Rafael Nadal had to be protected by security guards at the French Open yesterday after a protester against gay marriages ran on to the court during the men’s final.
The man, who was stripped to the waist, wearing a mask and carrying a flare, was bundled to the ground by guards.
The incident followed a protest against same-sex marriage by accomplices in the stands.
After the intruder was led away, Nadal shook hands with his bodyguard before resuming play and beating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer to win his eighth French Open title.
On his back, the half-naked demonstrator displayed the name of the protest group Hommen, which has become increasingly vocal against same-sex marriages.
The issue has caused uproar in France after president Francois Hollande legalised gay marriages last month – the 13th country in the world to do so.
Hommen are demanding a referendum on the new law, claiming that it undermines the sanctity of the family, and thousands have attended protest marches all over the country.
Nadal admitted he had initially been frightened, saying: ‘It was a very quick moment. I felt a little bit scared at the first moment because I didn’t see what was going on.
‘I just turned and I saw a guy with some fire, so I got a little bit scared at the first second. But then I saw that it’s one of those things that nobody can prevent.
‘I just can say thank you very much to all the security guys. They did amazing work. They were very quick and they were very courageous.’
A spokeswoman for the France Tennis Federation said: ‘The incident is over and is now in the hands of the police.’
Nadal’s PR representative Benito Perez Barbadillo tweeted: ‘When are they going to stop mixing politics and sport? Left, right, center, they are all the same. Leave us alone!’
This is the unbelievable moment a Saudi man is filmed texting on his phone from the bonnet of a car as it speeds along a motorway at 50mph.
The fearless stunt shows the man stretching out, relaxing and even kicking his feet in the air as he sits on the front of vehicle.
The incredible footage has quickly become a hit online and has been viewed more than 1.1million times since it was posted on YouTube last week.
The footage appears to have been shot from another car as it approaches the vehicle travelling in the outside lane of a highway in Saudi Arabia.
As the camera pulls alongside, the daredevil performer can be seen, wearing traditional Saudi dress, hunched over a mobile phone on the bonnet of the car.
The car has to move over as traffic begins to build up, but in a final death-defying stunt the man turns around and kneels up with arms on the roof.
It is unclear whether those filming the performance were part of the act or passed it by coincidence.
Recently young men have taken to ‘sidewalk skiiing’ – a new craze which involves gripping onto the outside of a car as it drives along on two wheels.
A large middle-Eastern country made up largely of desert, Saudi Arabia has plenty of open road for fearless riders to practice.
Forget cash, cheques or credit cards, one cafe has a different way of charging its customers for a cup of coffee.
Metro St. James, a French style cafe in Sydney, is running a unique and romantic promotion this month.
Between the hours of 9 and 11am, the cafe is letting customers pay their bill by giving each other a kiss.
While some may find this concept somewhat creepy, the French-themed shop, which opened its doors three months ago, has included a video featuring several couples earning their cups of coffee by way of their lips.
‘We’ll watch you. It has to be a real kiss, I can see if it’s a fake kiss,’ the proprietor says in the video as he hands over the coffees.
He adds that if they try to fake a kiss, he’ll know because he’s ‘kind of a specialist.’
Queen Elizabeth II marked the 60th anniversary of her coronation on Tuesday with a service at Westminster Abbey filled with references to the rainy day in 1953 when she was crowned.
More than 2,000 guests crammed into the abbey for the service, attended by all the senior members of the royal family including Prince William and his heavily pregnant wife Catherine.
The 86-year-old monarch, in an oyster-coloured outfit by Angela Kelly, was accompanied by her husband Prince Philip, 91, who was at her side despite pulling out of a public engagement on Monday because of ill health.
Prince Charles, the heir to the throne who was just four when his mother was crowned, sat next to his parents on the front row, alongside his second wife Camilla.
Next to them sat William and Catherine, who wore a daisy lace dress and a peach silk jacket by British designer Jenny Packham.
Charles recalled last year that the queen practised wearing the crown around Buckingham Palace in the weeks before her coronation, even popping in to say hello to her children during their bath time.
President Serzh Sargsyan visited today the memorial complex of Sardarapat to attend a Republic Day-dated festive event and deliver congratulatory remarks on the Republic Day.
On this occasion, a military parade was held in Sardarapat. The Guard of Honor made a demonstrative appearance after which, accompanied by the Guard of Honor, the President laid a wreath at the monument perpetuating the names of the heroes of Sardarapat.
Muslim footballer Franck Ribery has vowed never to speak to one of his team-mates again after he was drenched with beer during Bayern Munich’s title celebrations.
The Frenchman had told players to keep the alcohol away from him as they celebrated on the pitch after their 3-0 win over Augsburg.
But despite running away from the alcohol – which is forbidden by his religion – Ribery was eventually collared by team-mate Jerome Boateng, who poured a large glass of beer over his head.
It is not the first controversy involving Ribery – the 30-year-old is due in court in June after sleeping with an underage Moroccan prostitute, although he claims he did not know she was 17.
Although he looked like he had taken it well at the time, Ribery reaction’s afterwards was extremely cold, as he said: ‘I won’t talk to Boateng again, he knows that I’m Muslim. I’m p***** off.’
The footballer converted to Islam to marry Wahiba, his childhood sweetheart – the couple have two daughters.
An American Airlines pilot was forced to make an emergency landing after a passenger refused to stop singing Whitney Houston’s hit song I Will Always Love You.
The solo performance began shortly into the flight from Los Angeles to New York and her crooning quickly became too much for passengers and staff on the domestic flight last Thursday.
The pilot was forced to change course halfway through the six hour flight and make an unscheduled stop at Kansas City so officers could escort the woman from the plane.
Despite staff telling passengers they could not take photographs while on board the aircraft, one managed to briefly film the woman being escorted down the aircraft’s aisle in handcuffs – still singing the 1990s pop song.
The woman was interviewed and later released without charge.
While the song she chose to entertain her fellow passengers with is best known for Whitney Houston’s cover in the film The Bodyguard, it was originally released by country singer-songwriter Dolly Parton in 1974.
The original I Will Always Love You received positive comments from critics and reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart two times.
This made Parton the first artist ever to earn a number one record twice with the same song as a singer, and three times as a writer.
But it was not until Houston’s cover of I Will Always Love You in The Bodyguard movie that the song became an international hit.
The Bodyguard’s original soundtrack won the 1994 Grammy Award for Album of the Year and I Will Always Love You became the best-selling single by a female artist in music history.
These pictures taken from footage showing a Russian teenager climbing around a crane 1,000ft up in the sky are enough to make your palms sweat even if you have never suffered from vertigo.
The youth is seen walking along the crane as if it were a tightrope, without showing even a flicker of fear at being so far from the ground.
Without a safety harness, hard hat or even a rope, he confidently walks – and even skips – along the red metal crane in his trainers.
The three-minute clip, posted on Youtube, shows his astonishing courage (or should that read foolhardiness?) as he casually strips off his jumper and puts on a woolly hat for his sky-high work-out
The boy, who looks little older than 16 or 17, then climbs over the side and hangs from just one hand.
The cars in the street below are so tiny they look like toys as he does monkey bars dangling off the crane.
Eventually, just when the viewer’s nerves can take it no longer, the film stops with the logo Dangerous For Life.
It has already been viewed by tens of thousands of armchair adventurers, though most of those who commented on Youtube realised the danger the youth was putting himself in.
One wrote: This crazy kid is probably going to be responsible for so many tragic deaths, if not his own.
Reinforced police prevented the youth activists to commemorate the victims of the massacre in the Oil Academy on the occasion of the 4th anniversary of the tragedy.
Police cordoned off the building of the Oil Academy, where the bloody drama was played out, and no one was allowed there. The police forced out young people with flowers in their hands, and detained Abulfaz Gurbanly, the head of the Youth Committee of Popular Front.
Later, a member of the NIDA Movement, Turgut Gambar, was detained near the Library named after Akhundov. It happened when the police began to disperse approximately 50 young people who gathered to make a rally.
Another group of young people managed to lay flowers on the boulevard, where the concert will take place today. In this way, young people protested against the concert on the day of the victims of terror.
Neither the government nor the leadership of the Oil Academy conduct activities commemorating the victims of the tragedy.
* On April 30, 2009 a native of Georgia, Farda Gadirov, entered the building of the Oil Academy, opened fire with a pistol, killing 12 and wounding 13 people. Four fellows of Gadirova were convicted on the case – three to life imprisonment, and one – to 11 years in prison. –16C06-
Seven crew members of a U.S.-run cargo plane were killed yesterday when the plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Bagram air base near the Afghan capital of Kabul.
The jet, filmed by what appears to be a vehicle’s dashcam, appeared to take off normally as it gained altitude in the beginning of the video.
But suddenly, the plane, described as a Boeing 747 cargo flight, appears to stall, twisting and dropping rapidly before crashing to the ground in a fireball.
In a statement, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the crash, but NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said there were no reports of insurgent activity in or around the base, which is one of the largest in the country and located about 25 miles north of Kabul.
National Airlines President Glen Joerger said in a statement: ‘Safety is always our top priority at National Airlines. This is a devastating loss for our family and we’ll work diligently with authorities to find the cause.
‘Most importantly, our thoughts and prayers are with our crewmembers and their families.’
The identities of the crew members were not immediately clear, but CNN reported that all seven were American.
Coalition forces said that the official cause of the crash is under investigation.
A side-splitting video of a woman who spent 30 minutes trying to parallel park her vehicle on a road in the Holyland area of Belfast, Northern Ireland, has gone viral on YouTube.
The clip, which was filmed on a mobile phone from a house window nearby and has now been viewed 1.1million times, was captured by a group of students who watched the drama unfold.
Hilarious commentary was provided by Ciaran Doherty and Ciaran Shannon along with some of their friends, and the video was uploaded until the title of ‘World’s Worst Attempt at Parallel Parking’.
Ciaran Doherty told BBC News: ‘One of the boys in the house was looking out the window having a wee bit of fresh air and saw it. The next thing we were all at the window and looking out.
‘We were looking at it for a good 15 minutes before we started videoing it. I offered to park the car for her. I can’t believe she couldn’t get it in. It could easily have fitted a big people carrier.’
Mr Shannon said his friends thought the parallel park was funny and he decided to share it with them on Facebook as a joke – before there were 30,000 views by the next day.
Mr Doherty added that the students would love to meet the woman and ‘see her view of the story’.
(CNN) — Willem-Alexander became the first Dutch king in more than 120 years on Tuesday as his mother, Queen Beatrix abdicated the throne, ending 33 years as the country’s monarch.
The 75-year-old monarch handed over power in a constitutionally ordained ceremony in the Mozes Hall of the royal palace in Amsterdam. The transfer became official as she signed the “instrument of abdication” that means she will now be known as Princess Beatrix.
Cheers erupted from crowds gathered outside the palace who were watching proceedings on a big screen as the queen signed the document. CNN’s Max Foster reported that many in the Netherlands had been partying well into the night.
King Willem-Alexander later appeared on the balcony of the palace with his wife and three daughters, along with his mother. He told the crowd he was “grateful for your confidence and support” as he started his reign.
In a televised address Monday night, Queen Beatrix said she knows the new royal couple will have the loving trust of the nation.
“My oldest son will now take over a beautiful task which is filled with great responsibility,” the queen said. “I am absolutely convinced that Willem-Alexander will be committed in faithful devotion to be a good king and to do what a good King is asked to do.”
Beatrix stepped down on the national holiday known as Queen’s Day, an opportunity for people across the Netherlands to dress up and party. The investiture of the new king before a joint session of parliament later in the day will be the high point of a year of celebrations marking the end of the Napoleonic occupation in 1813.
“I have always considered it as an extraordinary privilege to be able to put a big part of my life at the service of our country and in accordance with my task to add substance to my kingship,” said Beatrix, who acceded to the throne when her mother, Queen Juliana, abdicated in 1980.
City turns orange to celebrate new king
Dutch Queen Beatrix to abdicate throne
“Until today, this beautiful task has given me a lot of satisfaction. It is inspiring to feel close to people, to sympathize in grievances and share times of joy and national pride.”
The Dutch media has speculated that the queen was abdicating to spend more time with her second son Friso, who was injured in an avalanche at an Austrian ski resort last year. He remains in a coma in a London hospital.
A king for the 21st century
The 46-year-old new king was educated in Wales and Holland, where he earned a history degree at Leiden University. He served in the Dutch Royal Navy from 1985 to 1987. As Prince of Orange — the title given to the person first in line to the Dutch throne — he was interested in sustainability and innovation.
He is married to Máxima, who was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has a degree in economics and has worked for HSBC and Deutsche Bank. The couple have been married for 11 years and have three daughters.
Last week, the couple gave their first joint TV interview in which Willem set out how he intended to rule.
“I want to be a king who is first of all traditional, built on the tradition of my predecessors, who stands for continuity and also for stability in the country … but also a king who in the 21st century can bind together and represent society as a whole.”
Asked how he intended to do that, Willem told the NOS state broadcaster: “By being present where you think people need support or help, by giving extra attention and presence to worthwhile events and by supporting people who are in need.”
Notable absence
One notable absence at Tuesday’s ceremony will be the new queen’s father, Jorge Zorreguieta, who was a minister during the 1976-1983 Argentinian military dictatorship.
Maxima said her family would not attend her swearing-in as queen because of her father’s controversial past.
“This is a constitutional event, when my husband becomes king and my father doesn’t belong there, especially if there are issues,” the princess told NOS. “He remains my father, we still enjoy our private moments.”
WASHINGTON, DC – Members of Congress from both parties and across the United States united in calling for U.S. reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide as a fundamental element of U.S. genocide prevention policy, during the annual Capitol Hill Armenian Genocide Observance, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
Over twenty Senators and Representatives, including the Chairmen of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, spoke passionately at the event hosted by the Congressional Armenian Caucus in cooperation with Armenian American groups, the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia, and the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Office in the U.S. In addition to Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), others offering remarks and participating in the remembrance were: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI); Joe Crowley (D-NY), the Vice-Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus; Eliot Engel (D-NY), the Ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairmen Michael Grimm (R-NY) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ), and Representatives Tony Cardenas (D-CA), David Cicilline (D-RI), Jim Costa (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Janice Hahn (D-CA), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), John Tierney (D-MA), Dina Titus (D-NV), and Niki Tsongas (D-MA). Legislators, including Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Representative Linda Sanchez, extended support for the program and widely publicized the event using social media. More than a dozen other legislators, including Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) issued public statements commemorating the Armenian Genocide.
Excerpts from each presentation along with a link to the video, posted on the ANCA YouTube channel, is provided below. The complete video playlist is available at:
Sen. Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: “In my view, we must not make it the policy of the United States to turn our back on man’s inhumanity to man, we cannot turn our backs on the victim; not in Armenia in 1915, not a genocide anywhere that it occurs. Any nuanced approach serves only to empower those around the world who would use genocide as a weapon of war. So let’s be perfectly clear, there is no other word for it, there is no euphemism, there is no avoiding it, there are no excuses. As part of this commemoration we must fully commit ourselves to acknowledging the fundamental truth that what happened from 1915-1923 was by definition a blatant act of genocide – an acknowledgement that must come from Turkey, and it must come from our own government.”
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chair of the Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee: “Properly accounting for crimes against humanity is a weapon in preventing future crimes against humanity and it is important for that reason. Words actually matter and the historical record actually matters.”
Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee: “The events that we remember today, that commenced 98 years ago is not only still today – shocking – the genocide, or as Hitler said the annihilation. [. . .] An attempt to annihilate an entire race, in which the American Ambassador Henry Morgenthau was present at the time – and observer – and said that these deportations were an attempt to annihilate a race and that those who gave the orders understood it. And that far from trying to conceal it, they shared with him that indeed would be the outcome.”
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional Armenian Caucus: “Many of you know in the past our emcee has been Ardy Kassakhian who is the City Clerk in Glendale. He is a very good friend of mine. And, I sat down with Ardy about a year ago and I said to Ardy, ‘You know the Caucus works on so many issues related to Armenia and we have had a lot of success with many of them because of the help of the community. But we have not had it with the Armenian Genocide and we are determined that we are going to pass this resolution. We are going make this happen, but why is it that this is the most important thing, the highest priority. Why is it the highest priority?’ And he said to me ‘because of the people who suffered and died and their memory. We cannot rest until this country, the United States, recognizes the Armenian Genocide.” And, so I want you to understand – speaking on behalf of all of my colleagues – as much as we work on all of the other issues I mentioned tonight, we understand that this is the priority and we understand why. And we are never going to let go.”
Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY), Co-Chair of the Congressional Armenian Caucus: “We pride ourselves to be the home of the survivors, the tough standers, the battle hardened scrapers, the refugees, whose story in this country began as an ember of desperate hope and has grown into a blazing legacy of prosperity and pride. If there is any group that has earned that right to wear that badge of courage, those stripes of distinction, it is without question, the Armenian people. In 1915, an oppressive imperial regime, blinded by hatred, sought to wipe an entire people from the face of the earth. And through the horrifying instruments of torture, rape, death camps, deportation marches, over a million and a half innocent men women and children were put to death in furtherance of this horrific goal. In spite of these efforts, the Armenian Diaspora is one of the most successful, well-educated, respected and influential ethnic communities in the entire world.”
Rep. Elliot Engel (D-NY), Ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee: “I know a lot of things about Armenians, but the one thing I really know is that the Armenian Genocide did exist and that Turkey should be ashamed at itself for not recognizing it. And, by the way, I told that to the Turkish Foreign Minister to his face. Some people say, ‘Well you have to be careful because Turkey is a member of NATO and therefore there are all types of complications with a NATO ally of the United States.’ And I say just the opposite. Because they are a member of NATO, they need to be more responsible. Because they are a member of NATO they ought to own up to what happened. Because they are a member of NATO we would expect decency from them. Instead we get anything but. And that will not stand.”
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA): “This country has a proud history of speaking plainly about some of the darkest chapters of history. It is part of who we are as Americans. We do no equivocate when it comes to mass atrocity or genocide. We do not equivocate about those things because we hold ourselves to a high moral ideal. We cannot speak about Darfur. We cannot speak about a number of other human rights abuses around the world if we pick and choose which genocides to recognize. And so it is with great disappointment that when it comes to this genocide, when it comes to the genocide that Rafael Lemkin who coined the term genocide had in mind in crafting that term, that our Congress and our Administration has not lived up to its highest moral ideal. But, we are determined, on a very bipartisan basis as you can see here today, to correct that flaw. And, we will fight until we succeed.”
Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD): “In two years we will remember and commemorate [the 100th Anniversary] of this horrific tragedy and if we cannot get this done [Congressional reaffirmation of the Armenian Genocide] at that time, then shame on us. We owe it to this incredible community.”
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), Ranking Democrat on the Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee: “America should never be associated with genocide denial. It undermines our standards and our position in the world. And, finally, to those who say ‘Well, Turkey has this strategic territory and might be an ally’ what kind of ally insists on genocide denial? Where would our relations be with Berlin if they asked us to tear down the Holocaust museum here in Washington, D.C.? Our relationship with Germany is based on truth. That is a strong alliance. You cannot have that kind of alliance if it depends on genocide denial.”
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee: “When I first arrived the first thing I did was to sign on – was the first act as a Member of Congress was to sign on – to the [Armenian Genocide] resolution that Congressman Tony Coelho had at that time. And you all have been through a lot. And there are people who used to come because they were able to come and they have either gone to heaven or cannot come to be with us today. But we have been through a lot of hardships. And, we are going to endure and we are going to win this one. Because that is the mark of the tenacity and the decency and the wisdom and the effectiveness of our people.”
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), Ranking Democrat on the Energy Policy, Health Care and Entitlements Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee: “Many Armenian Americans at the time tried to hide their past and their connection to Armenia. I am fortunate that my mother was unwilling to hide her Armenian heritage. I am fortunate, like you, that I was raised in enlightenment. I was raised with a sense of pride in my heritage. I was raised with a sense of courage to challenge the status quo. I think for all of us, our ability to survive, our ability to persevere has everything to do with the DNA that was given to us by our parents and our grandparents. And, we are not unaccustomed to suffering. We are not unaccustomed to prevail. We are not unaccustomed to go the extra mile. Because, in the end we know that freedom will win out, that this country will become a better place because we are speaking out about the Armenian Genocide.”
Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI): “It is not only important to raise awareness about the Armenian Genocide because it is an undeniable fact in the history of the world, but also because learning more about this horrific tragedy it really underscores the importance of committing ourselves to eliminating intolerance and bigotry wherever it occurs in the world. I have enormous respect for the Armenian people because I have seen the strength and resilience and the perseverance of this great community.”
Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-MA), Ranking Democrat of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee: “It is my honor to be here. I thank you all for the work you do and I share a commitment to make sure that by the 100th anniversary we have formally recognized the Armenian Genocide.”
Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA): “The United States Congress must, must go on record by recognizing the first genocide that took place in the 20th Century. It is the right thing to do… Because, when we go on record we lay down a line for the rest of the world as the oldest democracy throughout the world that this injustice, this injustice, will not go unrecognized.”
Rep. John Tierney (D-MA), Ranking Member of the National Security Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee: “Peter Torigian who was the mayor of Peabody which is in my district, not too very long ago used to have a commemoration every year as will be held this year. He has passed away now but it continues on. So the education has to continue on just as Peter began in the city of Peabody and people, once they understand what happened, will carry it on and will make sure that it will be remembered and move forward on that basis.”
Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Chairman of the Capital Markets and Government Subcommittee of the U.S House Financial Services Committee: “Scripture says before you make comment about the speck in someone else’s eye, remove the plank from your eye. Well, we certainly have a plank in our eye from the Administration and from the State Department, who is just refusing to do what is right in this area. So, we must first address and remove that plank in our eye and make the admission in this country and then we can call even more strongly on other countries, specifically Turkey.”
Rep. Janice Hahn (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Health and Technology Subcommittee of the House Small Business Committee: “I am inspired, constantly, by the strength of the Armenian people; so many of whose lives have been touched by tragedy but who have persevered and have resolved to never let history be forgotten. Let us recommit to delivering the Armenian community with long overdue recognition they deserve.”
Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), Ranking Member of the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee: “We will continue the fight because as long as we do not recognize, officially, this genocide and force others to do so, it empowers the other side to continue this kind of atrocity. And, we have seen that even recently in Turkey with the Prime Minister ordering the tearing down the memorial to Turkish-Armenian friendship.”
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Ranking Member of the U.S. House Ethics Committee: “Out of this retched episode of history, we as human beings have made a conscious and determined effort to move beyond hatred and to prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future. We are morally obligated to learn from the lapses of the human soul that caused the Armenian Genocide. And, we are morally obligated to do all that we can to protect oppressed, vulnerable, and subjugated peoples.”
Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-CA): “The world is a horrible place, as much for the people who do horrible things, but equally for the people who do nothing about it; for the people who watch atrocities and do not do anything about it. I can honestly say that this country is a great, great country, but I am perplexed, confused, and disappointed that our country – at the highest levels – does not recognize the truth and is unwilling to say that the Armenian Genocide is a truth and that it happened and that it should never happen again.”
Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ): “With your help we will pass the [Armenian Genocide resolution] this Congress. And, we will establish the truth, we will learn the truth, we will speak the truth. And, as it says in the scripture of John, ‘We will know the truth and the truth will make you free’ and I do not mean just you. I mean humankind. It is a liberating knowledge to understand the depths to which humanity can sink and the heights to which humanity can rise. That is the point of this resolution.”
Amb. Tatoul Markarian, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the U.S.: “As we honor the memory of the one and a half million victims, we mark yet another year of hard work by the Armenian American organizations and our Congressional friends. We register another year of Turkish denialism. We mark yet another year of absence of international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide. Dear friends, throughout the year Turkey continued refusing diplomatic relations and open borders with Armenia; kept fervently denying the Armenian Genocide. The Turkish side did everything to convince us that true normalization was not its genuine goal when engaging in talks with Armenia; that it has no intention to look for ways to come to terms with its history. It demonstrated clearly once again – and this time to the entire world – it does not have the courage and political will to face its history, that it is the hostage and servant of its past. And, it cannot deny the denialism and because of that it is not able to move forward and embrace the present and the future.”
Mr. Robert Avetisyan, Representative of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic to the U.S.: “98 years have passed since the tragic date. More nations recognize and condemn the Genocide every year. And, we are grateful to all those countries and peoples who join the Armenian nation in persuading Turkey to reconcile this tragedy. More states call on Turkey to respect its past and acknowledge the horrible pages of that. And, what is also inspiring is the growing number of those condemning the Genocide within Turkey itself. And yesterday’s commemoration in Diyarbekir – or as Armenians have been calling it for centuries, Dikranakert – has become the most recent example of that. Of course, we hope that the movement in that trend will continue growing and eventually lead to abandoning denialism. For that to happen, in order to help those brave people to resist a powerful state of opposition we must continue educating the world about our history and share all the lesson gained by paying such an enormous price.”
— Day of Meetings with Members of Congress Focuses on Genocide Reaffirmation and Return of Confiscated Christian Churches
WASHINGTON, DC – His Eminence Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church of the Eastern United States, offered the opening prayer of the U.S. House of Representatives on Armenian Genocide commemoration day, April 24th, and reached out to legislators throughout the day leading up to the evening Capitol Hill remembrance of that crime, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) welcomed Archbishop Choloyan to offer the opening prayer, which was held at the request of Rhode Island Congressman David Cicilline (D) and at the invitation of the House Chaplain, Rev. Patrick J. Conroy. “Today, we are mindful of another April 24 – 98 years ago, the beginning of the Genocide of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, the first genocide among so many that followed in the 20th century,” said Archbishop Choloyan in his opening prayer. “We beseech You, O Lord, to bless this land of America and its people. Empower them to continue serving Your goodness as they did when they sheltered the remnants of the Armenian nation.”
In moving remarks on the House floor, Rep. Cicilline thanked Archbishop Choloyan, stating “On behalf of the Armenian community in my home State of Rhode Island, I am honored to welcome the Archbishop here today and to join him in remembering the victims of the Armenian Genocide–the systematic extermination of Armenians living under the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century,” stated Rep. Cicilline. “I join members of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues in urging that our government finally recognize the Armenian genocide as a historical fact.”
Archbishop Choloyan’s opening prayer and Congressman Cicilline’s remarks are available on the Congressman’s YouTube page at: http://youtu.be/tMeBt1aCbLo
Throughout the day, Archbishop Choloyan met with a bipartisan group of legislators including Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Representatives Chris Collins (R-NY), Joe Crowley (D-NY), Grace Meng (D-NY), David Valadao (R-CA), and Ted Yoho (R-FL). Archbishop Choloyan was joined in his Congressional visits by Rev. Fr. Sarkis Aktavoukian, Pastor of Soorp Khatch Armenian Apostolic Church in Bethesda, MD; ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian, as well as ANCA Legislative Affairs Director Raffi Karakashian and ANCA Capital Gateway Fellow Harout Doukmajian.
In the evening, Archbishop Choloyan joined several hundred Armenian Americans from across the U.S. and offered the benediction at the annual Congressional Observance of the Armenian Genocide, organized by the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, with the participation of Armenian American groups as well as the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia and the Office of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in the U.S.
Take a pictorial tour of Archbishop Choloyan’s efforts in support of U.S. affirmation of the Armenian Genocide on the ANCA Facebook page:
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