Thursday 19 06 14, volume # 9, issue # 114

RAG MAMOUL an ADLP PUBLICATION

Official Organ of the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party

Article of the Day

TURKISH DENIALISTS FAIL TO

BLOCK GENOCIDE SPEECH AT

AUSTRALIAN PARLIAMENT

By HARUT SASSOUNIAN

Thursday, 19 June 2014 Volume # 9, Issue # 114

RAG MAMOUL receives material from around the world and in many languages. Our Liberal principles advocate ‘Freedom of

speech’ as a mainstay of our beliefs; consequently the subjects and ideas presented will not necessarily reflect our point of view.

All published material is reviewed, however, we rely on the kind understanding of our audience when grammatical and spelling

mistakes are missed. And in some rare cases, correction of submitted material is purposely not addressed, if it changes the implied

context of the author.

The Armenian Genocide Centennial

Committee of Australia had invited this

writer to speak at commemorative events

in Sydney and Melbourne, and deliver a

formal address at the New South Wales

Parliament during the week of April 24.

On April 27, the Australian Turkish Advocacy Alliance sent a

three-page letter to all Parliament members urging them to

boycott my presentation. A Parliament member forwarded a

copy of the letter to the Armenian National Committee of

Australia in advance of my talk on April 29. The cleverly-

worded letter, most likely written by the Turkish Embassy‟s

professional lobbyists, made several false claims and

defamatory accusations.

The Turkish denialist group sought to import Ankara‟s human

rights restrictions to a democratic country like Australia by

trying to muzzle not only this speaker‟s right to free speech, but

also the Parliament‟s right to invite whomever it chose. Calling

me a „propagandist‟ who „benefits from conflict and hatred,‟

the Turkish letter „strongly‟ advised Parliament members not to

attend my talk.

Gunes Gungor, Executive Director of the Australian Turkish

Alliance, falsely reported that I am „related‟ to Hampig

Sassounian, simply because I shared his last name. Hampig was

convicted of assassinating the Consul General of Turkey in Los

Angeles in 1982.

www.facebook.com/RAGmamoul

News from Armenia - Armenia Plans Satellite Launch With Chinese

Support (See on page 3)

- Vardenis-Martakert Highway Reconstruction

Underway (See on page 3)

News from Diaspora California, USA Genocide Education Act Passes California Senate

Committee (See on page 5)

Cleveland Ohio, USA St. Gregory of Narek Church – Heart Of Armenian

Community (See on page 6)


While the life of any human being is precious, Gungor sheds crocodile tears over the death of a single Turkish diplomat,

ignoring the wholesale killings of 1.5 million innocent Armenians! How would Gunes Gungor like it if I were to accuse him

of being related to several criminals I found on the internet, just because they shared the same last name?

Gungor in his letter also badmouthed the distinguished jurist Raphael Lemkin who coined the term „genocide‟ based on his

detailed studies of the extermination of Armenians by the Ottoman Turkish government. In a desperate search for any

reason to tarnish Lemkin‟s impeccable reputation, Gungor claimed that “towards the end of the meetings because of his

aggressive comments he [Lemkin] was asked to leave the room.” Gungor did not even know how to spell Lemkin‟s first

name.

The Turkish propagandist finally attempted to draw a distinction between the Armenian Genocide and the Jewish

Holocaust. After pretending to be an expert on the Armenian Genocide, Gungor confessed his ignorance by stating that

“much about the late Ottoman Empire has yet to be learned and many conclusions have yet to be drawn.”

Despite Gungor‟s attempts to undermine my address, Parliament members and guests, including scholars, elected officials,

and Jewish community leaders gave me a standing ovation. Surprisingly, Gungor showed up at the Parliament to hear me

speak, not trusting his own ability to have the event cancelled. While members of the audience were given ample time to

ask any question they wished, Gungor and his two Turkish colleagues did not ask a single question. More surprisingly, as

the three Turks were leaving the Parliament hall, one of Gungor‟s colleagues was overheard saying, “on nights like these, I

wonder what we are doing here!”

My other talks took place with packed audiences without disruption. According to the ANC of Australia over 1,100 people

attended my first talk on April 24 in Sydney. I gave a second talk the next night in the same city. I then spoke at a similar

event on April 27 in Melbourne at the presence of around 500 guests.

The only sour note during my journey was Prime Minister Tony Abbott‟s message sent to the Sydney commemoration.

Taking a page from Pres. Obama‟s playbook, Abbott used every other word (horror, tragedy, terrible events, lost lives)

except for genocide in his brief message. Vache Kahramanian, Executive Director of the ANC of Australia, wrote to the

Prime Minister, telling him that his message will not be read to the audience because it is “of great insult to the Armenian-

Australian community with its blatant omission of the Genocide word.” Kahramanian reminded the Prime Minister of his

previous year‟s message while he was opposition leader in which he had properly characterized the Armenian Genocide. In

contrast to the Prime Minister, Australia‟s Treasurer, Joe Hockey, the country‟s most senior government minister, issued a

formal statement clearly acknowledging the Armenian Genocide.

I left Australia greatly impressed with the political activism of the Armenian community of 50,000 which runs circles

around the much larger Turkish community of over 200,000.

www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com


News from Armenia

ARMENIA PLANS SATELLITE LAUNCH WITH CHINESE SUPPORT

The Armenian government plans to create a communications and broadcasting satellite with Chinese support, Armenian

Minister of Transport and Communication Gagik Beglarian told reporters Tuesday. Beglarian was speaking following a

meeting between the Armenian Ministry of Transport and Communication and representatives of the China Great Wall

Industry Corporation (CGWIC) and the China Academy of

Space Technology (CAST).

“The program was launched in 2012, and today we are at the

stage of consolidating an orbital position for our satellite. We

have a number of proposals on consulting and governance,”

Beglarian said.

Representatives from CGWIC said Chinese firms are willing to

cooperate with Armenia in engineering the Armenian satellite,

providing support in its maintenance and operation, and

training Armenian specialists.

http://www.yerakouyn.com/?p=58497


The highway will become fully operational when it is completely paved and all safety and navigation elements, including

traffic signs and lane marks, are installed. These components, representing the project‟s final phase, are expected to be

implemented with proceeds from the 2014 Telethon of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, to be held in November.

VARDENIS-MARTAKERT HIGHWAY

RECONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY The reconstruction of the 116-kilometer Vardenis-Martakert Highway, which includes the renovation and incorporation of

the Vardenis-Drmbon route, is under way. Currently earthwork is being performed simultaneously in 12 sections of the

highway and comprises rock-blasting, surface-leveling and -widening, and transposing of existing engineering structures. In

addition, crews are installing gutters and building embankments and crash barriers.

By the end of 2014, when earthwork is expected to be finished, the highway will begin to accommodate passenger-car

traffic between northwestern Armenia and Artsakh‟s Martakert Region, resulting in significantly reduced travel times.

When completed, the Vardenis-Martakert Highway will function as an additional lifeline between the two Armenian

republics. As importantly, it will help boost socioeconomic development in the close-to dozen communities located

throughout its length.

Diaspora News

California, USA

GENOCIDE EDUCATION ACT PASSES CALIFORNIA SENATE

COMMITTEE

On Wednesday, the Senate Education Committee unanimously passed AB 1915, The Armenian Genocide Education Act,

with a vote of 7-0. The human rights education measure authored by Assembly member Adrin Nazarian (D – Sherman

Oaks), will require the inclusion of the Armenian Genocide in the list of studied subject areas for the adopted courses of

study in Social Science for 7-12. It will also encourage the incorporation of an oral history component into the teaching of

human rights, and genocides, including the Holocaust, Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides.

The introduction of this measure comes at a defining point, in not only working towards a more comprehensive curriculum

about the Armenian Genocide, but also in having the international community recognize an atrocity that has for too long

been overlooked.

With the centennial of the 1915 Armenian Genocide quickly approaching, a very frail few survivors remain to tell their

stories from the horrors they experienced during this dark chapter in world history. The passage of AB 1915 out of this

committee follows the passing of Nellie Nazarian, the last Armenian Genocide survivor from Merrimack Valley,

Massachusetts, reminding us that increased education on the subject is much needed before there are no survivors left.

Nellie escaped the massacre in her native village of Chimisgazag by taking refuge in the mountains with her family before

immigrating to America in the early 1920‟s. “It is important to remember the stories of those who experienced violations to

human rights. I hope that the passage of this legislation brings some closure for the remaining survivors of all genocides.

To educate our students on the Armenian Genocide, as well as other atrocities that have taken place, will ensure that the

innocent did not die in vain. This bill is for the survivors and those who perished.” said Assembly member Nazarian.

Nellies story joins the thousands which have been thoroughly detailed in documentaries and memoirs describing the

suffering experienced by survivors of the Armenian Genocide. Oral Histories will be a vital tool for educators to utilize in


strengthening genocide curricula and further raise

consciousness of the Armenian Genocide in California‟s

educational system.

Currently, California is one of 11 states, including Georgia,

Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey,

New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Virginia, which have

the Armenian Genocide included in their curriculum. The

California Model Curriculum developed by the Department

of Education, includes the Armenian Genocide as a

recommended topic to teach. However, schools aren‟t

required to follow this Model Curriculum.

AB 1915 will be heard next in the Senate Appropriations

Committee, then head to the Senate floor for vote.

Cleveland Ohio, USA

ST. GREGORY OF NAREK CHURCH – HEART OF

ARMENIAN COMMUNITY

The St. Gregory of Narek Armenian Church of Cleveland Ohio celebrates its fiftieth anniversary.

According to the pastor Rev. Fr. Hratch Sargsyan, the present seven-acre property was purchased by Armenian community

in late 1950s, and in June 1960 the community welcomed Catholicos of All Armenians His Holiness Vasken I, who blessed

the newly acquired property and encouraged the community to complete the construction project. Four years later, in 1964,

the new church was consecrated by Archbishop Manoogian.

According to Cleveland resident Jeannette (Bosnoian) Aurslanian, most of Armenian immigrants started to come in

Cleveland in the 1920s.

“Most of the first comers worked as laborers in the steel mills, some opened up businesses as barbers, some of them worked

for the department stores,” she added.

People who raised money for the church were not rich at all, noted the American Armenian businessman Anton

Yeranossian.

“People who donated their money for our church were not men of wealth, none of them was rich. They were simple people

but their ideas were great. They realized that to preserve their national heritage they should have a church,” Yeranossian

stressed. “We should remember that by preserving our church, by supporting the church we secure the continuity of

Armenian culture, we ensure that in the future our children will remain Armenian.”

There is a wide consensus among Cleveland Armenian that the St. Gregory of Narek Church is the heart of the community.

Prior to the construction of the church Armenian community of Cleveland did not have a permanent sanctuary, Jeannette

Aurslanian recalled.


“We were like orphans, we had to rent space at various churches in the area to be able to attend services,” she added.

Armenian Apostolic Church traditionally plays an exceptional role in preservation and protection of Armenian language,

Armenian culture and Christian faith in Diaspora, the priest noted.

“Here in Diaspora the church goes beyond its traditional role and turns into a cultural center, community center, it becomes

the heart of Armenian community. The church turns into a little Armenia, into a piece of homeland in a foreign land,” Fr.

Hratch Sargsyan added.

Anton Yeranosyan stressed that in the United States he has witnessed many Armenians, whose national identity and

cultural heritage vanished because they did not maintain connections with the Armenian Apostolic Church.

“For us it is important that our children preserve their Armenian identity, and I want my five-year-old child to be aware of

his heritage. This is why the prosperity of church is very important for us,” he said.

The jubilee celebrations of St. Gregory of Narek Armenian Church will continue for six months, and in the meantime the

church also focuses on its traditional activities. Among other things, the routine at St. Gregory of Narek consists of weekly

Armenian language and Armenian dance classes as well as Bible readings, activities aimed at strengthening ties between

Armenians spread all over the world and Armenian national heritage.

Armenian News-NEWS.am


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RAG MAMOUL an ADL PUPLICATION

Official Organ of the

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Thursday 19 06 14, volume # 9, issue # 114

Documents

Transcript of Thursday 19 06 14, volume # 9, issue # 114