ISTANBUL—As a result of activists fighting against the demolition of Camp Armen, an Armenian orphanage in Istanbul, the landlord of the orphanage has temporarily halted the demolition of the camp and has agreed to hear out proposals from the activists. Garo Paylan, an Armenian candidate who is nominated for the upcoming parliamentary elections in…
Armenian Church, Lawyers Seek Return of Camp Armen
ISTANBUL—The Gedikpaşa Armenian Protestant Church and volunteer lawyers are initiating a legal campaign for the return of Camp Armen, a former summer camp for Armenian orphans in Istanbul. The orphanage, it was recently revealed, has been marked for demolition in order to make room for luxury residential buildings. Lawyers plan a new appeal to stop…
Serj Tankian to Release Father Khachadour’s Debut Album ‘Inchbes Moranank’
Khatchadour Tankian, father of System of a Down’s lead singer Serj Tankian, will release his debut record “Inchbes Moranank” through his son’s record label Serjical Strike on December 29, 2009.
‘Yalanci Dolma’ Diplomacy
Yes, it was a meeting, but not a “historic meeting” as posted by the Friends of Hrant Dink, the organizers of an academic event entitled “Closing the Divide.” The event was designed to build cultural bridges between the Armenian Diaspora on one side and the Turkish people on the other, to traverse a colossal gorge, not divide, created by centuries of slavery, abuse, colonization of Western Armenia, and pogroms, which peaked with the infamous genocide of 1915-23.
Beware of Superficial and Feel-Good Formulations: A Perspective, Before Obama Meets Erdogan
One close example is the righteous family who, during the great genocide and national dispossession of 1915, risked its own to save my grandmother Khengeni from certain death in the coastal town of Ordu. The stories of thousands like them have not been told because of the Turkish state’s official dialectic of denial.
The Opposite of Silence
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in momen’s of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Martin Luther King Jr.’s words never rang as true as they did this week. As millions of people continued to pour into the nation’s capital on the day…
ATP Film ‘Trees for Life’ Wins Best Short Documentary at Pomegranate Film Festival
TORONTO, Canada–The 20 minute film, "Trees for Life: The Story of Armenia Tree Project," was named Best Short Documentary at the Third Annual Pomegranate Film Festival in Toronto last month. The Third Annual Pomegranate Film Festival was held on September 26-28, 2008 and featured 31 films, including "Burning Rome" directed by Robert Kechichian and "Hrant…
Turkish Policemen Cleared Over Pictures of Dink’s Killer
ANKARA (AFP)–Two Turkish policemen were Wednesday acquitted over a scandal in which security forces posed for pictures with the suspected killer of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, the Anatolia news agency said. The court verdict will be a disappointment for Dink’s family who say police protected the self-confessed killer, Ogun Samast, when he was seized in…
Armenia Must Help Turkey be ‘More Objective’ About its History
NEW YORK–During a meeting Wednesday with the Armenian-American community, Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian said his recent overtures to normalize relations with Turkey aimed at helping that society come to grips with its own history. The reception was organized by the Armenian Embassy in the US, Armenia’s Permanent Representation of Armenia at the UN and by…