Armenian Cause Foundation

On Tuesday, July 6, 2015, the Socialist International Council, meeting in the United Nations headquarters in New York, decided to take action regarding the issue of the Armenian Genocide.

SI Secretary General Luis Ayala informed the Council, that for the last two days the SI leadership has been consulting with the SI member parties from Armenia (ARF-Dashnaktsutyun) and Turkey (CHP, People’s Republican Party) to come to an agreement on the agenda item which was passed on from the last Council meeting in Geneva: “The views of the Socialist International on the issue of the Armenian Genocide, considering its recognition by a number of national parliaments and supranational institutions.”

Luis Ayala was glad to inform to the Council that an agreement has been reached and he thanked the SI vice-presidents from Armenia (Mario Nalpatian, ARF-D) and Turkey (Umut Oran, CHP) for their contributions to come to an agreement, which is presented to the Council for adoption.

The SI Secretary General said that on the occasion of the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, the Socialist International wants to take action and to organize a hearing or a round table discussion with the participation of member parties both from Turkey and Armenia as well as any other willing SI member party, as well as civil societies and intellectuals from both Armenia and Turkey on the following question: “Would Turkish recognition of the Armenian Genocide allow for genuine reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia?”

Luis Ayala went on to say that the conclusions of the discussion will be distributed worldwide and reported to the next Council of the Socialist International.

The SI Council unanimously adopted the decision.

After the adoption of the decision, Giro Manoyan, member of the ARF-Dashnaktsutyun Bureau made the following statement:

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Dear Secretary General,
Dear comrades:

We welcome the inclusion of the issue of the Armenian Genocide on the agenda of this SI Council meeting.

We do not consider this issue to be a dispute on a historical event, although that is exactly what the official Turkish policy of denial would want us to believe.

The official Turkish policy of denial is part and parcel of a comprehensive hostile policy against Armenia and the Armenian people being implemented for over a century in Turkey and around the world through different actions, including the illegal land blockade against Armenia for the last 22 years.

I do not wish to go into the historical details of the Armenian Genocide, because there is ample evidence in the archives of not only the countries which were at war with Turkey during World War I, but also in the archives of Turkey’s major wartime ally Germany, and of course in the archives of Turkey itself, even after major clean-ups until the opening of those archives and regardless of the fact that the archives of the armed forces and of the registry of real estate, the cadastre, of that period are still not open.

I want to comment on why should the Socialist International adopt a pro-active position on this issue.

Because that would help in the democratization of Turkey. The international recognition of the Armenian Genocide by different countries and supranational organizations has helped progressive political forces, civil society circles and human rights advocates in Turkey to come to terms with their history by acknowledging the Armenian Genocide and seeking justice for this systematic campaign of destruction of millions of Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks and Pontians upon their historical homelands.

The Socialist International should adopt a position on this issue because a number of its member parties, particularly in countries which are NATO allies with Turkey, have adopted a position in favor of recognition of the Armenian Genocide and have done so as an expression of genuine friendship with Turkey to help it come to terms with its own history. Furthermore, the IUSY council and the bureau of the YES recently adopted resolutions on the issue.

Last but not least, the Socialist International should adopt a position on this issue because it has member parties in both Turkey and Armenia and can be helpful in fostering dialogue between them not on the veracity of the Armenian Genocide, but rather on trying to find a just resolution to the Armenian Genocide issue by helping the government of Turkey to stop its policy of denial of this historic fact and to acknowledge its responsibility. By doing so, the Socialist International would be instrumental in efforts for genuine reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia and the Armenian people worldwide in a spirit of truth, respect and justice.

I believe such international positive impact in Turkey on the issue of the Armenian Genocide is the main reason why three of the four main political parties represented in the Turkish parliament, decided to have at least one ethnic Armenian candidate on their lists and now all three of them have ethnic Armenian members of parliament, which is unprecedented during the Republic of Turkey’s history.

In order to be part of these positive developments, the Socialist International should adopt a progressive and pro-active position on the Armenian Genocide.

And the decision made today here is in that direction.

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The meeting of the Council of the Socialist International began on Monday, July 5 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The Council addressed matters central to the concerns of our movement and of the international community, including Security, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), climate change and the forthcoming COP21 summit that is taking place later this year.

The ARF-Dashnaktsutyun delegation was composed of Mario Nalpatian (ARF-D representative to the SI), Giro Manoyan, Aram Hovagimian and Nanore Barsoumian.

The Socialist International is the worldwide organization of social democratic, socialist and labor parties. It currently brings together 170 political parties and organizations from all continents. George Papandreou, former Prime Minister of Greece, is the President of the organization and Luis Ayala, from Chile, is the Secretary General.

In September 1996, the ARF-D rejoined the Socialist International, which it had originally joined in 1907. In 2003, the ARF-D became a full member of the Socialist International, thus becoming the only party in the CIS with such a status. During the XXIII Congress of the Socialist International, ARF-D representative Mario Nalpatian is vice-president of the organization. ARF-D Bureau member is co-chair of the SI Committee for the CIS, the Caucasus and the Black Sea. The ARF-D was recently accepted as observer member of the PES (Party of European Socialists).

The ARF-D Women’s Group is a member of the SIW (Socialist International Women). The youth organization of the ARF-D, the Armenian Youth Federation, is a full member of the IUSY (International Union of Socialist Youth) and the YES (Youth of European Socialists).

See photo album of the SI Council meeting in New York.

(EAFJD) Brussels, 10 June 2015: Plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg (France) adopted the 2014 Turkey progress report early today.

The report in general records a negative review on Human Rights situation in Turkey, freedom of expression, decline in democracy, worries on minority rights, aggressive attitude against Greece, and refusal over the existence of the Republic of Cyprus.

The report greets the wide participation at the elections of 7 June 2015 in Turkey, and the presence of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in the newly formed parliament. Moreover, the report welcomes the sheltering of 1,600,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey.

The preamble of the report mentions: ‘having in regard the European Parliament resolution on the centenary of the Armenian Genocide’. After Turkey becoming a candidate country to the EU in 2005, the reports stopped any mention of the Armenian Genocide. It should be noted, that in the above mentioned resolution there is the explicit call on Turkey to reconcile with its past and recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Article 49 repeats the call to Armenia and Turkey to establish diplomatic ties and open the border between the two countries without preconditions.

President of the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) Kaspar Karampetian welcomed the call to Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide, as well as to open the border without preconditions. Karampetian stressed the fact, that the European Parliament once again showed, that it doesn’t succumb to Turkish pressure, recalling, the threats by Volkan Bozkir, EU Minister and chief negotiator of Turkey, that Turkey will not accept the report, if there will be any reference to the Armenian Genocide. Rapporteur Kati Piri (Socialists and Democrats, the Netherlands) already reacted, saying that the European Parliament can’t deny documents which have already been adopted.

The report, leaves Turkey’s accession to the EU open; a political process that is getting harder and harder over the years.

World Council of Churches
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Etchmiadzin, Armenia
8-13 June 2015
Doc. No. 27 rev

(oikoumene.org) During the centenary year of the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Empire, the executive committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) is meeting in this country on 8-13 June 2015, hosted by the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, to honour the martyrs and victims of the genocide. We visit the genocide memorial to remember them and to pray in the name of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. And we celebrate the life of the Armenian nation and the witness of the Armenian church.

The executive committee recalls the Minute on the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide adopted by the WCC 10th Assembly in 2013 in Busan. This important action by the 10th Assembly followed many other occasions on which the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) had called for recognition of the Armenian genocide by the United Nations (UN) and by member states, dating back to the 1979 session of the UN Human Rights Commission. The WCC has played a key role over many years in accompanying the Armenian church in speaking out and working for recognition of the genocide, and for appropriate responses to the genocide’s continuing impacts on the Armenian people.

A minute adopted at the 6th Assembly of the WCC held in 1983 in Vancouver acknowledged that “The silence of the world community and deliberate efforts to deny even historical facts have been consistent sources of anguish and growing despair to the Armenian people, the Armenian churches and many others.” While some continue their efforts to deny or minimize these historical events, the executive committee is greatly encouraged by His Holiness Pope Francis’ public recognition on 12 April 2015 of the mass killing of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians as genocide. We stress that there is a duty on the international community to remember the victims of genocide, in order to heal these historical wounds and to guard against similar atrocities in the future.

The WCC, with its many member churches, has participated in several events marking the centenary, including the official commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and canonization of the martyrs in Yerevan, Armenia, on 21-25 April. The WCC and its member churches will continue to participate in the ongoing centennial commemorations this year by the Armenian diaspora, including with the Armenian Church Holy See of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon, on 18-19 July. The Executive Committee thanks the many member churches and ecumenical partners around the world that have observed or will observe this ongoing centenary in their own contexts, and that have spoken in recognition of the genocide and in commemoration of its victims. Through these commemorations, we acknowledge that these tragic events occurred, and that they must be named by their right name.

The Armenian genocide was accompanied in the same historical and political context by genocidal acts against other – mostly Christian – communities of Aramean, Chaldean, Syrian, Assyrian and Greek descent, which have blighted history at the beginning of the 20th century.

Denial, impunity and the failure to remember such events encourage their repetition. Those who deny or attack the life and dignity of a sister or brother undermine and destroy the humanity of both the victim and themselves. These centennial commemorations should mark the passing of the time when governments remain reluctant to name what occurred one hundred years ago as genocide. We urge all governments to abandon this reluctance.

In this centenary year, we call the international community, the WCC’s member churches and all people of faith and good will to remembrance, and to re-commit to the prevention of genocide and all crimes against humanity.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12)

(prensaarmenia.com.ar) The Federal Senate of Brazil approved on June 2 a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide. The Resolution No. 550/2015 was introduced by Senators Aloizio Nunes Fereira Filio and Jose Serra.

The resolution expresses its “solidarity with the Armenian people during the course of the centenary of the campaign of extermination of its population” and states that “the Senate recognizes the Armenian Genocide, whose centenary was celebrated on April 24, 2015.”

Aloizio Nunes Fereira Filio stressed the need for Turkey to recognize the genocide and to establish a productive dialogue with Armenia. “But that also means respect for life, respect for diversity and commitment that this will never happen again,” said the Senator.

“The transcendental statement of the plenary of the Senate is the most important in the history of the Armenian Cause in Brazil,” said James Onnig Tamdjian, Director of Politics and International Relations of the Armenian National Committee of Brazil, to Prensa Armenia. “It is an important sign that all political parties have joined and offered their solidarity in the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide,” he added.

“To honor the victims and recognize the contribution to economic, social and cultural formation of Brazil of the thousands of Brazilians descendants of Armenian refugees, we emphasize that no genocide must not be forgotten so that it does not happen again,” reads the text.

The resolution highlights the “need for a racial cleansing to make Turkey, then multiracial, a uniformly Turkish nation.” In addition, it denounces the “systematic denial, pressure and intimidation against those who try to reconstruct historical events”.

“The policy of extermination is so far denied by the Turkish government,” reads the resolution, and then cites the cases of recognition from “a growing number of countries,” including “Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay and Venezuela” in Latin America, as well as “most European countries,” the European Parliament and, more recently, Germany and Pope Francis.

“It is estimated that at least 100,000 descendants of Armenians live in Brazil, mostly in Sao Paulo. They are Brazilians whose ancestors had to leave their homeland to escape the genocide. In Brazilian lands they could restart their lives, build families and contribute to the economic, social and cultural development of our country.”

“The Brazilian government, unfortunately, has not yet recognized the Armenian Genocide,” although the legislatures of Ceará and Parana did. “In 2015, the State of Sao Paulo instituted April 24 as the Day of Recognition and Remembrance of Victims of the Genocide of the Armenian people,” concludes the resolution.

Impunity legitimizes violence and encourages future crimes. Our world faces constant dehumanization of the human nature, constant threat to human life, manmade catastrophes and atrocities of various type. The world is often silent on this, justifying its silence by the inutility of any attempt to change anything. We, the Young European Socialists, view silence as a form of negative contribution with regard to crimes against humanity. We believe that crimes such as the Armenian Genocide should never be forgotten and must always stay actual as a reminder to all of us that we, humans, are capable of committing the most inhuman acts. The Armenian Genocide must serve an example of what a world must try to avoid by all means. During 1915 -1923 more than 1 500 000 Armenians were brutally massacred in their ancestral lands what is largely known as Eastern Turkey today. More than 300 000 women and young girls were forced to convert and change their identity. Hundreds of thousands of children were kidnapped. The small number of Armenians who survived were spread all over the world. An ancient civilization was destroyed, its property stolen and confiscated, its heritage destructed. Anti Armenian sentiments are not over even today in the modern Republic of Turkey. The destruction of the Armenian cultural and religious heritage in Turkey is still in process.
YES believes genocide is the ultimate crime committed against humanity and should be punished regardless of when it happened.
With regard to the abovementioned, the YES is hence coming with a resolution on the Armenian Genocide as the world commemorates the 100th anniversary of the first Genocide of the 20th century.
• YES stands in solidarity with the Armenian nation as the Armenian people worldwide commemorate the centennial of the Armenian Genocide committed by various regimes in Turkey between 1915-1923.
• YES strongly condemns the denial of the Armenian Genocide by the Turkish government as denial is the ultimate stage of the crime of genocide.
• YES supports the Armenian people’s struggle for the recognition and reparation of the Armenian Genocide and encourages Turkey to start an immediate process of eliminating the consequences of the Armenian Genocide and initiate a process of restoration of the rights of the Armenian people. The latter will bring positive changes both to the Republic of Turkey and its people as well as will contribute to the democratization of the country and its society. The just resolution of the Armenian Genocide is the only reliable path to reconciliation of the two countries and nations.
• YES welcomes all initiatives by member organizations aimed at educating people on the Armenian Genocide and spreading its knowledge, since we cannot change the future if we do not know the past, and changing the future is a core belief of any true struggle for democracy and socialist values.
• YES will actively work for a recognition of the Armenian Genocide within PES and demand that S&D Group works for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide in the European Parliament.

(horizonweekly.ca) The Spanish city of Santa Margarida has officially recognized the Armenian Genocide, Press Service of the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.

The decision of the City Council reads, in part:

“Considering that some governments, including those of Turkey and Spain, do not acknowledge the Armenian Genocide,

Considering that the crimes against humanity have no statute of limitation,

Taking into consideration that the Armenian the Armenian people have not received any economic, territorial or humanitarian reimbursement,

Taking into consideration that the Armenian Genocide is a precedent for the Holocaust, the genocides in Rwanda and the Balkans,

The City Hall decides to support the genocide recognition and reimbursement, to demand from the Spanish Government to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and organize the passage of this decision to international structures.”

(asbarez.com) BRUSSELS—The 10th Congress of the Youth of the European People’s Party (YEPP) adopted a Resolution recognizing and condemning the genocides of Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians.

In the Resolution the YEPP calls on the member states of the European Union and the Council of Europe, as well as the international organizations to recognize and restore the historic justice in memory of the victims of the genocides of Armenians, Pontic Greeks and Assyrians.

“All interested parties recognize the genocide of Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians, and accept April 24 and May 19 as the Days of Remembrance of the Armenian and Greek Genocides,” the document reads.

The 10th Congress of the Youth of the European People’s Party was attended by more than 250 young leaders from more than 40 countries, including the Youth Organization of the Republican Party of Armenia headed by its President Karen Avagyan.

The Resolution submitted by the Greek party was adopted unanimously and was backed by delegates of the countries that have not yet recognized the Armenian Genocide.

Global realities and challenges were in the spotlight of the YEPP Congress held under the slogan “A stronger Europe in a Changing World.

YEPP is the largest youth organization in Europe, which brings together more than 1.6 million young people from 57 political parties representing 40 countries.

(horizonweekly.ca) OTTAWA (May 13, 2015) – The Canadian Senate reaffirmed today its recognition of the Armenian Genocide by reiterating support for Motion 44, first approved in June 2002.

“By formally recognizing the Armenian genocide, Canada lives up to the principles that we have promoted throughout the world. Any country that desires to suppress its past, any country that does not confront its past head on, seriously risks a failure to liberate itself from its own history” stated Sen. Thanh Hai Ngo in his declaration.

On the heels of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide he added that “this heinous crime remains unanswered, since Turkey refuses to recognise it. The Senate of Canada has not been indifferent to the atrocities committed during the Armenian genocide. We have to promote justice, human rights, tolerance, and peaceful co-existence between nations because it is the right thing to do. It is my honor to speak before this Chamber on the Centennial Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, and to reaffirm our strong commitment towards Motion 44, as passed in June 2002.”

Speaker of the Senate, Honourable Leo Housakos marked the solemn occasion of the Armenian Genocide and greeted the Ambassador of Armenia Mr. Armen Yeganian and members of the Armenian Community sitting in the Gallery, at the opening of the session. Other Senators joined their colleagues reaffirming the Upper Chamber’s commitment towards human rights, international justice and peace.

The reaffirmation of this historic motion was realized through the collective effort of the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of Canada.