Dynamic presentation to address key points raised by passage of Berman-Cicilline Amendment
GLENDALE, Calif.—The Armenian National Committee-Western Region (ANC-WR) recently announced that Khatchig Mouradian will serve as a panelist in the ANC presentation “Confronting Truth, Delivering Justice: Turkey and the Armenian Genocide,” which is part of the ANC Grassroots weekend that will take place from Fri., Nov. 25 to Sun., Nov. 27, at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Studio City. Mouradian, the editor of the Armenian Weekly and among the diaspora’s leading public intellectuals, will speak at ANC Grassroots about the confiscation of Christian church properties by the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey.
Mouradian’s timely presentation comes on the heels of the passage of the Berman-Cicilline Amendment, which called on the Republic of Turkey to end all forms of religious discrimination and allow the rightful owners of Christian church properties to organize and administer prayer services without hindrance or restriction. It further called for the return of these properties to the Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, and other nations that have lived in the lands of present-day Turkey for thousands of years. This religious freedom amendment–which came under attack from Ankara’s surrogates in Washington–drew broad bi-partisan support, including from both Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Ranking Democrat Howard Berman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the influential panel that drafted the legislation. Mouradian’s presentation will cover the Ottoman era of Sultan Abdulhamid and the Young Turks through to the present-day Republic of Turkey. Drawing from a wealth of primary and secondary sources, including recently published scholarly works, Mouradian will present an overview of the process through which Armenian property, including church property, was confiscated from Armenians and transferred to the Ottoman and later Turkish state, and how the economic wealth stolen from the Armenians contributed to the creation of the Turkish national economy. Through a multimedia and photographic presentation, Mouradian will share a broad overview of the destruction, desecration, and disregard of Armenian and other Christian church properties, as well as present a detailed inventory of pre and post-genocide religious properties.
Mouradian will then discuss the Turkish state’s current policy towards Armenians and Armenian cultural and religious heritage in Turkey. He will also explore the moral and material remedies available to begin addressing the damages inflicted upon the Armenian and other victims of Ottoman and later Republican Turkey’s genocidal campaign to eliminate the Christian populations within its borders.
In addition to serving as editor of the Armenian Weekly, Mouradian is a doctoral student in Holocaust and genocide studies at Clark University, where he is writing his dissertation on the destruction of the Armenians in the Syrian desert during the Armenian Genocide. Mouradian has lectured extensively and participated in conferences in Armenia, Austria, Cyprus, Lebanon, Norway, Syria, Switzerland, Turkey, and across the United States. He has presented papers on media, human rights, and the Armenian Genocide at several academic conferences, including the 5th and 6th Workshops on Armenian-Turkish Scholarship, held at NYU in 2006 and at the Graduate Institute in Geneva in 2008; the 2009 International Conference on Genocide and International Law at Haigazian University in Beirut; the 2009 Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESA) conference in Boston; the 2010 Armenian Genocide Research conference at Clark; and the 2010 Armenian Genocide Reparations conference in Ankara, Turkey.
ANC Grassroots is a three-day program of workshops and panel presentations that will inform participants about the issues presently facing Armenian Americans, and educate them about civic leadership arising from grassroots efforts. ANC Grassroots will bookend the ANCA-WR’s Annual Banquet, which will take place on Sat., Nov. 26 at 7p.m. The conference and banquet are open to interested individuals throughout the entire United States, and participants are encouraged to register early. Tickets for ANC Grassroots, which includes the Friday night cocktail in the Starview Room; as well as conference sessions on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, which include breakfast, post-banquet dance, and a keynote luncheon on Sunday, are $150. Tickets for the Annual Banquet are $200. Those interested in attending the Annual Banquet and ANC Grassroots can purchase a package for $300. Students with valid ID can purchase discounted tickets to the banquet and conference.
The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.
I believe Christian Minorities should have human rights in Turkey, practice their religion, and speak their language. At the same time, they should hold a loyal oath to the Republic of Turkey (Edward Tashji was an Assyrian/Armenian from Turkey and harshly criticised Armenian Supremacists. NOTE: Go read Edward Tashjis book btw. Also, Hrant Dink critcised Armenian supremacists as well), but that does not mean you Dashnaks are going to get a inch of soil from the Republic of Turkey. We will defend each and every inch of our soil and there is nothing you can do it. You call us Mongols, how can I be a Mongol when i have round eyes, black hair and light skin. I am Turkish, but I have Laz and Pomak ancestry. Actual Turkic populace of RoT is only 1-2%, or even less then that. There are many ethnicities in Turkey and supporting seperatism in Turkey threatens peace. I support democracy and human rights in Turkey, but we have a right to defend each and every inch of our soil of the Republic of Turkey. So don’t try to get excited in an imperalist war of carving the borders of the RoT, dear Armenian Supremacists.
‘Also, Hrant Dink critcised Armenian supremacists as well’
Isn’t it ironic that Hrant Dink was murdered in Turkey, in broad daylight, in Istanbul, on a very public street, by a coward who shot him in the back of the head. A cowardly Turk too chickens______ to face an unarmed man when shooting him: had to shoot him in the back.
Isn’t it ironic that Hrant Dink was murdered by a Nationalist Fascist Supremacist Turk.
Sean Yilmaz the Turk who has round eyes…
Have you ever asked yourself as to why you have round eyes when your ancestors were Mongols and Tartars who came from Altai Mountains and Mangolian Stepps? Well here is something to think about… murder, destruction of civilized cultures, rape, forced marriages, forced prostitution, harems, and technically enslaving Armenian women by your barbaric ancestors.. rings a bell?
you are absolutely right.. you have very little Turkich traits but i already gave you the reason.. so why don’t you stop acting like you own your land and start asking questions .. you might enlighten yourself to the real reason you are living where you are living.. i would not talk about protecting what is not yours….
It is good to see some detailed information on this topic which is very rarely discussed on the internet. Thanks for this pretty useful share.
Sean Yilmaz, how can you call Armenians supremacists when it was Ottoman supremacism that lead to the Armenian Genocide and it was Turkish Supremacists that killed Hrant Dink?
Do you know your history? Do you know that Armenians tried working with the Young Turks to establish justice for minorities in the Ottoman empire only to be stabbed in the back when the CUP gained power? And since you are not a ‘Turk’ but a descendant of conquered and subjugated people, why is it so hard for you to understand the plight of the Armenians? Why do you not feel the pain of a people who were treated not as Ottoman citizens by the CUP, but as unwanted garbage, and have continued to be denigrated with denial and distortion ever since the genocide? Easy to call for equal rights for all now, but more difficult to right a wrong from the past. Yet it is still necessary to try.
Great article!!