May 18, 2000

Washington, DC – The Armenian National Institute’s greatly-expanded web site has resulted in dramatically increased usage. Recently, the foremost Internet browser, Netscape, also selected ANI’s web site for its “Editor’s Choice” designation.

The web site, www.armenian-genocide.org, is exclusively dedicated to providing educational, documentary and visual materials on the Genocide. This year it was greatly expanded and upgraded with the addition of new sections under its International Affirmation heading, which contains extensive documentation on the historical record of recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

The new sections include the full text of resolutions and proclamations recognizing the Armenian Genocide issued by state-level governments in the United States, as well as the international record of affirmations as of April 2000. President Bill Clinton’s seven annual April 24 statements are also included.

Under International Affirmation, viewers can also find excerpts from the 1919 Turkish Military Tribunal that tried perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide and the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres that addressed the question of the Ottoman Empire’s responsibility for the massacres and deportations.

“ANI’s web site has become the prime destination for those seeking information on the Armenian Genocide, particularly in April, when Armenians honor those who perished. We regularly receive positive reports on its importance as a reliable and all-encompassing source, particularly from scholars, teachers and the media world-wide,” said Robert A. Kaloosdian, Chairman of the Armenian National Institute (ANI). “We are determined to maintain the ANI site as the central reference site on the World Wide Web for international efforts to affirm the Armenian Genocide.”

One New Jersey college professor, Daniel B. Kurz, described the ANI web site’s educational materials as both impressive and important, noting it gave him the necessary resources to teach his students about the Armenian Genocide “and the terrifying precedent it set for later acts of mass murder.” Other academic and individual researchers from across the country have publicly praised the ANI site, calling it informative, most useful, and critical to their work.

The ANI web site received international media attention in March when Azerbaijani hackers tampered with dozens of Armenian-related sites, including host computers in the United States. A March 13, 2000, article in US News & World Report, called “A Glimpse of Cyberwarfare,” quoted ANI Director Dr. Rouben Adalian’s call for a “cease-fire,” and noted that because ANI had considered the incident a dangerous precedent, it had been immediately referred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Earlier in the year, ABC News credited ANI’s site for much of the information and photographs it used in a feature on the Armenian Genocide, included in a documentary called “The Century.”

The Armenian National Institute is dedicated to the study, research, and affirmation of the Armenian Genocide.