The Unholy Alliance of the Turkish and Armenian Governments
It seems from the latest ANC-sponsored forum on Turkish-Armenian relations [held in Watertown on March 26] that the ARF is resigned to the fact that a document will be signed between the governments of Armenia and Turkey to start “normalization” of relationships. Unfortunately, the content of this document is not something that Armenians, either at home or in the diaspora, have been or will be privy to up until the last possible moment.
The sudden surge in the rapprochement efforts between the governments of Armenia and Turkey is a direct result of the most sophisticated efforts to date by the Turkish government to hinder efforts directed towards the affirmation of the Armenian Genocide by the United States government and elsewhere. Instead of sinking into a defensive posture as it has over the past few decades, the Turkish government has gone on the offensive, and in doing so has taken the lead and dictated the course of action. Hedging its bets on a democratic win in the U.S. presidential elections, the Turkish government laid out the groundwork for a much more potent and sophisticated TARC-style effort well ahead of the elections. Learning its lessons from the failures of TARC, the Turkish government decided to engage the Armenian government directly, killing two birds with one stone. On the one hand, it addressed one of the keys reasons for TARC’s failure, lack of involvement on part of the Armenian government, and on the other hand, it put the Armenian Diaspora, the driving force behind the recognition efforts, in a very complicated situation. As a bonus, they got to exploit one of their favorite tactics of late, driving a wedge between the diaspora and homeland Armenians. This tactical/diplomatic master plan was rewarded by a “football/soccer diplomacy” coup de grâce served by none other than the government of the Republic of Armenia.
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Before preaching to others to live up to their “illustrious revolutionary history”, the “Indignant Armenian” should have the decency and courage not to hide his/her/their identity.
Kudos to the indignant Armenian for saying what no one will. This is a call to action to the ARF and the entire Armenian world.
The publication of the letter by Indignant Armenian is journalism and the fourth state at this best–the sharing of opinions, airing of criticism, and a paper not being afraid to allow a critic of its organization to air his/her opinions.
Does it really matter if it was anonymous or not? If someone is thinking it and they back up their thesis with facts and history. Then it shouldn’t matter. Questioning the validity of an argument by pointing to his/her anonymity is a weak response.
I would be curious to hear your take on the issue at hand Mr. Manoyan. You have a keen perspective on the matter, being the ARF’s political director.
How will the organization handle an onerous treaty from inside the heart of a new democracy it is helping establish as part of its government?
Will the ARF leave the coalition government it has worked from within to strengthen? What do you expect the reaction of Armenians to be to the Armenian government (and by extension the ARF) once the dubious nature of Turkey’s drive to normalize relations is revealed?
Or will the ARF work from within government to, perhaps, present checks and balances to go along with whatever agreements are being made, such as caps on how much turkish product comes in, how many business are allowed to establish in Armenia, fair trade agreements or duty free access to ports?
How will the ARF justify, yet again, its involvement in an oppressive and corrupt government unconcerned with the interests of the Armenian people?
Once again, I commend the Armenian Weekly for publishing this article and providing a true forum for discussion. It is truly unprecedented in recent history to have an ARF paper allow for such professional airing of opinions. This should serve as an example to other Armenian outlets, especially in this new age of the Internet when all voices are heard equally, as they should always be.
As a Turkish person who had not even heard of the Armenian deportation and massacres until my mid teens, and looking at the issue as a third person without emotional involvement, I would say that the diaspora is not going after the quickest route to the settlement of the issue. 95% of the people in Turkey do not have sympathies to the Armenian cause. No matter how harsh the international shunning, no government in Turkey would ever even come close to signing up for responsibility for the doings of the Ottoman government. The public sentiment in Turkey is already drifting away from the West – so the EU or US pressure might only mean so much. I think the only way to be able to reconcile the past will be possible when the Turkish society itself is ready for it. So, rather than alienating the Turks with a hateful face, the diaspora would better serve it’s cause by making friends with the Turkish public and then the government would naturally take the necessary steps. A major change of course is needed as this one is not working. Hate and anger only begets hate and anger. A peaceful closure and honoring the dead is only possible with love and compassion.
jake you talk like a true turk. turks NEVER change they just change their masks depending who they want to decieve next.
I agree with Garo,
who do you think you are “Indignant Armenian”. unfortunately you among many others seem to think by just throwing factoids in your “opinion” piece, you make some kind of sense worse yet you know what you are talking about. I have news for you: YOU DON’T.
While I would like to agree with you Vartan, anyone who has such strong views as “indignant armenian” should take full responsiiblity for them.
It is easy to hide behind an anonymous cape… after all that is what the kkk did /does; and what so many others throughout history have done.
Too bad “idignant armenian” is not as strong as s/he would like others to be.
The only reason why an identity would matter in this case is if you are all planning on attacking the merits of his/her argument by attacking him/her. Alas, not a single person has offered a reasonable, sophisticated rebutle to anything “indignant armenian” has said. These are how arguments played out when I was in middle school.
I have also not received answers to my questions either. I think they are valid questions.
John, you made an argument in your post that “indignant armenian” does not know what he/she is talking about. Please provide logical premises to back your strong conclusions. Do you mean to say the “factoids” presented are wrong? if so please point out the mistakes and inaccuracies rather than just attacking his/her character.
Too bad, clearly it has been made apparent that if someone in the Armenian community voices opinions such as those presented in this article, they would open themselves up to petty insults and attacks rather than discourse and debate. I for one understand why one would choose to stay anonymous…the Armenian community treats criticism like a cancerous tumor and nips it in the bud before it spreads. The sad reality is that this sort of criticism is necessary if we as a people are to learn from past mistakes and move forward.
The same hatred exhibited in your reactions to Jake “the true turk” are those you all exhibit against your fellow Armenian. This is sad.
But yet again, I commend the Armenian Weekly for providing a forum for debate and discourse, despite your attempts to lower it to the level of bickering on the playground field.
I hate to point out the obvious but neither of you have revealed your identities either. Not that it matters…except that it makes the two of you look like really big hypocrites.
“Indignant Armenian” starts and ends his article by accusing the ARF of being “resigned” to the fact of normalization and simply “worrying about when the ax will drop, instead of stopping it.”
I wonder, Mr. or Ms. Indignant, if you are aware of the numerous public statements, press conferences and declarations the ARF has put out calling for transparency on the part of Armenian negotiators, warning against any forfeiting of Armenia’s national rights, and opposing any questioning of the historical facts of the Armenian Genocide (many of the same points you repeat)? If not, see the links below for references.
Are you not aware of the letter ARF Parliament Member, Armen Rustamian, sent to the US Congress where he calls for passage of the Genocide Resolution and specifically seeks to neutralize the use of Armenian-Turkish negotiations for stifling recognition? If not, see below.
Are you not aware that ARF Parliamentarians regularly warn of the pitfalls of opening the border and push the government to instill measures that will adequately insulate the country and economy from such dangers?
Are you also not aware that the ANCA has been at the forefront of tirelessly pushing for US Genocide recognition and revealing the dubious intent of Turkey since the beginning of the so-called Soccer Diplomacy process? Once again, see below.
Are you equally unaware of the fact that the AYF-YOARF has initiated an online petition campaign calling for caution in Armenian-Turkish negotiations? See below if this is the case.
Contrary to your conclusion, it seems to me that, through such measures and others, the ARF is seeking to utilize its position within the coalition and broader Armenian society to mobilize public opinion and put pressure against any decisions which would harm the interests of the Armenian nation. I would hardly describe this as being “resigned.” The fact that you don’t mention the work it’s doing but, rather, paint a picture of it as sold-out, timid, and reserved is, in my eyes, not only misleading, it is intellectually irresponsible.
Furthermore, you offer no concrete proposals or suggestions on how to move forward. The article is full of analysis and broad criticisms but no alternative strategies or solutions.
Instead of contributing solutions, it simply calls on the ARF to “live up to its illustrious revolutionary history.” One is left to wonder what exactly that means. Does that mean it should leave the internal reforms and impact on decisions it is pursuing in the coalition and hand the government solely to the likes of the President, Arthur Baghdasaryan, and Gagik Tsarukyan? Does it mean it should hit the streets alongside Levon Ter Petrossian? Or maybe it means that it should take up arms and attempt to overthrow the government?
The point here is that it is not clear what you are suggesting. All that is clear is that you are targeting and attempting to scrutinize the one actual entity in the Armenian world that is consistently working to defend the rights and welfare of our community.
ARF Position on Negotiations:
http://www.asbarez.com/#AMC=Open&ASBSC=Closed
http://www.asbarez.com/#AMC=Open&ASBSC=Closed
http://www.asbarez.com/#AMC=Open&ASBSC=Open
http://www.armenialiberty.org/armeniareport/report/en/2009/02/36198191-72cd-4ffb-b53f-7289c2716915.asp
Armen Rustamian Letter to US Congress:
http://yerkir.am/news/?id=1358
ANCA Official Statement on “Soccer Diplomacy”:
http://anca.org/press_releases/press_releases.php?prid=1578
AYF Online Petition Campaign:
http://armenianweekly.com/2009/02/13/ayf-sponsors-petition-for-%E2%80%98responsible-armeno-turkish-relations%E2%80%99/
There are many Armenians who have reached the conclusions articulated by “Indignant Armenian”. Some simply replace the name “ARF” with the Armenian organization of their choice, including Armenia and its government. These Armenians have fallen by the wayside as did their families on death marches into the Syrian deserts, leaving Armenia and its diaspora in the “hands” of those who haven’t earned positions of leadership, yet occupy them.
As pointed out, Armenians survived well under hegemonic dominance. This resulted in indigenous national leadership not able to spontaneously develop, mature, and learn from its mistakes. Add to this a genocide and a culture of leadership was never allowed to be past down through the generations. Today, the average Armenian has little to emulate on a national level, with each pursuing his/her own destiny, void of a collective direction. This situation is similar to that of Jews before the advent of modern Zionism.
To Jake the Turk, “love and compassion” may have a place in Turkish soap operas but they have nothing to do with hard reparations the Turkish genocide of the Armenians demand.
The sad reality is that what is written on these pages will be read by at most several hundred people.
From a number of the posts here, it seems that the message cannot be separated from the messenger. It will suffice to say that the reasons for anonymity of the author are not aimed at the ARF (the author has immense respect for the principles that the organization was founded upon). Also, it is noteworthy that the author contributes significantly to community affairs and is not a Monday morning quarterback.
The point of the piece was not to point fingers at the ARF, as this organization does most of what is being done today anyway, especially in the Diaspora (the author is well aware of the efforts mentioned by Mr. Aprahamian, but thank you for the thoughtful presentation of these points here). The activities of the organization in Armenia are a completely separate issue from those of the Diaspora in the author’s opinion.
The point was of a larger complacency amongst us all Armenians and the manner and direction in which the nation is stirred in by the government. Also, the point was not to simply complain either. The goal is to start a dialogue and work towards concrete steps to resolve some of the points brought about in the article. The author will provide concrete points towards solutions of issues brought forth here in near future from his/her point of view. But, this is a process that will require input from all concerned individuals, especially folks who cared enough to read this long opinion piece and respond to it one way or another. Both positive and negative comments are very much appreciated by the author as long as the energy associated with them can be channeled into something positive. Maintaining a healthy and open dialogue on this issue and deliberation of possible solutions is what we can only accomplish together.
Respectfully yours,
IA
Regarding transparency, an important start would be for the ANC/ARF to more clearly and specifically communicate to constituencies it claims to represent about where it stands re: Turkish-Armenian rapprochement and how it is dealing with an irresponsible and unresponsive government in Armenia. (And if we don’t like what the ANC/ARF is doing, it is up to us to make sure these organizations represent our views if they aren’t.) The phrase “Turkish-Armenian reconciliation” has been repeated so often in media, academia and elsewhere that Armenians are using the word themselves, and dare I say, getting co-opted. I don’t believe there can be rapprochement until the well-known and outstanding issues are put to rest. I am not sure the ANC/ARF agrees with this view anymore. Regarding cultivating strong leaders, a critical start would be for our diasporan (dare I say homeland) activists and leadership to receive formal schooling in political leadership, diplomacy and negotiation. The best way to do this is to create a training institute. Patriotic sentiment is not enough. Was there not to be a General Dro Academy in Armenia?
By john on April 9th, 2009 at 2:23 pm ” ….jake you talk like a true turk. turks NEVER change they just change their masks depending who they want to decieve next.”
John, seriously? …well, I am only writing back as I believe I wasn’t articulate enough to make my point earlier. I am saying Armenians and Turks alike, we need to support the opening of the border, support good Turkish/Armenian relationships – because only then the peoples of these lands will start to interact, and get to know each other. And, when that happens, they will understand each other, and when that happens, public sentiments will change, and when that changes, real change will come, and be reflected in the actions of the government itself. Look at the heaps of change that occurred in Turkey regarding the Kurdish issue, as peoples interacted more and more during the last few decades. And please stop hating the average person that lives in Turkey (i.e. your earlier comments to me) – this hate makes no sense – and only begets a knee jerk reaction. If this generation cannot manage to turn hatred into understanding, it will only lead to aggression – and I don’t think that’s what anyone wants.
Jake, most people here are objecting to relations between Armenia and Turkey at the state level.
Too bad we cannot/do not engage or even explore these points that IA has raised. Instead, we act like robots following what is considered the norm.
I agree with IA, because most of the organizations (which we have been members of for decades if not more) we look to for inspiration since historically it has always been on the fronts of these battles.
From my experience, I feel that these organizations only limits our thoughts and actions instead of advancing the cause. I think that is what has made the author indignant. Perhaps its the way our organizations operate which needs to be changed. Perhaps its the people running or planning the events that needs to be altered. One thing is certain, change is necessary but people are afraid of it and not until a few people like Indignant Armenian mange to voice what is that we are afraid to say ourselves do we begin to criticize and analyze these thoughts.
Thank you IA!