Thursday, June 30, 2022
No Result
View All Result
Asbarez.com
NEWSLETTER
ՀԱՅ
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports
No Result
View All Result
Asbarez.com
ՀԱՅ
No Result
View All Result

Panel Discussion on Turkish-Armenian Relations Held at NY City Hall

by Contributor
April 23, 2009
in National, News
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
NEW YORK, N.Y. (A.W.)–On April 17, a panel discussion on Turkish-Armenian relations was held at New York City Hall. Hosted by the Armenian National Committee (ANC) of New York, the panel discussion featured Armenian Weekly editor Khatchig Mouradian, California Courier publisher Harut Sassounian, scholars Bilgin Ayata and Dr. Taner Akcam, and ANCA executive director Aram Hamparian. Over 250 member of the New York and New Jersey Armenian community attended the event, which was co-sponsored by Councilwoman Melinda Katz (D-29th District), who has been a staunch advocate for the Armenians in her district.

Opera singer Haig Mardirossian opened the event, with the “Star Spangled Banner” and “Mer Hairenik.” ANC-NY chairperson Raffi Mahserjian then invited Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, the Prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America (Eastern Prelacy) to offer prayers.

In his remarks, Mouradian talked about the recent attempts at dialogue between Turkey and Armenia. “The exchange of ping-pong players in the early 1970’s between China and the U.S. that paved the way for President Richard Nixon’s visit to Beijing in 1972 became known as ‘Ping Pong Diplomacy.’ When the Armenian president in 2008 extended an invitation to his counterpart to visit Yerevan and attend the soccer match, the media started referring to the Turkey-Armenia dialogue as ‘Soccer Diplomacy,’” he explained.

“While such a term could be fitting to the rapprochement between two powerful countries like the U.S. and China, a similar description for Turkey and Armenia is misleading because it assumes that Turkey and Armenia are ‘competing’ on a level playing field. In the latter case, not only is there a glaring power asymmetry, but that power asymmetry is largely a result of a genocide perpetrated by one of the sides against the other.” Mouradian also said that the “Turkish-Armenian dialogue” is a misnomer, because what is going on between the two states is simply Turkey-Armenia dialogue and, as such, does not encompass all the elements that are crucial for a just and lasting solution.

Mouradian then introduced Sassounian, who said, “Turkey has so far brilliantly executed all of its sinister objectives.” After providing a background to the negotiations between Turkey and Armenia, he added, “As it became clear in late 2008 that Barack Obama would win the presidency and possibly keep his promise to recognize the Armenian Genocide, the Turkish government launched a major campaign to convince the international community that Armenia and Turkey were engaged in delicate negotiations which would be undermined if third countries acknowledged the genocide.”

Clearly, Sassounian noted, the Turks were not sincere in their declared intentions. “Had they been serious, they could have opened the border in a matter of days, not months or years!”

To counter the Turkish and Azeri ploys, Sassounian said that Armenia’s leaders should: start playing hardball with Turkey and Azerbaijan; stick to Armenia’s long-avowed position of no preconditions for opening the border and establishing diplomatic relations with Turkey; resist pressures from Russia, the U.S., and Europe; and consider setting Oct. 7 as a deadline for opening the border. He also said that the Armenian Parliament should safeguard Armenia ‘s national security–long in advance of any border accord–by prohibiting all foreigners from purchasing land in sensitive border areas and making investments in strategic resources and industries.

Ayata spoke next. “It is very instructive to look closely at the developments in the Kurdish conflict when one is concerned with the Armenian Genocide, and vice versa,” she said. “This delivers important insights on how at present the Turkish state manages to slowly move away from the politics of denial without arriving at a politics of acknowledgment.”

Talking about the recent apology campaign launched by some Turkish intellectuals, Ayata said, “While on the one hand, the intent for apology is very honorable and certainly a step into the right direction, the ambivalent wording of the statement, its limited scope as well as the use of the term ‘Great Catastrophe’ instead of ‘genocide’ casts doubts on the very intent of apology. The choice of the term ‘Great Catastrophe’ reveals a great ignorance towards those to whom the apology is extended to. To me, the campaign looks like an act of appeasement instead of an apology that has taken the sensitivities of the Turkish state more into account than the sensitivities of genocide survivors.”

She gave the example of a Kurdish intellectual who stands in stark contrast to the apology campaign. “Berzan Boti is a Kurdish political activist and author from Siirt who contributes regularly to Kurdish debates that take place on the web. He spent 11 years in the infamous Diyarbekir prison. A few years ago, he found out that the land owned by his family had actually belonged to Assyrians that used to live in his village. During the 1915 genocide, the Assyrian families were killed and deported, and his forefathers confiscated the land of an Assyrian family that was killed. In 2007, Berzan Boti approached the Seyfo Center in Sweden that struggles for the recognition of the genocide and told them that he wanted to return the land to its rightful owners. Since they were no longer alive, he gave it to the Seyfo Center.”

Dr. Taner Akcam spoke about issues of national security and the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. He said, “Pitting national interests against morality as mutually exclusive is wrong. Any security policy in the Middle East that excludes morality cannot ultimately work. Eventually it comes to undermine national security. Indeed, if one knows Turkey and the Middle East, one would easily recognize that history and historical injustices are not just dead issues from the past; the past is the present in the Middle East. There is a strong interconnection between security, democracy, and facing history in the Middle East.”

Akcam noted that if the United States declares what it believes to be the truth and stands behind it, “not only will it gain some self-respect on the subject, but it will liberate both Turks and Armenians and itself in the process.”

He concluded, “I believe that we will enter a new era where morality and realpolitik will not be considered mutually exclusive–if President Barack Obama should put an end to this lingering problem and liberate everybody in the process by an official acknowledgment of genocide.”

Aram Hamparian said it was a privilege to be part of the panel discussion with “Taner Akcam, a truly historic figure, with Bilgin Ayata, who represents a bridge of understanding between Kurds and Armenians, and, of course, Harut Sassounian, who, for decades has been a moral compass and a teacher to a generation of Armenian American activists.”

“America’s stand against genocide should not be treated as a political commodity to be bartered or retreated from under pressure,” he said, “but rather as a core American moral value, one to be advanced regardless of the political cost. This is the type of nation we should be, one that understands that our willingness to confront genocide cannot be traded for basing rights, overflights, and energy pipelines.”

“No, we are better than that,” he added. “Stronger, more principled, and committed–as a matter of true national security–to standing tall among the nations of our world, earning the respect of all countries through the defense of our values.”

He concluded by saying, “Our movement is not simply an Armenian one, but rather an American one destined to change America, to lift–through great sacrifice and literally decades of effort–the United States’ response to genocide to the level of our values. This represents a great service by our community to America and the world, one that will help reassert American moral leadership and help prevent future genocide.”

The event concluded with a lengthy and lively question-and-answer session.

Contributor

Contributor

Next Post

Turkey's Gul Invited to Nabucco Summit with EU leaders

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

ANCA Colorado-Sponsored Youth Complete New American Leaders Summit

15 hours ago
Key U.S. House Appropriations Panel Proposes $60 Million for Armenia; Needs Assessment for Artsakh

Key U.S. House Appropriations Panel Proposes $60 Million for Armenia; Needs Assessment for Artsakh

19 hours ago

Connect with us

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Subscribe
  • Contact

© 2021 Asbarez | All Rights Reserved | Powered By MSDN Solutions Inc.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports

© 2021 Asbarez | All Rights Reserved | Powered By MSDN Solutions Inc.

Accessibility

Accessibility modes

Epilepsy Safe Mode
Dampens color and removes blinks
This mode enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode
Improves website's visuals
This mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode
Helps to focus on specific content
This mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode
Reduces distractions and improve focus
This mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode
Allows using the site with your screen-reader
This mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.

Online Dictionary

    Readable Experience

    Content Scaling
    Default
    Text Magnifier
    Readable Font
    Dyslexia Friendly
    Highlight Titles
    Highlight Links
    Font Sizing
    Default
    Line Height
    Default
    Letter Spacing
    Default
    Left Aligned
    Center Aligned
    Right Aligned

    Visually Pleasing Experience

    Dark Contrast
    Light Contrast
    Monochrome
    High Contrast
    High Saturation
    Low Saturation
    Adjust Text Colors
    Adjust Title Colors
    Adjust Background Colors

    Easy Orientation

    Mute Sounds
    Hide Images
    Virtual Keyboard
    Reading Guide
    Stop Animations
    Reading Mask
    Highlight Hover
    Highlight Focus
    Big Dark Cursor
    Big Light Cursor
    Navigation Keys

    Asbarez.com Accessibility Statement

    Accessibility Statement

    • www.asbarez.com
    • June 30, 2022

    Compliance status

    We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.

    To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.

    This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.

    Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.

    If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email

    Screen-reader and keyboard navigation

    Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:

    1. Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all of the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.

      These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.

    2. Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside of it.

      Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

    Disability profiles supported in our website

    • Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
    • Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
    • Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
    • ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
    • Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
    • Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

    Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments

    1. Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
    2. Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over 7 different coloring options.
    3. Animations – epileptic users can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
    4. Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
    5. Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
    6. Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
    7. Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.

    Browser and assistive technology compatibility

    We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.

    Notes, comments, and feedback

    Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to