USA ARMENIAN LIFE Magazine publishes significant events of 2007

PanARMENIAN.Net - "The year 2007 will go down in the Armenian history annals as a ground-breaking year. In many ways, the year brought an impressive number of victories for the Armenians. How can one talk of 2007 and not mention the valiant individuals who significantly impacted our collective life, in the service of Justice and Humanity?" the USA ARMENIAN LIFE Magazine writes citing the list of main events of year 2007 basing on The California Courier publications.



According to the magazine, one of the most outstanding events was the statement by Ahmet Ertegun, a significant figure in the modern recording industry, who said that recognition of the Armenian Genocide would be good for Turkey. On Jan. 5, 2007, Harut Sassounian, the Publisher of The California Courier, wrote: "Ahmet Ertegun was a music magnate who launched the careers of many great singers and groups, such as Ray Charles, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones. … He surprised me by saying that he could not understand why Turkish officials denied the Armenian Genocide - a fact known to the entire world. He made it clear that he was not acknowledging the Genocide in order to appease the Armenians. He believed that it was, first of all, in Turkey's interest to acknowledge the Genocide, because doing so would help Ankara's application for membership in the European Union and get rid of the stigma that had haunted his native land for so many years. Ertegun said he had read about the Armenian Genocide in many Western books, but had not seen a single reputable book that denied its occurrence. He referred to Turkish officials who denied the Genocide as being "Turk ghafali," implying that they had a stubborn Turkish mentality."



Event number two refers to TIME EUROPE. On Feb 9, 2007, Sassounian wrote: "It took a little more than a year and a half, but it was well worth the wait. After lengthy, sometimes complex, but mostly amicable discussions, the European edition of TIME magazine, in its Feb. 12, 2007 issue, published a full-page text on the Armenian Genocide and distributed a complimentary DVD, in English and French, which contains a compelling 52-minute documentary on the Armenian Genocide by French director Laurence Jourdan. The DVD also includes a 46-minute interview with Dr. Yves Ternon, a leading expert on the Armenian Genocide. This issue of the magazine, which has been on newsstands since Feb. 2 in 67 countries throughout Europe, parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, was sold out within the first 48 hours of its availability. When scores of TIME subscribers, the Switzerland-Armenia Association (SAA) and this columnist complained to TIME executives, Managing Editor James Kelly in a letter to SAA dated Sept. 2, 2005, apologized for having disseminated the Turkish DVD which he said 'was not adequately reviewed by anyone at TIME." Furthermore, he acknowledged that the Turkish DVD did not "meet TIME's standards for fairness and accuracy.'"



Among the other events of last year the Magazine mentions the verdict of guilty to Dogu Perincek in Switzerland, publication of "British Reports on Ethnic Cleansing in Anatolia, 1919-1922, dismissal of Los Angeles Times editor for refusal to publish an article about the Armenian Genocide, recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the Anti-Defamation League.