Seta's Armenian Blog

About Me

I feel I am able to communicate
well and I have a good grounding
in people skills.......Basically
all humanity is the same! 
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The foundation of this blog was cemented by the Assassination of Hrant Dink on 19.01.07.  I was listening to Setrak Setrakian’s rendition of Arno Babajanian’s composition, Elegy.  So
moved by Hrant’s shortened life by the virtue of speaking his mind that I wrote the poem, ‘Without You’ with Hrant's family in mind.  The subject matter of the recognition of the ‘Genocide of the Armenians in 1915,’ is very much at the heart and the minds of Armenian's Internationally. 
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I want to say: 'Thank you,'
to Keith for the Creation
and Launch of,
Seta's Armenian.blogspot.com
and Armenag for the sources
of information. 
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If you feel it would be appropriate, please include a link to my Blog from your Site.  I would like my Blog to be as eclectic as possible and include material from as many and different sources so long as it is relevant to my subject matter. 

About My Blog

This well-established Blog is worth visiting on a regular basis for a wealth of information of interest to Armenian nationals and to the Armenian Diaspora world-wide.  Although it has a particular role in promoting international recognition of the Genocide, the Blog encompasses much more and includes many articles of general appeal to all those concerned with Armenian affairs.  Much of the content is difficult or impossible to find elsewhere and the long list of links provided gives easy access to a plethora of material on social, political, religious, educational and cultural matters, and many news items from around the world. 

On 3 March, the European People’s Party (EPP) adopted a resolution recognising and condemning the Armenian Genocide as well as paying tribute to the victims in the 100thanniversary.  The EPP, which is the largest European political party, has adopted the resolution following the initiative of its sister parties from Armenia. 

European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA, www.EuFoA.org) welcomes this resolution.  EuFoA Director, Mr Eduardo Lorenzo Ochoa, comments: “This text is meant not only as a tribute, but also as a call for both historical justice and historical reconciliation.” 

The text adopted by the EPP political assembly refers to different aspects of this atrocious crime, such as “…dispossession of the homeland, the massacres and ethnic cleansing aimed at the extermination of the Armenian population, the destruction of the Armenian heritage, as well as the denial of the Genocide, all attempts to avoid responsibility, to consign to oblivion the committed crimes and their consequences or to justify them, as a continuation of this crime and encouragement to commit new genocides…”

Moreover the resolution calls upon Turkey to recognise and condemn the Genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire as a base for the complete normalisation and Europeanisation of its relationship along with its international commitments and European aspirations.  It also appeals to international organisations, specially the EU and CoE member states, to restore historical justice and pay tribute to the victims.  This political initiative puts also a strong accent on cultural and religious component of this crime, noting that the heritage should be repaired and returned to the Armenian and other relevant communities. 

“I am particularly pleased to see the accession to EU political families by Armenian political parties, in which I have invested myself so intensely, has a mutually beneficial outcome also in such transcendent matters as the Genocide” adds Mr Lorenzo Ochoa. 

The EPP is the largest European-level political party of the centre-right, which currently includes 78 member-parties from 39 countries (including 3 from Armenia: Republican Party of Armenia, Heritage and Country of Law), the Presidents of the European Commission and the European Council, 11 EU and 6 non-EU heads of state and government, 14 members of the European Commission and the largest Group in the European Parliament with 219 members. 

EuFoA is happy to provide commenting or background analysis in English, French, Spanish, Polish, German, Russian and Armenian.  Members of the Europe-Armenia Advisory Council may also be available for comments; for enquiries please contact our secretariat. 

For more information on EuFoA and the Europe-Armenia Advisory Council, please visit our website at www.EuFoA.org. 

High resolution picture material is always available on our website and upon request.  It is free to use with a reference “Copyright: www.EuFoA.org”. 

This year is highly significant for the
Armenian community as it marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian
genocide that lasted through to 1923. 

The genocide began with the
decapitating of a group of Armenian ‘intellectuals’ or people who held prominent positions
at the time, on the 24th of April 1915,One of those intellectuals who was executed was my ancestor a
journalist. 

This was followed by a systematic
obliteration the Armenians as a race & culture with deportations

and massacres.  The result was that over
75% of the Armenians in Anatolia were killed. 

At the time Britain was at the
forefront of calling for justice for this genocide.  However the position has
since changed - the current UK position is clear; they do not want to use the
word genocide because this and previous governments feel it would jeopardies
diplomatic relations. Turkey is a NATO
ally with whom the UK has strong commercial and military ties.  However other
countries have not adopted this stance; in fact that 22 countries have accepted
the Armenian genocide, some of also members of NATO, with no subsequent
diplomatic or economic redress with Turkey. 

The word “Genocide”was
in fact coined by a Jew, Raphael Lemkin when he considered the tragedy of the
Armenians who had no redress in international law. 

“TO HELP ARMENIA
IS TO HELP CIVILISATION W.E. Gladstone”

100 years on and how things have
changed. 

Neither the UK Government nor the
Holocaust Memorial Day Trust acknowledge the Armenian Genocide.  They have used
a variety of rather flimsy reasons to explain their policy, such as
(evidence),.  With this approach, they are aligning themselves with the position
of Turkey that denies the charge of genocide, despite the overwhelming
independent evidence to the contrary. 

The UK Government have discouraged
ministers to attend commemorative events or church services. 

HMD - Position

The Holocaust Memorial Day events that
originated in Cardiff and were held at the Temple of Peace not only remembered
the Armenians but the Armenians were allowed to actively participate. 

Then on January the 27th 2006 there was
a sudden change of heart; we were dropped from the remembrance services held at
the Millennium Centre

Between 2007 and 2010 the Armenians
were sporadically mentioned at annual HMD events, although subsequently no
mention has been made. 

Requests to HMD in Wales for the 2015
simply to mention the Armenians unfortunately were not accepted. 

The original remit for the HMD events
was to publicise past atrocities in the hope they would never happen again. 

We have now been advised that the HMD
have to commemorate atrocities after the Holocaust and not before. Yet there are well researched published links
between the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust.  This date seems a rather
arbitrary cut-off point as the Armenian Genocide is widely (but
unofficially)recognised as the first
systematic annihilation of people based on race in the 20th century. 

The HMD Trust has said that its duty is
to follow the ‘government
line’. 
This is a political position to take for an independent trust even though it
receives substantial funding from the Tax payer

Legal Opinion by Geoffrey Robertson QC

An in-depth reasoning behind HMD and UK
Government stance can best be explained by the Legal Opinion by the eminent
human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson QC which is self explanatory and the
conclusion at the end sums up UK position. 

The Position of the Welsh Government

The Assembly does not deem the issue of
the Armenian Genocideforeign policy to
be within the remit of the devolved government. 

This is a very convenient and easy
solution to ignoring the Armenian Community in Wales, and

once again we see the goal posts being
moved. 

Subsequent to the last National
Assembly event we wrote a letter written to the First Minister requesting a
meeting to discuss the issue.  We reiterated that we felt this was a local
matter and based on the previous milestones& historical links and we requested the WAG not to bow to pressure
and turn their back on the Armenians in Wales.  Unfortunately we have received
no response to date. 

The local community should not be subject
to political offloading of a substantive judicial and moral issue between UK
government entities. 

This is a local Welsh issue through and
through and it is a sorry situation when the Wales government cannot assert
itself against the diktat of Westminster. 

In conclusion it appears that Cardiff
Bay & HMD in Wales are toeing the Westminster and Foreign Office Line. 

The overall position is summarized
bellow by Armenag Topalian of the Legal Initiative Group. 

“Please note in the item from Derby News in the following
email, that the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust gave instructionsto the various regional
organisers that the Armenian Genocide should not be mentioned. 

Derby disregarded this
to their credit.  We were also directly informed by Ruth Barnett, the
indefatigable Holocaust survivor,that she too was asked not to mention the Armenians in
the Brent commemoration.  Again she ignored this on conscience and integrity
grounds. 

it is outrageous that an
organisations dedicated to stopping the repeat of genocides should give such
orders.  It is easy to see the hand of the FCO behind all this (and they do fund
the HMDT). 

As you will also read in
the last paragraph, it appears that pressure is being applied to stop a joint
Anglican-Armenian Church service at Westminster Abbey.  I expect the FCO will capitulate to
representations by the Turkish embassy. 

I’ve written to my MP, Robert Buckland (now
the Solicitor General), that the UK should be represented at the 24 April
commemorationsin Yerevan by a minister
of at least the same seniority as that who attends the Gallipoli event (now
moved this year to the same 24 April day). 

At a recent press
conference our ambassador seems to imply that only the Church of England will
be represented. 

How insensitive and
malleable can a government get? 

The Position of the Welsh People

Firstly our deepest thanks to the
enormous support we have received in Wales for the recognition

of the Armenian genocide. 

Despite all the above we have been so
fortunate to have the support from AM’s, councilors, clergy from all denominations,
academics & individuals who have taken the time to listen and make their
own judgments, sometimes against the wishes of their organisations. 

We cannot express our gratitude enough
in particular to two organisations.  The Church In Wales

& The Temple of Peace/WCIA

In particular we must express our
undying gratitude to three exceptional Welshmen:

Eilian Williams, Canon Patrick Thomas
& Stephen Thomas. 

The events that follow are directly
attributable to these three individuals. 

In 2004 a vote was taken unanimously by
Gwynedd Council to recognise the Armenian Genocide. 

A plaque to thank Gwynedd was installed
in 2014 on the 10th anniversary at Caernarfon Council Offices. 

In 2007 the National Assembly graciously
donated the land at the Temple of Peace and allowed the word Genocide to be
used on the memorial. The then speaker
of the National Assembly conducted the opening ceremony. 

We have had over the years two
Statement of Opinions where a majority of the Assembly members accepted the
Armenian Genocide

We received the full support of the
Church In Wales where the Bishops voted unanimously to recognise the 24thApril as Armenian Genocide Day and
special prayers were written in Welsh & English to be repeated each year
henceforth. 

There are currently 3 memorials in
Wales to the Armenian genocide and soon to be 4. 

The memorials are located at:

St Deiniols –Hawarden –Armenian’s of Tbilisi gave a Silver Chalice,
Silver Bible & Stained Glass window for the help given by Britain at the
time of the first genocide in 1896

Caernarfon City Hall –Plaque thanking
Gwynedd for the unanimous VOTE on the recognition

of the Armenian genocide

The Genocide memorial the first on
public ground in Cardiff in the Gardens of the Temple of Peace

Finally soon to be erected a statue in
St David’s
Cathedral (details at the end)

As you note Wales has had a long
history of supporting the Armenian’s from the first Hamidian genocide of 1894/6 till
to day. 

As mentioned this year marks the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. 

The last survivor died last year. 
Therefore it becomes even more important to remember. 

Leaving aside what happened 100 years
ago the current plight ofChristians in
the Middle East is dire.  Systematic deportation & killings are reported to
include Armenians, and even the Armenian Genocide Memorial at Deir Zor has been
desecrated by IS fighters. 

It appears that the lessons from
history have not been learnt even today.  Read the Armenian Massacres by W.E.
Gladstone and you could be forgiven you were reading an article relevant to

to-day

Lessons from history can never be
learnt when there is selective memory and such a consistent denial of the
truth. 

Forthcoming Events

There are two events that are scheduled
to take place in Wales to commemorate the centenary. 

The commemorations for this year begin
on the 24th April where there will be flower laying & short prayers
specifically written by Canon Patrick Thomas & Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian of
the Armenian Apostolic Church at the Genocide Memorial at the Temple of Peace. 

The main event will take place at the
National Assembly where there will be an exhibition on Armenia & Armenian
Genocide.  There will be prayers and a short speech followed by the lighting of
100 candles

This will be followed by the main event
for the day, the book launch on the Armenian Genocide by Canon Patrick Thomas. 

The second event scheduled to take
place later in the year (May 2015) will be the Unveiling of the Statue in St.
David’s
Cathedral Pembrokeshire (artist impression attached)

The wording on this memorial is as
follows

In memory of the Armenian victims of
1915”

This reflects the forthcoming canonization
by the Mother Church in Armenia of all the victims of the Armenian Genocide. 

Bellow is a short brief with regards
the importance of the memorial prepared by Canon Patrick Thomas. 

“The proposed statue
is the gift of the Armenian community in Wales to St David’s Cathedral (as the
mother church of Wales) in gratitude for the recognition of April 24th as
Armenian Genocide Day by the Bench of Bishops of the Church in Wales.  2015 is
the centenary of the Armenian Genocide during which approximately a million and
half Turkish Armenians died. 

The statue is the work of Mariam
Torosyan, a Cardiff-based Armenian artist.  It portrays the Virgin Mary and the
Christ-child (the subject of the icon traditionally placed on the altar of
Armenian churches).  During the Armenian Genocide the men were separated from their
families and killed, while the women and children were sent on death marches
towards the Syrian Desert, during which they underwent appalling suffering.  The
archetypal Mother and Child thus have a particularly appropriate significance
as the subject of the memorial.  Many Welsh Armenians are descended from the
small percentage of women and children who survived the death marches. 

The memorial also includes a
representation of the Cathedral of Holy Echmiadzin, the focus of Armenian
Christianity.  This is a reminder both that Armenia was the first officially
declared Christian nation (in the year 301), and that both Holy Echmiadzin and
St David’s
are centres of pilgrimage for their respective peoples (the two were bracketed
together by a nineteenth century visitor to Armenia).  It also symbolizes the
growing friendship and understanding between the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox
Church and the Church in Wales, which have been pioneered by the Dean and
Chancellor of St David’s Cathedral. 

Deir Zor (sometimes called Deir-Es-Zor,
Deir-Es-Zor or Deir-el-Zor) in the Syrian Desert is to Armenians what Auschwitz
is to the Jews.  Armenians built a memorial church there in memory of the
200,000 or more of their people who perished there during the Genocide.  In 2014
the church was deliberately desecrated and destroyed by Islamic militants.  One
Welsh Armenian rather poignantly remarked to me, “That is another reason why we want a
memorial to the martyrs of the Genocide in St David’s.  We know that it will be kept safe there.” 

The brief inscription on the memorial
will be in three languages: Armenian, Welsh and English. 

Canon Chancellor Dr Patrick Thomas”

We sincerely hope you will be able to
cover these events on the 100 anniversary of the