Genocide

A congregation of all ages and faiths gathered to take part in an intergenerational worship service to honor past and present victims of genocide, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Verdugo Hills, on Sunday. The service paid tribute to the victims of the Holocaust, the Armenian genocide and atrocities that occurred throughout history, including genocides in Somalia, East Timor and Darfur. As Elizabeth Erickson, vice-president of the congregation, lead the service, her daughter, Emily Halsell, 8, lit a chalice in memory of the victims.

I am aware that many residents in our community applaud efforts by Congress to pass a resolution, authored by Adam Schiff, affirming claims that Armenians suffered genocide at the hands of the Turkish government during World War I. According to a front-page article in the June 26 News-Press titled "Resolution gets extra push," those efforts have gained momentum, with 144 U.S. Representatives signing on as co-sponsors of the genocide resolution....

Alecia Foster It was about 85 years ago when the Ottoman Turks went through a small Armenian village where Mikael Kourinian's great-uncle lived. "All of them were rounded up and shot," Kourinian said. The story, passed down through his family, was one the Glendale Community College student will never forget. Kourinian, also president of the Armenian Student Assn. at GCC, asked fellow students Thursday to share their knowledge of the Armenian genocide with others.

Jackson Bell Organizers of a book reading by an Armenian genocide author learned their lesson after having to turning away people at his first event, and say they are better prepared for another massive turnout. Peter Balakian, author of "The Burning Tigris: The American Genocide and America's Response," will return to Glendale to read excerpts and answer questions at 7 p.m. today at the Pacific Park Branch Library, 501 S. Pacific Avenue. Balakian's first appearance at the Glendale Public Library's Auditorium was limited to 225 people.

Robert Chacon Rep. Adam Schiff introduced a resolution to Congress on Tuesday, with bipartisan support from more than 50 congressman, that would require the government to recognize the Armenian genocide. "I hope this year we can make the recognition happen," Schiff said. "It has been 90 years. If not now, when?" For two years, Schiff has fought for U.S. recognition of the genocide, in which more than 1.5 million Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Empire beginning in 1916.

Glendale Congressman Adam Schiff has surrendered to political pressure from Congress and the Bush Administration, asking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi not to bring up the Armenian genocide resolution this year. Schiff took over the role of lead sponsor on the issue several years ago. He represents the largest concentration of Armenian-Americans in the United States. The measure, condemning the death of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, once had a majority of the house as cosponsors, including Republican Congressman David Dreier.

The Glendale City Council managed a rare unanimity Tuesday night in voting to approve a resolution calling on the U.S. government to recognize the Armenian genocide. The council, with two members of Armenian heritage, were united in declaring the issue affects everyone. ?We have the largest concentration of Armenian-Americans in the country,? Mayor Ara Najarian said. ?And back in 1915, the Glendale Evening News was one of the first papers to call attention to the issue.? Leaders of the Ottoman Empire, predecessor state to modern Turkey, are accused of systematically killing 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923.

Alex Coolman CITY HALL -- Racially charged comments in the Community Forum section of the Glendale News-Press have served to inflame prejudice in the city, some residents said at a Thursday night meeting of the Glendale Human Relations Coalition. The tense gathering, which saw more than 35 people crowded into a City Hall conference room, focused on the controversy stirred up by a January letter in the News-Press. The letter stated that the United States would not recognize the Armenian genocide and included disparaging comments about the Armenian community.

Anna Harutyunyan grew up in Armenia and she has seen the poverty of rural villages there. That's why the Glendale High School senior is so dedicated to her role as president of her school's Armenian Club, and to a vision of remembering her homeland's history. Harutyunyan, 18, will represent Glendale when the leaders of the student Armenian Clubs from Clark Magnet, Crescenta Valley, Glendale and Hoover high schools meet at 6 p.m. today at the Glendale Unified School District administration building at 223. N. Jackson St. to plan the Fifth Annual Armenian Genocide Remembrance Assembly, scheduled for April 21 at the Glendale High School Auditorium.

It's been 90 years, and the United States has not come to terms with what Argentina, France, Canada, Italy, Greece, Lebanon, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, the European Parliament, Uruguay and Armenia recognize: that the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923 at the hands of the Ottoman Turks were more than the collateral damage of war. The time is long overdue for the federal government to officially...

The L.A. County Democratic Party recently passed a resolution to ask the California Democratic Party to endorse efforts to educate its members about the Armenian Genocide and reject efforts to deny the crime. The resolution was authored by the Southern California Armenian Democrats, which has many local members. It received widespread support on its way to the county party's executive committee. The vote came on the eve of the 97th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, in which 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks.

Armineh Aslanan spent Tuesday running from Montebello to Los Angeles and back to her hometown of Glendale as she tried to attend as many Armenian Genocide Commemoration events as she could. “I feel that it's something that every Armenian should do, they should at least attend one of the events,” Aslanan said. “To remember. To give respect.” Aslanan was one of nearly 1,400 people who packed the Alex Theatre Tuesday night at a city-sponsored event commemorating the 97th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, which began in 1915 when the Ottoman Empire massacred roughly 1.5 million Armenians.

Thousands marched through Hollywood on Tuesday in observance of the 97th anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian genocide and to call on the Turkish government to recognize the  deaths of about 1.5 million people. The march was organized by the Unified Young Armenians. Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Lamont Garrett said about 4,500 demonstrators participated, with many carrying Armenian flags and banners as they marched down Sunset and Hollywood boulevards. At the end of the route, near Hobart and Sunset boulevards, speakers made remarks to the crowd before they moved on toward the Turkish consulate for another demonstration.

A member of the Canadian parliament and a filmmaker whose latest feature focuses on a musician searching for a family heirloom lost during the Armenian Genocide are just two highlights of the upcoming Week of Remembrance. Each year, Glendale commemorates the Armenian Genocide of 1915 with a week of events in April. About 1.5 million Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Empire over the course of several years through massacres and death marches, which modern day Turkey has refused to acknowledge as genocide.

Politicians and members of the local community Friday expressed disappointment with a federal appellate court ruling this week that survivors of Armenian genocide victims cannot sue German insurance companies for not paying claims on policies purchased by their ancestors. In its 11-0 ruling, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit brought by Vazken Movsesian, a priest at St. Peter Armenian Church in Glendale, on behalf of a group of Southern Californian Armenian Americans about 10 years ago. A few years before the lawsuit was filed, the state Legislature passed a law that allowed courts in California to consider claims from those unpaid insurance policies.

Survivors of Armenian genocide victims can't sue German insurance companies for failing to pay claims on their ancestors because only the federal government has the power to bring foreign entities to U.S. courts, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. The 11-0 ruling by the full court dismissing the lawsuit filed nearly a decade ago probably puts an end to efforts by the genocide victims' descendants to compel German companies to pay off on policies sold to the victims from 1875 to 1923.

After months of legal wrangling, a multimillion-dollar legal dispute involving a compensation fund for descendants of Armenian Genocide victims has hit another snag: more than 1,700 of the 13,500 claims cannot be found. In U.S. District Court on Monday, attorney Roman Silberfeld said 1,766 claims “cannot be accounted for” after 41 boxes of claims were moved from the offices of attorneys Mark Geragos and Brian Kabateck to a neutral location at the Loyola Law School. Silberfeld said he has documentation that the fund's administrator, Glendale resident Persagh Kartalian, transferred 51 boxes of insurance claims at one point, but Silberfeld isn't sure of their destination.

Despite threats by Turkey and vocal opposition at home, French lawmakers approved a bill Thursday making it illegal to publicly deny that the Armenian genocide occurred. In retaliation, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan recalled his country's ambassador and said bilateral visits would be suspended and joint military operations with France canceled, Agence France-Presse news service reported. Earlier Thursday, thousands of people waving Turkish flags protested the impending vote outside the National Assembly in Paris.

The killing of more than a million Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915 was an act of genocide. The Holocaust was a fact. Yet Americans are free to deny the reality of either - or make outlandish assertions of all kinds - without facing punishment by the state. Residents of France will be denied that privilege if its parliament adopts a wrong-headed bill to criminalize denial of the Armenian genocide. On Thursday the lower house of France's parliament will debate a bill that would punish those who deny the genocide with a year in prison and a $58,000 fine.

The French parliament is considering criminalizing the denial of the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I as genocide, a newspaper reported Tuesday. But Turkish President Abdullah Gul is urging France to drop the bill that would slap citizens who deny the killings as genocide with a one-year prison term and a heavy fine, according to BBC News. Turkey is warning French parliament that the legislation would gravely impact ties between the countries. Between 1915 and 1923, 1.5 million Armenians died at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.