First let me apologize for the gender slant in this week’s column. It is not intended to limit the scope of the article, but I am still searching for a substitute phrase. I am not sure about all of you, but I am tired of proclamations, Armenian “days” and empty statements of support from politicians in the diaspora. After each successive tragedy, two things consistently occur: we receive a plethora of empathetic statements, all of which are as useful as Confederate currency, and we prepare for yet another anniversary remembrance for our losses. This process went on for decades relative to Western Armenia and Cilicia after the Genocide. After the failed Treaty of Sevres, we mourned what should have been with the Wilsonian Grant. After the disastrous and humiliating Treaty of Kars, we began the remembrance slogans for Kars, Ardahan and Javakhli. After Stalin’s vengeful “awards,” the Nakhichevan and Artsakh dilemma began. With hardly a whimper from the outside world, 400,000 Armenians were banished from their homes in Azerbaijan from 1989-91, with the survivors forced into a new reality. There seemed to be more empathy in the media concerning Azeris displaced during the first Artsakh War. The spirit and sacrifice of our heroic brethren in Artsakh from 1988-2023 changed the paradigm, but it has reverted back to mourning and remembrance.
These losses feed our victim mentality. We feel sorry for ourselves and incorrectly assume that the world, specifically the free world, owes us something. The sooner we internalize the notion that no one owes us anything, the quicker we will move into survival and revival mode (to borrow a phrase from Dr. Noubar Afeyan). Even as we build alliances with other nations such as France, India and perhaps others, they will support us only to the extent that it serves their interests. Politics, particularly geopolitics, is the coldest example of duplicity and selfishness. We need to develop a harder edge with less emotion in our arguments.
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It’s a great text, I hope many people read it
Exactly right. Armenians are often in a perpetual state of victimhood and emotional turmoil over past events. And when things get rough in the present, we revert back to old ways of thinking. This cycle needs to end. We need to come together and bring modern and intelligent solutions for the future of our nation. We need to focus on defense. We cannot rely on others, only ourselves.
Dear Stepan,
I have enjoyed reading your articles for a very very long time and God bless you. So please keep writting non-stop untill the day Armenia sees the light and becomes a secure and peaceful country!
Yes Stepan please keep writing.
I can feel the resolve of the barbarian Turks crumbling!
Thanks, Stepan.
Speaking of our so-called “friends” in Congress, they have said little to nothing about:
Israel’s being Azerbaijan’s main supplier of weapons (used against Armenians).
Turkey’s use of American F-16s in the 2020 war against Armenians.
Turkey & Azerbaijan’s support of ISIS/international terrorist organizations, including
against Armenians in 2020.
Yet, they’ll talk endlessly about Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Shall I go on and on?
These people are not our “friends.” They’re scaredy cats.
They should be called out explicitly & constantly.
And no, these are not just Armenian issues. They’re American ones.
Prof. J. Mearsheimer(https://www.mearsheimer.com/) clearly explains in his many Youtube videos and books what is the realist view of the world order. There is no arbiter of moral right or wrong. There is no such thing as being a nice guy. The closest thing that the UN developed after world war 2 was the ICJ, but no one pays attention to its rulings. The ICJ ruled that Azerbaijan was at fault for blockading Karabakh but it went ahead anyway with Russian approval. The bottom line is that military, economic and intellectual ( technology) power determine the relative ranking of countries and people. Armenians should know what Mearsheimer is talking about because they have felt it on their skin, through genocide and dispossession. The answer to the Armenian dilemma is fairly clear based on the long history of exile:
1- Organize the diaspora on regional, country and international levels- organizations must agree on a minimum set of basic principles
2- Develop a plan to generate at least one billion dollars a year to fund projects in Armenia and diaspora( schools, sports, think tanks, lobbying)
3- Encourage families and youth to attend Armenian schools, and for college students to spend some time in Armenia
4- Encourage the development of intellectual and community leaders by attending top universities. The Western elites are a meritocracy and there is only room for first and maybe second. That is why only a few people like Nubar Afeyan or David Ignatius are heard in the public square to influence political discourse.
5- There has to be a common understanding with the government and people of Armenia about the shared destiny of Armenians. This issue is now equally or more important than genocide recognition. While the Pashinyan government is being short sighted and reckless about Armenian history and identity, they are nevertheless raising an important issue. 1915 genocide was a cataclysmic explosion which scattered Armenians to the four corners of the world, and there has to be a renewed effort to bring the Armenian nation back together again. There is a symbiotic relationship between Armenia and diaspora.