3269) SlideShow: April 24 Genocide Commemoration: 1 May 2011 Times Square New York

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A Keghart.com reader has filed the following report: 24 May 2011

"A small group of unaffiliated Armenian activists, not associated with any organization, attended the April 24 Commemoration on May 1st, in New York City's Times Square. The event was, as it has been for many years, sponsored by the Knights of Vartan (KOV) and several other Armenian-American organizations. We were threatened and accosted by the organizers and prevented from holding several of our signs and banners. However, we and members of the attending crowd managed to hold them up, despite the efforts of the event organizers. As for the signs that we were permitted to hold, these were allowed only on condition that they be situated far in the back of the crowd.

“As far as we know, no such restrictions have ever been placed on sign holders at that event in prior years. We must also point out that, for unexplained reasons, no Armenian-American media that covered the event showed photos of, or reported, our banners or signs. We leave it to them to explain this gross omission to their readers. Are our media afraid of strong Armenian messages?

“We also brought signs that criticized specific Jewish-American groups, such as the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee. We are sure that many Armenians are aware that such groups (but certainly not all Jewish groups) have long denied or diminished the Genocide of Armenians and have worked, and continue to work, with Turkey to defeat Armenian Genocide resolutions in the U.S. Congress. We were not permitted to hold signs referring to these anti-Armenian groups. This can only be construed deliberate censorship of the truth.

“It seems that some Armenian-American organizations and their media are engaged in a gag policy, similar to Turkey's infamous Article 301, and actively promote US State Department TARC-like articles and news reports. Furthermore, it seems most of the editors of the Armenian-American media think "freedom of the press" means "freedom to keep people in the dark."

“Sincerely,

“A freelance Armenian American activist."

Some of the signs that were not permitted to hold:

Armenian Genocide Deniers:
Anti-Defamation League,
American Jewish Committee,
Jewish Institute Nat. Sec. Affairs
AIPAC

Hands-off Armenian Genocide Resolutions in the US Congress

Israel: There is still time to regain your moral compass.
Honor the Armenian Genocide

“Anti”-Defamation League proxy of the Genocidal Turkish Government
Abe Foxman: How do you like them Turks now?

Jewish-American Organization
Anti-Defamation League
Stop the Hate Crime!
Quit the Genocide Denial
Stop lobbying the US Congress Against Armenia and Armenians

Some of the signs that were held, but had no photos taken:

International Association of Genocide Scholars
“To deny the Armenian Genocide is like Holocaust denial”

Raphael Lemkin coined the term Genocide to describe
the Turkish annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians.

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Comments:
(78.187.89.165 Ankara, Turkey)
Let us evaluate why the Armenians urge politicians and school boards to use the word genocide’, while vehemently rejecting to present their thesis in scholar and judicial platforms from a different perspective:

Armenia’s attitude towards Turkey’s land integrity: Article 13 (second paragraph) of Armenian constitution declares the ‘Agri Mountain’ in the Eastern Anatolia of Turkey, as the state symbol of Armenia . Article 11 of the Armenian Declaration of Independence of August 23, 1990; refers to Eastern Anatolia of Turkey as Western Armenia and as such beholds that this area is part of Armenia. Since the Armenian constitution recognizes as a basis “the fundamental principles of the Armenian statehood and national aspirations engraved in the Declaration of Independence of Armenia”, it likewise accepts the characterization of Eastern Anatolia as Western Armenia and this, albeit indirectly, translates into the advancement of territorial claims.

The Armenian politicians and school books call Eastern Anatolia of Turkey, ‘invaded mother land of Armenia’ and in Armenia the school children are being grown up being conditioned to be patriots to rescue their invaded land. Even the marches they sing are about this condition.

The Armenians claim and write in such blogs that the Eastern Anatolia cities do not belong to Turkey, as if the present Eastern boundaries of Turkey was not determined by treaties of Gumru (1920), Moscow (1921) and the whole boundaries by Lausanne (1923) Treaties; after the Turkish Freedom War.

Armen Aivazyan, Director of Ararat Center of Strategic Studies, told a news conference that Armenia must never renounce its territorial claims to Turkey http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=28877

Additionally Armenia refused Turkey’s recurrent offers to commit an agreement declaring that each country recognizes the other country’s land integrity, in 1992 and later.

‘It is necessary to stress that we wish to open a road between Armenia and Turkey, not the border, since who said that the existing line is the true boundary between the two countries?", Galust Saakyan, the head of the parliamentary fraction of the Republican Party of Armenia told a press conference on 24 July 2009 (Panarmenian).

‘Western Armenian lands must be returned to Armenia, said Armenia’s Ambassador to Switzerland, famous singer Charles Aznavour in an interview with Italian RIA3 television channel. ‘When I was born, in 1924, [they] promised Armenia the return of lands. I am 85 years old and I cannot wait much longer, said Aznavour’. In 1924, Stalin promised Armenia the return of Erzeroum, Erzngan, Sebastia, Kharpert, Dikranagert, Bitlis, Van, Moush⦠The Wilsonian Armenia also included regions of Trabizon, Erzeroum, Van and Bitlis (November 3, 2009;Asbarez Staff)

In reply to the question ‘What does Western Armenia mean to Dashnaktsutyun - a geographical area or a historical homeland? , ARMEN ROUSTAMYAN, representative of the ARFD Supreme Body in Armenia and Head of the NA Committee on Foreign Relations replied: "For us, Armenia is Armenia in its integrity, including all its parts: northern, southern, eastern and western. The Armenia we imagine begins from the Armenian-Turkish border which was once clearly demarcated by US President Mr. Wilson. And when we say our goal is to create a free, independent and united Armenia, we mean the Armenia I just spoke about." http://armenians-1915.blogspot.com/2008/09/2581-armenia-turkey-match-news.html

Why do the Armenians force Turkey to accept a genocide? The answer is hidden in a speech of the chief of Dashnak Party Hrant Markaryan who told that their efforts for the recognition of Armenian (so-called) genocide was not an isolated purpose but it was a part of the struggle for rescue of the West Armenia (Armenian Forum Vol2 No 4; Armenian Weekly On-line, 18 June, 4 July 2003). The Armenian then prime minister Andranik Markaryan told that the internationally recognition of (so called) Armenian genocide and demanding land from Ankara as 'compensation' was possible only after Armenia had strengthened and the Armenians should not have told that they demanded land from Ankara loudly and everywhere (Arminfo 26 May 2004). On one occasion President Kocharian stated that since today’s Armenia does not have the clout to advance such demands, doing so should be left to future generations at a time when conditions would hopefully be better suited to this end'.

A poll taken in Armenia revealed that almost all youngsters in the Republic of Armenia wished to follow up with land claims from Turkey and 90% of them said Turkey must unequivocally accept genocide allegations (Milliyet - April 11, 2006).

The world should not forget that Germany's claim on Zudetland and Gdansk just because they were its historical lands caused burst of World War II!

Yet, there are obvious evidences showing that the Armenians did not constitute the majority of the population in neither of the Ottoman provinces which the Armenians call Western Armenia and the Muslim population was 3 to 8 times more than that of the Armenian's (Ottoman Population Statistics 1890 and 1914).

If an item like the aforementioned Armenian item were present in the law-book of Mexico claiming that Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California which were historical lands of Mexico, belonged to Mexico but invaded, would the American tolerate it?

Therefore the world should not overlook Armenia’s aggression, which is hidden behind their role of victim and should think about the price of their support to the Armenians very well.

So, the most important question which should be asked now is whether the world politicians, journalists and supporters of human rights will go on falling within the scope of Armenian propagandists and go on being major advocates of Armenian aggression, while pursuing humanist missions or not!

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