By Harut Sassounian Publisher, The California Courier At the time of writing this column, the Armenian Tsunami, much anticipated by the Turks in advance of the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, is still a few days away. The Turks correctly anticipated the Tsunami, but miscalculated two things. First, the Turks themselves contributed greatly to this Tsunami, by unintentionally publicizing the Armenian Genocide through their "pre-emptive" activities. Second, the Turks did not realize that it was going to be an international Tsunami, rather than one limited to Armenians. We have seen reports of various events that have already taken place in advance of April 24, and announcements of other activities being planned later this week around the globe. These events are too numerous to mention here. For example, the City Council of Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, passed a resolution on March 30, naming a central square of the city, "The Square of the Armenian People's Genocide." A monument dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide will be erected in that square. In addition, the legislatures, governors and mayors of various states and cities throughout the United States and several other countries issued proclamations and resolutions on the Armenian Genocide. Incidentally, Uruguay was the first country to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide. The country's Senate and House and Representatives adopted such a resolution on April 20, 1965. Last year, on March 26, the President of Uruguay signed a law designating April 24 as a "Day of Recognition for the Armenian Martyrs." Amazingly, the normally astute Turkish diplomatic corps do not seem to know how many countries have already recognized the Armenian Genocide. Last week, I was both saddened and amused, seeing in the Turkish press a picture of all 550 members of the Turkish Parliament signing a joint letter of complaint to the legislatures of 11 countries for having recognized the Armenian Genocide. This miserable spectacle reminded me of those horrible days when the Fuhrer would give an order and everyone in sight would salute him in blind obedience, by proclaiming: Hail, Hitler! I also recalled the days of another brutal dictator, Stalin, holding a session of the Supreme Soviet in the Kremlin, with all of its members approving his decrees, by yelling "Da," in unison. Seeing 550 members of the Turkish Parliament blindly sign a letter full of lies about the Armenian Genocide made me wonder how the Turkish leaders hope to ever join the European Union, when they just showed the world that their country is no better that Hitler's Germany or Stalin's "Evil Empire." I probably need to send the Turkish leaders a copy of my new book that was just published this week. It lists the names and the statements of the all 17 countries, not 11, that have recognized the Genocide so far. This book is sponsored by the "90th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee of California" (composed of 26 Armenian organizations and political parties) as well as the "Armenian Genocide Commemoration Committee - Lebanon." The book is titled: The Armenian Genocide: The World Speaks Out, 1915-2005, Documents and Declarations. Copies of this book are being handed out to all members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as the legislatures of several states. It is the only book of its kind that contains the texts (translated into English) of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the legislatures of all 17 countries, as well as reports by international organizations and statements by government officials and prominent individuals. One of the unexpected items washed up by the "Tsunami" is a full-page ad in the April 25 issue of the influential "U.S. News and World Report" magazine which is read by millions of people around the world every week. That issue is already available for sale in most bookstores and newsstands. The text, linking the Armenian Genocide to various other genocides, was prepared by the Zoryan Institute among others, including this writer. The ad was made possible by a special gift from a generous donor "in memory of millions of voices silenced by genocide." The ad provides a web link for further information on genocide. I encourage everyone to buy one or more copies of this issue for yourself, your family and friends. Finally, the Fox TV station in the Los Angeles area (Channel 11) will devote a few minutes of its 10 to 11 p.m. news program on April 23 to the Armenian Genocide. It will air live footage of the April 24 procession of hundreds of thousands of Armenians placing flowers at the Armenian Genocide Monument in Yerevan. At the invitation of Fox TV, live commentary will be provided by this writer.

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