The Opposite of Silence

The United Human Rights Council (UHRC) will be hosting its 2nd annual “Opposite of Silence” night of education, activism and art.


This year the program will be spotlighting the injustices of the Turkish government and Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code.

Join us as we honor activists such as Hrant Dink, Eren Keskin, Ayse Gunaysu, Akin Birdal and Leyla Zana. They are just a few of the brave individuals who have been targeted their work for Kurdish human rights, Armenian Genocide recognition, freedom of speech and equality.

Special guest speaker Kani Xulam of the American Kurdish Information Network. (www.Kurdistan.org)

Slam poetry by Armen Soudjian.

Musical performances by Payla Kevorkian and Raffi Semerdjian.

Art by:

Ani Ishkhanian
Cynthia Kossayan
Gayaneh Novshadian.


The UHRC is an initiative of Armenian Youth Federation.

January 15, 2010

8:00pm - 10:15pm

211 West Chestnut St. Glendale, CA 91204

Astarjian: Our Friends, Our Foes: The Kurds

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Hrant Dink Day in the UK Parliament

The Hrant Dink Society

c/o The Temple of Peace, Cardiff, Wales

invites you on

Hrant Dink Day, 19th January 2010, in the UK Parliament

to a series of meetings:

"What is really going on in Turkey?"

Speakers include Ragip Zarakolu, one of the founders of the Turkish Human Rights Association and publisher, prosecuted 40 times, most recently for publishing a novel

1 "Problems of the 'Other' and of 'Minorities' in Turkey" (Ragip Zarakolu, Desmond Fernandes and Arzu Pesman - Kurdish Federation-FEDBIR), "Hrant Dink's Vision" (Ragip Zarakolu) and "Rediscovering Turkish Armenia" (Vardan Tadevossian), followed by a discussion - in Committee Room 16 at 5 p.m.

Sponsor : Nia Griffith MP

2 The lessons of Holocaust, Genocide and current problems of Ethnic Cleansing - in Committee Room 16 at 6 p.m. Sponsor: Dr Bob Spink MP

Khatchatur I. Pilikian on "Holocaust and Genocide"

Ruth Barnett on "The shared Jewish and Armenian experience"

Saad Tokatly on Iraqi Christians and Other minorities

The meeting will also be used to Promote EDM 287 by Dr Bob Spink on the Holocaust and Andrew Dismore's Presentation Bill to introduce a national day to learn about and remember the Armenian genocide, to be read a Second time on Friday 30 April 2010 (Bill 42).

3 Meeting in the House of Lords (Committee Room 3A at 7 p.m.) - Launch of 'Friends of Belge Press' and 'The Current Human Rights Situation in Turkey'

Sponsor: Baroness Finlay of Llandaff

Speakers: Ragip Zarakolu, Desmond Fernandes and Haci Ozdemir (International Committee Against Disappearances - British Section).

Narod, Armenian-Kurdish artist.

Narod is an artist of Armenian-Kurdish descent. She is originally from Wan-region and the pictures below are from one of her performances.

Armenians and Kurds: a historic parallel

"I see a very strong correlation not only regarding the solution but also regarding the origins of the Kurdish and Armenian issues," said Taner Akçam in a recent interview with the British blog "Changing Turkey in a Changing World." The interview appeared in the Armenian Weekly for Nov. 29.

Kurdish Armenian conference in Brussel

Information in Kurdish:

Li buroya Kurdî ya Brukselê konferansek bi wate: KURD DI WÊJEYA (EDEBIYAT) ERMENÎ DE Li Buroya Kurdî ya Brukselê konferansek pir bi wate tê dayin. Mijara konferansê ”Kurd di wêjeya ermenî de” ye. Yektan TÜRKYILMAZ bi giranî dê li ser salên di navbêra 1878 – 1915 de kur bibe. Konferans ji raya giştî re vekirî ye.

Mêjûyê konferansê: Yekşem, 27.12.2009, katjimêr (saet) 16.oo e. Navnîşana buroyê wisa ye: BUROYA KURDÎ, Quai aux Pierres de Taille 11 (Arduinkaai 11), 1000 Bruxelles.

False statement by Andrey Areshev

Armenian relations are undergoing negative transformations, according to Andrey Areshev, deputy director of
Strategic Culture Foundation.

Areshev claim that `anti-Armenian publications in Kurdish media are met more frequently. It's an alarming tendency, Which Should be prevented '.
This is not true, Kurdish media, express themselves very rarely negative about minorities in Kurdistan or Armenia as a neighbor.

There is the current situation is not a single Kurdish media channel that denies the genocide or who tried to disparage the Armenians.
As a Mather of fact it has several Kurdish newspapers an open and formal policy that does not diminish or deny the genocide that took place in 1915 against the Armenians in which Kurdish groups also were involved as perpetrators.
One example is the Kurdish Herald, which has it written into their policies and guidelines that they dont publish materials includin 'denial of the Armenian Genocide, including using attributes that lessen the significance of the event " [SOURCE]

Read more about the Kurdish media here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurdish_recognition_of_the_Armenian_genocide

Areshev's statement is unfortunate and not true, what he is trying to achieve so he should do so by telling the truth.

Armenian And Kurdish Ads On Turkish TV

To increase the income gained from the ads, the Turkish State TV (TRT) undertook new steps. According to the Turkish daily "Sabah", an ad in Kurdish will be broadcast on TRT 6, as "Veritas Medya", managing the ad business in the Turkish TRT, considers it necessary.  The ads in different languages and dialects are allowed to be on TRT since 1 January. According to this, Kurdish, Armenian, Arabic and ads in other languages are possible to be broadcast only when a corresponding program in that language is on.

Sîdar Yigit about Tîgran

Aram Tigran, the famous Kurdish singer of Armenian origin, have been rushed to the hospital and there is almost no information on Tigrans condition.

His family were survivors of the Armenian Genocide and he is considered among the best of contemporary Kurdish singers and musicians.

Sîdar Yigit (Netkurd.org) wrote something on Aram Tigran and the Armenian-Kurdish friendship.

(Netkurd.org - Wêran ez im. Malam xerab!)

Twitter activism

Haytoug magazine about Kurds and Armenians

>>Read Haytoug here!<<

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ARMENIA -GHARZEN VILLAGE & KURDISTAN MOUNTAINS - engraving from 1876

1684 - Map of Kurdistan and Armenia

Armenians in the new Constitution of Kurdistan

New constitution of Iraqi Kurdistan is a model for the nationality and minority politics of the Near-east

The Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) has described the new constitution of the autonomous federal state of Iraqi Kurdistan as a shining model for the nationality politics and the solution of the minority problems in the Near-east. “The rights of all large ethnic groups in Iraqi Kurdistan are expressly anchored, including the right to self-government and freedom of religion”, said the President of the GfbV International, Tilman Zülch, on Tuesday in Göttingen. Smaller communities too have the opportunity to develop. (entfalten”) The regional parliament in Arbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, passed the draft constitution last week. Now it is for the citizens of the federal state to vote for or against the new constitution at the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for 25th July [2009].

The wishes of all nationalities have been respected in the new constitution. Article 15 says: “The people of the federal state of Iraqi Kurdistan is made up of Kurds, Arabs, Turkmens, Chaldaic Aramean Assyrians, Armenians and other citizens of Kurdistan /Iraq.”

Article 35 says: “This constitution guarantees the national, cultural and administrative rights of the Turkmens, Arabs, Chaldaic Aramean Assyrians and Armenians including their right to regional autonomy in the regions and communities in which these ethnic groups form a majority.”

Article 36 guarantees complete freedom of religion also for the Christian denominations and the religious community of the Yezidi.

Apart from the Kurdish and Arab languages Turkmen, New Aramaic and Armenian are recognized as languages of the smaller nationalities. In communities or regions where these form the majority local or regional autonomy is granted. The right to native language instruction is guaranteed by the constitution from primary school to university.

An electoral law for Kurdistan also sets down that eleven of the 111 seats in the regional parliament are reserved for non-Kurdish nationalities:

five seats each for Turkmens and Christians and one seat for the small Armenian ethnic group. For the provincial councils also a comprehensive quota system has been introduced. In Sulaimaniya one seat has been reserved for the Chaldaic Aramean Assyrians, In Arbil there are three seats for the Turkmens, two for the Aramaic-speaking Christians and one for the Armenians, while in Dohuk two seats are reserved for the Aramaic-speaking Christians and one for the Armenians. The smaller peoples will be having as a result of their guaranteed seats in all bodies more representatives than corresponds to their percentage in the total population.

In Kurdistan/Iraq there is today a Turkmen and a New Aramaic school system with 58 Aramaic, 16 Turkmen and two Armenian schools. Both nationalities have media (press, radio, TV and culture institutes) in their languages. There is also a private Turkish university and a theological seminar of the Chaldaic Catholic Church for the training of priests, which following the recent mass flight of Christians from Baghdad was transferred to the Kurd capital of Arbil.

Pirtûka HECIYÊ CINDÎ: JIYAN Û KAR Û MALBATA CINDÎ

Goran Candan

Eta (xwunga mazin) me Frîda Hecî Cewarî qîza navîn a kurdê navdar, qîza pêþengek ji civaka kurdên Qefqazê, qîza nivîsevan û zimannasê (fîlolog) naskirî, qîza hêja Heciyê Cindî (1908-1990) ye.

Frîda Cewarî sala 1934'ân Li Rewan'ê (Erîvan) hatiye dunyayê. Frîda Hecî Cewarî li zankoya (unîvêrsîteya) Moskovayê beþê pêdagogîyê û fakûltêta fîzîk-matêmatîkê biriye serî.
Ji hingê ve, li Rewanê ev e 50 sal e ku mamostetiya matêmatîkê ya Kolêca Rewanê dike. Hozanê navdar ê kurdê Qefqazê, Fêrikê Ûsiv (1934- 1997) ku ji vê çend salan berê çû ber dilovaniya Xwedê mêrê Xatûn Frîda Hecî Cewarî bû.

Frîda Cewarî ji bo yadgariya sedsaliya bûyina bavê xwe (2008) Heciyê Cindî, pirtûka bi navê Heciye Cindî - Jiyan û Kar derhaniye. Vê berhemê du caran jî daye weþandinê. Çapa duduyan bi alîkariya Înstîtuya Kurdî ya Parîsê hatiye derxistin.

Jiyana Heciyê Cindî, ji hêla her kurdekî kurdhez û wêjehez ve baþ dihêt naskirinê. Hecî li saxiya xwe ji ser 80 sernav (title) pirtûk derhanî û pirtûkxaneya kurdî pê dewlemendtir kir. Ev berhem xwedî babetên zaniyarî, wêjeyî yên cihêreng bûn. Hem berhemên ji ber pênûsa Hecî û hem jî berhemên wek karê wî yê wergêrvaniyê ên wek gelêrî (folklorî), perwerdeyî (pedagogî) bûn. Li pey koçkirina wî, li gor Eta Frîda, pênc (5) berhemên wî yên destnivîskî yên çapnebûyî jê mane. Bi xebat û lebata xwe ya xwandina zanistiyê, Heciyê Cindî hilkiþiya qada profêsoriyê.

Heciyê Cindî di sala 1908'ê de, li gundê Amançayirê, girêdayê Qersê ji dayîk bûye. Di salên 1918'an de, ji ber komkujî û hêrîþên leþkerên tirkan, ew koçber dibin û derbasî aliyê Sovyetê dibin. Li wir Hecî bê xwedî dimîne, dikeve sêwîxaneyê.

Li sêwîxaneyê bi sedan zarokên bêxwedî re perwerdeyên sereke û yên navînê wergirtiye. Sala 1929'an, derbasî qursa amadekirina mamostayetiyê bûye. Di sala 1930'an de, ketiye Fakulteya Rewanê (Erîvan) a zimannasiyê. Her wisan jî ew dibe xwendevanê kurd yê yekemîn ku li Ermenîstanê di fakultê de xwandin kiriye.

Heciyê Cindî gorbuhuþt, di sala 1932'an de, li nav civaka kurdî ya li Qefqazê, dest bi berhevkirina materyalên zargotina (folklora) Kurdî dike. Her wiha jî ji sala 1930'an de, di rojnameya Riya Teze û di Radoya Kurdî de (ku tenê nûçe diweþandin) dixebite.

>>Read the full article here<<