Dear Editor,
I had the pleasure of attending the UCLA conference on the Armenian Genocide and the reparations movement, which was a first for such a conference for us.
First I would like to thank the organizers and also the participants, who devoted extensive hours of research and preparation for this event.
While it was a pleasure to hear all the different avenues we as Armenians can pursue, I cannot help but wonder if this, too, shall be an event that we can only comment on, or if it will take us out of the box we have built for ourselves.
We have, God knows, for umpteen years unsuccessfully tried to pass a resolution for America to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide. Our last hope and attempt with the election of President Obama has yet again left us disappointed and frustrated—and I can also add, not without the contribution of our independent Armenia which helped to sabotage these efforts and gave Obama and his administration a way out.
Since we can no longer rely on Armenia to take the initiative, we, the Diaspora Armenians, are again left with the responsibility to make sure our priorities are pursued.
As an Armenian American, I take offense that this country refuses to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Again as an Armenian American, I also have the right to accuse this country of discrimination against the Armenian Genocide, being the only genocide that this country has not recognized.
This has caused us tremendous emotional stress year after year. Are we supposed to quietly sit back and try to pass such a resolution for another 10-20 years, or are we going to take bolder actions?
When I have said to a lot of different people that we should sue our government for discriminating against the Armenian Genocide, the reaction has been mostly positive, but there are also those that look at me like I am crazy.
Well, my fellow Armenians, what we have tried for so many years has had the success of keeping us interested and of invigorating the youth, but the time has come to also expect results and be noticed.
I will never forget years ago, at a three-day conference that I attended, the closing comment delivered by Prof. Richard Hovannisian, who gave the best speech I have heard to this day. “Words into action,” he said, and left the podium. Which is also the point I am trying to make.
Respectfully,
Hourig Kalebdjian
Encino, Calif.
Guest Contributor
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Lawsuits against Turkish interests such as insurance companies and banks have been going on for years initiated by INDIVIDUALS, not organizations. I want to know why the latter have been so slow? I know about the new lawsuit by Mark Geragos. Do Armenians organizations back this effort?
Hourig’s message is a clear articulation of the Armenian people’s frustration with our leadership.
There is an old saying in Armenian:”No milk is given to the baby who does not cry.”
We have so far as a people failed to launch a roaring outrage about the politicization of our Genocide. A discrimination lawsuit against the US government’s insistance on not recognizing our Genocide because it is not politically suitable to its ally, is an excellent move, and I implore our leaders to pursue it. Lawsuits are the only language that Americans listen to. This stance by the United States is in itself an obstruction of justice, human rights and dignity, and it has been psychologically taxing on the Armenian American community.
We can’t show our outrage to this outright discrimination and painful double standard by standing politely in the sidelines still entranched in our second class citizen complex, compliments of Anatolia. How many more times are we going to see a foreign affairs committee pass the Armenian Genocide Resolution only to have the Government freeze it. How many more times? This is ridiculous! We are not being respected because we have become known as pushovers! As a matter of fact our lack of indignation has trained the US into thinking that we are powerless “talkers” who will take every slap with a fizzle of anger.
You are not disrespected unless you let people disrespect you. We have to embarass the US Government for lagging behind more than 20 countries which have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide, while priding itself as being the world’s leader in Human Rights. We need to involve psychologists’ expert testimonies of how emotionally detrimental this has been to the Armenians. The US needs to also be held accountable for disregarding the UN, and the work of leading Historians and Genocide Scholars.
Finally, I think we have more than enough to proceed with our official legal claims against Turkey. None of this research will be worth conducting if we are not gutsy enough to put them into concrete action. No guts, No glory. If we do not respect ourselves enough to voice our indigation, how do we expect others to do it for us?
An international Armenian committee should be put together to present our cumulative grievances. It will also help if the leadership in Armenia snaps out of its stoicism and takes on a vocal leading role in claiming justice for the Armenian people.