DIASPORA

Journalist Meline Toumani’s first book ‘There Was and There Was Not’ was recently published in the US and was met both with high acclaim and strong reaction. Drawing from her own experiences, Toumani’s book holds a critical mirror to Diaspora Armenians, and has received criticism from Armenian circles in the US, with some even calling for a boycott. We spoke to Toumani in New York.

According to Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu, who made a statement to the official Anadolu Agency, ‘The parallel structure is working against Turkey in the 2015 events’.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry has not approved the art project titled ‘The Streetlights of Memory’ to be erected in Geneva in memory of the Armenian Genocide.

Armenians living in other countries of the world will join to commemorative event to be held on April 24, 2015, in Istanbul. “Our presence in Istanbul will be a form of resistance to erasure and denial,” says Project 2015 board member Nancy Kricorian.

We interviewed historian and politician Gerard J. Libaridian, who participated in the Sealed Gate Conference organized by the Hrant Dink Foundation, and as its 100th anniversary approaches, talked about the Genocide.

The world-famous rock band System of a Down has announced that it will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide with a series of concerts. The tour titled ‘Wake up the Souls’ begins on April 10 with a concert at Wembley Arena in London.

The third guest of The History Foundation’s Thursday Talks series titled ‘Deportation-Massacre-Genocide 1915-2015’ was Assistant Professor Nazan Maksudyan, Head of the Department of Social Sciences at Istanbul Kemerburgaz University. Maksudyan held a speech titled ‘Three Generations, Three Massacres: Armenian Children and Orphans from 1895 to 1915’ and we had the chance to talk to her about the perception of children during the Ottoman period, and the conditions and political roles of Armenian orphans.

The files belonging to Armenians that stayed at the Aleppo , which was founded to provide shelter to Armenians who escaped the Armenian Genocide, have been translated into and published in Turkish with the title ‘Aleppo Shelter 1922-1927’. Published by Alfa Yayınları, the book was edited by the former General Staff ATASE Presidency Archive Department Director Ahmet Tetik, and publisher Cihan Güneş.

Nancy Kricorian, author of the famous novel Zabelle, has returned to Istanbul after the Anatolian trip she took in the footsteps of her grandmother. She met with us to share what remains with her, with questions on her mind and memories in her notebook.