Sunday, August 14, 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

Schiff Delivers Open Letter to Turkish People on House Floor on Genocide

by Contributor
April 9, 2014
in Featured Story, Latest, National, News, Top Stories, Videos
30
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

WASHINGTON—Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the lead sponsor of the Armenian Genocide resolution, went to the House of Representatives floor on Wednesday to deliver an open letter to the Turkish people on the Armenian Genocide.

The full text of the speech is below:

An Open Letter to the Turkish People:

Today, I write to you on a topic of great importance to both of our nations. It is on a subject that many of you, especially the younger generation, may know little about because it concerns a chapter of world history that your government has expended enormous efforts to conceal.

Turkey has been at the center of human civilization from Neolithic times to the present, and your arts, culture and science have enriched the world.

But interwoven with all of Turkey’s remarkable achievements is a dark chapter that too many of today’s Turks know little or nothing about.

Were you aware that your grandparents and great-grandparents had many Armenian neighbors and friends – that twenty percent of the population of today’s Istanbul was Armenian? Did you know that the Armenians were well integrated into Turkish society as celebrated intellects, artists, craftsmen and community leaders? Have you ever wondered, what happened to the Armenians? Have you ever asked your parents and grandparents how such a large, industrious and prosperous people largely vanished from your midst? Do you know why your government goes to such lengths to conceal this part of your history?

Let me tell you a part of their story. The rest you must find out for yourselves.

Ninety-nine years ago this month, in the dying years of the Ottoman Empire, the Young Turk government launched a campaign of deportation, expropriation, starvation and murder against the empire’s Armenian citizens. Much of the Armenian population was forcibly removed to Syria, where many succumbed during brutal forced marches through the desert heat. Hundreds of thousands were massacred by Ottoman gendarmes, soldiers and even ordinary citizens.

By the time the slaughter ended in 1923, one and a half million Armenians had been killed in what is now universally acknowledged as the first genocide of the Twentieth Century. The survivors scattered throughout the Middle East and the wider world with some making their way to the United States, and to Los Angeles.

It is their grandchildren and great grandchildren whom I represent as a Member of the United States Congress. Theirs is a vibrant community, many tens of thousands strong, with schools, churches and businesses providing a daily link to their ancestral homeland. And it is on their behalf that I urge you to begin anew a national conversation in Turkey about the events of 1915-23.

As a young man or woman in Turkey, you might ask: What has this to do with me? Am I to blame for a crime committed long before I was born. And I would say this: Yours is the moral responsibility to acknowledge the truth and seek a reconciliation with the Armenian people that your parents and their parents could or would not. It is an obligation you have inherited and one from which you must not shrink. For though we cannot choose our own history, we decide what to do about it — and you will be the ones to shape Turkey’s future.

At the end of World War II, Germany was a shattered nation – defeated in battle and exposed as history’s greatest war criminal. But, in the decades since the end of the war, Germany engaged in a prolonged effort to reconcile with the Jewish people, who were nearly exterminated by the Nazis during the Holocaust. The German government has prosecuted war criminals, returned expropriated property, allied itself with Israel, and made countless apologies to the victims and to the world. Most important, Germany has worked to expunge the cancer of dehumanizing bigotry and hatred that gave rise to the Holocaust.

This path, of reflection, reconciliation and repentance must be Turkey’s path as well. It will not be easy, the questions will be painful, the answers difficult, sometimes unknowable. One question stands out:

How could a nation that peaceably ruled over a diverse, multicultural empire for centuries have turned on one of its peoples with such ruthlessness that an entirely new word had to be invented to describe what took place? Genocide.

As in Judaism and Christianity, the concept of repentance or tawba is central to Islam. Next year will mark a century since the beginning of the genocide and Armenians around the world will mourn their dead, contemplate the enormity of their loss, and ask, why? Answer them, please, with words of repentance.

Sincerely,
Adam Schiff
Member of Congress

Contributor

Contributor

Next Post

Over 350 Activists Converge on Capitol for ANCA-WR Advocacy Day

Comments 30

  1. Ara kasparian says:
    8 years ago

    Mr .Adem I have no worlds how can I thank u GOD my God blass u

    Reply
  2. herayer says:
    8 years ago

    THIS HUMAN LETTER SHOULD ALSO BE READ BY OUR PRESIDENT MR. OBAMA DOES HE HAVE THE COURAGE TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT?

    Reply
  3. H. Boghossian says:
    8 years ago

    Although grateful for Mr. Shiff’s efforts, it is still a shame that after a century later we must still try to convince and tug at the heart strings of the other side to do what is right.

    Reply
  4. H. Boghossian says:
    8 years ago

    It’s no wonder why Armenians are so pessimistic and have a bleak outlook on life. From experience, we have learned that there is no such thing as justice or righteousness in this world.

    Reply
    • S. Spendlove says:
      8 years ago

      There is justice for those who persevere, no matter how long it takes and there will eventually be righteousness for victims as truth will always prevail in the end.

      Reply
  5. Tony says:
    8 years ago

    Thanks Adam. You are a great congressman.

    Reply
  6. Danoog says:
    8 years ago

    Schiff is very consistent in his support for Armenian issues. I don’t particularly like Democrats, but I would definitely vote for Schiff if I lived in his district.

    Reply
  7. Dan says:
    8 years ago

    Thank you Congressman!

    Reply
  8. GeorgeMardig says:
    8 years ago

    Thank You

    Reply
  9. Robert says:
    8 years ago

    Well said! Thank you Rep. Adam Schiff for this and your many continued efforts to see the Armenian Genocide recognized.

    Reply
  10. ALLA says:
    8 years ago

    Thank you Congressman!!!!!!

    Reply
  11. Alexis Zorbas says:
    8 years ago

    Thank you, Representative Schiff. Well said.

    Turkey: The cradle of Greek and other (Armenian, Jewish, Levantine) pre-Ottoman civilization!

    Reply
  12. Gurgen says:
    8 years ago

    Can Armenians get any more ‘stupider’ than this…?

    Reply
    • Gavur says:
      8 years ago

      Merhaba Gurgen;
      Why is it stupid to appeal to the newer educated generation of Turkish citizens about Turkeys’ History? Take a look around at all the ancient cathedrels and ruins in what we now call the Republic of Turkey est. 1923, Topaki Palace et al….they were all constructed by the early indigenous non Turkish citizens. Do you know your roots? Are you of Armenian background like famous Turkish Attorney Fetiye Cetin found her beloved grandmother was an Armenian orphan. There is so much proof sitting in the US Library of Congress, they were the ones after all that voted in the first humanitarian effort for America called “American Near East Relief” to specficially cloth, feed, shelter and educate over 130,000 Armenian orphans. Most of the proof is from non Armenians up to and including the Ambassador to Constaniople at the time (Henry Morganthau)
      What Schiff fails to mention is the many brave Turkish citizens that did help the Armenians by hiding them or arranging passage out of Turkey. My grandparents came from Van we had roots there centuries before the arrival of the Turkic tribes of Mongolia Central Asia.
      These roots will never go away and so continues to stand our St. Hagia Sofia that was shamelessly converted into a mosque and later to a museum and the name of Constaniople the eastern most Vatican post changed to Istanbul, Izmir was Smyrna and so on.

      You can convert a church to a mosque, change a name of a town to another name, forceable convert Christians to muslims or implement “Turkification” policies on everyone but it doesn’t change truth.

      Reply
  13. Karen says:
    8 years ago

    Why does he state that Turkey is the cradle of civilization? that is historically false….Although I appreciate his efforts he is giving Turkey what they want to hear, that they existed there historically when they did not, Mr. Schiff you re amazing, but please do some more historic research before you make public speeches.

    Reply
    • GeorgeMardig says:
      8 years ago

      ….. Turkey is the cradle of civilization?….. Not important, it’s just politics

      Reply
  14. Vicken chirickdjian says:
    8 years ago

    Thank you Congressman

    Reply
  15. Roubina Malayan says:
    8 years ago

    Thank you Congressman Schiff, I admire your courage to extend a helping hand for all people who need it.

    Reply
  16. Mko says:
    8 years ago

    Thankssssss!

    Reply
  17. AmericanIndian says:
    8 years ago

    Thanks Congressman Schiff but the problem remains America has a lot of blood on it’s hands as well, but the only difference is as an American I can openly say my Government perpetrated GENOCIDE on the Native Americans. With the “widow maker policy” or the forced extinction of their Buffalo to starve them out and then the final insult to injury…The forced deportation march “trail of tears”
    No one will every force me or tell me the true history of the USA no one, I hope that the new breed of younger educated Turks that are looking at the internet and world wide documentation about the Armenian Genocide embrace it and learn from it. I hope they also learn about who the Assyrians are, Pontic Greeks, and Greeks. Where did they all go? What happened? Why does the Turkish Govenrment confiscate our ancient religious sites? Always question your government none of them can be trusted.

    Reply
  18. Harry Keleshian says:
    8 years ago

    Congressman, I compliment you on your honest courage to bring thus very important issue to the attention of your colleagues. I am the son of a survivor and knows what was done to our people by the Ottomsn Turks in the eary 1900s. My father and his mother and two sisters were driven from there home and made to march in the hot desert pubed to die but by the grace of a God survived, one sister died in route. That went on for 6 years until they finally reached the shores of thus great country.

    Thank you, thank you Congressman Schiff.

    Reply
  19. Dikran Kechichian says:
    8 years ago

    Thank you Mr. Adam Schiff
    Dikran Kechichian

    Reply
  20. VARTAN says:
    8 years ago

    SUPER PERFECT TRUE SPEECH….HOPE TURKISH PEOPLE AND THEIR UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT WHAT THEY DID…!!!!!

    Reply
  21. Joyce Chorbajian says:
    8 years ago

    Dear Congressman Schiff: There are not enough words of thanks for the open stand which you took in regard to this very important issue that not only affected the Armenians, but continues to affect other nations. Unless humanity begins to accept the injustices that were done to the Armenians followed by other horrific events that have followed, we as the world community, will never find peace on earth. Please continue your efforts for all mankind.

    Reply
  22. Bedros Zerdelian says:
    8 years ago

    Thank you Congressman Schiff for your effort with some correction.
    Turkey has been never at the center of human civilization from Neolithic times to the present, the Greeks, Assyrians, Hitites, Armenians etc. their arts, architecture, culture and science have enriched the world.
    I hope they listen to your advise and directions.
    Justice never dies, get sick than recovers. (Baruyr Sevag)

    Reply
  23. Karl says:
    8 years ago

    Rep Schiff: Wonderfully done. You deserve our unending support!

    Reply
  24. Linda Azarian says:
    8 years ago

    Dear Congressman Schiff,
    Thank you for your courage.

    Reply
  25. GeorgeMardig says:
    8 years ago

    Thank you Rep. Adam Schif

    Reply
  26. Kework Oknayan says:
    8 years ago

    Dear Congressman
    ADAM SCHIFF
    Thank you

    Reply
  27. Kyprianos says:
    8 years ago

    This article contains two historical mistakes.
    First Turkey has not been the centre of civilization, since we cannot speak of Turkey before the arrival of the Turks. To be historically accurate we may say Asia Minor, or Anatolia, not Turkey. The Turks made their way into Asia Minor in waves starting from the 9th century till the fall of Constantinople. Talking about the Neolithic times and ”Turkey” is historically misleading.
    The second historical mistake of this speech: it is a mistake that is been repeated over and over. Although I am a strong supporter of the Armenian genocide recognition (and, the often more forgotten, Assyrian and Greek (and Greek-Pontian) genocides), the majority of historians will agree that the first genocide of the 20th century is the Hereo and Namaqua Genocide that took place from 1904 to 1907. The German general Lothar von Trotha drove the Herero people (South-West Africa) into the desert where most died of thirst. The same fate happened to the Nama people. In 1985 the United Nations’ Whitaker Report recognized these events.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Roubina Malayan Cancel reply

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

Recommended

Armenia’s Seryozha Barseghyan Named European Youth Weightlifting Champion

Armenia’s Seryozha Barseghyan Named European Youth Weightlifting Champion

1 day ago
Baku’s Goal is to Pressure Yerevan to ‘Capitulate’ During Negotiations, Says Crisis Group

Baku’s Goal is to Pressure Yerevan to ‘Capitulate’ During Negotiations, Says Crisis Group

2 days 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
    • August 14, 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