Tuesday, March 31, 2015

    ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ ΣΤΟΝ ΠΡΟΕΔΡΟ ΤΗΣ ΑΡΜΕΝΙΑΣ

    Σύλλογος Ελληνοαρμενικής Φιλίας Αθήνα 31-3-2015
    Ellinoarmeniki-filia.gr

    Eξοχότατο
    Πρόεδρο της Δημοκρατίας της Αρμενίας
    Κοινοποίηση
    Πρόεδρο του Κοινοβουλίου της Δημοκρατίας της
    Αρμενίας


    Εξοχότατε κύριε Πρόεδρε

    Η αναγνώριση της Γενοκτονίας των Ελλήνων του Πόντου και των Ασσυρίων απ' το Κοινοβούλιο της Δημοκρατίας της Αρμενίας, απέδειξε για ακόμα μια φορά πόσο στέκεται ο αρμενικός λαός δίπλα στην Ανθρωπότητα.

    Με την απόφαση αυτή οι αθώοι της Γενοκτονίας των Αρμενίων έγιναν οι Δίκαιοι για άλλες δύο Γενοκτονίες. Δηλαδή έπραξαν υπέρ των θυμάτων του ίδιου θύτη. Συνέχισαν το έργο της Ανθρωπότητας με την αναγνώριση εγκλημάτων εναντίον της.

    Με την πράξη αυτή η Δημοκρατία της Αρμενίας έρχεται να ενισχύσει τον αγώνα μας με το κύρος του αθώου, του θύματος, του επιζώντα και του Δίκαιου, διότι θεωρεί ότι αυτό είναι το πρέπον για τα δικαιώματα της Ανθρωπότητας.

    Τέτοιες ενέργειες είναι σημαντικές, γιατί προωθούνται όχι απλά από άλλο ένα κράτος αλλά από ένα ολόκληρο λαό και μάλιστα σε μια ιδιαίτερη χρονικά στιγμή, που συμπίπτει με την επέτειο των 100 χρόνων της Γενοκτονίας του. Την ώρα που οι Αρμένιοι σκέφτονται τα θύματά τους, επιλέγουν να μην ξεχάσουν και τα άλλα θύματα, αποδεικνύοντας με αυτόν τον αποτελεσματικό τρόπο ότι ο αγώνας όλων των θυμάτων συνεχίζεται σ' ένα συμμαχικό πλαίσιο ακολουθώντας παράλληλα τη στρατηγική της ενοποίησης των Γενοκτονιών, για να γίνει κατανοητό σε όλους ότι είναι η Ανθρωπότητα που παλεύει ενάντια στη βαρβαρότητα.

    Εκφράζουμε τις ευχαριστίες μας προς εσάς προσωπικά και τον αδελφό Αρμενικό λαό.



    Με κάθε τιμή
    Ο Πρόεδρος
    ΔΡ ΛΥΓΕΡΟΣ ΝΙΚΟΣ

    Ο Γενικός Γραμματέας
    ΔΡ ΠΑΥΛΙΔΗΣ ΑΝΤΩΝΙΟΣ
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    Saturday, March 28, 2015

    Italy’s Tuscany, Spain’s Pinto Recognize Armenian Genocide

    FLORENCE, PINTO—The regional parliament of the Tuscany region of Italy on Wednesday adopted a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide and expressing support to the Armenian people.

    On the occasion of the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian Community Council of Rome had addressed a letter to all major regional and city halls of Italy requesting the adoption of respective resolutions regarding the Genocide.

    The resolution also states that it shall be sent to the Secretariat of the Armenian Community Council of Rome, so it may be transferred to the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute in Armenia’s capital city of Yerevan.

    On Thursday, a session of the City Council of Pinto, Spain, unanimously recognized the Armenian Genocide.

    The resolution “confirms official recognition of the Armenian Genocide and condemns crimes against humanity committed by the Ottoman Turks. This year marks the 100th year of the first genocide of the 20th century, during which 1.5 million citizens were massacred and 2 million were forced to leave their homes.”
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    Tuesday, March 24, 2015

    117 ψήφοι ανθρωπιάς

    Ν. Λυγερός 

    Ο αρμενικός λαός απέδειξε ακόμα μια φορά πόσο δίπλα στέκεται στην Ανθρωπότητα. Με 117 ψήφους η Βουλή της Αρμενίας αναγνώρισε επίσημα τη Γενοκτονία των Ασσυρίων και τη Γενοκτονία των Ποντίων. Με αυτήν την πράξη οι αθώοι της γενοκτονίας των Αρμενίων έγιναν οι Δίκαιοι για άλλες δύο Γενοκτονίες. Δηλαδή εργάστηκαν υπέρ των θυμάτων του ίδιου θύτη. Δεν ξέχασαν τα άλλα δεδομένα, επειδή δεν τους αφορούσαν άμεσα. Συνέχισαν το έργο της Ανθρωπότητας με την αναγνώριση εγκλημάτων κατά της Ανθρωπότητας. Τώρα πια δεν έχουμε μόνο την Κύπρο, την Ελλάδα και τη Σουηδία από το 2010 που έχουν αναγνωρίσει αυτές τις Γενοκτονίες. Με άλλα λόγια, η Αρμενία έρχεται να ενισχύσει τον αγώνα μας με το κύρος του αθώου, του θύματος, του επιζώντα και του Δίκαιου, διότι θεωρεί ότι αυτό είναι το πρέπον για τα δικαιώματα της Ανθρωπότητας. Έτσι, οι προσπάθειες που γίνονται στην Αμερική και στην Αυστραλία υποστηρίζονται από άλλο ένα κράτος το 2015, που συμπίπτει με την επέτειο των 100 χρόνων της Γενοκτονίας των Αρμενίων. Δηλαδή την ώρα που οι Αρμένιοι σκέφτονται τα θύματά τους, επιλέγουν να μην ξεχάσουν και τα άλλα θύματα, αποδεικνύοντας με αυτόν τον αποτελεσματικό τρόπο ότι ο αγώνας όλων των θυμάτων συνεχίζεται σ’ ένα συμμαχικό πλαίσιο και ακολουθεί βέβαια τη στρατηγική της ενοποίησης των Γενοκτονιών, για να γίνει κατανοητό σε όλους ότι είναι η Ανθρωπότητα που παλεύει ενάντια στη βαρβαρότητα. Άξιοι οι Αρμένιοι! Έτσι κι όχι αλλιώς!

    http://lygeros.org/articles?n=19081&l=gr
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    Friday, March 20, 2015

    Διάλεξη του Ν. Λυγερού με θέμα: 'Επιχείρηση Νέμεσις'. Θεσσαλονίκη, 19/03/2015

    Εισήγηση του Μπέντρο Χαλατζιάν στην διάλεξη του Νίκου Λυγερού με θέμα: "Επιχείρηση Νέμεσις". Αρμενικό Πολιτιστικό Κέντρο, Αντωνίου Καμάρα 1, Θεσσαλονίκη. Πέμπτη 19 Μαρτίου 2015.
    read more "Διάλεξη του Ν. Λυγερού με θέμα: 'Επιχείρηση Νέμεσις'. Θεσσαλονίκη, 19/03/2015"

    Saturday, March 14, 2015

    Armenian Leaders Establish Rights Award to Commemorate Centenary of Genocide

    Leaders in the Armenian diaspora, preparing to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, have collaborated with Hollywood celebrities and human rights advocates to create a prize to be awarded annually to those who put themselves at risk to ensure that others survive.

    The humanitarian prize, to be announced on Tuesday in New York, is part of an expansive effort by prominent Armenians to ensure that the history of the genocide by Turkish Ottoman troops, which is still disputed by Turkey’s government, is documented and archived through the stories of survivors and their saviors, in ways similar to the chronicling of the Jews’ suffering in the Holocaust.

    The effort, the Armenian sponsors said, will emphasize how survivors of the genocide — people who in some cases were protected by sympathetic Turks — went on to lead successful lives as they and their descendants spread throughout the world, many of them relocating to Russia and the United States.

    About 1.5 million Armenians died from 1915 to 1923 in what is widely acknowledged as the 20th century’s first genocide. About 500,000 survived, many because of interventions by foreign individuals and institutions. The official commemoration of the genocide in Armenia begins next month.

    “The humanity, generosity, strength and sacrifice shown by those who saved so many Armenians compels us to tell these stories,” said Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian investment banker and philanthropist who grew up in Russia and is a co-sponsor of the commemoration effort, known as the 100 Lives Initiative.

    “My grandfather was saved by a missionary,” Mr. Vardanyan said in an interview, crediting his existence today to that event.

    Along with commemorating the survivors and those who saved them, the effort will establish a $1 million award, to be called the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, to be given starting next year. The winners will not keep the money, instead presenting it to the organizations that they identify as the inspirations for their work.

    The award is named after a survivor of the genocide, Aurora Mardiganian, who as a child was forced to witness the deaths of family members. She devoted her life to raising awareness of the genocide and starred in a 1919 film called “Ravished Armenia.”

    Mr. Vardanyan and his associates collaborated with Not On Our Watch, an organization founded by George Clooney and other celebrities — including Don Cheadle, Matt Damon and Brad Pitt — that seeks to prevent mass atrocities. Its principal undertaking in the past few years has been to document, through satellite imagery, evidence of possible atrocities in parts of Africa; the effort is known as the Satellite Sentinel Project.

    In a statement, Mr. Clooney said his group shared a common goal with the Armenian sponsors, “to focus global attention on the impact of genocide as well as putting resources toward ending mass atrocities around the world.”

    Members of the selection committee for the prize, which has yet to be finalized, resembles a Who’s Who of personalities in human rights advocacy and Armenian success.  They include Mr. Clooney as well as the Nobel Peace Prize winners Elie Wiesel and Óscar Arias;  Mary Robinson, a former United Nations high commissioner for human rights; Gareth Evans, an adviser to the United Nations on genocide prevention; and Vartan Gregorian, an Iranian-born American academic who is president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

    Mr. Clooney is to award the inaugural prize at a ceremony to be held in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, on April 24, 2016, the sponsors said in a statement.

    nytimes.com
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    Saturday, March 7, 2015

    South Dakota House Recognizes Armenian Genocide


    South Dakota is the 43rd state to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

    Becomes 43rd State to Recognize the Armenian Genocide

    PIERRE, S.D. (Asbarez)—The South Dakota House of Representatives on Thurs., Feb. 26 passed a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide, becoming the 43rd U.S. state to do so.

    With 28 original co-sponsors, the resolution passed with a vote of 51 to 17. It calls for a “just resolution,” condemns denial, and encourages the teaching of the Armenian Genocide in public schools. It also addresses the Ottoman-Turkish genocide of Greeks and Assyrians.

    The resolution “[d]esignat[es] 2015 as the ‘Year of Remembrance for the Centennial Since the Commencement of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923’ in South Dakota and urg[es] Congress and the president of the United States to formally and consistently recognize and reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian, Greek, and other Christians living in their historical homelands in Anatolia constituted genocide and to work towards equitable, stable, and durable Armenian-Turkish relations.”

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    Friday, March 6, 2015

    UNESCO: Έγκλημα πολέμου η καταστροφή αρχαίων ασσυριακών μνημείων από το Ι.Κ.

    Ισοπεδώνει με μπουλντόζες τα ερείπια της αρχαίας πόλης Νιμρούντ 

    Η UNESCO κατήγγειλε και εξίσωσε με έγκλημα πολέμου την καταστροφή με μπουλντόζες από τους τζιχαντιστές της οργάνωσης Ισλαμικό Κράτος της ιστορικής τοποθεσίας Νιμρούντ, αρχαιολογικού κοσμήματος του βορείου Ιράκ, ενώ ανακοίνωσε ότι προσέφυγε για το ζήτημα στον ΟΗΕ.


    «Δεν μπορούμε να σιωπήσουμε. Η εσκεμμένη καταστροφή της πολιτιστικής κληρονομιάς αποτελεί έγκλημα πολέμου και καλώ όλους τους πολιτικούς και θρησκευτικούς αξιωματούχους της περιοχής να αντιταχθουν σ' αυτή τη νέα βαρβαρότητα», έγραψε σε ανακοίνωσή της η γενική διευθύντρια της Unesco, Ιρίνα Μπόκοβα.

    Η Ιρίνα Μπόκοβα δήλωσε ότι προσέφυγε στον πρόεδρο του Συμβουλίου Ασφαλείας των Ηνωμένων Εθνών και την εισαγγελέα του Διεθνούς Ποινικού Δικαστηρίου για το ζήτημα και κάλεσε το σύνολο της διεθνους κοινότητας να ενώσει τις προσπάθειές της για να σταματήσει την καταστροφή.

    «Η πολιτιστική αποκάθαρση που διεξάγεται στο Ιράκ δεν φείδεται ουδενός: έχει στόχο τις ανθρώπινες ζωές, τις μειονότητες και συνοδεύεται από τη συστηματική καταστροφή της χιλιετούς κληρονομιάς της ανθρωπότητας», πρόσθεσε η κ. Μπόκοβα.

    Σύμφωνα με το ιρακινό υπουργείο Τουρισμού, η οργάνωση Ισλαμικό Κράτος άρχισε την Πέμπτη να καταστρέφει τα ασσυριακά ερείπια της Νιμρούντ, μερικές ημέρες μετά τη δημοσιοποίηση από τους τζιχαντιστές βίντεο στο οποίο καταστρέφουν προϊσλαμικά γλυπτά ανεκτίμητης αξίας στο βόρειο Ιράκ.

    Το Ισλαμικό Κράτος «κατέλαβε εξ εφόδου την ιστορική τοποθεσία της Νιμρούντ και άρχισε να την καταστρέφει με μπουλντόζες», ανακοινωσε το υπουργείο Τουρισμού και Αρχαιοτήτων του Ιράκ στην επίσημη σελίδα του στο Facebook.

    Η πόλη της Νιμρούντ, η οποία ιδρύθηκε πριν από 3.300 χρόνια, ήταν άλλοτε πρωτεύουσα της ασσυριακής αυτοκρατορίας. Βρίσκεται στις όχθες του Τίγρη, σε αποσταση περίπου 30 χλμ. από τη Μοσούλη, τη μεγάλη πόλη του βόρειου Ιράκ, η οποία ελέγχεται από τον περασμένο Ιούνιο από το Ισλαμικό Κράτος.


    Οι τζιχαντιστές πιστεύουν ότι τα αγάλματα και οι τάφοι ευνοούν την ειδωλολατρεία.


    Πηγή :http://www.naftemporiki.gr/
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    Tuesday, March 3, 2015

    Largest Group in European Parliament Condemns Armenian Genocide, Calls for Restitution by Turkey






    BRUSSELS—The Political Assembly of the European Political Party (EPP), the largest political group in the European Parliament, on Tuesday adopted a resolution condemning the Armenian Genocide, and calling on Turkey to recognize it.

    The resolution entitled ‘The Armenian Genocide, Turkish Responsibility, and European Values’ reaffirms EPP’s “recognition and condemnation of the Genocide and Great National Dispossession of the Armenian people on the eve of its 100th Anniversary on 24 April 2015”. The resolution emphasizes the incontrovertible evidence documented in the archives of several western states, including Germany, United Kingdom, USA, France, that the “Armenian Genocide… was perpetuated by the Young Turk Government in the final years of the Ottoman Empire.“ The resolution also criticizes the destruction of thousands of Armenian cultural monuments in Turkey.

    The largest political group of the European Parliament calls on Turkey inter alia “to face history and finally recognize the ever-present reality of the Armenian Genocide”, “make restitution appropriate for a European country, including but not limited to ensuring a right of return of the Armenian people to, and a secure reconnection with, their national hearth…”

    The President of the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) Kaspar Karampetian said “we welcome the resolution adopted and we thank the European People’s Party and in particular President Joseph Daul for his support. EPP sister Armenian parties – Republican Party of Armenia, Rule of Law and Heritage – showed that the Armenian political parties are united in pursuing Armenian Genocide recognition in this centennial year.” “The other political groups of the European Parliament, as well as the Parliament as an institution, should show similar determination and courage, in condemning the Genocide and restoring historical justice,” concluded Karampetian.

    Below is the text of the resolution.

    Resolution adopted by the EPP Political Assembly ( 3rd March 2015) on “The Armenian Genocide and European Values”

    The European People’s Party reaffirms its recognition and condemnation of the Genocide and Great National Dispossession of the Armenian people on the eve of its 100th Anniversary on 24 April 2015.

    1. We condemn the genocidal acts against the Armenian people, planned and continuously perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire and various regimes of Turkey in 1894-1923, dispossession of the homeland, the massacres and ethnic cleansing aimed at the extermination of the Armenian population, the destruction of the Armenian heritage, as well as the denial of the Genocide, all attempts to avoid responsibility, to consign to oblivion the committed crimes and their consequences or to justify them, as a continuation of this crime and encouragement to commit new genocides.

    2. We commemorate one-and-a-half million innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide in 1915 and bow in gratitude to those martyred and surviving heroes who struggled for their lives and human dignity. Moreover, we recognize, that the Genocide resulted in the death and dispossession not only of Armenian people but also extended to the Pontic Greeks and Assyrians peoples, and we commemorate them as well.

    3. We join and strongly support the commitment of Armenia and the Armenian people to continue the international struggle for the prevention of genocides, the restoration of the rights of people subjected to genocide and the establishment of historical justice.

    4. We invite Turkey, in the finest example of integrity and leadership proffered by the Federal Republic of post-war Germany, to face history and finally recognize the ever-present reality of the Armenian Genocide and its attendant dispossession, to seek redemption and make restitution appropriate for a European country, including but not limited to ensuring a right of return of the Armenian people to, and a secure reconnection with, their national hearth―all flowing from the fundamental imperative of achieving Reconciliation through the Truth.

    5. We call upon the Government of Turkey to respect and realize fully the legal obligations which it has undertaken including those provisions which relate to the protection of cultural heritage and, in particular, to conduct in good faith an integrated inventory of Armenian and other cultural heritage destroyed or ruined during the past century, based thereon to develop a strategy of priority restoration of ancient and medieval capital cities, churches, schools, fortresses, cemeteries, and other treasures located in historic Western Armenia, and to render the aforementioned fully operational cultural and religious institutions.

    6. We appeal to EU and CoE member states, international organizations, all people of good will, regardless of their ethnic origin and religious affiliation, to unite their efforts aimed at restoring historical justice and paying tribute to the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

    7. Taking the foregoing into account, the European People’s Party invites Turkey to take the following measures pursuant to its international commitments and the European identity to which it aspires:
    to recognize and condemn the Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire, and to face its own history and memory through commemorating the victims of that heinous crime against humanity;

    to provide a vision and an implementing plan of action worthy of a truly European Turkey, including a comprehensive resolution of issues relating to the freedom of expression and reference to the Genocide in state, society and educational institutions, as well as the repair of religious and other cultural sites a nd their return to the Armenian and other relevant communities;

    to launch the long-awaited celebration of the Armenian national legacy based on a total Turkish-Armenian normalization anchored in the assumption of history, the pacific resolution of all outstanding matters, and a complete Europeanization of their relationship.

    8. It also invites the European Union, its Commission, Council and Parliament, and the international community as a whole, in assessment of the honoring of commitments and obligations undertaken by Turkey, to accord continued attention to the recognition, restoration, and restitution of our shared heritage as herewith tendered, and hereafter officially to commemorate April 24 as a day to remember and condemn the Armenian Genocide and man’s inhumanity to man.

    9. We express the hope that recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey will serve as a starting point for the historical reconciliation of the Armenian and Turkish peoples.

    asbarez.com

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