Ottoman Empire, reached the same conclusions without undertaking anything against what was Jerusalem | ITALY Gabriella Uluhogian, Isa Guastalla, Palatina Library, Parma; Marcello Flores, University of Siena -Aula Magna, happening. Siena | LebaNON Embassy of the Republic of Armenia, Haygazian University of Beirut, Beirut | MALAWI Charles Mulaga, The Turkish political world denies the Armenian Genocide up to the Mzuzu | MEXICO Carlos Antaramian, Casa Refugio Citlaltépetl, Mexico City; Nelly Calderón de la Barca and Alejandro Navarro present day, although the facts have been known for more than a Osuna, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas y Sociales, Ensenada | NETHERLANDS hundred years. The Indian writer Arundhati Roy has spoken publicly about this scandal on many occasions, including at the 2009 Hanneke Eggels, Museum Van Bommel van Dam, Venlo | NORWAY Norwegian PEN, PROSA, Bokvennen litterært magasin, The international literature festival berlin. House of Literature, Oslo | PERU Peruvian Centre PEN International, Lima | POLAND Książkowe Klimaty, Wrocław; Książkowe A great number of Armenian voices were silenced in 1915 and in Klimaty, Kielce; Książkowe Klimaty, Kraków; Książkowe Klimaty, Łódź; Książkowe Klimaty, Piła; Książkowe Klimaty, Poznań; Książkowe the years thereafter. Since then, others have become loud and have Klimaty, Warsaw | REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA Union of Writers of Moldova, Aula of the Union of Writers, Chinisau | ROMANIA spoken out against forgetting, among them an increasing number of voices from the democratic Turkish civil society. In remembrance The Headquarter of the Union of Armenian Branch in Bacau, Bacau; The Trade Unions Culture House, Constanţa; The Museum of the victims and in association with the demand for international of Ethnography, Cluj-Napoca; Sorin Francu, Municipal Theatre Gh. Pastia, Focşania; The Armenian Culture House, Gherla; recognition of the genocide, we are calling for a worldwide reading The Museum of Romanian Literature and the branch of the Union of Armenians, Iaşi; The Municipal Library, Roman; Union of on 21 April 2015, with literary texts from Armenian authors, among Armenians in Romania, Cantacuzino Palace, Bucharest | Hayordyac Tun, Azatuhi Ghukasyan, Church of the Holy Cross, them Varujan Vosganian, Zabel Yesayan, Siamanto, Daniel Varujan, RUSSIA Krikor Zohrab, Rupen Sevag, Komitas, Yeghishe Charents, William Samara| SWEDEN Swedish PEN Centre, Stallet, Stockholm | UK James Derounian, University of Gloucestershire, Francis Close Saroyan, Hovhannes Shiraz, Paruyr Sevak, Hakop Mntsuri, Silva Campus, Cheltenham; Scottish PEN’s Writers in Prison Committee, McCance building in the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow | Kaputikian and Hrant Dink. UKRAINE Kiev; Lviv; Odessa | USA Center Theatre Group & Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance, Kirk Douglas Theater, Los Angeles; The Initiative in Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois; Arno Yeretzian, Aline Ohanesian, Abril Bookstore, Los Angeles; LARK Musical Society, Los Angeles; Ara Echighian, Raffi Armenian Romanian Cultural Organisation, Los Angeles; Judith Saryan, MIT in Cambridge, 127 Mass Ave, Cambridge; Houry Boyamian, St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School, Watertown; Michael Barakiva, Allentown High School, New Jersey; Lola Koundakjian, Armenian Poetry Project, Holy Cross Armenian Church, New York; Stockton University (in New Jersey) and the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of Philadelphia, Philadelphia For more information about the venues and times of the worldwide readings see www.worldwide-reading.com 15 th international literature festival berlin 9 th – 19 th September, 2015.
Recommended publications
  • Shirak Guidebook
    Wuthering Heights of Shirak -the Land of Steppe and Sky YYerevanerevan 22013013 1 Facts About Shirak FOREWORD Mix up the vast open spaces of the Shirak steppe, the wuthering wind that sweeps through its heights, the snowcapped tops of Mt. Aragats and the dramatic gorges and sparkling lakes of Akhurian River. Sprinkle in the white sheep fl ocks and the cry of an eagle. Add churches, mysterious Urartian ruins, abundant wildlife and unique architecture. Th en top it all off with a turbulent history, Gyumri’s joi de vivre and Gurdjieff ’s mystical teaching, revealing a truly magnifi cent region fi lled with experi- ences to last you a lifetime. However, don’t be deceived that merely seeing all these highlights will give you a complete picture of what Shirak really is. Dig deeper and you’ll be surprised to fi nd that your fondest memories will most likely lie with the locals themselves. You’ll eas- ily be touched by these proud, witt y, and legendarily hospitable people, even if you cannot speak their language. Only when you meet its remarkable people will you understand this land and its powerful energy which emanates from their sculptures, paintings, music and poetry. Visiting the province takes creativity and imagination, as the tourist industry is at best ‘nascent’. A great deal of the current tourist fl ow consists of Diasporan Armenians seeking the opportunity to make personal contributions to their historic homeland, along with a few scatt ered independent travelers. Although there are some rural “rest- places” and picnic areas, they cater mainly to locals who want to unwind with hearty feasts and family chats, thus rarely providing any activities.
    [Show full text]
  • Armenian Genocide Ch3.Pdf
    “ Religion has a place for a conscience, which racist ideologies do not.” —Christopher Walker Chapter 3 the young turks in power THIS CHAPTER LOOKS AT THE CHOICES MADE IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE BETWEEN 1908 AND 1914 THAT would eventually result in genocide. No historical event is inevitable. Individuals and groups operate within a particular historical moment, and the choices they make ultimately define the age. In 1908, the Young Turk revolution brought great hope for many people living in the Ottoman Empire. The reintroduction of the constitution, with its promises of equal rights, seemed to offer opportunities to people who had been left behind in the old system. The Young Turk vision of a strong central gov- ernment promised an alternative to the corruption and disorder of the sultan’s regime. Many hoped the violence that had come to characterize the sultan’s reign would now end. For the Armenians, the constitution and its guaranteed equality seemed to offer many of the reforms they had long desired. But there were still unresolved tensions. What role would Muslims have in this new order? Were they going to quietly accept the loss of their special status in this new regime? What would happen to supporters of the sultan? What about the members of groups that suffered under the old regime? Could they trust the Young Turks? Who would enforce the changes they promised? 56 • Facing history and ourselves There were tensions within the Young Turk movement as well. Between 1908 and 1913, the diversity of opinion within the Young Turk movement became clear.
    [Show full text]
  • 'A Reign of Terror'
    ‘A Reign of Terror’ CUP Rule in Diyarbekir Province, 1913-1923 Uğur Ü. Üngör University of Amsterdam, Department of History Master’s thesis ‘Holocaust and Genocide Studies’ June 2005 ‘A Reign of Terror’ CUP Rule in Diyarbekir Province, 1913-1923 Uğur Ü. Üngör University of Amsterdam Department of History Master’s thesis ‘Holocaust and Genocide Studies’ Supervisors: Prof. Johannes Houwink ten Cate, Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies Dr. Karel Berkhoff, Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies June 2005 2 Contents Preface 4 Introduction 6 1 ‘Turkey for the Turks’, 1913-1914 10 1.1 Crises in the Ottoman Empire 10 1.2 ‘Nationalization’ of the population 17 1.3 Diyarbekir province before World War I 21 1.4 Social relations between the groups 26 2 Persecution of Christian communities, 1915 33 2.1 Mobilization and war 33 2.2 The ‘reign of terror’ begins 39 2.3 ‘Burn, destroy, kill’ 48 2.4 Center and periphery 63 2.5 Widening and narrowing scopes of persecution 73 3 Deportations of Kurds and settlement of Muslims, 1916-1917 78 3.1 Deportations of Kurds, 1916 81 3.2 Settlement of Muslims, 1917 92 3.3 The aftermath of the war, 1918 95 3.4 The Kemalists take control, 1919-1923 101 4 Conclusion 110 Bibliography 116 Appendix 1: DH.ŞFR 64/39 130 Appendix 2: DH.ŞFR 87/40 132 Appendix 3: DH.ŞFR 86/45 134 Appendix 4: Family tree of Y.A. 136 Maps 138 3 Preface A little less than two decades ago, in my childhood, I became fascinated with violence, whether it was children bullying each other in school, fathers beating up their daughters for sneaking out on a date, or the omnipresent racism that I did not understand at the time.
    [Show full text]
  • Armenian State Chamber Choir
    Saturday, April 14, 2018, 8pm First Congregational Church, Berkeley A rm e ni a n State C h am b e r Ch oir PROGRAM Mesro p Ma s h tots (362– 4 40) ༳ཱུ཮འཱུཪཱི འཻའེཪ ྃཷ I Knee l Be for e Yo u ( A hym n f or Le nt) Grikor N ar e k a tsi ( 9 51–1 0 03) གའཽཷཱཱྀུ The Bird (A hymn for Easter) TheThe Bird BirdBir d (A (A(A hymn hymnhym forn for f oEaster) rEaster) East er ) The Bird (A hymn for Easter) K Kom itas (1869–1 935) ཏཷཱྀཿཡ, ོཷཱྀཿཡ K K K Holy, H oly གའཿོའཱུཤ཮འཱུ ཤཿརཤཿ (ཉའཿ ༳) Rustic Weddin g Son g s (Su it e A , 1899 –1 90 1) ༷ཿ཮ཱུཪྀ , རཤཾཱུཪྀ , P Prayer r ayer ཆཤཿཪ཮ ེའཱུ ཯འཫའཫ 7KH%UL The B ri de’s Farewell ༻འརཽཷཿཪ ཱིཤཿ , ལཷཛཱྀོ འཿཪ To the B ride g room ’s Mo th er ༻འརཽཷཿ ཡའཿཷཽ 7KH%ULGH The Bridegroom’s Blessing ཱུ༹ ལཪཥའཱུ , BanterB an te r ༳ཱཻུཤཱི ཤཿཨའཱི ཪཱི ུའཿཧ , D ance ༷ཛཫ, ཤཛཫ Rise Up ! (1899 –190 1 ) གཷཛཽ འཿཤྃ ོའཿཤཛྷཿ ེའཱུ , O Mountain s , Brin g Bree z e (1913 –1 4) ༾ཷཻཷཱྀ རཷཱྀཨའཱུཤཿར Plowing Song of Lor i (1902 –0 6) ༵འཿཷཱཱྀུ Spring Song(190 2for, P oAtheneem by Ho vh annes Hovh anisyan) Song for Athene Song for Athene A John T a ve n er (19 44–2 013) ThreeSongSong forfSacredor AtheneAth Hymnsene A Three Sacred Hymns A Three Sacred Hymns A Three Sacred Hymns A Alfred Schn it tke (1 934–1 998) ThreeThree SacredSacred Hymns H ymn s Богородиц е Д ево, ра д уйся, Hail to th e V irgin M ary Господ и поми луй, Lord, Ha ve Mercy MissaОтч Memoriaе Наш, L ord’s Pra yer MissaK Memoria INTERMISSION MissaK Memoria Missa Memoria K K Lullaby (from T Lullaby (from T Sure on This Shining Night (Poem by James Agee) Lullaby (from T SureLullaby on This(from Shining T Night (Poem by James Agee) R ArmenianLullaby (from Folk TTunes R ArmenianSure on This Folk Shining Tunes Night (Poem by James Agee) Sure on This Shining Night (Poem by James Agee) R Armenian Folk Tunes R Armenian Folk Tunes The Bird (A hymn for Easter) K Song for Athene A Three Sacred Hymns PROGRAM David Haladjian (b.
    [Show full text]
  • Varujan Vosganian, the Book of Whispers
    Varujan Vosganian, The Book of Whispers Chapters seven and eight Translation: Alistair Ian Blyth Seven ‘Do not harm their women,’ said Armen Garo. ‘And nor the children.’ One by one, all the members of the Special Mission gathered at the offices of the Djagadamard newspaper in Constantinople. They had been selected with care. The group had been whittled down to those who had taken part in such operations before, working either alone or in ambush parties. ‘I trust only a man who has killed before,’ Armen Garo had declared. They were given photographs of those they were to seek out, wherever they were hiding. Their hiding places might be anywhere, from Berlin or Rome to the steppes of Central Asia. Broad-shouldered, bull-necked Talaat Pasha, the Minister of the Interior, was a brawny man, whose head, with its square chin and jaws that could rip asunder, was more like an extension of his powerful chest. In the lower part of the photograph, his fists, twice the size of a normal man’s, betokened pugnacity. Beside him, fragile, her features delicate, his wife wore a white dress and a lace cap in the European style, so very different from the pasha’s fez. Then there was Enver, a short man made taller by his boot heels. He had haughty eyes and slender fingers that preened the points of his moustache. He was proud of his army commander’s braids, which, cascading luxuriantly from his shoulders and covering his narrow chest, sought to disguise the humble beginnings of a son whose mother, in order to raise him, had plied one of the most despised trades in all the Empire: she had washed the bodies of the dead.
    [Show full text]
  • Rethinking Genocide: Violence and Victimhood in Eastern Anatolia, 1913-1915
    Rethinking Genocide: Violence and Victimhood in Eastern Anatolia, 1913-1915 by Yektan Turkyilmaz Department of Cultural Anthropology Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Orin Starn, Supervisor ___________________________ Baker, Lee ___________________________ Ewing, Katherine P. ___________________________ Horowitz, Donald L. ___________________________ Kurzman, Charles Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Cultural Anthropology in the Graduate School of Duke University 2011 i v ABSTRACT Rethinking Genocide: Violence and Victimhood in Eastern Anatolia, 1913-1915 by Yektan Turkyilmaz Department of Cultural Anthropology Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Orin Starn, Supervisor ___________________________ Baker, Lee ___________________________ Ewing, Katherine P. ___________________________ Horowitz, Donald L. ___________________________ Kurzman, Charles An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Cultural Anthropology in the Graduate School of Duke University 2011 Copyright by Yektan Turkyilmaz 2011 Abstract This dissertation examines the conflict in Eastern Anatolia in the early 20th century and the memory politics around it. It shows how discourses of victimhood have been engines of grievance that power the politics of fear, hatred and competing, exclusionary
    [Show full text]
  • Yeghishe Charents March 13, 1897 — November 29, 1937
    Հ.Մ.Ը.Մ.-Ի ԳԼԵՆԴԵԼԻ ԱՐԱՐԱՏ ՄԱՍՆԱՃԻՒՂԻ ՄՇԱԿՈՒԹԱՅԻՆ ԲԱԺԱՆՄՈՒՄՔ Homenetmen Glendale Ararat Chapter Cultural Division Get to Know… Volume 2, Issue 3 March 2009 YEGHISHE CHARENTS MARCH 13, 1897 — NOVEMBER 29, 1937 Yeghishe Charents (Yeghishe Soghomonian) was born in March 13, 1897 in Kars, currently located in North-Eastern Turkey. Born into a family of tradesman, he became one of the legendary figures of Armenian art and anti-Soviet activism. His works have fostered generations of patriotic Armenians and have been translated and read by peoples as diverse as the subjects on which he wrote. One of the leaders of the literary elite of the Soviet Union, his poetic dynamism and musical modality set him apart as one of the most inspired poets—not Armenian poet, but poet—of the twentieth century. Charents spent 1924 and 1925 as a Soviet diplomat, traveling throughout the Armenian Diaspora urging Armenian writers to return to Armenia, and continue their literary work there. After returning to Armenia, in 1925, he and a group of other Armenian writers founded a literary organization called the Association of Armenian Proletarian Writers. Unfortunately, many of his colleagues were either deported to Siberia, or shot or both, under Stalin’s regime. During the years following 1925, Charents published his satirical novel, Land of Nairi (Yerkir Nairi), which rapidly became a great success among the people. Later on, Charents became the director of Armenia’s State Publishing House, while he continued his literary career, and began to translate, into Armenian, literary works by various writers. Charents also published such famous novels as: Rubayat (1927), Epic Dawn (Epikakan Lussapats, 1930), and Book of the Road (Grik Chanaparhi, 1933).
    [Show full text]
  • New-Articles by Title-1-23
    Articles by Title Abusing the Term ‘Genocide’ in Distant Domains: The Statue of Aliyev and the Khojaly Massacre in Two Squares in Mexico City, Carlos Antaramian. Vol. 22 (2013): 263-277 (Communication). Academic Publications to Mark the 1700th Anniversary of Christian Armenia, Robert W. Thomson. Vol. 7 (1994): 115-122. (Research Note). Acculturation, Ethnic Identity, and Psychological Functioning Among Armenian- American Young Adults, Tara Yaralian, Aghop Der-Karabetian, and Tomas Martinez. Vol. 18:1 (2009): 157-179. Additions and Corrections to Coinage of the Artaxiads of Armenia, Jack Nurpetlian. Vol. 22 (2013): 227-231 (Communication). The Amatuni Hunting Scenes at the Seventh-Century Church of Ptłni: Patron and ‘Propaganda’, Anne Elizabeth Redgate. Vol. 21 (2012) 11-26. Amirdovlat‘ Amasiatsi’: His Life and Contributions, John L. Gueriguian. Vol. 3 (1987): 63-92. An Allegorical Poem by Mkrtich‘ Naghash and Its Models, S. Peter Cowe. Vol. 4 (1988-1989): 143-156. An Unpublished Homily on Easter Attributed to John Chrysostom, Dom B. Outtier. Vol. 1 (1984): 115-122. Anna Akhmatova’s Translations from the Armenian: Two Poems by Avetik‘ Isahakian, Sonia Ketchian. Vol. 2 (1985-1986): 155-168 Archaeological Excavations in Soviet Armenia, Babken N. Arak‘elyan. Vol. 1 (1984): 3-22. Armenia on Lake Urmia: Parskahayk‘ or “Persian Armenia”, Robert Hewsen. Vol. 22 (2013): 11-22. The Armenian Book of Ezras, Michael E. Stone. Vol. 4 (1988-1989): 209-212. The Armenian Counterculture That Never Was: Reflections on Eghishe Ch‘arents‘, James R. Russell. Vol. 9 (1996, 1997 [1999]): 17-35. The Armenian Church and the School Network in Buenos Aires: Channels for the Preservation of Identity (1930-1960), Nélida Boulgourdjian-Toufeksian.
    [Show full text]
  • Commemorating the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide Worldwide Reading on 21St April, 2015
    Commemorating the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide Worldwide Reading on 21st April, 2015 Events in: Appeal for a worldwide reading on April 21st 2015 ARGENTINA Asociación Cultural Armenia, Buenos Aires | ARMENIA 1st Armenian Literary Agency, ArtBridge Bookstore Café, Yerevan; Armenian The international literature festival berlin (ilb) and the Lepsiushaus Literature Foundation and Mass Media Educational Center of Yerevan State University, Yerevan; Marine Karoyan, Tekeian Art Center, Yerevan; Russisch- Potsdam are calling for a worldwide reading on 21 April 2015 - the Armenische (Slawische) Universität, Yerevan; ''Centre of Juridical-political and cultural diplomacy'' NGO, Yerevan; DAAD Armenien, Cafesijan Center day that marks 100 years since the beginning of the Armenian for the Arts, Yerevan; The Armenian Educational Foundation, Yerevan; literary festival "Literary Ark", The State Musical Chamber Theatre, Yerevan | Genocide. Several hundred Armenian intellectuals – poets, musicians, AUSTRALIA Jackie Mansourian, PEN Melbourne, Athenaeum Library, Melbourne; Armenian Book Club Australia, Theme and Variations Studios, Sydney parliamentary representatives and members of the clergy – were |AUSTRIA Kulturzentrum bei den Minoriten, Internationales Haus der Autor und Autorinnen Graz, ISOP, Graz; Anna Pfeiffer, FREIRAD 105.9 (Radio), arrested in Constantinople (today Istanbul) on 24 April 1915, Innsbruck; Österreichisch-armenische Kulturgesellschaft, Arco-Verlag (Wuppertal), Vienna | BELGIUM Thorsten Baensch, Aïda Kazarian, Boulevard and deported
    [Show full text]
  • The Armenian Genocide, 1915
    The Armenian Genocide, 1915 U ur Ümit Üngör ‘Either the Armenians would eliminate the Turks or the Turks would eliminate the Armenians. I didn’t hesitate for one moment when confronted with this dilemma. My Turkish identity won out over my profession. I thought: we must destroy them before they destroy us. If you ask me how I as a doctor could commit murder, my answer is simple: the Armenians had become dangerous microbes in the body of this country. And surely it is a doctor’s duty to kill bacteria?’ 1 Dr Mehmed Reshid (1873-1919), Governor of Diyarbekir during the genocide ‘The Turkish government began deporting the Armenian community in Sivas in convoys. Each neighbourhood was given a certain date for leaving. On the first day I watched in amazement at the crowds waiting to be deported, an endless throng of people stretching from one end of the street to the other. The pushing and shoving of the mules and the creaking of the carts made an ear-deafening noise. Men wearing hats to protect them from the sun walked alongside the carts, followed by women wearing white head scarves. Each had a task: one person was holding the cart, another the reins of the mule and yet another was watching over the family posses- sions. The children walked on either side of their parents as if they were setting off on a pleasant journey. At each end of the caravan rode mounted Turkish policemen, leading and controlling the convoy. The Turkish neighbours watched the spectacle from their windows.
    [Show full text]
  • Balakian Finds His Place in Dual Cultural Identity
    NOVEMBER 21, 2015 Mirror-SpeTHE ARMENIAN ctator Volume LXXXVI, NO. 19, Issue 4413 $ 2.00 NEWS INBRIEF The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States Since 1932 Philanthropist Pledges ADL, Tekeyan $1 million for Telethon YEREVAN — The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund Members announces that Russian-Armenian industrialist and benefactor Samvel Karapetyan has pledged to con- tribute $1 million to the fund’s upcoming Convene in Thanksgiving Day Telethon. The telethon’s primary goal this year is to raise funds for the construction of single-family homes Armenia for families in Nagorno Karabagh who have five or YEREVAN — On November 2, members more children and lack adequate housing. Thanks and leaders of the Armenian Democratic to Karapetyan’s donation, some 115 children and Liberal Party (ADL) from several countries their parents will be provided with comfortable, assembled at the entrance of Building No. fully furnished homes. 47 of Yerevan’s Republic Street (formerly “We are grateful to our friend Samvel known as Alaverdian Street) to attend the Karapetyan, who for years has generously support- dedication of the ADL premises. ed our projects,” said Ara Vardanyan, executive The building, which houses the offices of director of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, and the ADL-Armenia, the editorial offices of added, “I’m confident that many of our compatriots Azg newspaper, the library, and the meeting will follow in his footsteps.” halls, has been fully renovated and refur- The telethon will air for 12 hours on bished by ADL friend and well-known phil- Thanksgiving Day, November 26, beginning at 10 anthropist from New Jersey, Nazar a.m.
    [Show full text]
  • Thousands Mark Genocide Anniversary at Times Square Program NEWS INBRIEF
    MAY 4, 2019 Mirror-SpeTHE ARMENIAN ctator Volume LXXXIX, NO. 41, Issue 4585 $ 2.00 NEWS The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States Since 1932 INBRIEF TALEEN BABAYAN PHOTO Erdogan Says Thousands Deporting Armenians Mark Genocide Was ‘Appropriate’ ISTANBUL (Bloomberg) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the deportation of Anniversary at Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century was “reasonable” at the time. Times Square Erdogan made the comment on April 24 at a symposium where he slammed France for marking the Ottoman campaign against the Armenians as a Program genocide. “The relocation of the Armenian gangs and their supporters, who massacred the Muslim people, By Taleen Babayan including women and children, in eastern Anatolia, was the most reasonable action that could be taken in such a period,” Erdogan said in a Twitter post in NEW YORK — Thousands gathered for English. the Armenian Genocide Commemoration “The relocation of the Armenian gangs and their in Times Square on Sunday, April 28, as the supporters, who massacred the Muslim people, 104th anniversary of the massacres was including women and children, in eastern Anatolia, memorialized in a monumental event spon- Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) was the most reasonable action that could be taken sored by the Knights and Daughters of in such a period. The doors of our archives are wide Vartan. open to all seeking the truth.” Calls for recognition were made through- ness for the “wonderful and compassionate stepped up to officially acknowledge the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan out the afternoon as speakers, guests and Armenian people” and appreciated their Armenian Genocide.
    [Show full text]