Armenian genocide vote: A stinging blow to Turkish denialism

This Armenian boy was the only survivor of a family of 15 in the 1915-1923 genocide. (Shutterstock)
Updated 03 November 2019
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Armenian genocide vote: A stinging blow to Turkish denialism

  • US House adopted a resolution on Oct. 29 to acknowledge the 1915-1923 mass killings
  • Resolution seen as a rebuke to Trump as well as Turkey's military assault on Syrian Kurds

DUBAI: October 29, 2019, has become another significant date in the history of Armenians worldwide after the US House of Representatives recognized the systematic killing of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians from 1915 onwards in modern-day Turkey as a “genocide”.

The House voted 405-11 on that day, the first time a chamber of the US Congress officially labeled the slaughter as a genocide.

The measure was adopted at a time when Ankara’s military intervention in northern Syria has strained already tense relations between the US political establishment and the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The vote was widely seen as a stinging rebuke to President Donald Trump’s decision to pull American forces from northeastern Syria and the ensuing Turkish military onslaught on Kurdish-administered areas there.

“The adoption of House Resolution 296, which recognizes the Armenian genocide from 1915 to 1923, is first and foremost a victory for truth and justice,” said Levon Avedanian, coordinator of the Armenian National Committee of Lebanon (ANCL) and professor at Haigazian University in Beirut.

“October 29, 2019, is a historical day. This recognition is important for Armenia and Armenians, for Turkey and Turks, and also for the United States, since it places the US on the side of justice, which has, for far too long, been denied to the victims and surviving generations of the Armenian genocide.”

Avedanian described the recognition as a culmination of 35 years of efforts by Armenian Americans, led by the Armenian National Committee of America, to honor the memory of the 1.5 million victims of the genocide.

In addition to the House of Representatives, 49 US states have acknowledged the Armenian genocide, and a resolution in the Senate – Senate Resolution 150 – is currently gathering pace.

“It is our hope that the Senate resolution will also be adopted and, eventually, (lead to) the US government’s change in its complicity-in-denial policy,” Avedanian said.

“The adopted resolution also calls for educating generations about the Armenian genocide in order to prevent atrocities. As Armenians, we regard genocide recognition and condemnation as important factors in preventing future genocides.”

According to genocide scholars, denial of a genocide is its last stage.

“For Armenians, the denial of the Armenian genocide by Turkey is a continuation of the genocidal policies,” Avedanian said. “In that sense, recognition by Turkey and by members of the international community is an essential foundational step on the long path of restoring justice, which would inevitably also include, in addition to recognition, reparations and restitution.”

In response to the Turkish assault on the Pentagon’s Kurdish allies in Syria, the Trump administration slapped sanctions on Turkish defense and energy ministries, as well as several high-profile Turkish officials.

“The House recognition is a major blow to Ankara’s obstruction of justice for the Armenian genocide,” Avedanian said. “The House also adopted another resolution demanding that the US administration impose sanctions against Ankara due to the Turkish incursion in Syria. However, US foreign policy is devised by the State Department and the US administration, so one should not expect that these resolutions will have a lasting effect on US-Turkey ties.”

Although Turkey strongly condemned both resolutions passed by the House, Erdogan has an invitation to meet Trump on Nov. 13. Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey’s Foreign Minister, called the vote “null and void,” saying it was revenge for the offensive in Syria.

Many countries, including Lebanon, Germany and France, officially recognize the genocide, which for most Armenians is a deeply felt issue.

The violence began with the arrest of Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople in 1915 and continued with a centralized program of deportations, murder, pillage and rape until 1923.

Ordinary Armenians were then driven from their homes and sent on death marches through the Mesopotamian desert without food or water.

Ottoman death squads massacred Armenians, with only 388,000 left in the empire by 1922 — when the genocide ended — from 2 million in 1914. (Turkey estimates the total number of deaths to be 300,000.)

Many Armenians were deported to Syria and the Iraqi city of Mosul. Today descendents of the survivors are scattered across the world, with large diasporas in Russia, the US, France, Argentina and Lebanon.

“My great-grandmother was a child during the genocide and she never knew her family,” said Nayri Kechichian, a Lebanese-born Armenian who lived in Armenia for many years.

“She lost everyone she was related to and was orphaned at a young age. Seeing her pass away aged 92 was the most emotional thing I’ve encountered in my life.

“I hoped she would finally be reunited with her family and find peace knowing that what she went through had been recognized.”

Like many Armenians, Kechichian expressed excitement over the House of Representatives statement. “This is a step forward in realizing our dream of getting back our occupied lands and having closure,” she told Arab News.

“My next wish is to see the US as a country officially recognizing the Armenian genocide.

“We’ve been fighting for years to make our voice heard, and up to this day, governments and parliaments of 32 countries have recognized the first genocide of the 20th century.

“It is high time Armenians got recognition for what they’ve been through and what they have lost – 1.5 million lives and their lands.”

Kechichian said recognition of the genocide gives Armenians the chance to ask for their “occupied lands” back, adding “we have so much history there.”

“I personally would like to go and find my ancestral lands and homes, to finally know what it feels like to belong,” she told Arab News.

“I currently face identity issues because I am a foreigner in Lebanon despite being born here and holding citizenship. And I am a foreigner in Armenia, despite having lived there for nine years and being a citizen of that country. So, where is my home? It hurts to not know where you came from or who your ancestors are.”

Aline Khatchadourian, a Dubai-based Lebanese-French-Armenian, said the genocide is a very painful topic for the Armenian community. “Having this recognition gave me hope that maybe one day, it will not only be recognized by US Congress and 32 other countries, but also everywhere else in the world,” she said.

That “1.5 million Armenians were killed, slaughtered in cold blood should count for something and never be forgotten. This lack of recognition (from other countries) proves to me that, no matter how much people may suffer or endure, there is no justice in the world,” she said.

Avedanian pointed out that the House resolution clearly states that “the US government should reject efforts to associate itself with the denial of the Armenian genocide or any other genocide.”

“Hence, we expect that the US administration will strongly reflect these principles in its dealings with Turkey,” he said.

“It is also our hope that other states, including Arab states, will follow suit by rejecting political blackmail by Ankara and by siding with the truth about the Armenian genocide.”

 


WHAT CONGRESS MEMBERS SAID

The House of Represenatives voted 405-11 on Oct. 29 in favor of a resolution recognizing the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923 as a genocide

 

We will not be party to genocide denial. We will not be silent. We will never forget. ... This is a vote I have fought for 19 years to make possible, and one that tens of thousands of my Armenian American constituents have worked, struggled, and prayed for decades to see.

Adam Schiff, House Intelligence Committee

 

Recent attacks by the Turkish military against the Kurdish people are a stark reminder of the danger in our own time. Today, let us clearly state the facts on the floor of this House to be etched forever into the Congressional Record: The barbarism committed against the Armenian people was a genocide.

Nancy Pelosi, Speaker, House of Representatives

 

This resolution not only honors and commemorates my ancestors who perished but all those who were lost in the first genocide of the 20th century.

Anna Eshoo, Representative from California

 

Recognition of genocide should not be used as cudgel in a political fight. It should be done based on academic consensus outside the push and pull of geopolitics. True acknowledgment of historical crimes against humanity must include ... earlier mass slaughters like the transatlantic slave trade and Native American genocide.

Ilhan Omar, Representative from Minnesota

 

I expect the Senate will ... let Turkey unequivocally know that the United States will not sit on the sidelines as they create problems for us and our allies.

Lindsey Graham, Senator from South Carolina

 



EU foreign ministers to discuss Israel-Iran conflict on Tuesday

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EU foreign ministers to discuss Israel-Iran conflict on Tuesday

BRUSSELS: EU foreign ministers will meet by video link on Tuesday to discuss the Iran-Israel conflict and “possible next steps” aimed at bringing about a de-escalation, an official for the bloc’s foreign policy chief said.
“In light of the gravity of the situation in the Middle East, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas has convened a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers via video link for Tuesday,” said the official in her office on Sunday.
The emergency call was organized as Iran and Israel broadened exchanges of missile and drone strikes against each other.
The conflict, triggered on Friday by a surprise Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear and military targets, has led to a mounting death toll on both sides.
The EU ministers’ meeting “will provide an opportunity for an exchange of views, coordination on diplomatic outreach to Tel Aviv and Tehran, and possible next steps,” the official in Kallas’s office said.
The official underlined that the European Union was committed to “regional security and de-escalation” and would expend “all diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions and to find a lasting solution to the Iranian nuclear issue which can only be through a negotiated deal.”

Tens of thousands rally in Dutch protest for Gaza

Updated 24 min 44 sec ago
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Tens of thousands rally in Dutch protest for Gaza

  • “More than 150,000 people here dressed in red — and a clear majority of the Dutch population — just want concrete sanctions to stop the genocide in Gaza,” said Michiel Servaes, director of Oxfam Novib
  • Rights groups such as Amnesty International and Oxfam organize massive demonstration

THE HAGUE: Tens of thousands of people dressed in red marched through the streets of The Hague on Sunday to demand more action from the Dutch government against what they termed a “genocide” in Gaza.

Rights groups such as Amnesty International and Oxfam organized the demonstration to the International Court of Justice through the city, creating a so-called “red line.”
With many waving Palestinian flags and some chanting “Stop the Genocide,” the demonstrators turned a central park in the city into a sea of red on a sunny afternoon.
One of the organizing groups, Oxfam Novib, estimated that 150,000 people participated in the march. Dutch police generally do not give estimates of demonstration turnouts.
Protesters brandished banners reading “Don’t look away, do something,” “Stop Dutch complicity,” and “Be silent when kids sleep, not when they die.”
Organizers urged the Dutch government — which collapsed on June 3 after a far-right party pulled out of a fragile coalition — to do more to rein in Israel for its military offensive on the Palestinian territory.
“More than 150,000 people here dressed in red — and a clear majority of the Dutch population — just want concrete sanctions to stop the genocide in Gaza,” said Michiel Servaes, director of Oxfam Novib.
“We demand action now from our government,” added Servaes.
Dodo Van Der Sluis, a 67-year-old pensioner, said: “It has to stop. Enough is enough. I can’t take it anymore.”
“I’m here because I think it’s maybe the only thing you can do now as a Dutch citizen, but it’s something you have to do,” she added.
A previous protest in The Hague on May 18 drew more than 100,000 people, according to organizers, who described it as the country’s largest demonstration in 20 years.
Prime Minister Dick Schoof wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “To all those people in The Hague I say: we see you and we hear you.”
“In the end, our goal is the same: to end the suffering in Gaza as soon as possible.”
The Gaza war was sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
The Health Ministry in Gaza says Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 55,207 people, the majority of them civilians.
The International Court of Justice is currently weighing a case brought by South Africa against Israel, arguing its actions in Gaza breach the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
Thousands of demonstrators protested across France on Saturday in support of Palestinians and calling for peace in Gaza.
Protesters criticized France’s stance on the conflict, branding it conciliatory or even “complicit” with the Israeli government.
French trade unions, left-wing parties and pro-Palestinian activist groups called for a global weekend of protests against Israel’s offensive in the territory.
In Paris, where the largest march took place, police counted 9,000 demonstrators, while the CGT trade union and hard-left party France Unbowed said 150,000 attended the gathering.
Thousands of people also rallied in the cities of Marseille, Toulouse and Rennes.
European Parliament member Rima Hassan called on supporters to “deviate, disobey and take all necessary actions to enforce international law, to put an end to genocide.”
She recently spent three days in a detention centre in Israel after attempting to breach its blockade of Gaza on a boat with other activists.
“We don’t want what is happening in Gaza to be silenced. Every day we hear that 30, 60 people have died. It has become routine, we don’t see it anymore and I’m afraid that with what’s happening with Iran, it will become even more invisible,” said one protester.

 


Families hold funerals for Air India crash victims

Updated 15 June 2025
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Families hold funerals for Air India crash victims

  • Funerals were held in India for some of the at least 279 people killed in one of the world’s worst plane crashes in decades
  • Health officials have begun handing over the first passenger bodies identified through DNA testing, delivering them to grieving relatives in the western city of Ahmedabad

AHMEDABAD: Mourners covered white coffins with flowers in India on Sunday as funerals were held for some of the at least 279 people killed in one of the world’s worst plane crashes in decades.
Health officials have begun handing over the first passenger bodies identified through DNA testing, delivering them to grieving relatives in the western city of Ahmedabad, but the wait went on for most families.
“They said it would take 48 hours. But it’s been four days and we haven’t received any response,” said Rinal Christian, 23, whose elder brother was a passenger on the jetliner.
There was one survivor out of 242 passengers and crew on board the London-bound Air India jet when it crashed Thursday into a residential area of Ahmedabad, killing at least 38 people on the ground as well.
“My brother was the sole breadwinner of the family,” Christian told AFP. “So what happens next?“
At a crematorium in the city, around 20 to 30 mourners chanted prayers in a funeral ceremony for Megha Mehta, a passenger who had been working in London.
As of Sunday evening, 47 crash victims have been identified, according to Rajnish Patel, a doctor at Ahmedabad’s civil hospital.
“This is a meticulous and slow process, so it has to be done meticulously only,” Patel said.
One victim’s relative who did not want to be named told AFP they had been instructed not to open the coffin when they receive it.
Witnesses reported seeing badly burnt bodies and scattered remains.
Workers went on clearing debris from the site on Sunday, while police inspected the area.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner erupted into a fireball when it went down moments after takeoff, smashing into buildings used by medical staff.
The majority of those injured on the ground have been discharged, Patel said, with one or two remaining in critical care.
Cause of the disaster
Indian authorities have yet to identify the cause of the disaster and have ordered inspections of Air India’s Dreamliners.
Authorities announced Sunday that the second black box, the cockpit voice recorder, had been recovered. This may offer investigators more clues about what went wrong.
Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said Saturday he hoped decoding the first black box, the flight data recorder, would “give an in-depth insight” into the circumstances of the crash.
Imtiyaz Ali, who was still waiting for a DNA match to find his brother, said the airline should have supported families faster.
“I’m disappointed in them. It is their duty,” said Ali, who was contacted by the airline on Saturday.
“Next step is to find out the reason for this accident. We need to know,” he told AFP.
One person escaped alive from the wreckage, British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, whose brother was also on the flight.
Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members.
Among the passengers was a father of two young girls, Arjun Patoliya, who had traveled to India to scatter his wife’s ashes following her death weeks earlier.
“I really hope that those girls will be looked after by all of us,” said Anjana Patel, the mayor of London’s Harrow borough where some of the victims lived.
“We don’t have any words to describe how the families and friends must be feeling,” she added.
While communities were in mourning, one woman recounted how she survived by arriving late at the airport.
“The airline staff had already closed the check-in,” said 28-year-old Bhoomi Chauhan.
“At that moment, I kept thinking that if only we had left a little earlier, we wouldn’t have missed our flight,” she told the Press Trust of India news agency.


Russia pulls citizens from Iran, halts Tehran consulate

Russia’s embassy in Tehran. (@RusEmbIran)
Updated 15 June 2025
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Russia pulls citizens from Iran, halts Tehran consulate

  • Russia’s civil aviation authority ordered airlines to suspend flights to Iran and Israel and avoid their airspace — along with that of Jordan and Iraq — until at least June 26

MOSCOW: Russia said Sunday it had evacuated several of its citizens from Iran and halted activity at its Tehran consulate after Israeli attacks on the country sparked retaliatory missile fire toward Israel.
“Due to the current situation, the consular service of the embassy is temporarily suspending its activities. The resumption of consular services will be announced later,” the Russian embassy in Tehran said on Telegram.
Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova said musicians from the Tchaikovsky Grand Symphony Orchestra were evacuated from Iran.
“The musicians crossed the Azerbaijani border. Yesterday (Saturday), Fyodor Bondarchuk’s film crew left Iran via the same route,” she said on Telegram, referring to the Russian director and actor.
Russia’s civil aviation authority ordered airlines to suspend flights to Iran and Israel and avoid their airspace — along with that of Jordan and Iraq — until at least June 26, following official travel warnings issued Friday.
Israel launched unprecedented strikes on Iran’s military and nuclear facilities early Friday, saying it aimed to stop Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Iran has responded with multiple missile salvos targeting Israel.
President Vladimir Putin, who maintains ties with both Iran and Israel, condemned Israel’s strikes and warned of a “dangerous escalation” in the Middle East.


Trump says can broker Iran‑Israel peace using trade as he did with India‑Pakistan

Updated 15 June 2025
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Trump says can broker Iran‑Israel peace using trade as he did with India‑Pakistan

  • Trump’s reference to India and Pakistan pertains to military confrontation which ended with US-facilitated ceasefire on May 10
  • Iranian officials report at least 138 people have been killed in Israel’s military onslaught since Friday, including 60 on Saturday

ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he could use American trade leverage to broker a peace deal between Iran and Israel, drawing a parallel to his administration’s role in facilitating a ceasefire between India and Pakistan last month.

The renewed conflict saw Iran and Israel exchanging missile and drone strikes over the past three days.

Iranian officials report at least 138 people have been killed in Israel’s onslaught since Friday, including 60 on Saturday, half of them children, when a missile brought down a 14-story apartment block in Tehran. Israel has reported at least 13 deaths.

“Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal, just like I got India and Pakistan to make,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “In that case by using TRADE with the United States to bring reason, cohesion, and sanity into the talks with two excellent leaders who were able to quickly make a decision and STOP!”

Trump’s reference to India and Pakistan pertains to a brief military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors in May, which ended with a US-facilitated ceasefire on May 10. Washington said trade and security assurances were key to the de-escalation.

He also cited other conflicts, between Serbia and Kosovo, and disputes over the Nile dam involving Egypt and Ethiopia, saying his interventions helped maintain peace “at least for now.”

“Likewise, we will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran!” Trump added. “Many calls and meetings now taking place.”

Since Friday, Pakistan’s government has repeatedly pledged solidarity with Iran but urged its citizens to postpone travel to Iran and Iraq until the security situation improves. 

On Saturday, Islamabad issued a formal travel advisory asking Pakistanis to avoid travel to Iran “for a limited period” due to the Israeli attacks.

Pakistan has also condemned the Israeli strikes, calling them an unjustified violation of Iranian sovereignty, and has urged the international community to help de-escalate tensions through dialogue.