1637) Media Scanner & Readers Letters to Papers & US Gov (10 Items)

Armenian Children In Military Training!!! / Soldiery Game, Or A Killer's Fame ?

1. Commemorative events on Armenian Genocide anniversary held in British Parliament PanARMENIAN.Net
2. Armenian Genocide Dispute Erupts At LAT Kevin Roderick
3. Washington DC Address Bulent Dogruyol
4. Armenian Children In Military Training!!! / Soldiery Game, Or A Killer's Fame ?
5. To: letters@nationalpost.com Subject: Re;"briging the divide between Turkey and Armenia" Aydin Yurtcu,M.D.
6. Ilyas Botas Subject: BANALITY OF A FAKE GENOCIDE
7. Erol Palantekin To: jason.netto@metro.us Subject: "THE GENOCIDE QUESTION" in today's METRO online version
8. Re: Armenian children in military training!!! and INTERNATIONAL APRI Yuksel Oktay
9. From: Aydin Yogurtcuoglu To: vice_president@whitehouse.gov; sf_nancy@mail.house.gov; info@gop.com; letters@nytimes.com; letters@latimes.com; letters@washpost.com; letters@globe.com; letters@iht.com; letters@independent.co.uk; weblog@guardianunlimited.co.uk; fte.subs@ft.com; VOANews@voanews.com; Eurasia@voanews.com; NearEast@voanews.com; info@dw-world.de; turkish@dw-world.de; info@ap.org; grassroots@turkishforum.com Subject: An Appeal To Common Sense
10. From: Aydin Yurtcu To: letters@nationalpost.com Subject: Re;"briging the divide between Turkey and Armenia"

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Commemorative events on Armenian Genocide anniversary held in British Parliament
26.04.2007
PanARMENIAN.Net On the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Parliamentarians, Armenians and supporters gathered for a commemorative service for the first time in the Houses of Parliament Church (St Mary’s-under-Croft) and also for a major international conference in the Grand Committee room of the House of Commons. The events were organized by Armenia Solidarity, the British-Armenian All-Party Parliamentary Group and Nor Serount (New Generation) Publications. The Church service was under the care of the Rev Frank Gelli, who called for the government to be more proactive in the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. A wreath-laying ceremony took place at the Monument to the Innocents, Westminster Abbey.

Participants of the international conference, which was chaired by distinguished British parliamentarian Lord Avebury also discussed the tactics of Armenian Genocide denial used by denialist historians and the British Government. They also drew parallels between Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide, as well as the cultural genocide in the Eastern Anatolia, PanARMENIAN.Net was told in “Nor Serount”. Besides powerful messages of a number of organizations were read at the conference.

The results of the conference, together with statements received from Genocide experts will be presented to the government in the course of the next few weeks by Lord Avebury and Baroness Cox. The government will also be invited to contact other well-known Genocide experts directly, say Prof Jurgen Zimmerer of Sheffield University and Dr
Cathie Carmichael, of the University of East Anglia.

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Comments:
Why Baroness Cox has become the 'enemy' of Turks? What are the Turkish Diplomats in London doing about this? Indeed, where are the Turkish Embassy people?
--
British European Turk NGOs serving the community.. Social Engineering in progress for a just world, free of powerful lobbyists distorting the truth!

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Armenian Genocide Dispute Erupts At LAT
Kevin Roderick

A dispute that has been quietly bubbling in the Times newsroom went public today when the publisher of the California Courier demanded that LAT managing editor Doug Frantz be fired for blocking publication of an article on the Armenian genocide by senior staff writer Mark Arax, who is of Armenian origin. According to Harut Sassounian, a widely quoted leader of the Armenian American community, Frantz feels Arax is biased on Armenian issues. Arax has lodged a discrimination complaint and threatened a federal lawsuit, says Sassounian. Arax, who lives in Fresno and writes for West magazine, told me he couldn't comment, but I've confirmed there is an internal investigation at the paper. Frantz emailed LA Observed:

I put a hold on a story because of concerns that the reporter had expressed personal views about the topic in a public manner and therefore was not a disinterested party, which is required by our ethics guidelines, and because the reporter and an editor had gone outside the normal procedures for compiling and editing articles. My actions were based solely on the journalistic ethics and standards that we follow to ensure that readers of Times news coverage are not affected by the personal views of our reporters and editors.

Here is Sassounian's piece, which cites emails between Frantz and Arax:
When a company discriminates against an employee on the basis of his or her ethnic origin, it violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits "employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin."

It appears that such a breach of the law took place when Douglas Frantz, the Managing Editor of the Los Angeles Times, blocked the publication of an article on the Armenian Genocide written by Mark Arax, a distinguished journalist of Armenian origin, who has worked at the Times for 20 years.

On April 11, 2007, in an e-mail to Arax, Frantz accused him of having "a conflict of interest that precludes you from writing about the Armenian genocide, and particularly about an ongoing congressional debate about it. …Your personal stance on the issue, in my view, prohibits you from writing about the issue objectively."

To justify his discriminatory action, Frantz used the pretext that Arax and five other reporters at The Times had signed a joint letter in September 2005, reminding the editors that the newspaper was not complying with its own policy of calling the Armenian Genocide, a genocide. The editors, at that time, had no problem with that letter. On the contrary, they thanked all six reporters -- five Armenian-Americans and one Jewish-American -- for the reminder and pledged to comply with the paper’s policy on this issue.

To make matters worse, in his e-mail, Frantz falsely referred to the above-cited letter as a "petition," and on that basis accused Arax of taking "a position" on the Armenian Genocide. He thus implied that all six letter-writers -- Mark Arax, Ralph Vartabedian, Robin Abcarian, Greg Krikorian, Chuck Philips, and Henry Weinstein -- were political activists rather than independent journalists.
By "prohibiting" Arax from writing on the genocide issue, Frantz, by implication, was also prohibiting all six journalists, among them a Pulitzer Prize winner, of ever reporting on this subject. In other words, Frantz was not just blocking one particular article and its author, but all future articles on the Armenian Genocide that may be written by any of these six journalists, thus practically issuing a gag order that silences all Armenian Americans working at the Times.

By the same logic, Frantz is implying that Latinos will be barred from writing on illegal immigrants, African American journalists from covering civil rights, Jewish-American reporters from writing about the Holocaust and Asian-Americans covering issues peculiar to their community.

Sadly, Frantz’s misrepresentation of the joint letter as a "petition" initially helped convince other editors at The Times that Arax had an ethnic bias, thus gaining their support in his decision not to run his article. Only days later did these editors take the trouble to investigate the matter and discovered that they were misled by Frantz. Jim O’Shea, the top editor of the Los Angeles Times, in a meeting with this writer last week, said that the letter signed by the six journalists was not a “petition” at all, and that there was nothing improper about it. In fact, he admitted that the letter upheld existing L.A. Times policy.

Amazingly, even after discovering the truth, rather than reversing themselves and publishing the Arax story, The Times’ editors continued to endorse Frantz's censorship and compounded the discrimination. They did this by assigning their Washington reporter, Richard Simon, supposedly to update Arax's story. Even though Frantz, in his April 11 e-mail told Arax that he had "no questions" about his "abilities as a reporter and writer," he did use the excuse that Arax and Washington editor, Bob Ourlian, had gone around the "established system for assigning and editing stories." Obviously, this was a red-herring. The editors in the chain of command both in Washington and Los Angeles were aware of Arax’s article and none of them had any questions or complaints about procedure or content. In fact, not even Frantz himself cited a single factual or bias problem with the story. The only problems he did point to were that Arax had taken a “personal” stand on the Armenian Genocide, which allegedly led him to have a “conflict of interest,” presumably because of his Armenian heritage. Arax has written countless major investigative stories over the course of his 20 years at the Los Angeles Times, including several on the Armenian Genocide, but never had a single one of them “killed” by any editor. But that was before Frantz entered into the picture, moving from Istanbul to Los Angeles to become the newspaper’s Managing Editor in November 2005.

The thrust of Arax’s story was not only about the clash between Turks and Armenians over the congressional resolution on the Armenian Genocide, but also about the split in the Jewish community between those who sympathize with the victims of the Armenian Genocide and those who put a higher premium on Israel’s strategic alliance with Turkey.

Richard Simon, on the other hand, proceeded to write a completely different story which was published in The Times on April 21. His article covered the conflicting political pressures affecting the adoption of the Armenian Genocide resolution by the Congress and its “uncertain” chances of approval. There was no reason to kill the Arax story to run Simon’s. Both articles could have been published, one as a sidebar to the other. In a vain attempt to appease Arax and defuse a looming controversy that is sure to anger the half-a-million strong Armenian community in Southern California, a handful of paragraphs from Arax’s article were incorporated into Simon’s story. The editors told this writer that they were dismayed that Arax refused to have his name jointly appear on the byline for Simon’s story. Even then, despite Arax's justified protests, the editors added a tagline at the end of the article, stating that Arax "contributed to this report."

An investigation of this matter in the past two weeks has led this writer to believe that rather than Mark Arax having an ethnic bias, Douglas Frantz himself seems to be the source of the problem. Based on discussions with individuals familiar with various aspects of this controversy, conversations and meetings with top executives at the Times, and a contentious phone call with Frantz himself which he initiated, it appears that he has strongly held personal views on Armenian-Turkish issues which have clouded his professional judgment, causing him to take actions which are improper and possibly illegal:

1) In a discriminatory e-mail, Frantz falsely accused Mark Arax and five other Times’ reporters of signing a "petition" on the Armenian Genocide. This accusation was used as a pretext to block Arax’s story on the Armenian Genocide.

2) Frantz has reportedly made comments to at least one co-worker at The Times that he personally opposed the congressional resolution on the Armenian Genocide. He also said he believes that Armenians rebelled against the Turks, an argument used by Turkish denialists to justify the genocide.

3) Frantz was stationed for several years in Turkey, first working for the New York Times as Istanbul Bureau Chief and then for the Los Angeles Times during which he may have developed very natural friendships with Turkish individuals and officials.

4) The Turkish Consul General in Los Angeles has reportedly bragged about his close friendship with Douglas Frantz and said that he turns to him whenever he has a problem with The Times.

5) This writer was told by the editor of The Times, Jim O’Shea, who has known Frantz for many years from their time together at the Chicago Tribune, that Frantz has a very abrasive personality. No wonder he was short-tempered and abrupt during a phone conversation that he initiated, falsely accusing this writer of threatening him, when in fact he was simply being told that the controversy regarding the Arax article might upset the Armenian community, if it turned out that the story was blocked due to the Armenian background of the journalist.

6) Frantz is scheduled to moderate a panel at a conference in Istanbul, May 12-15, on "Turkey: Sharing the Democratic Experience." The panelists are asked to discuss: "Can the Turkish experience be emulated by other countries in the region and beyond?" Among the speakers at the conference are the President, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Turkey. One of the participants on the panel chaired by Frantz is none other than Andrew Mango, a notorious genocide denialist. Despite being sponsored by the International Press Institute, the conference does not cover the lack of freedom of speech in Turkey, the jailing and killing of journalists such as Hrant Dink, and draconian laws on "denigrating Turkishness." O'Shea told this writer that the Los Angeles Times will be paying Frantz' airfare to participate in this conference. Would The Times pay for Frantz’s trip, if he were moderating a panel that included David Irving, the infamous Holocaust revisionist?

Arax has filed a discrimination complaint with The Times against Frantz. He is also considering a Federal lawsuit for the possible violation of his civil rights. The Times executives are expected to make a decision this week on what action, if any, they would take against Frantz.

The Publisher of The Times, David Hiller, and the Editor, Jim O’Shea, reassured this writer last week that they would not tolerate any executive who has a bias against the Armenian Genocide and discriminates against Armenian-American employees. Once the internal investigation is complete, the expectation is that the top management of The Times would do the right thing and find an appropriate way of eliminating the hostile working environment created by Douglas Frantz at one of the nation’s greatest newspapers.

It is hard to imagine how Frantz could continue working at a newspaper in a community where more than half a million Armenians reside, given his unfavorable actions against his Armenian-American colleagues and his negative views on the Armenian Genocide.

The Armenian community highly values the special relationship it has developed in recent months with the publisher and other executives at the Los Angeles Times. The opinion column written by Matt Welch, the Times’ assistant editorial page editor, published on Sunday, April 22, is another indication of the newspaper’s solid position on the facts of the Armenian Genocide. The Frantz episode is an aberration and has to be dealt with as such. His continued presence at the highest echelons of this venerable newspaper would only serve to antagonize the Armenian community and all those who care about the upholding of equal rights for all employees regardless of their race, color, religion, sex and national origin.

© 2003-2007 LA Observed

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Washington DC Address
Bulent Dogruyol
April 22, 2007

We will be chasing an elusive target, if we remain in reactionary mode. Firm responses as demonstrated in New York and here are a must.

More importantly, we must develop and pursue our own strategy, must create our own agenda. He, who has the initiative sets the tone and thus leads. By surrendering the initiative we would lock ourselves into a hopeless game of catch-up.

We don€ ¢â’ ’¹t need a grandiose strategy, nor millions of dollars to be heard in a meaningful way. The basic goals are not very difficult to achieve. Across the USA, efforts in Turkish American communities are underway to make our case. But they happen sporadically and in a haphazard way. We need to sharpen the focus.

Here are a few essential steps:

* Start by educating yourself. Several excellent DVDs are available for this purpose. Watch them in the family. Watch them within the community. It is crucial that the kids develop a basic understanding of the subject. Buy several of these DVDs, because you will need them. The cost is next to nothing.

* By now there are Turkish American associations in almost all states and the numbers are growing. There are also Turkish Student Associations at all major colleges and universities. Develop mutual contacts and offer screenings of these documentaries at the schools backed up with lectures by experts in this field. Schools are where future leaders are bred. ATAA set a great example here. We, in CT, are following this approach. The key is to keep it up all year around. Resources are available to you. Don€ ¢â’ ’¹t try to break attendance records, 90 here, 40 there, 120 over there, 30 elsewhere; it all adds up. The cost is almost nothing. Case in point: SNETACA in cooperation with the TSA at UCONN organized a screening of Sari Gelin documentary followed by a lecture by Bruce Fein. The response was so positive that immediately thereafter the community demanded that we hire a bus to participate at this event.

* We have kids attending schools. Review their history books with respect to Ottoman/Turkish history. Discuss the subject matter with the kids, use the DVDs. Again, educate yourself and the kids, give the DVDs to teachers and schools. Case in point: The daughter of one our members€ ¢â’ ’¹ did not want to accept the label of genocide perpetrator in her class. Our member, armed with DVDs and books, approached the school. The teacher agreed to review the DVD. The school and the teacher eventually softened their stance on the subject. If you find objectionable material, make copies of the books and forward to ATAA/FTAA/consulates. They will help create a repository and form the basis of a possible future legal fight. Review of school books by our experts with factual feedback back to the school boards can also be initiated. The cost of these efforts is next to nothing.

* If you can be in touch with your state and federal representatives, please do so. Write to them occasionally, if you cannot visit with them. Provide them with backup material. The cost is next to nothing.

* Follow the media in your area and speak your mind. You cannot respond to every article, but if enough people write back on occasion, it will add up. The cost is next to nothing.

* Efforts to reach out to the Armenian American community and stage joint events are, in general, in vain, because they are not interested in dialogue and truth-searching. They want to buy their way all the way through. Case in point: A recent joint Ottoman/Armenian music concert planned by Turkish and Armenian musicians at Brown University was canceled at the last minute due to threats by the national Armenian organizations against their own musicians. This is an industry and hatred against Turks is unfortunately one of the main glues of the Armenian Diaspora.

To recap, all of these actions are only possible, if we inform ourselves, including our children. I don€ ¢â’ ’¹t mean fanaticism. I don€ ¢â’ ’¹t mean that we make experts out of ourselves. Let€ ¢â’ ’¹s learn just the basic facts. Because knowledge will not only empower us, it will also embolden us.

There will be threats. Some of us might/will be forced to back down, but if we follow these simple steps, the net sum will grow. And all of this, at a cost of next to nothing.

I don€ ¢â’ ’¹t mean to say, we need no money. For seasoned activists and experienced volunteers, there are certainly more means available. But let€ ¢â’ ’¹s first get the basics down. We, in CT, are adopting this approach. So can you.

Bulent Dogruyol

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Armenian Children In Military Training!!! / Soldiery Game, Or A Killer's Fame ?

Dear All,

I think that this is a totally unique case, where individuals are continuously brainwashed, to be "happy by revenge and hatred" of persons, that they never met, or have been related to. Yes, unfortunately true, hate and revenge if you want to be happy. This is what the Diaspora Sermon givers teach in their churches, youth camps and all stages of life.

"The Los Angels Times" of Feb. 1, 1990 wrote that a six year old girl Edna Petrosyan recited hateful poems on the insistence of her mother and that she was taught to say "It's better that I be a dog or cat, than a Turkish barbarian". Another hate perpetuation often read in Armenian forums, titled "STUPID TURK. Gives a list of how bad and barbarian Turks are , that they will never find a place in E.U. and "you will keep suffer in the international arena until you recognize the Armenian Genocide and pay your dues ! Signed Proud Armenian.

(My adopted grandson) Gokalp, sent me below link showing school children in soldiers uniforms, training as if they were in an army. Some scenes in M. Callagahn's DVD, showed children of say 8 years age in boy scout uniforms hardly able to speak, expressing their hatred for Turks.

For a long time, I did not mention this "Dashnakist" hate plague, which prevails among the Diaspora, and which is the most important glue or their solidarity and unity.

The article sent by Gokalp quoted hereunder, made me pick up the other pieces of the mosaic, giving you the true picture, of the surviving and flourishing by hate, grudge, and revenge which must be "compensated in money"! (to be ended or continued?)

Maynard Owen Williams, father of my English teacher, was the most reputed photographer and correspondent for National Geographic, and Christian Science Monitor, in 1915s. Those who have CD of National Geographic Library, may go and look into the photos, which are too blurred for me to copy in this letter. Nevertheless, I want to give some leads from his article "Between Massacres in Van", August 1919. Maynard O. Williams too was a missionary and taught in Beirut, and he is buried in Istanbul. Of course, like all other missionaries and Robert College staff, he was an Armenian sympathizer.

P.182: Photo title reads: "Part of the Boyish Company of Volunteers who tramped from Artemid group to Van.

Photo shows group of boys firing with wooden rifles. The oldest of these boys was twelve.

P.183; photo Chows two privates of the Artemid Army of Small Boys, with their conversation: " We have come to exchange these wooden guns with real guns. We want to protect our country".

P.184: Shows the Commandant of Van (Governor Hambartsoumiantz), son of one of Armenia's poets, presenting a wooden sword to the captain of the group from Artemid. "Right shoulder arms! Column right march!"

When we were in those ages, we were playing "cowboys and Indians", we had no one to teach us soldiery discipline

or let it go beyond a "childish play". Now, when you add up FACTS as shown hereunder, you get a troublesome picture:

Who are the enemies of these Armenians boys? The paradox is that Turks cannot be taught to hate "any Armenians" whilst ALL ARMENIANS ARE CONTINOUSLY TAUGHT that TURKS ARE THE ENEMY THEY SHOULD KILL. Apparently, the past disasters have not taught some anything. Should we smile or be sorry about all?

Sukru S. Aya

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Pilot scheme criticised for turning schoolchildren into future soldiers.
By Gegham Vardanian in Yerevan (CRS No. 349, 20-July-06)





Children at School No. 99 in Yerevan undergoing military drill as part of their education. Photographs by Gegham Vardanian.

"Right turn! Left shoulder forward! Quick march!" shouts military training instructor Karo Ambardzumian, although his subordinates are not soldiers but 11- and 12-year-old children at a school in the Armenian capital Yerevan.

Although military training is compulsory for pupils aged 16 to 18 in Armenia, only School No. 99 has introduced it for younger children. Groups involved in children's rights are worried about the effect an early dose of militarism will have on young minds, not least because the 11 other schools where the government now plans to roll out a similar pilot scheme cater for children from vulnerable backgrounds.

Headmistress Ludmila Margarian originally introduced the weekly military classes as a way of bringing a group of unruly boys to heel.

"There were many boys in this class. We thought they lacked discipline and decided to make it a class with a military bias," she said. "When they're in uniform, they are more organised and have a greater sense of responsibility."

The 18 boys and eight girls in the class have learnt how to march, stand in formation and dismantle Kalashnikov assault rifles, and are now learning combat skills.

"We are studying military science," said Sarkis, 11. "We learn how to crawl round enemies and kill them."

Sarkis's grandmother Susanna Martirossian said parents had heartily welcomed the scheme. "My grandson is delighted," she said. "He knows that he's going to be a general, that he's a military man. We are happy too, because he's learning what a soldier's responsibilities are, he feels like a soldier and wants to pursue an army career."

Hranush, wearing her uniform and with her hair tucked under a camouflage cap, said, "The boys come to school in uniform, and so do we. It isn't bad. We are learning how to help our homeland when the need arises."

Aelita, who graduated from a Yerevan school, added, "We've learnt how to handle a machine-gun, and studied some aspects of military strategy, tactics, and ways of surrounding and defeating an enemy.

"I'd say the girls are treated more leniently than the boys, and they get good marks more easily."

The school's military instructor Karo Ambardzumian, a former paratrooper and Soviet frontier guard, says it is best to start as young as possible, "It's difficult to train grown-ups. A child is like unbaked dough, and you should teach them things from a very early age."

"I always dreamed of creating such a class," said Ambardzumian. "As the saying goes, if you want peace, prepare for war. I try to explain to them who will defend our motherland from, and how. Children learn all these things when they dismantle or assemble a gun."

School No. 99 is located in a poor area on the outskirts of Yerevan, serving a community in which some of the pupils come from one-parent families.

Mikael Danielian, who chairs the Helsinki Association human rights group, is disappointed if not surprised by the trend, given that Armenia sees itself as being on a war footing since the dispute with Azerbaijan over Nagorny Karabakh remains unresolved.

"If children and their parents see no reason to complain and they're prepared to accept the rules of the game, then there's no big violation of rights," he said. "But it's bad that the country is being built by soldiers. This is a country where young people are soldiers; such a thing was only possible in the Soviet Union or in an Islamic country."

The education ministry seems pleased with the programme at School No. 99, and plans to expand the scheme by making military training a core curriculum item in 11 schools across Armenia.

The ministry has selected "special schools" - whose pupils mostly come from difficult backgrounds - to take part in the project.

"Our basic aim is to gather children from the streets who for one reason or another don't attend school regularly, and who want to enter military college but have never had the chance, and enable them to study military matters in depth," said Vachagan Aslanian, a specialist on military training at the National Institute of Education.

"In future, all classes [at the 11 schools] will take intensive military training courses," said Aslanian. "Each school will cater for one district. Pupils from elsewhere who want to get intensive military training will be allowed to transfer to these schools."

Aslanian said parental permission would always be sought before putting children into military training.

Critics of the military classes remain unhappy about the scheme despite such assurances.

"I can see what's going on," said Danielian. "These are difficult children who spend a lot of time on the street, and they are being turned into military types. This is an old Soviet-era method."

Emil Saakian, public relations coordinator for UNICEF in Armenia, went further, pointing out, "Article Four of the Armenian children's rights law is being violated, which says children have equal rights. Children who for some reason end up at special schools are being pressured to follow a military path. A child's right to choose his own future is being abused."

Saakian went on, "Children's. future is being determined by someone else.. I understand the country needs good soldiers, but it also needs good scientists, doctors and other specialists. Who says that soldiers alone are needed to keep the country safe, and that other professionals don't contribute to defending the country?"

Meanwhile, the schoolchildren have found an immediate and practical application for their new battlefield skills.

"The military training lessons help us when we have fights with other classes," explained schoolboy Varazdat. "We even have scraps with older pupils, and we can help out our own guys."

Gegham Vardanian is a journalist with Internews in Yerevan, Armenia.

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To: letters@nationalpost.com
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Subject: Re;"briging the divide between Turkey and Armenia"

Dear Editor,

I read with interest Ambassador Aydemir Erman's views on the Armenian question and its repercussions on Turkey-Armenia relations (April 24, National Post). As Turkey's ambassador to Canada, Mr. Erman indicates the Armenian tragedy of 1915 was not a one-sided event. He advocates mutual understanding and reconciliation between Armenians and Turks over some sad and regrettable events, which took place more than 92 years ago and, which culminated in the deaths of Turks and Armenians alike.

Mr. Erman also reiterates Turkey's proposal to establish a joint commission of historians, archivists and legal experts to investigate the issue under the light of fairness and international law, rather than perpetuate politicized accusations and counter-accusations on the subject.

As a Turkish Canadian, I believe that such a balanced approach would be beneficial to both countries and to Armenian and Turkish communities living in various parts of the world, including our peaceful Canada.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Aydin Yurtcu,M.D.

5529 Ashdale,Cote St.Luc,P.Q. H4W 3A3

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Ilyas Botas
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Subject: BANALITY OF A FAKE GENOCIDE

To : matt.welch@latimes.com
letters@latimes.com
op-ed@latimes.com
foreign@latimes.com
national@latimes.com
readers.rep@latimes.com

BANALITY OF A FAKE GENOCIDE

Dear Matt,

Since you have bought a bill of goods from the slick, pushy, arrogant, obnoxious Armenian lobby, may I interest you in some prime oceanfront property in Yerevan?

By the way, that Hitler quote you cite is as bogus as the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. If you have the slightest pretention to be a "journalist", you would ask the odious and slippery Armenians this question : How many Turks, Kurds, Jews and other non-Armenian citizens of the Ottoman Empire were slaughtered by Armenian terror gangs in 1915 and in the six decades leading up to 1915?

For your information, the terrorism unleashed by Osama bin Ladin and his hoodlums is tantamount to a Mickey Mouse operation when compared with the terrorism of the Dashnak Armenian cutthroats in 1915 and prior. To get an idea, just multiply 9/11 by a factor of one hundred and fifty. While Al Qaeda took the lives of 3 thousand innocent Americans, Armenian Dashnak butchers massacred over half million innocent citizens of Ottoman Turkey.

The canard that is the "Armenian genocide," is a vicious, obscene hoax perpetrated by liars-extraordinaire, i.e. the Armenian smooth operators. It is the biggest hoax of the 20th century.

Mr. Welch, whoever gave you a journalism diploma should be horsewhipped and then sentenced to live in the Armenian-Mafia town of Glendale.

Jean Marais

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Erol Palantekin
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2007
To: jason.netto@metro.us
Subject: "THE GENOCIDE QUESTION" in today's METRO online version dated
4/24/2007

http://metropoint.metro.lu/20070424_NewYork.pdf

Erol Palantekin
5369 Mckitrick BLVD
Columbus OH 43235

April 24, 2007
METRO
Jason Notte
Article "The Genocide Question"
jason.netto@metro.us

Dear Jason:

I read your article in today's METRO online version of the "Question of Genocide", regarding the SO CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE.

First of all the word is shouldn't you have used the word "alleged allegations" regarding the alleged " Armenian Genocide?" Isn't Genocide a special legal term with a very precise definition, arrived at after many years of diplomatic negotiations, until it was concluded in the 1948 convention in the United Nations? Isn't it true that the genocide convention was one of the longest negotiated issues in the UN history? Doesn't it require that a genocide charge must be proven at a "competent tribunal" after proper "due process" before the label of genocide can be used to characterize a certain tragic event after 1948? Isn't it true that this law, like all proper laws, is not retroactive?

You never mentioned the Ottoman Turkish dead and suffering. You implied that Ottoman Turkish dead do not matter, only Armenian dead do. That, to me, is racist. And you did not say a word about Armenian insurgency, terrorism, and treason that caused the civil war and the ensuing temporary resettlement order. You left half the story out. And that's dishonest.

Under our laws of the First Amendment you do have the right to speak your opinion, but you are also responsible for what it is that you say and accountable for your actions.

Does our 1st Amendment, allow you to label, disgrace, insult over 89 Million today, and over a million of Ottoman Turks, who also died during a Civil war within a Global war (WWI) without knowing all of the facts? Without mentioning any of these facts in your article?

Last time I checked the country of Turkey was never charged in any Court in any country with "Genocide", so you are giving your readers a falsified illusion of what supposedly happened 92 years ago.

We all know for a fact, that there were deaths on both sides, and most historians have concluded without a doubt that no Genocide was committed. Check with the History Department of Princeton University, especially the Middle Eastern department and ask any historian familiar with irrefutable facts before publishing such a one sided story. Or any other reputable source through out the world that have seriously looked at this issue and came to this conclusion many times that NO GENOCIDE occurred.

It has been studied, ever since this LIE has been used by the Armenians to try and buy influence to discredit Turks and the country of Turkey. Your article is one-sided and only breeds more hatred, resulting in planting bad seeds today, which will one day, turn back on you and unfortunately everyone who even reads it and takes it as gospel. The reason is we all reap what we sow.

Also do you believe that ignorance of verifiable facts is excusable? Especially, when writing about something that is still an "alleged allegation" and not historically or even legally accepted.

Under our 1st amendment rights do you believe that we should just ignore another side of the issue and disregard known and documented facts all together and just write whatever we want without any consequences?

Do you believe that Americans, whether from a Turkish ancestry and even Armenians disagree with your one sided article and are sick of this issue and that, it is really a matter for Historians and or the Courts to decide, what may or may not have happened 92 years ago? Don't you believe that your time would have been better spent finding solutions for these two groups, rather than stirring up a very sensitive matter not only for both groups, but our own National Security? Did you even considered these thoughts before writing your article?

I believe you should do your homework before writing such one sided stories, it really does no one any good.

Irregardless you have a great day and please check you sources before writing one sided articles, it just will back fire on all of us, especially our children which we will be handing over a brave new world for them with many issues that needs immediate answers that are far more important than, something that is right now just an alleged allegation which needs to be answered but not with bias or ignorance, I think it is extremely counter productive and does more harm than good.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Erol PALANTEKIN

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Re: Armenian children in military training!!! and INTERNATIONAL APRI
Wed Apr 25, 2007
While the Armenians train their children as soldiers, Turkey invites students from all over the world to celebrate the International April 23 Childrens Day. It is sad that there were no participants from Armenia (or the US) among the 1,500 students from 58 countries sang and danced for peace.

Yuksel Oktay

The Greatest Show On Earth At The 2000 Year Old Aspendos - 29th International April 23 Childrens Day Celebrations

Students aged between 8 and 14 from around the world began arriving in Turkey on April 16 to take part in the greatest show on earth - the 29th International April 23 Childrens Day Festival - in Antalya. The students were greeted at the airport and taken to the homes of host families where they will stay until April 25 and head home. The groups consists of anywhere from 8 to 20 students from each country and come with several adult chaperonnes from schools or families. This year 1,500 students from 58 countries took part in the celebrations.

On April 17 and 18, students performed in parks in Antalya followed by a procession. On April 20, the students were taken to Ankara by buses where they met with the head of Turkish Radio and Television, the Speaker of the Parliament, the Prime Misnister, President of the Republic of Turkey Ahmet Necdet Sezer at the Pink Pavillion and toured the city. Some of the students presented gifts and some spoke about the need of all countries around the world to work on PEACE.

The gala performance at the 2,000 year old Aspendos Amphitheater began at 14:00 PM on Monday, April 23, broadcasted live from TRT 1. The master of ceremonies was Hakan, the veteran of 20 years, and Meltem, her second year. Every group wore national costumes and performed their unique dances from their countries around the world in five continents. The first group was from Venezuala, followed by Vietnam. The next group from Congo consisted of 5 male and 1 female students, performing an African dance. The Bosna-Herzegovia followed and students in Turkish dresses performed a beautiful dance.

Students from India, Azarbeycan, Switzerland, Sudan was followed by a large group from Check Republic, and Turkmenistan, also a large group that ended their performance with two students waving the Turkish and Turkmenistan flags in their hands. Moldovia also had 20 students and Afganistan group performed a beautiful dance. Republic of Guinea had 5 students followed by 10 member group from Spain, some wearing Ottoman outfits. Following the performance by the Slovenian students, Meltem told the story of Anatolia, referring to it as the Childhood of Humanity.

It was heart warming to see 14 students from Iraq who danced with the flag of their country under occupation in their hands and performed beautifully. There were 5 students from Angola followed by the largest group attending, 24 students from Holland, who were sent to Turkey from Holland with a ceremony at the airport that included Dutch Turks among them.
Groups from Nigeria, Turkish Republic of North Cyprus, Indonesia, France, Finland, Morocco, Mongolia was followed by an all girl German student group, even dancing as couples.

The 16 member group from Palestine danced with flags in both of their hands and was the only group that performed twice, the second dance I suppose for the memory of their Israeli cousins who participated this year also. Crimea, Autonomous Republic of Ukraine was the 28th group with 14 children who performed to the music of davul and zurna played by two young students. Next was the Romanian group of 10 girls and 10 boys who performed a beautiful Romanian folk dance.

After almost 2 hours of performances, the presenters conveyed some statistics about the festival. Countries that participated the most, some 20 times - Russia, Turkish republic of North Cyprus, Bulgaria, Hungary and Check Republic, (United States of America participated 4 times, has not participated since 1994 and not this year either .) Festival held in Ankara 16 times, Istanbul 8, Izmir 1, Ephesus 1 and Antalya 3. This year over 1,500 students from 58 countries are participating. The largest attendance before was in 2005 - 48 countries and 800 participants.

The all girl Mexican students in their long and colorful dresses performed a beautiful Mexican dance followed by students from Republic of Sakha of Russian Federation.
This was followed by 18 member Serbian students. Seven member Yemen group was all boys and peformed a walking dance. The Albanian group which perfomed in red and black outfits was followed by Poland, Then a group from another Russian republic, R.F. Baskurdistan performed a beatiful dance. The next was the Turkish Group from West Thrace in their typical red and white Turkish dresses.

The Serbian students performed a fast dance and 7 all male students from Yemen danced to the music of davul and zurna. The Albanian goup performed in their red and black outfit, the national colors. The Polish students performed their famous polka dance followed by another group from the Russian Federation.

The Ukranian group of 12 was followed by students from Thailand who danced to a mystic music, performed by 10 girls and boys. To add variety, the presenters sang a song and announced that the performance was being broadcast live in Macedonia. (Perhaps CNN is also broadcasting live some if not all of the beautiful dances.)

The group from Georgia in their all black outfit and furry hats performed a Caucasian dance, followed by performances by students from Macedonia, Lithuania, Tacikistan, Slovakia, and Kazakistan who played two songs with violins, some as young as 6 year old, in their red and white costumes. The group of 10 male and 10 female Egyptian students in their green and purple dresses performed a lively dance followed by a fast dance by the group from Montenegro. This was followed by a group from the Russian Federation, Hungary, Kirgizistan and theRepublic of Tataristan of the Russian Federation.

All girl 20 students from the People's Republic of China danced while two male students sang with Turkish flags in their hands. This was followed by the group from Belarus (Beyaz Rustya), Crotia and Israel, all 20 dancers in different color dresses. The folk dance group of the Turkish Radio and Television was the last to come on stage and performed several beautiful dances.

This was another incredible festival with the participation of 1,500 children from around the world who issued the floowing Declaration, read in Turkish by Hakan and Meltem in English:

''We the 1,500 children from around the world declare that this festival made us to share our culture and dances and form new friendships. Peace has been the language of us. We express our gratitude to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk who established the April 23 Children's Day as a national holiday. We, the children of the world, will safeguard the saying of Ataturk, ''Peace at Home, Peace in the World'' and will be the guardians and ambassadors of peace around the World. Festival is ending but new friendships are just beginning.''

Thank you TRT, thank you Koc Holding and everyone who made this celebration possible. Next year Turkey will be celebrating the 30th Childrens Day Festival, hopefully with the participation of more countries, including the United States of America and Armenia.

Yuksel Oktay
Istanbul
April 23, 2007

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From: Aydin Yogurtcuoglu
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2007
To: vice_president@whitehouse.gov; sf_nancy@mail.house.gov; info@gop.com; letters@nytimes.com; letters@latimes.com; letters@washpost.com; letters@globe.com; letters@iht.com; letters@independent.co.uk; weblog@guardianunlimited.co.uk; fte.subs@ft.com; VOANews@voanews.com; Eurasia@voanews.com; NearEast@voanews.com; info@dw-world.de; turkish@dw-world.de; info@ap.org; grassroots@turkishforum.com
Subject: An Appeal To Common Sense


We, as citizens of Republic of Turkey, denounce the periodic attempts to put an Armenian Genocide Bill into the agenda of the US House of Representatives.

This issue should not concern politicians seeking votes from ethnic taxpayers, but should be studied by unbiased historians. Thus, historical suffering by both societies during World War 1 should not be used for political ,nterests.

The US House of Representatives has no authority or responsibility to interpret this historical issue. This attempt lacks common sense and has no impact other then provoking both societies against each other.

It is a well known fact that attempting to pass similar Armenian Genocide bills by various Parliments is not actually for the wellfare of of the Armenian nation, but instead serves the interests of the capitalist powers in the World

We believe that the only way to resolve this problem is to establish an independent international commission of historians that that will study and reach an unbiased decision by examining all sources including Ottoman archives.

We call upon the US of Representatives to consider this issue with common sense.

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From: Aydin Yurtcu
To: letters@nationalpost.com
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Subject: Re;"briging the divide between Turkey and Armenia"

Dear Editor,

I read with interest Ambassador Aydemir Erman's views on the Armenian question and its repercussions on Turkey-Armenia relations (April 24, National Post). As Turkey's ambassador to Canada, Mr. Erman indicates the Armenian tragedy of 1915 was not a one-sided event. He advocates mutual understanding and reconciliation between Armenians and Turks over some sad and regrettable events, which took place more than 92 years ago and, which culminated in the deaths of Turks and Armenians alike.

Mr. Erman also reiterates Turkey's proposal to establish a joint commission of historians, archivists and legal experts to investigate the issue under the light of fairness and international law, rather than perpetuate politicized accusations and counter-accusations on the subject.

As a Turkish Canadian, I believe that such a balanced approach would be beneficial to both countries and to Armenian and Turkish communities living in various parts of the world, including our peaceful Canada.

Thank you.
Sincerely,
Aydin Yurtcu,M.D.
5529 Ashdale,Cote St.Luc,P.Q. H4W 3A3