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U.S. ROCK BAND SYSTEM OF A DOWN TO COMMEMORATE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Newsweek Magazine
April 2 2015
By Felicity Capon 4/2/15 at 7:26 AM
The Grammy-award winning band System of a Down officially launched
their Wake Up the Souls tour which will commemorate the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide during a press conference
yesterday afternoon.
It is the first time the Los Angeles-based band, whose members are
all Armenian Americans and who are all the children of survivors of
the genocide, will have played in the country.The tour kicks off in
Los Angeles on April 6 and will include stops in the UK, Germany,
France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Russia before a final free show
in Yerevan's Republic Square in Armenia.
The tour is timely as Armenians will commemorate the beginning of
the genocide on April 24. On that date, Turkish soldiers began to
round up and execute Armenians as part of efforts to 'Turkify' the
region.The band will perform two songs specifically about the genocide,
P.L.U.C.K and Holy Mountains.
"It is a big honour for us to play in Armenia in the 100th anniversary
year of the genocide," said Serj Tankian, lead singer of the band.
"Genocide is a disease that keeps on occurring today. For us as
Armenian Americans, and as band members who have had family members
perish in this tragedy, it is important to bring attention to this
cause," he continued.
Tankian and the band's drummer John Dolmayan were joined by congressman
Adam Schiff, Turkish academic and professor of history at Clark
University Taner Akcam, as well as Aram Hamparian, the executive
director of the Armenian National Committee of America, who all called
on the Turkish government and the Obama administration to officially
recognise the genocide during the press conference.
Around 1.5 million Armenians were killed in what many international
scholars and governments consider to be a genocide in 1915. To date,
Turkey has maintained that the atrocities were not premeditated but
rather the result of a messy war.
The band members said they had been told "horrific stories" about the
genocide by family members. Dolmayan spoke of how his uncle grew up in
an orphanage in Greece as a result of his parents being murdered. "It
stays with you," he said. "It's with me today. We have both heard
horrific stories, and denial is a spit in the face of that every year."
Despite a strong fan base in Turkey, the band revealed they have had
difficulties securing tour dates there. "There is a growing civil
movement within Turkey and we have a lot of friends there fighting
beside us for recognition of the genocide, some of our fans there
have even defended the band against libel claims from the Turkish
press. We were originally planning to play in Turkey, but were told
we would need permission from the Turkish government, but it took a
while and at that point we had to move ahead."
Professor Taner Akcam spoke of the need for Turkey to recognise the
genocide. "Recognising the genocide is not a necessity because of
fundamental moral concern, but because it undermines security in
the Middle East more broadly," he said. "The past is the present
in the Middle East. What else has to happen for us to realise these
simple truths?"
Since their debut in 1998, System Of A Down has released five studio
albums, sold over 31 million copies worldwide and won a Grammy.
http://www.newsweek.com/us-rock-band-system-down-commemorate-armenian-genocide-319004
From: Baghdasarian
Newsweek Magazine
April 2 2015
By Felicity Capon 4/2/15 at 7:26 AM
The Grammy-award winning band System of a Down officially launched
their Wake Up the Souls tour which will commemorate the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide during a press conference
yesterday afternoon.
It is the first time the Los Angeles-based band, whose members are
all Armenian Americans and who are all the children of survivors of
the genocide, will have played in the country.The tour kicks off in
Los Angeles on April 6 and will include stops in the UK, Germany,
France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Russia before a final free show
in Yerevan's Republic Square in Armenia.
The tour is timely as Armenians will commemorate the beginning of
the genocide on April 24. On that date, Turkish soldiers began to
round up and execute Armenians as part of efforts to 'Turkify' the
region.The band will perform two songs specifically about the genocide,
P.L.U.C.K and Holy Mountains.
"It is a big honour for us to play in Armenia in the 100th anniversary
year of the genocide," said Serj Tankian, lead singer of the band.
"Genocide is a disease that keeps on occurring today. For us as
Armenian Americans, and as band members who have had family members
perish in this tragedy, it is important to bring attention to this
cause," he continued.
Tankian and the band's drummer John Dolmayan were joined by congressman
Adam Schiff, Turkish academic and professor of history at Clark
University Taner Akcam, as well as Aram Hamparian, the executive
director of the Armenian National Committee of America, who all called
on the Turkish government and the Obama administration to officially
recognise the genocide during the press conference.
Around 1.5 million Armenians were killed in what many international
scholars and governments consider to be a genocide in 1915. To date,
Turkey has maintained that the atrocities were not premeditated but
rather the result of a messy war.
The band members said they had been told "horrific stories" about the
genocide by family members. Dolmayan spoke of how his uncle grew up in
an orphanage in Greece as a result of his parents being murdered. "It
stays with you," he said. "It's with me today. We have both heard
horrific stories, and denial is a spit in the face of that every year."
Despite a strong fan base in Turkey, the band revealed they have had
difficulties securing tour dates there. "There is a growing civil
movement within Turkey and we have a lot of friends there fighting
beside us for recognition of the genocide, some of our fans there
have even defended the band against libel claims from the Turkish
press. We were originally planning to play in Turkey, but were told
we would need permission from the Turkish government, but it took a
while and at that point we had to move ahead."
Professor Taner Akcam spoke of the need for Turkey to recognise the
genocide. "Recognising the genocide is not a necessity because of
fundamental moral concern, but because it undermines security in
the Middle East more broadly," he said. "The past is the present
in the Middle East. What else has to happen for us to realise these
simple truths?"
Since their debut in 1998, System Of A Down has released five studio
albums, sold over 31 million copies worldwide and won a Grammy.
http://www.newsweek.com/us-rock-band-system-down-commemorate-armenian-genocide-319004
From: Baghdasarian