RA Minister of Diaspora presented activities of regional committees and cooperation with committees during 5^th session of the State Commission on Coordination of Events Dedicated to the 100^th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide

During the 5^th session of the State Commission on Coordination of Events Dedicated to the 100^th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide launched at the Government Reception House on January 29, RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan delivered a speech in which she talked about the activities carried out by the regional committees and the cooperation with those committees.

The minister mentioned that there are 61 regional committees established in 50 different countries through the efforts of the major Armenian organizations of the Diaspora and with the support of the RA Ministries of Diaspora and Foreign Affairs and led by the heads of diplomatic representations of the Republic of Armenia, spiritual leaders, as well as the leaders of national political parties and community and pan-Armenian organizations. The head of the committee based in Japan is Japanese. Local bodies have been established in many cities and communities.

Minister Hranush Hakobyan mentioned that all Armenian communities use the logo for the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, that is, the Forget Me Not, and the motto “I Remember and Demand” can be seen in the programs for all forums, discussions and conferences and in the plans of cultural, spiritual and educational organizations.

The minister emphasized that the fact that the Presidents of France and Uruguay are engaged in the regional committees as Presidents of Honor and that several countries and individual states (Cyprus, France, Lebanon, USA, Canada is being discussed) have declared April 24^th as the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Armenian Genocide is of great political significance.

“On April 24, there will be marches to Turkish embassies and the representations of international organizations. The participants of the marches will hand documents stating claims for Armenian Genocide recognition over to the organizations and will organize marches, rallies and sitting strikes so that the President of the given country addresses the Armenian people,” the minister added.

It was mentioned that the mass media hasn’t written and broadcast so much about the Armenian Genocide in the past 95 years as it has over the past 3 years. “There is no more or less well-known media outlet that doesn’t provide coverage of the issue. Foreign journalists have been sent to Armenia to produce films and shows. France, Cyprus, Lebanon, Brazil, Romania and other countries have issued stamps devoted to the Armenian Genocide,” the minister emphasized.

The RA Minister of Diaspora attached importance to foreign academics’ and writers’ reflections on the Armenian Genocide in terms of having a huge impact on the propaganda.

“Different initiatives are also becoming very popular, and the interesting ones are the movements called “Turkey! Recognize the Armenian Genocide!” and “Millions of children weren’t born as a result of the Armenian Genocide” organized by the RA Ministry of Diaspora, French-Armenians and Frenchmen. Large international conferences, roundtable discussions, workshops, lectures, commemoration ceremonies and meetings have been and will be organized, and will especially be held with the participation of representatives of nations having survived Genocide,” the RA Minister of Diaspora mentioned.

Out of all those events, the minister set aside the forums, meetings and conferences with lawyers, journalists, writers, political scientists and international affairs experts, as well as lobbyists and lobbying organizations.

As for the events in 2015, the minister touched upon the conferences on “Prevention of the Crime of Genocide and International Legal Issues on Liability for it”, “Modern-day Turkey: Confronting the Past”, “Issues of Islamized Armenians” and “New Ottomanism as the Main Ideology of Turkey’s Foreign Policy”.

The RA Minister of Diaspora stressed the importance of publishing books and studies on the Armenian Genocide and mentioned that books, brochures, leaflets and studies are being translated, published and disseminated in different languages in almost all countries around the world.

“Archives, materials and documents devoted to the Armenian Genocide, press articles printed between the years of 1894 and 1923 will continue to be compiled, digitized and published this year. There will also be more readings of the works of Armenian writers in different parts of the world. Most of the recent studies by 78 centers for Armenian studies are devoted to the Armenian Genocide,” the minister mentioned, adding: “The RA Ministry of Diaspora has also ordered studies devoted to the Armenian Genocide, and among those studies are “The Study on the Issues of Islamized Armenians”, “The Current Situation of the Armenian Community of Istanbul”, the book “Memorials of Sorrow, Remembrance and Struggle”, “Armenians at the Twilight of the Ottoman Era”, “News Reports from the International Press, Volume I, The New York Times 1890-1914 Compiled and Edited by Mekhitarian V., V., rev. Vahan Ohanian, “The Process of Deprivation of Properties of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire and Kemal Turkey”, “50^th Anniversary of Genocide and the 2^nd Republic” and other works.”

The minister emphasized that Diaspora Armenian communities continue to place monuments to the victims of the Armenian Genocide and continue to build walls of remembrance and memorial complexes. Student essay, academic and theme-based competitions, as well as exhibitions, tree-planting ceremonies and the openings of squares continue and will continue. “There are 300 olive trees in Israel, 150 platan trees in Germany and 100 different types of trees in Kuwait. In September 2015, we’ll organize the “We Sing Komitas” Pan-Armenian Festival that will include performances of the songs of Komitas by several hundreds of Diaspora Armenian children and youth in the Homeland,” the minister mentioned. Minister Hranush Hakobyan set aside the events to be held in the Armenian community of Syria and emphasized the fact that the Armenian Apostolic, Catholic and Evangelical Communities of Syria have addressed President of the Syrian Arab Republic Bashar Al-Assad with the request to recognize the Armenian Genocide, and the Parliament of the Syrian Arab Republic will discuss recognition of the Armenian Genocide before April 24^th. “A monument symbolizing the Armenian-Arab friendship will be placed in one of the major squares of Aleppo, and one or two streets of Aleppo will be named after famous Armenian intellectuals and religious figures,” she mentioned.

The RA Minister of Diaspora also touched upon the “Hayadardzutyun” (return to Armenian roots) movement that has been launched in Transylvania, Poland and Turkey. “They are making attempts to split Armenia and the Diaspora, but it’s clear that their expectations aren’t met due to such representative movements that reaffirm all Armenians’ commitment to work together, including cooperation between the Armenian government and Diaspora Armenian organizations in the case of Perinçek,” the RA Minister of Diaspora emphasized, adding: “Surveys have shown that 77 percent of 31,271 youth of 31 countries, including China, USA and Israel view the Armenian massacres of 1915 as Genocide. This is one of the great political achievements.”

At the end, the minister mentioned that the 100^th anniversary and the events aren’t a goal, but a means to make the struggle gain momentum at the next milestone and to make sure Armenians are more organized and coordinated after 2015.

“Our struggle will continue with the motto “I Remember and Demand” and with the messages of poets “Oh! Armenian people, your salvation lies in your unity” and “We Exist, We Will Exist and We Will Grow”,” the RA Minister of Diaspora said in closing.