By Hayk Demoyan
On Nov. 29, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu spoke at the Brookings Institute. After his talks, he answered a question related to the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire and current Turkey-Armenia relations (see video). Below, we provide the response to Davutoglu’s comments by the director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute in Yerevan, Hayk Demoyan.
Yes, Mr. Davutoglu, I fully agree with you that many things have changed in the Turkish society and the “tragic events” of 1915 are now on the agenda for public debate, but one may ask why those events have been denied, and it is still hard to imagine that all denialist documents and publications on the website of the Foreign Ministry of Turkey will soon be removed. Let me guess: Perhaps Turkey needs another decade to properly confront its own history without new and old taboos, syndromes, and complexes.
Yes, Mr. Davutoglu, while speaking about the causes of implementation of the state-planned and orchestrated policy of genocide against Armenians and other Christian minorities, one can blame the intensification of nationalist movements in the fall of the Ottoman Empire. But let me ask why the killer of Hrant Dink, who was shot dead in January 2007, was treated as a hero in the police station and no one has been sentenced so far? Why are the Armenians living in Anatolia still afraid of expressing their real identity? That’s because of… I believe that you are well aware of the answer since the next question I would like to raise in this regard is the “unknown” nationalism which is responsible for the destruction of more than 3,000 early Christian Armenian monuments dynamited or used as target during the tank exercises in 1960’s and 1970’s—during the period of republican Turkey.
Yes, Mr. Davutoglu, Armenians were holding some high positions in the Ottoman Empire in 1914, but let me quote Talat Pasha’s words directed to Danish orientalist Johannes Ostrup in 1910, before the “tragic war” of 1914: “You see, between us and this people [Armenians] there is an incompatibility which cannot be solved in a peaceful manner; either they will completely undermine us, or we will have to annihilate them. If I ever come to power in this country, I will use all my might to exterminate the Armenians” (Johannes Østrup, Erindringer, Copenhagen: H. Hirschprungs Forlag 1937, p. 118.). I think the quote is self-explanatory.
Yes, Mr. Davutoglu, 1915 is an important date for the Armenians, but it must be an important date for the Turks as well, since the history of the Armenian Genocide is and must be an inseparable part of the Turkish history and memory.
Yes, Mr. Davutoglu, it was a period of war and maybe the political order was weak in Turkey, but let me remind that while making orders for the deportation of the Armenians and appropriation of their property from 1915-24, the Ottoman and Turkish laws and orders were implemented unconditionally.
Yes, Mr. Davutoglu, the Gelipoli/Canakkale battle was the bloodiest in the history of Ottoman Turkey. Ottomans lost a quarter of a million lives, but not only Turks were among the victims in this deadly battle. Hundreds of Armenians, as ordinary Ottoman patriots, joined them in the fight against the enemies. Among those 250,000, there were not only Turks, but Arabs, Kurds, Armenians, and other nationalities as well. Do Turks know the name of Sarkis Torossian, who destroyed the first enemy battleship during Chanakkale in 1915 and was known as the “Armenian hero of the Dardanelles”? Or the names of Avedis Chepechian, Vahram Papazian, and many other Armenian soldiers and officers, who probably were fighting together with your grandfather, and who are unjustly forgotten? Those Armenians, who survived in Canakkale in 1915, later learned that their beloved ones were sent to die in the slaughterhouses of the Arabian deserts.
Yes, Mr. Davutoglu, you are right to say that we have to escape from one-sided representations and interpretations of the past, but I am afraid that with this you just represented the Turkish point of view. Furthermore, I do not really understand the logic of connecting Cannakkale and the Armenian Genocide. If there is any link between both, then it is the very date: April 24, 1915.
Yes, Mr. Davutoglu, nine and half centuries of the coexistence of Turks and Armenians is solid period of time, but let me remind you that except millet-i sadika (i.e. “obedient people”), Armenians were known also as giavurs (i.e. infidels). Being an infidel, I would think, means being a non-equal in the given society. Or when one group says to another “obedient people,” it already means that they are not on the same level in terms of elementary human rights.
Yes, Mr. Davutoglu, I agree with your statement that “if there were mistakes, they should be named,” but it seems to me that within the last nine decades, Turkey has only insisted and justified its past mistakes and made a huge list of new ones.
Yes, Mr. Davutoglu, we should be ready to share our pains in order to move forward, but at the same time we do not need more rhetoric that hides the shameful parts of history.
Yes, Mr. Davutoglu, during the recent failed attempt to ameliorate relations between Armenia and Turkey, a step which was taken by Yerevan, the Constitutional Court of Armenia has adopted a decision on the protocols, but it is a mistake to blame the Armenian court, as you said, for “excluding the establishment of a commission of historians that was important for Turkey.” Do you need the commission of historians to “share our pains”?
Yes, Mr. Davutoglu, it is up to Turkey to keep its border with Armenia open or closed and put a precondition saying that there will not be any progress in the ratification of the protocols unless the Karabagh problem is settled. But with this claim you just crush your previous statements and reaffirm that Turkey is not ready for changes…changes that could possibly be detrimental to saving not only the country’s face, but its future, too.
Yes, Mr. Davutoglu, fundamental approaches are necessary for regional peace and to solve protracted problems. But do Syria, Gaza, and Lebanon make their politics under the banner of “one nation, two, or three states”?
Yes, Mr. Davutoglu, we should address the Karabagh issue, but while speaking about occupations, I have to remind you that your country has occupied a part of Cyprus, an EU member, for 36 years now. Yet, you prefer to only speak about the “Armenian occupation” of Azerbaijani territory.
Yes, sayin Ahmet-bey, we lived together and I believe we have no other choice but to do the same in the future and overcome all burdens. But I am afraid you should take on the responsibility to appear with clear messages to the Turkish society—instead of unclear and cautious statements—over mistakes of the past, in order not to repeat them in our days…
Guest Contributor
THANK YOU Mr. H. DEMOYAN ,
You have given a HISTORIC RESPONSE in just one page. It seems that arrogance and impunity has no limits for some. In the name of a survivor of a Melik of Kharabagh of House of Sunik & an Armira of the Ottoman Empire I SALUTE YOU.
MARINA B
I wish to express my appreciation for Hayk Demoyan’s admirable open letter to the Turkish foreign minister. It is a solid, point-by-point refutation of everything Mr. Davutoghlu was trying to put over on his audience.
Embedded in Mr. Davutoghlu’s comments is the core point of the current Turkish strategy for dealing with the Armenian Genocide issue: “yes, ‘something’ happened, something that we all have to ‘share’. It was an historic ‘catastrophe’ that engulfed both sides. But let’s talk now about the ‘big picture’ and not get hung up on the messy truth of the past.”
That just isn’t possible. No more possible than having fruitful talks if Gaza goes up in flames again.
well said Mr.Demoyan.However, i see this is another ploy by turkish government as the April 24 2011 is not that far away.This quasi statement/bait better not be taken seriously.
We should not be pacified by this B S statement by Davitoglu.We should pursue the recognition (Armenian Genocide) and reparation issues even with more vigor
Mr. Demoyan,
If you were to take your letter to Mr. Davitoglu, and switched the wordings so that they were written from a Turkish standpoint to Dashnak Armenians, then you’d see what you and the others in the ARF and diaspora keep denying! Look in your own backyard before you point fingers at anyone! In case you have become so jaded and blind, you and your people have quits a lot of blood on your hands (your own PM said so in his Manifesto, which he wrote in 1923)! Your letter is a veiled admission of your guilt for the many atrocities committed by the dashnak ARF Armenians, before, during and after WWI, through WWII, throughout the 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s! All you’re doing is projecting them towards someone other than who it should be directed towards…yourselves!! Your first PM knew this full well, from 1918-1919.
Thank you Mr. Demoyan for an eloquent rebuttal of Davutoglu’s statements.
I have a problem with your translation of the expression “millet-i sadıka (i. e. “obedient people”). I have always thought it meant “Loyal people” not/NOT “Obedient people” as you state. Google translate confirms this: http://translate.google.com/#tr|en|sadik
Harganqnerov
AST
Robert, you try too hard to imply that some acts of violence by some ARF members are equivalent to the state sanctioned elimination of the Armenian nation from Asia Minor. This defense or rationale does not hold water.
Good job Robert. You say what the ARF is afraid to hear.
YES Mr. Demoyan!
Probably the most clear,sober and in your face response to a Turkish official I’ve ever read.
Robert—Are you reading the same piece I just did? Where in God’s name do you come up with this trash? How about commenting on what Mr. Demoyan wrote instead of using it as another excuse to spew your innane spin.
From Robert’s comments it is clear that he did not get further in his reading of Mr. Demoyan’s comments than the “but” at the end of the title. Speaking of “switching”, why doesn’t he treat us to his “switched”, anti-Dashnak version of Mr. Demoyan’s comments, at least a couple of them? Because it won’t work, and he knows it. Were the hundreds of thousands of Armenian victims of Talat Pasha’s great plan asked if they were Dashnags before they were destroyed? Of course not. Did the Dashnags represent all Armenians? Of course not. In fact many Armenians blame them for walking the extra mile with the CUP. But of course Robert and Ahmet don’t have any interest in such details. Thanks again to Hayk Demoyan for his powerful rebuttal to Davutoghlu’s silly attempt at redeeming the honor of the Ottoman government
Not only are Davutoghlu’s statements “unclear and cautious” as Mr. Demoyan points out, but Davutoghlu has the audacity to smile as he delivers his well-practised narrative of “weasel” talk that continues to deny turkish responsibility for the murder of 1.5 million.
The Bahgdad express this is what happen and Bahgdad express was to sent sent all the Armenian to Iraq to build Iraq, they wanted to uproot all the Armenians from our land to remove us to Iraq and the planned failed because we did not wanted to leaveour land and they the currrent governments brothers new about that this was part of the Armenian Genocide and Germany had their hands in it so my friends I just dont know why people dont want to mention Germany we should mention Germany
Davutoghlu admitted that the Greeks and the Armenians were always the wealthiest amongst all the citizens, but he didn’t say where that money disapeared to after the turks killed all those wealthy Armenians and Greeks. He knows the money belonged to our people, but he didn’t say when he intends to return it. He must also know that wealthy Armenians are generally land owners, but he didn’t say when can we expect the return of our land.
Mr.Demoyan… You have done a great deed by writing this piece.. I LOVE IT.. thank yo ufor saying” UP IN YOUR FACE YOU SLEEZE BALL..” THANK YOU From the bottom of my heart… I got goosebumps when I read your rebutal to every single thing this Mouse Man had to say.. it was sooo obvious that what Davu was mumbling about was cming out of his you know what.. because his statements were fake, held no ground, sounded fabricated, and the smirk on his face said it all.. what a sleeze ball…
EXACTLY Perouz jan… so where was his speech about returning all the wealth that the welthiest ARMENIANS had in those days.. he did say that there were many wealthiest people who were Armenians and Greeks in the Ottoman times…he can’t say it Perouz jan.. cause he is a coward… he hides behind his pre-written and pre-thought words…and for some reason, his countryman Robert thinks that Dashnaks are the root cause of everything, who destroyed everyting and stole all the wealth, and killed all the people..such an absurd thought.. don’t you think?
Robert—- what the heck is wrong with you and why are you sooooooo obsessed with Dashnaks…??? Do you have to bring them up in every conversation or comment you make regardless if they are related to the topic we are discussing? i am beginning to think you know nothing else but about your beloved Dashnaks’ …do you know what they eat, when they sleep, what they say, what they sing, what they play, what they can do if you piss them off… i mean it seems to me you are in love with them.. are you?
Of Course the othe Stooge, Ahmet, had to agree with Robert’s nonsense comment because he has nothing constructive to say himself… wow …no wonder Turkey is not moving forward to become more civilized country because we have individuals such as Robert and Ahmet, and the alike who are stuck in their own world… they just talk but talk nonsense just like their Prime Minister who made NO SENSE whats so ever… other than make himself look like another conyving and manipulative politicians.
This piece should be published everywhere.. for everyone to read.. excellent article…
G
Dear Mr. Demoyan:
I agree with most of your eloquent and succinct response.
At the same time I am discontent that you don’t bring to the attention of Mr. Davutoglu that Turkey occupies occupies 9/10 of the historic territory of Armenia.
I have said in the past and I repeat that the Government of Armenia made another colossal mistake. When Turkey initially demanded that we return the liberated Artsakh territory to Azerbaijan, Armenia’s response should have been:
First you return Western Armenia back to us, then we will discuss the Artsakh issue.
Kojian
The speeches, soccer games, protocols, and official talks miraculously restart by the Turkish side every year around April 24, to “throw powder into everyone’s eyes”, as the Armenian saying goes. Lo and behold, April 24th is around the corner again, and yet again Gul says that he is committed to the Armenian Turkish Protocols, and Davutoglu throws some confusing but supposedly democratic statements about “sharing” but not “confessing” to terrble deeds done in a mutual history…. bla bla bla, bla bla bla…. we came to know this technique so well that we anticipate it every year around this time and up to April 24th, after which, once the US President has once again been deterred from recognizing the Armenian Genocide, all the masques fall off and we are back to denial and distortions… until of course April 24th of the following year…
And we Armenians have been participating in this merry go round for how many years now?….
Why don’t we for a change, do something “unexpected” and yet legally “expected”? Why don’t we ask Armenia to stop dancing around Turkey’s “lokum” diplomacy which alternates into “ottoman” diplomacy after each April 24, and come out this year with an official demand for Turkey to take responsibility for the Genocide and start making reparations and move on to legal proceedings.
Here’s an example of what the Armenian President can say:” Turkey, you have massacred 1.5 million of our people, confiscated all of their bank accounts, assets and properties, you have distroyed over 3,000 Armenian churches and monuments, you have forcefully converted Armenians to Islam and terrorized them, you have made illegal deals with third parties for the occupation and annexation of Western Armenia which was awarded to the Armenians by Pres. Wilson in the Treaty of Sevres, … and now is the time to pay for all of that.”
What is Justice if it is not implemented, and allowed to be bartered, bought and sold in exchange to political “lokums” from Turkey? The United States should pay the Armenians back years of lease with interest for leasing the Kassabian property that Injirlik sits on… so on and so on… Karabagh has always been Armenian until Stalin decided to give it to Azerbaijan in 1923. Now the Turkish and Azeri brothers are spreading lies that Karabagh belonged to Azerbaijan and that the Armenians are occupying it… Armenia open your mouth, speak… speak… The Turks and Azeris tell lies as if they are telling truths… We know the truth… truth is on our side… why aren’t we shouting it louder?
Very impressive Mr. Demoyan how true word for word; this sort of explanation of injustice
Done to the Armenian’s for Centuries and subjugating them to many COUNTLESS
Genocides’ by turks and their government,
You are talented in writing the truth you must write more frequently till these stories
Reach everyone in the world. As for F/M Ahmet Davutoglu this would be like reading poetry
to the rear-end of a Hose.
Amen Katia jan… Amen.. well said..
and I agree with you.. the million dollar question does Armenia keep her mouth shut and does not shout out… why? It is like we are the ones who owe these people something.. why do we act in such ways i don’t get it… why are we taking such harrassment just goes beyond me…
I am definintely sick and tired of Turks and Azeris lying through their teeth and act like they are the rightful owners of everything … It is getting old already..The world knows how lying low life govt Turkey has but yet we can’t make them pay for all the autrocities/negative/bad things they have commited then and committing now.. It is sickening…
G
Abres Gayane jan,
It seems to me that the Armenian leadership’s heart in Armenia is not in the right place… The Armenian leadership is not is the right hands… We are still pursuing Soviet traditions when the Soviet Union itself has fallen… We are pursuing individual gain, but failing to also prioritize our cumulative well being as a people, just like the Soviets trained us to do for all those years when they silenced our churches and exiled Dashnaks, nationalists and anyone who put Nation first… That’s how they controlled our country… they made bread hard to get, so that we only busied ourselves with ways to pursue, find, hide and keep that bread…. speaking figuratively of course… And today we have oligarchs who only know how to empower themselves at the expense of the thousands who sacrifice their lives to improve their nation and to secure its future.
” Hello folks,this is Piggly-Wiggly reminding you that you can be a SPIN-DOCTOR in just three weeks! Yes sirreee, thanks to our accelerated learning program,you can be a SPIN-DOCTOR in jest three short weeks- and you only have to study five minutes a day to earn your phD in SPIN-DOCTOR. Better yet, become a Gynecologist or a Truck Driver in just Eight hours. It’s easy just pick up the phone and call. In fact we can make your wife a LIAR …oops I mean a LAWYER over the phone. So,donn’t be SHMUCK be a SPIN-DOCTOR. CALL NOW.”
And our GUEST Robert, did just that. He picked up the phone and called.
What Dr. Kojian wrote
He should be blessed…and blessed…
One word could change the World…Let it be this one
“First you return Western Armenia back to us, then we will discuss the Artsakh
First you return Western Armenia back to us, then we will discuss the Artsakh
First you return Western Armenia back to us, then we will discuss the Artsakh…”
We should Insist …Learn ..Rehearse…
Scream with our highest singing voice
Till the slayers Tympanic Membranes Burst-sss…Bleed-sss
Till they suffocate can’t inhale our ‘Giligian air’
Till they sigh from scary dreams…
See our bloodless innocents’ soft pieces of skulls
Scattered on their face…
I would like to repeat even when I’m in deep pain …
or at work…Sing…Weep…Dance
I would to leak it in every site
To enter every press, like Assange.
So every godless politician should read
Before smelling smokes from hells of their wikileaks.
I would like to repeat this phrase many times…till I die
I don’t know, will be when…and where?
This will be my song…I don’t have more to say.
Thanks once again for healer Kojian
He healed some of my wounds
There are more fore to care…!
(c) Sylva-MD-Poetry
December 10, 2010
Design a new Flag for our lost lands…
“Return our Wastren Armenian
As P. Wilson Pointed on earth’s map (1923)
Then we will discuss Arsakh”
This sould be our April Flag for 2011
Turkey is the biggest democracy in the region and better democracy than Armenia. This article published in one of the Turkish newspaper, radikal. Could any Armenian publish a Turkish article stating that all the Armenian allgetions are false?
Above notes all shows that how fundamentalist the armenians aagainst Turks.. How can you discuss and talk to those people. Unfortuanately, rality is reality. That is why editors can not even publish my writings…where is the democracy certainly not in Armenia and not in Armenian minds.
Kurt, you may check this link and see how some Turks are so fundametalist against Armenians.
http://todayszaman.com/news-229226-armenian-dogs-support-besiktas-they-say-but…-by-orhan-kemal-cengiz.html
Your comments are pathetic, Kurt. How astonishing that you are not aware that your only Nobel prize winning author was brought to trial because he spoke of the Armenian Genocide. Reports are that right now there are 47 journalists in your turk prisons for “insulting turkishness.” There are intelligent Turks who are forced to live in exile because they acknowledge and speak and write and teach the Armenian Genocide. No Armenian has ever in our thousands of years of history ever been put in jail for such an undemocratic notion. Democracy is based on freedom of speech. Armenians are free to speak. Shake your head.
” How can you discuss and talk to those people?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqG1lFMG1IE ( Armenian w /Eng. subtitle )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9P7GpIQzF0 ( French )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvyaqavZXcc ( Int’l )
” Turkey is the biggest democracy in the region.” : )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTXgAZYrFNY
Kurt! Love your post. Bravo!
Daron your link is a pathetic example which has nothing to do with this subject. First of all Alen feels himself more turkish than armenian. He is not afraid of anybody, he is not afraid of hiding his background either.
These two teams hate each other for a long time. It doesnt matter if you are armenian or kurd or turk or whatever.. Bursa hooligans are low-educated people like many other hooligans and they will attack, they will argue in everything you are related to.
You guys are following turkish media more than we do but as a result of fundamentalism you are picking only 1 article and forgetting the rest.
Aweeeee Kurt.. have not seen your around for a long time… i was wondering where you were hybernating… glad you are doing well sir…
your so called “these people” may not have the best democratic country in the world as we are taking baby steps and coming out of not only the oppression of Soviet Union but also many other horrible events such as war in Artsagh and continueous blockage by your ugly Turkish govt… and you have the balls to come in here and talk about democracy??? Democracy for you is completely different than what democracy is for countries of the West… Democracy is freedom of speech (hmmmnot so in Turkey), freedom of religion (hmmmm not so in Turkey), protection of the human rights of all citizens (hmmmm definintely not so in Turkey), a rule of law in which the laws and procedures apply to all citizens equally (what??? you got to be kidding right? .. definintely not in Turkey), having the right to assemble freely and to protest gov actions without retaliation from the govt (HA.. it may be moving forward the right direction but definintely not a common occurance in Turkey) .. no one may be arrested, imprisoned or exiled arbitrarily.. in a democratice world, anyone charged with a crime has the right to a fair, speedy and public trial by an impartial court but we know very well that is not the case in Turkey is it KURT??? I think i made my point ….
Jay and Daron apreq…. loved the references….
Gayane
Fenasi you say we follow more Turkish news n you guys.. well what do you expect? We like to be informed and be educated from different sides..unlike you… maybe you guys should follow news more because when you do, then you realize maybe what you know in your brains and heads is not what is going on externally… try it.. it may enlighten you people…
God Bless…
G
Dear Perouz,
Robert, Ahmed, Kurt, “Fancy Kerim” and the rest….are not part of Turkish intellectuals…they are hateful, intolerant bunch of good for nothing shit disturbers, and they know that too…
Likewise Sireli Gayane. GENATZ.
Fancy Kreem says,” Yoo Armenians folloveeng Toorkeesh meedya more dan vee doo.”
Vell vhat doo yoo suggest , Breel Kreem?
Breel Kreem,” I say, Doo not follow Toorkeesh medya, Dey are olvayz fool of poo poo.’
Fenasi Kerim,
You are right, my comment has nothing to do with the article, it was a response to your cousin Kurt. I am sorry, I did not mean to disturb your euphoric world where you and other Turk Nationalists think the Turks are the God given people who will lead the ME and the Caucuses to democracy.
Really, I have nothing to add, Gayane and rest of the people are doing you favor in bringing you and your friends back to Earth from your dreamland.
It is really sad that most of the later comments on this board prove that many Armenians and Turks would rather engage in an adolescent food fight than squarely confront the merits of what Hayk Demoyan has so clearly stated. Hayk Demoyan’s points have been totally forgotten in the ensuing scuffle. No one has disproved one of them. There are good Turks and bad Turks. There are good Armenians and bad Armenians. That is not the issue. The issue concerns the fact that Turkey committed genocide against the Armenian people. Genocide is not something that any people deserves and is the ultimate expression of human savagery. Let the Roberts, the Ahmets, the Kurts and Fenasi Kerims face up to this reality.
Diran, you are, of course, correct in saying that this post, and most others on this site as well, quickly stray off the article contents. We are now even seeing well-intentioned poetry. This is because the “Roberts, the Ahmets, the Kurts and Fenasi Kerims” do not have the ability to “face up to this reality” as you correctly state they should. The “adolescent food fight(s)” you refer to are evidence of the anger and frustration brought about by this denial. There is, of course, no point to this repetitive one-on-one attempt at educating individual turks on this site. There are many informed, educated Turks who place themselves in great danger and, still, are unable to affect Turkish acknowledgment of genocide. Change is not going to start at the bottom. It starts from the likes of Davutoglu. It is affected by writing such as Mr. Demoya’s. To get back to my earlier post, Davutoglu has now publicly stated that the “most wealthy” of the population was always the Armenians and the Greeks. BUT he did not state where those most wealthy disappeared to, why they would simply abandon their wealth, who took over their businesses and their real property, what happened to their children, their religious edifices, their very culture. This u-tube video is a valuable document that should be preserved. It is an admission on the part of Davutoglu that the Armenian, and to a lesser extent, Greek wealth was the foundation of the Ottoman Empire. And since this wealth existed in spite of well documented acts of oppressive taxation and unjust confiscation of farm crops and private property, it indicates that the Armenians and the Greeks were an astonishingly hard working, productive, persistent and competent population whose contribution to Ottoman society and culture was out of proportion to their numbers. This denial explains why Turkey has not made cultural and economic progress as Germany, who has acknowledged its history, has done. Davutoglu has unwittingly acknowledged his country’s culpability. He has admitted that Armenians were always “the most wealthy,” BUT has not explained their disappearance, thereby raising revealing questions.
Gayane, how do you know that we/I do NOT follow the rest of the worlds media? What do you think I am doing here? Maybe you think that this page is randomly opened in my computer, i learned english in 1 minute and felt for writing in it. Right?
Daron
You call me a nationalist, can you answer me what you are? A liberal or a social democrat with an exception of Turks? This site is builded on the armenian spirit which is burning for reaching the so called Great Armenia,right?
Why do you have to have the same attitude towards all the people that call themselves Turks? Hrant Dink also pointed out the side effects of diaspora people, why nobody is mentioning it here?
The subjects I tried to participate were Alen Markaryan and Turkey is the biggest democracy in the REGION. But i found myself in the criminal positon, my greetings to Armenian fundementalism and passionate nationalism.
(for those who argues when they hear the word democracy from a Turk; REGION is a geographical term, not the universe)
I agree, Diran. I feel sorry for people like Ahmet, Kurt, Robert, Murat and now Fenasi Kerims. They are speaking out of a lack of knowledge and from many years of indoctrination by a corrupt and dishonest government and educational system. They are the descendants of those who commit genocide, try the guilty, sentence them to death in absentia, and then erect monuments to the guilty and name streets and schools after them. Talk about denial that runs deep! What kind of society allows the deliberate murder of minority citizens, rationalizes it, and then promptly begins to deliberately forget about it and to rewrite history? It is ironic that in the cradle of civilization and the land of the first Christian nation, you find such a spiritually bereft mentality. It is a real battle of good versus evil. (I’m not saying that Turks are evil; I am saying that what they did and continue to do to deny it, is evil!)
The Turks have been cut off from their history prior to the modern republic by the purposeful act of changing the alphabet from arabic to latin letters. They are dependent on the lies their government and teachers tell them. It is our job to keep speaking the truth. We need to find and congratulate those Turks who have begun to deal honestly with the truth. It is counterproductive to bicker with those who lack knowledge. Give them facts, back it up with references and let them come to see the undeniable truth. If they can’t open their minds, focus your energy on those who will. It is up to us to find the cracks that are forming in the 95 year old wall of denial and keep chiseling away at it.
True..very true Boyajian jan… it is no skin off my teeth if such people like Kurs, Roberts, Murats, Ahmets, and Fenasis of the world want to live in their bubble for eternity.. I could care less about them because they don’t want to open their minds and maybe try to learn the truth because they know deep down the truth will hurt and hurt alot… which is why they us defense mechanisms that works for them… and unfortunately their defense mechanism is not productive as we only see the hatred, lack of education and understanding of their history…
Fenasi… well if you read Armenian news then why made such comment about Armenians reading Turkish news? i don’t get it.. what was your point there? obviously you spend way too much time on the Armenian sites yourself….. what buggles my mind is this..we have given you plenty of information about the history, about what democracy is, facts and news about Ottoman history but yet you are still the same Turk…that goes for Roberts, Ahmets, Kurts and Murats of your world…is it because it is too much to comprehend, are you intentionally ignoring the facts, are you intentionally blocking your brains from understanding the true meaning of what really happened, or are you afraid of letting yourselves out of the shackles of the Turkish govt??? i don’t get it… or is it simply because the information simply does not get registered fast enough?
I personally solute those Turks who do not want to be part of this fiasco…. I solute those Turks who are not afraid to speak up… they are our brothers and sisters and I repsect them with all my heart and soul.. it is people like you and your comrads Roberts, Murats, Kurts, and Ahmets of the world that i can’t respect….. i can’t stand the arrogance, the ignorance, lack of knowledge, and lack of honesty. However, i have hope and faith that one day more and more Turks will come out of the dark ages and deep amnesia and see the light…
Be well…
G
Best way to win an argument is to do it only with yourself. Even that seems to be a hard task for Armenian nationalists and hate mongers. So censor on. I occasionally peak here to see how far The Republic of Turkey, in essence the only true democracy in the whole region even if not a perfect one as someone pointed out, has left Dashnaks and Hinchaks and the gohsts of WWI behind.
Murat, is your comment an invitation to a open-minded, two-sided discussion or merely an insulting door slammed in the face of Armenians who are processing the ongoing trauma of the genocide perpetrated by your ancestors?
Gayane, you and your friends are probably the last people who have some knowledge to teach me history and democracy. I havent seen any intellectual comment here so far. But only nationalism.. Since when Armenian patriotism have been the symbol of democracy and history?
I am a Turk, my blood is turkish so that is the main issue for you. Why do you claim that I am narrow minded? What have I written to deserve it????? Did i show any ignorance of facts? Please point out a quotation..
The main topic is Turkey has a better democracy than Iran, Iraq, Syria, Armenia, Georgia. That is what I wanted to say when i thanked dear Kurt.
You follow the Turkish media and pick out only ultra-nationalist articles, videos. These kind of videos, articles can be found everywhere in the world. Dont go so far, check some european sites, you will see the same examples against immigrants, muslims. Your mistake is you are generalizing and stating that the majority of the Turkey is like this.
You dont dare to talk about Alen Markarian ,although he is Armenian, he is not one of you. He is not a true Armenian because he is not a patriot!
Fenasi Kerim, I apologize if I mistakenly included you in the list of Turks infected with the denial virus who write here. But with all due respect, how can a nation which hides from truth and punishes (even to the point of murdering) those who speak the truth, be considered a great democracy?
We are never nationalist
We are are seeking
Truth and truth.
We never know our exact DNA
Neither everyone on this site.
My be I have another gene
May be all others who doesn’t recognize our genocide
Are all pure Armenians more than us!
“We Are Called Armenians”
Because our grandparents were slayed
We lost our lands
We lost every kin.
We’re new seeds planted no where… but every where!
We created our life from nothing
While you enjoyed our Wealth, our Land, our Fruits
Still you are shouting on us to respect you.
At least… say sorry,
Say, “we are criminals”
Because you carry that gene
No-one could change you…Accept your-self…!
Please, show us some of your humble attitudes…!
Sylva-MD-Poetry
December 13, 2010
Kerim,
Ditto. in order to be an intellectual in the armenian eyes we must accept those allegations. having defend a different idea which we all believe is to be an ignorant and bad people.
If I say Turks are bad and accept everything written here I would be great Turkish intellectual. This is the case. No one is forced to accept my ideas and beliefs nor your Mr. Boyaciyan, Gayane and others.
Kurt
To all the Turks on this discussion group….maybe we are not or have not been clear on the topic of being a Turk… we said this million times.. IT IS NOT ALL THE TURKS WE ARE frustrated with.. WE ARE NOT GENERALIZING …we repeatedly stated that it is the Turkish govt who brainwashed most of the Turks and i can’t say that I don’t believe all of you here on this discussion group have some of that as well… and this is how you comment on matters.. this is not something we take out of the air.. your comments drive our reaction…..but I plus many of my comrades states that we are very proud of those Turks who stand out of the sheepish group who follow this brainwashed propaganda.. we solute those Turks who speak out about the truth and spit on those faces who try to silence them.. I pray God that they are protected….
Fenasi.. my first question is this… are you SURE you are a 100% Turk with Turkish blood running through your veins? Have you done DNA testing to find out who your ancestors were? I am just curious..
My second question is this: did you not read my comment to Kurt about what Democracy truly stands for and how Turkey does not represent any of the points? i mean what planet do you guys live on that you dont’ see what the world sees in Turkey.. how can you say Turkey is the greatest democratic this and that when we provided you examples of what the western world knows democracy should be and frankly my dear Turkey has nothing of such values…..a re you that blind?
My third question is this: why are you discussing democracy instead of discussing what the article brought forth on this page…lets stick to the point of the article.. don’t try to dodge the bullet by bringing in other facts like how Robert, Murat, Ahmet and Kurt like to do……..
My fourth question is this: if you follow the ARmenian news/discussion groups that closely, how come you have not seen or read any facts and information these sites provide to you.. they are overflowing with the data..it is a simple search.. or are you being selective or pick the news you want to read? it is a two ways street sir…
Kurt and Ahmet.. no comments..not worth it…..
Boyajian jan.. well said… thank you
Thank you
Gayane
Dear Boyajian, you took the words right out of my mouth. How can Turkey claim to be a Democracy when it punishes its citizens for speaking the truth? How can it call itself a Democracy when it is sanctioning and blockading Armenia to retaliate for Nagorno Karabagh’s fight for self determination and Democracy? How can it call itself a Democracy when it sentences people to 11 months imprisonment for insulting public officers by calling them “Armenian”! A Democracy does not allow racism, because by definition it says that all men are born equal! It does not allow the release of a criminal because he killed an “Armenian”, and allows prison guards to take souvenir pictures with him. Armenians are giavours, dogs and “ghosts” (Murat), but I guess giavour money, homes, assets, properties, lands, farms, furniture, clothes, life insurances, women AND the giavour country called Western Armenia were not dirty enough for you to take and build your so called democracy on! What despicable indecency! Davutoglu just acknowledged that the Armenians were the richest subjects of the Ottoman Empire! Does he care to tell the descendants of those subjects, ie us, where that money went?
Fenasi Karim, for us patriotism meant fighting the Ottomans to free our people from their Ottoman bondage and human rights abuses. The Dashnaks were our freedom fighters because they fought to protect our villages and to demand equal rights for our people. Our lands were occupied by your ancestors, and we were only asking for what was rightfully ours. And yet Turks like Robert, Ahmet and Murat are either intentionally kept ignorant about these facts or they are plain rude individuals who have the gul to come here and insult the descendants of the Genocide whose inheritance they are thriving on, some more. It is unreasonable of you to expect good will from us towards a nation that obliterated our homeland, and continues to lie about it. We have no problem acknowledging and embracing decent Turks who have the courage to acknowledge the truth. While you may be selective in your reading of comments on this site, I would like to bring to your attention that many complimentary comments are also written regarding a whole sector of dignified Turks who accept the mistakes of their ancestors. Case in point are historians Orhan Pamuk and Taner Ackam, whom we respect greatly for their intellectual and personal integrity. I am sure you are aware that both of these honored scholars are banned from your country because they “insulted” Turkishness under Article 301. I guess to be a good Turk, you need to be a liar and denier.
The only way for Turkey to achieve modern Democracy, spread peace in the area, and become a viable power is by facing its ghosts, namely the Armenian Genocide, in the example of Germany.
The Armenian Genocide stands alone in its category, because unlike the Holocaust, the perpetrator also took over the victim nation’s homeland. To be a true Democracy, Turkey needs to come clean, and take responsibility of all the parts of this ugly crime.
Until then, you can continue enjoying the spoils of my homeland, but there is a greater power that will judge you from above.
Kurt,
Are you looking for a sympathy, that you are not intellectual??please do not harden your heart, as what your forefathers did to their Christian subject..Allah is so powerful and merciful, will buy your justified guilt.. Allah do not like intellectuals either, so be a happy Turk and a “guilt free” intellectual, just like Mr. Davutoglu…
Kurt, you just made the most absurd comment on this site to date!
Historians, Kurt, base their research on historic archives from the time the event they are studying happened.
Do not read any historians books if you are that brainwashed, sorry, I meant to say if you are that skeptical. Go to the English, American and German national archives. All of them, can be readily available. You should also, pull out whatever archives you can find in Turkey from the Tribunals, where decent Turks acted as eye witnesses and were instrumental in sentencing Talat, Enver and company with the death sentence. Those Turks, knew exactly what their leaders had done. They were not brainwashed like you.
Also, Kurt, I do not have to believe or borrow these stories from anyone, because these atrocities happened to my grandparents, their relatives and all their friends. These people were not affiliated to any Armenian party to be politically influenced. Their story is the story of every other Armenian. People who had no relationship with each other have told the same types of stories of how the men were first taken and killed, how the women, elderly and children were told to pack their valuables and start marching. On the road, they were all subjected to intntional starvation, rapes, massacres and pilliage. This is not an imagined story. This is the story of the orphans and survivors who later became our grandparents.
If you are so smart, please tell me where you think the almost 2 million Armenian population in Turkey went. You might start by reading Talat Pasha’s memoirs where he meticulously recorded how many Armenians were deported from each village, how many were killed and how many were left. I guess the interior minister had a lot of time on his hands, or this operation was a priority of his.
Katia jan.. yes qo tsavt tanem… well said.. shat lav asetsir…
but trust me hun jan they do not have the capacity to obsorb and understand such history… they dont’ have the capability to comprehend what history has to offer.. THE TRUE HISTORY that is.. and not the made up history that TUrkish govt fed these poor souls for so long.. it is sad.. just sad to say the least…
It breaks my heart and at the same time frustrates me that such govt has so much power to erase any working brain cell in her subjects.. to use them puppets and do whatever they want with them.. breed and raise haters of history, and Armenians in general… and haters of truth and justice… if such govt can do something this horrible to her OWN people, i just don’t understand why some countries doubt Turkey’s capability of carrying our Genocide..i am sure there are many reasons but I have NO DOUBT that she will do this again and again and again to future generation until she is stopped…
G
We are never nationalist
We are are seeking
Truth and truth.
Why we were butchered after
So many years of dedication?
We never know our exact DNA
Neither everyone on this site
My be I have another gene
May be all others… those
Who doesn’t recognize our genocide
Are all pure Armenians more than us!
We are called Armenians
Because our grandparents were slayed
We lost our lands
We lost every kin
We’re new seeds planted in no where
We created our life from nothing
While you enjoyed our wealth our lands our fruits
Still you are shouting demanding from Us to respect you!
At least say sorry,
Say, We did what we wanted to do… we regret”
Because you carry your ancestors…Who did what they did
And you know it all and all.
No-one could change you…Accept yourself and you…!
At least….Show some of your humble attitudes…!
December 13, 2010
Kurt, honestly, your last post doesn’t make sense to me.
My guess is that Turkish reluctance to accept the truth about the Armenian Genocide has less to do with intellect than it has to do with emotions. It probably also has more to do with perceptions about loss of power, prestige or honor. But the truth doesn’t become less true just because we don’t want to look at it or believe it. And the truth is well documented in the archives of many nations, including Germany, your nations WWI ally; the United States and especially your own nation’s archives. Hundreds, if not thousands of newspaper articles documented the events as they happened. And the world had an overwhelming response to aid the survivors and orphans. This is not an allegation, this is not imagination, this is not Armenians being overly dramatic. This is TRUTH. If you have an open heart and mind you will easily access the documents to confirm this.
This is a crime that was committed by thousands of Ottoman era Turks and Kurds and the loss to the Armenian nation has yet to be repaid almost a century later. That’s it! That’s all there is to this. Your own country tried the perpetrators, Talaat, Jemal and Enver, in absentia and found them guilty but didn’t have the stomach to face its own guilt in the court of world opinion. Instead your people have resurrected the reputations of these criminals and built monuments and named streets and schools in their honor. This appalling!
Turkey needs to admit its crime, admit to its efforts to deny and distort history and stop all such future efforts. Turks can’t try to excuse the genocide by suggesting that a few so-called revolutionaries presented a security risk that warranted the murder of innocents. Nor should Turks try to equate their losses in the Balkans or their suffering in WWI to the suffering that they inflicted on the Armenians which resulted in the elimination of a nation that had its roots in Asia Minor for thousands of years prior to the arrival of the Seljuks. Ottomans oppressed Armenians and massacred them prior to the events of 1915. Turkish-Armenian tension obviously has a long and complicated history. This can’t be ignored, swept under the rug, or reformulated into an imaginary civil war. Read Fatma Muge Gocek, Taner Akcam for more on this.
The fastest road to respect among the nations of Europe and the rest of the world, would be for Turkey to face its past honestly.
Here’s another truth: This Boyajian is not a Mr.! Careful about the assumptions you make.
The reason turks won’t acknowledge the genocide is because they will have to repay – with interest – all the money and businesses and property they stole from the “always most wealthy Armenians,” as Davutoglu admitted. It’s our money that is buttering their bread, and it’s our land their bread is growing on. Who cares what impotent people like Kurt think? His views are worthless and not worth reading let alone responding to.
This video is really worth 27 minutes of your time.
http://www.therightscoop.com/walid-shoebat-fired-up-at-six-flags
AMEN Boyajian jan.. Apres… Excellent Post…
Perouz has a point as well but Perouz jan, Kurt and his kinds need responses from us to show how unintelligent they sound and how hateful their words are because having them just mumble their nonsense without providing true and accurate information may never help them see the light.. to be honest with you, i don’t even know their brain cells can obsorb such information and they may never see the light but our responses to their nonsense will show the outsider who may be reading such posts understand how behind these TUrks are.. and I know they are not the only ones.. unfortunately..
However, I THANK TO OUR LORD for those Turks such as Taner, Fatma and others who speak up about truth.. I pray to God for their protection and well being.. They are our true heros…
G
Perouz, I think you are right, but I think it’s concern over loss of land more than money. I think it is the territorial awards made by President Wilson in the Treaty of Sevres that scares Turkey most.
From Independent British Newspaper Reported by Robert Fisk
October 9, 2009
In the autumn of 1915, an Austrian engineer called Litzmayer, who was helping build the Constantinople-Baghdad railway, saw what he thought was a large Turkish army heading for Mesopotamia. But as the crowd came closer, he realised it was a huge caravan of women, moving forward under the supervision of soldiers.
The 40,000 or so women were all Armenians, separated from their men – most of whom had already had their throats cut by Turkish gendarmerie – and deported on a genocidal death march during which up to 1.5 million Armenians died.
Subjected to constant rape and beatings, some had already swallowed poison on their way from their homes in Erzerum, Serena, Sivas, Bitlis and other cities in Turkish western Armenia. “Some of them,” Bishop Grigoris Balakian, one of Litzmayer’s contemporaries, recorded, “had been driven to such a state that they were mere skeletons enveloped in rags, with skin that had turned leathery, burned from the sun, cold, and wind. Many pregnant women, having become numb, had left their newborns on the side of the road as a protest against mankind and God.” Every year, new evidence emerges about this mass ethnic cleansing, the first holocaust of the last century; and every year, Turkey denies that it ever committed genocide.
________
Recently we are discovering every day, how many Arab mothers have Armenian grandmothers, Some times they say…they are Turkish when i ask if they have relatives in Turkey they tell she was orphan.
Most of the time, they say to me,” My grand-grandmother looked like you.” This article proves that there are no 100% genetic people are mixed through such tragedies…
Sylva
Treaties comes and goes. Like today, Kosova is recognized by some countries and some not…
Sevre is history as like any other history.. You all stuck with ancient Armenia and so on. If so, America must leave, California would be Mexican, Russia need to cede Sakhalin Island, Klaningrad to Poland. I could come many more. These are all WWII disputes and occupations. So, Ancient is ancient. If you go back that ancient, Armenians must have to get out of Gumru and Yerevan….what you are defending could be your worst nightmare….
Kurt you know who are my nightmares? Uneducated and ignorant and heartless people.. and you are not excluded from that group…
GOd Bless
Kurt,
You insult people’s intelligence when you give such a simplistic and frankly ignorant depiction of the Armenian Genocide by comparing it with events that have no similarity to it,
The Americans “purchased” California from the Mexicans, in other words the Mexicans sold California to the Americans. Our lands were STOLLEN from us by murder, and not a cent has been paid for them. Not only that, Turkey has aggressively and actively erased all traces of our civilization by forcefully Islamizing, throwing Armenian women in harems, destroying our churches by either converting them to mosques, stables, or simply by detonating them, and by changing the names of our villages… It has even gone as far as changing the name of mount Ararat that has been called so since the Bible. The Armenian Genocide happened at the beginning of the 20th Century where human right laws and International laws were in effect.
Your nation has been built over the blood of our ancestors and funded with our inheritance. We have been asking for reparations for the past 95 years. Turkey has been keeping its hold on our grandparents assets and lands, and calling the whole thing a lie, which makes it effectively and morally the lowest nation in the world. I am talking of course about the Turkey’s leadership.
Turkey has made the concept of justice a joke, by simply saying “no, I didn’t do it”. Justice is but a word if it is not respected and implemented.
It’s very interesting how you see the separation of the other countries that the Ottoman empire controlled such as Palestine and Lebanon as modern and understandable. We cannot simply swallow what Turkey has done to us, because it is fraud, corrupt and inhumane, and we simply cannot accept it.
Enjoy my ancestors lands for now…
Kurt, didn’t your mother ever teach you that two wrongs don’t make a right? You excuse Turkey’s crime against Armenians by trying to give (weak) examples of ‘wrongs’ you believe other countries committed. What does that make you?
Wrong is wrong, truth is truth and the Turkish Government is guilty of committing, perpetuating and covering up a massive crime.
Vax Katia jan… sirts hovatsav after reading your words… shat lav asetsir…Thank you…
Kurt.. you have no place to open your mouth and sound even more uneducated by comparing the territories you mentioned above with the Ottoman Turkish Genocide of the Western and Eastern Armenians.. Do you even know what history is?? Do you understand the concept of deliberate mass murder of an entire nation? Do you comprehend the extent your govt goes to cover its bloody hands and clothes of such magnitude of a crime against my people? Well.. i am sure you don’t. because your brain capacity is only for the garbage your govt shoved in your heads and souls… you dont’ see beyond your nose…
So i say why don’t you read about the history of everything you mentioned above and tell us where the similarities are with what your sorry you know ancestors did to our nation… such ignorance…it is pathetic…
Gayane sums it up. Kurt shows no sign of having either an intellect or a conscience, two things that go together. He tries in his ignorant and calloused way to blend the crime of genocide into the general ebb and flow of history. In his eyes there is no such thing as genocide anywhere, anytime. It’s just a matter of winners and losers. In his eyes Lemkin wasted his precious life struggling to find a word that would do justice to such a monstrous crime. It’s a waste of time addressing him. Unfortunately, the higher levels of the Turkish state represent Kurt’s thinking all too well. Maybe they can all have their pictures taken together.
of course, Boyajian, their primary concern is of the forfeiture of stolen lands which, sooner or later, Turkey will be forced by international law to return. Turkey’s fear of the Diaspora grows every day. You can see and hear it in this response by Davutoglu. And our strength and determination for justice grows every day. We need to spend our efforts in productive dialogue, such as this article, which will hasten the collision of their fear based denial and our increasing determination for justice.
I have no time or interest in dialogue with the uneducated,uninformed, propoganda-infected denialists who surf from site to site in search of baiting earnest Armenians. This is the usual turk strategy of diverting attention away from the more important issues currently under discussion on this site and elsewhere. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/land-under-us-airbase-stolen-by-turkey-during-armenian-genocide-according-to-lawsuit-filed-by-yeghiayan–associates-111950024.html
Good point, Perouz!
I agree with Boyajian.. good point Perouz…
Well said Diran jan..
Thank you for the link Perouz! The number ONE factor that has helped the Turks with their policy of burying the truth of the Genocide, has been OUR inability throughout the 95 years, to organize class action law suits for the illegal confiscation of individual assets/property, and the organized deportation/murder of innocent civilians. Fresh out of almost full annihilation, our Diaspora leadership was not equipped to empower these individual claims by helping out with funding legal counsel/representation. Instead of appealing to the Hague International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, while many of our survivors were still living with their fresh memories, and still had their property deeds in their hands, our disorganized and dispersed leadership prioritized keeping our people together by focusing on salvaging our traditions/language/culture. This was a heaven sent gift for the Turks, who were given by the Armenians themselves, the time, space and opportunity to erase all traces of their crime, by settling Turks into Armenian homes, businesses and farms, and by destroying all of our cultural/religious monuments. While our compatriots were silenced by the Soviet Regime in Soviet Armenia, and our Diaspora was isolating itself in order to get stronger as a people, Turkey maximized this opportunity by shamelessly utilizing our lands to strike deals with the US and other countries, changing its alphabet and brainwashing its own people with a distorted version of history, and seducing the world into amnesia with doses of regular Turkish lies and locum.
Consequently, our leadership had to unfortunately, waste precious years/resources, trying to reverse this amnesia which was by then metastasized by deep political/strategic alliances/understandings between the US, England, Israel, Europe and Turkey, by working hard for the world to officially recognize what it already knew. The US, which possesses the most damning archives on the Genocide, is still saying that it does NOT SUIT its interests to remember.
The picture would have been different, if instead of only focusing on keeping our culture, we also made NOISE on the international stage and sued Turkey from day one with specific claims, and kept on suing it, for everything: for all the individuals it massacred, for all the private bank accounts, homes, businesses and farms it confiscated, for all the churches it destroyed, for all the distortions of history, for all the map makers that it paid off to leave the word Armenia off, for all the movies it did not allow us to make about the Genocide, for all the illegal kick backs it offered unethical US lawmakers to kill the Armenian Genocide resolutions, etc etc.
We should also sue the US government, for discriminating against its citizens of Armenian descent, by choosing not to recognize the Armenian Genocide when it has recognized all the others, for interfering with history/justice and putting political gain above human rights. Pathetically for the US, it is recognizing the “Genocides” of other people, when the word “Genocide” was created to describe what befell the Armenians.
Excellent post Katia jan…excellent.. it sums it all up…
You are absolutely correct in stating that we should sue US for discriminating against American citizens with Armenian descent .. Shame on US …they are as guilty as Turkey…
they are Low lifes… all of them..
G
You are right on target, Katia. And American-Armenians should respond by voting against Obama for promising to recognize the genocide and then immediately reverting to “weasel talk.” All those who held fund drives and raffles and baked cookies and call-ins and urged each other to vote for this man because of his promise to recognize the Armenian Genocide, should stand up at the polling booths and hold him personally accountable for his betrayal of their trust. Hundreds of accredited scholars around the world have deemed the denial of genocide to be a continuation of the act itself.
Katia, nice synopsis. I agree that the lawsuits are a very important development. The fact that this did not happen sooner is evidence of how devastated our community was by genocide… Rudderless, displaced survivors, happy(or maybe just relieved) to be alive and struggling to establish new homes on safer shores, had little time or strength to focus on another battle with the Turks. Religious, cultural and political leadership, were decimated in the genocide. Who was going to fight this battle after watching the Treaty of Sevres undermined and the world turn a blind eye to justice for the Armenians? I hope to see many more of these cases turn up.
Right on my Armenian sisters, right on!
The saying goes that “things don’t happen to you, unless you let them happen”.
We have been accustomed to abuse for so long, that we have a tendency of accepting getting betrayed as our destiny.
We have to make the Obama administration understand that although we are of Armenian descent, we also are tax paying American citizens, who have the absolute right to hold him accountable for misrepresenting himself to our community by making false promises while he was a candidate to the presidency. We should take him and Hilary Clinton to court for cajoling the Armenian community into making all those donations of time as volunteers on their campaign trails, and money with donations that amounted to an estimated 9 million dollars! The US government has been profitting from the Genocide and suffering of our people! It has rendered our Genocide into a political bargaining chip! And we have been taking this unethical and human rights violating behavior for how many years now? Shame on the phony bolony leader of Human Rights!
Same thing and more of course can be said about the monster at the other side of the ocean also. Will it be too hard for Russia to announce that it sees fit to reverse Stalin’s decision to give our Karabagh to Azerbaijan? Why would Russia do that of course if it means losing another “bargaining chip” that can keep Armenia dependant of Russia, and Azerbaijan a client of Russian weaponry?
It is a truly cruel cruel world!
here is a segment of an email I received from ANCA. I think there is permission to reproduce it.
Dear Friend,
You’ve read the news.
The international media, including just today theAssociated Press, is reporting that the U.S. House may vote on the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H.Res.252, this coming Tuesday, December 21st.
The Turkish lobby is attacking this resolution full force, as is the Obama Administration, which said this past week that it is “strongly opposed” to the adoption of this human rights measure.
With the truth on our side, we’re fighting back. On Capitol Hill and across the country. District by district, we’re working to get America on the right side of this issue.
One of our most powerful assets is the vast social network that individual Armenians have developed over the years – reaching tens of millions of Americans, through relatives, neighbors, classmates, work colleagues, business contacts, and friends.
These contacts can prove decisive in getting H.Res.252 adopted. But we need your help to get them engaged. Simply Cut & Paste this “Dear Friends” note (below) into email messages and Facebook, MySpace, and other social media posts to friends and family. Feel free to personalize with your own story.
Please make a special effort to reach people who live outside of areas like Boston, New York, or Los Angeles, with lots of Armenians. It’s vital that legislators hear from citizens from across the United States.
Don’t be shy, ask everyone for help. This is a truly great and worthwhile cause, in the best of the American and Armenian traditions.
Sincerely,
Aram Hamparian
ANCA
PS: Please be creative in expressing yourself. Consider using your Profile Photo, your Status, or anything else you can think of to help spread the word.
sorry, I forgot to include the rest of his letter. here it is.
Dear Friends,
In this season of giving, I ask you to give the gift of a 30 second phone call to ask your U.S. Representative to vote YES on H.Res.252, a resolution that simply calls for U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
The U.S. House appears set to vote on this human rights measure this Tuesday, its last day in session!
So, please, first thing Monday morning, call your U.S. Representative’s Washington, DC office to ask for a YES vote on H.Res.252. You can get all the details, including the phone number to call, a phone script, and information about this legislation at http://www.anca.org.
Calling is quick, easy – and for a great human rights cause.
Your call can make a real difference, but, with Congress about to adjourn, time is running out.
If you’ve never called Congress before, it’s easier than you think. A receptionist will answer your call and write down your message. These offices get hundreds of calls a day, treat callers respectfully, and value hearing your views.
After calling your U.S. Representative, consider making two more quick calls to leave messages asking the top leaders of the U.S. House to bring the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H.Res.252, to a vote.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: 202-225-0100
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer: (202) 225-3130
If you have any questions, please send me a Facebook message or write me an email.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Wonderful 2011 to all!
PS: One more favor, please send this note to 10 frie
Dear Friends,
In this season of giving, I ask you to give the gift of a 30 second phone call to ask your U.S. Representative to vote YES on H.Res.252, a resolution that simply calls for U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
The U.S. House appears set to vote on this human rights measure this Tuesday, its last day in session!
So, please, first thing Monday morning, call your U.S. Representative’s Washington, DC office to ask for a YES vote on H.Res.252. You can get all the details, including the phone number to call, a phone script, and information about this legislation at http://www.anca.org.
Calling is quick, easy – and for a great human rights cause.
Your call can make a real difference, but, with Congress about to adjourn, time is running out.
If you’ve never called Congress before, it’s easier than you think. A receptionist will answer your call and write down your message. These offices get hundreds of calls a day, treat callers respectfully, and value hearing your views.
After calling your U.S. Representative, consider making two more quick calls to leave messages asking the top leaders of the U.S. House to bring the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H.Res.252, to a vote.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: 202-225-0100
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer: (202) 225-3130
If you have any questions, please send me a Facebook message or write me an email.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Wonderful 2011 to all!
PS: One more favor, please send this note to 10 frie
We live with the shadows of our ancestors. We live with their stories and with their wounds. Turkey continues the Genocide into our generation, by not recognizing what it did to our ancestors, and by calling the stories we inherited from them lies! We see in our minds eye, the homes and gardens that they described to us, we carry in our DNA the pain they endured as they left their dying siblings and parents, we feel in our beings the horrors they were subjected to and eyewitnessed. Where are our family trees? We can only recall the names that they recalled… We cannot go further because our trees were cut…We cannot attach faces to the names they mentioned. Where are the lands that they spoke of? Why were our most celebrated writers, composers, poets killed? How could Gomidas, a harmless composer priest have been considered a threat to Turkey? Unless our very existence was not desired.
We will never forget… Our ancestors will not rest in peace unless Turkey answers to Law and God.
Youtube videos… not for the faint hearted.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z9CeLBi64Q&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj_zaqazvUs
AMEN to that Katia jan.. AMEN
Amen Kurt! Lova your post! Bravo!
Well done!