Turkey’s Ruling AKP Loses Majority in Parliament, HDP Receives 13 Percent of Votes

ISTANBUL, Turkey (A.W.)—About 86 percent of around 53 million eligible voters cast their ballots and elected 550 members to Turkey’s Parliament, among them Armenians Garapet (Garo) Paylan, who ran on the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) list, Markar Esayan from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), and Selina Özuzun Doğan from the Republican People’s Party (CHP), reported Turkish media.

Selahattin Demirtaş told journalists gathered at the Istanbul offices of the HDP that the party now truly belonged to all of Turkey (Photo: The Armenian Weekly)

According to 99 percent of the votes counted, AKP garnered around 41 percent of the votes (258 seats) in today’s parliamentary election, based on data released by the state-run TRT. HDP, on the other hand, broke the 10 percent barrier and received around 13 percent of the votes, gaining 79 seats in Parliament, while CHP earned 25 percent (132 seats), and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) 16 percent (81 seats).

As the results trickled in, and it became clear that HDP had earned more than 10 percent of the votes, party co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş told journalists gathered at the Istanbul offices of the HDP that the party now truly belonged to all of Turkey.

HDP candidates and supporters, including party co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş (center) and Garo Paylan (right) at the HDP offices in Istanbul (Photo: Garo Paylan’s Twitter page)

Among HDP’s other Armenian candidates were Murad Mihçi and Filor Uluk Benli. HDP candidates also included Yezidis and Assyrians alongside Kurds. Moreover, 268 female candidates ran on the HDP list—the highest number of women among the political parties running for election.

HDP faired especially well in the southeast of the country. In the provinces of Diyarbakir, Mardin, Batman, Van, and Hakkari, the party received over 70 percent of the votes.

The AKP needed 367 seats in order to introduce the “new constitution,” an objective President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had talked about on many occasions. The new constitution would have turned Turkey from a parliamentary system into an executive presidency, giving the president more powers. The AKP’s support was down from the 50 percent of the votes (327 seats) it received in the 2011 election.

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Being a landlocked country, Armenia has an economy that depends on transport and cross-border access. Armenia has a few railway lines and an extensive road network. While the rate of car ownership has been growing steadily in recent years, it is still relatively low. Public transport plays a critical role, especially in cities. The transportation network capacity is adequate for accommodating estimated demand up to the year 2020, but the infrastructure has deteriorated due to a lack of funds. In recent years, the government has given priority to rehabilitation and reconstruction of the infrastructure. A major issue that hinders transportation in Armenia is severe climate where low temperatures and heavy snowfall in winter limit economic activity.

Roadway System

Roads provide access to employment, markets, education, and health services, and thus are crucial for economic development. Since 1990, road networks have expanded in all developing countries in Asia except Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Tajikistan. China and India account for almost two-thirds of the roads in Asia. Armenia has slightly less than 8,000 kilometers of roads, 94 percent of which are paved; however, some of the paved roads need major rehabilitation.

The number of vehicles has surged in developing Asian countries. In 1990, only 2 countries recorded 100 or more motor vehicles per 1,000 people. In 2010, 19 countries had more than 100 vehicles per 1,000 people. Armenia has 92 registered vehicles per 1,000 people. In comparison, Azerbaijan has 110 and Georgia has 170 per 1,000 people. In developed countries, this number is typically more than 700.

The primary type of vehicle in each country—whether cars and other four-wheeled vehicles, or two- and three-wheeled vehicles—depends on a mix of factors, such as an economy’s level of development and population density as well as sub-regional characteristics. The distribution of registered vehicles by type in Armenia is as follows: cars, SUVs, vans, and light four-wheeled trucks: 83 percent; buses: 12 percent; heavy trucks: 5 percent.

The increase in the number of registered motor vehicles in developing countries has been accompanied by a relatively high incidence of fatal road accidents. The relatively high fatality rates are the result of underdeveloped road networks, mixed traffic, limited availability of traffic engineering expertise, governance issues, and rapid growth of the vehicle fleet.

The death rate per 100,000 people is about 18 in Armenia, which is 3 times higher than in developed countries with good roadway networks. Azerbaijan and Georgia have about the same rate. Measures including safer road construction, better protection for pedestrians, stricter enforcement of traffic regulations, and road safety education typically reduce road deaths.

Rehabilitation of the road network is a top priority for Armenia. Improving roads will increase trade, investment flows, and jobs. Better connectivity aids regional cooperation and integration as well as increases the country’s competitiveness.

The government of Armenia initiated the North-South Road Corridor project, which will be starting from Bavra (a neighboring area of Georgia); continuing to Gyumri, Talin, Yerevan, Goris, and Kapan; and ending in Meghri (next to the border of Iran). The North-South Road Corridor, once completed, will be 556 km. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to support the government of Armenia in this initiative with initial financing of $500 million. The estimated cost for the entire project is $1.5 billion.

The North-South Road will link to the East-West Highway in Georgia that leads to the ports of Poti and Batumi on the Black Sea, two key shipment points for Armenia.

The government of Armenia initiated the North-South Road Corridor project

Numerous socio-economic improvements are expected in Armenia as a result of the construction of the North-South Corridor; these include:

– doubled Armenian exports and imports;

– increased cross-border traffic (up to 10 billion tons from current 5 billion);

– reduced travel time through the corridor (down to 2 days from 3-4 days);

– doubled average daily traffic (from 3,000 to 6,000 vehicles);

– new jobs and higher incomes; and

– reduced number of accidents, as well as lower road transport and maintenance costs

Presently the first two segments of the North-South roadway from Artashat to Ashtarak and from Ashtarak to Talin are under construction, and the 31-kilometer Artashat to Ashtarak segment is due to open this year. It is estimated that the entire project will be completed by 2019, depending on the availability of funds.

Rail Transportation

Armenia’s railway network plays a crucial role in providing mobility for people and freight. The network includes the metro system that serves commuters in Yerevan. The metro has limited coverage and in recent years has lost some of its market share to minibuses.

Most of Armenia’s railways were built during the Soviet era. Central planning dictated that rail would be the primary mode of transport, so little emphasis was placed on costs and market needs. The system was designed to handle large traffic volumes and in some cases served remote areas. The former Soviet Union rarely updated its railway technology after the 1960’s.

The railway system has seen its operations shrink 10-fold since independence, primarily due to the closing of Armenia’s borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey. The growing mining industry in southern Armenia has become a major market for freight service, as the mine output needs to be transported to ports on the Black Sea.About 370 km. of the 732 km. network are fully operational. Armenia relies on its railway system for about 70 percent of imports and exports, but there used to be a lot more passengers and freight.

The former Soviet Union rarely updated its railway technology after the 1960’s

Since June 2008, a subsidiary of Russian Railways, the South Caucasus Railway, has been operating the Armenian rail system. They have invested more than $250 million in upgrading the infrastructure and modernizing the system.

In 2012, a contract was awarded to Dubai-based Rasia FZE (a Rasia Group investment company) for the feasibility, design, financing, construction, and operation of a new railway link between Armenia and Iran. The Armenia-Iran railway is called the Southern Armenia Railway project. The feasibility study results indicated that the route will be 305 km. long and would cost approximately $3.5 billion to build. As the key missing link in the International North-South Transport Corridor, the Southern Armenia Railway would create the shortest transportation route from the ports of the Black Sea to the ports of the Persian Gulf.

Air Transportation

Air traffic has increased significantly in much of East, South, and Southeast Asia since 1990. There were smaller increases, and even some declines, in air traffic in Central and West Asia and the Pacific. Azerbaijan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Turkmenistan had lower levels of air traffic in 2012 than in 1990. However, Armenia had a 20 percent growth of air passenger flow in 2014.

Armenia has three main airports: Zvartnots, Shirak, and Erebuni. Zvartnots Airport is the principal gateway to Armenia. The new, two-story terminal building that was built by a private developer for $173 million is able to handle about 3.2 million passengers a year, which should be able to accommodate the ever-growing demand until 2030.

In October 2013, Armenia passed the “open skies” policy for air transportation. According to this policy, the civil aviation in the country is now open to all airlines that meet international standards. It was expected that this policy would spur economic development and the reduction of airfares. However, the latest data indicates that the number of operating air carriers in Armenia has decreased from 35 to 27 since the launch of the “open skies” policy. Czech Airlines and Al Italia are two of the major airlines that stopped flying to Armenia, and Etihad Airlines is planning to discontinue its operation in September 2015.

Moscow airports are become the main air hub for Armenian passengers as a result of three Russian airlines—Aeroflot, Transavia, and S7—providing regular daily flights. Approximately 50 percent of flights from Zvartnots Airport land in the Russian capital.

Key Challenges

Globalization presents both challenges and opportunities. One challenge is the increasing demand for more timely transport services and the need to reduce transport costs. Other major challenges for the transport sector of Armenia include:

– completing road network rehabilitation;

– upgrading the international railway and road infrastructure;

– overcoming urban transport problems, and achieving a sustainable balance between private and public transport;

– successfully implementing railway concession;

– further developing air services;

– reducing the negative impact of increased transport demand; and

– achieving long-term sustainability in transport asset management, particularly in the road network.

The Global Competitiveness Index 2014 ranked Armenia’s infrastructure at 78 out of 144 countries, with the score of 3.83 in a range of 1 (very bad-quality infrastructure) to 7 (very good-quality infrastructure).

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Aghjayan Launches New Website on Western Armenia

Special for the Armenian Weekly

The first time George Aghjayan traveled to Western Armenia was in 1996, on a trip he describes as being an emotional, psychological, and physical challenge. Things were much different then, according to Aghjayan. “Twenty years ago, you would be able to still meet and talk with those who had actually survived the genocide. Today the ‘hidden Armenians’ are their children and grandchildren,” he explains, adding that it is much easier to travel throughout Western Armenia today, particularly in areas where Kurds dominate the population. “The desecration of our culture is ongoing, though, as is the prejudice against Armenians,” he says.

Aghjayan has traveled to Western Armenia many times since his first visit, documenting all he can along the way. While his primary area of focus is on the demographics and geography of Western Armenia, he also has a keen interest in the hidden Armenians living on those lands. “Against every incentive—violence, discrimination, economic, etc.—an Armenian identity has remained in Western Armenia. There is a need to protect and encourage the growth of that identity,” he says.

Aghjayan with wife Joyce Guimont Aghjayan in Ani (Photo: Nanore Barsoumian)

After a career in both insurance and structured finance, Aghjayan retired last year to concentrate his efforts on Armenian-related research and projects. As a result of much convincing from close friends and family to establish some sort of presence online, Aghjayan on May 3 launched his Western Armenia website.

This is not his first experience in the online world. “In the 1990’s, I had briefly created a website for Armenian genealogy and found the demands of maintaining that site distracted the little time I had for research with work, family, and community,” says Aghjayan.

Over the years, though, his research on the location of previously Armenian villages and the demographics of Western Armenia prior to the genocide proved useful to a broad range of people interested in these topics. Aghjayan decided that a website was needed to document the Armenian presence in Western Armenia and to draw attention to the hidden Armenians who have remained there.

“It was my most recent trip for the commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide that really finalized the need,” he says.

The Armenian monastery on Gdouts island (Photo: George Aghjayan)

The website is still a work in progress; Aghjayan says that even the overall structure is not yet clearly defined. “Currently, the maps on the website only cover approximately 10 percent of the Armenian-inhabited villages. I would like to expand the areas covered. Of course, the Armenian cultural presence is endless, so as I visit more places, I will add more photos to serve as another data point to document their condition.”

He also plans on adding a section on Armenian genealogy, though he’s not yet sure how it will look. “Genealogy and demography go hand in hand. The connection between hidden Armenians and possible relatives in the diaspora as well as the overall effort to repair the rupture in our family and national history is something that needs to be explored,” he says.

“Just today, in fact, I found someone’s family in the Ottoman census. I have an article in my head ready to go on my own family as well. I write these sorts of articles to give hope and inspire others to explore and document their families’ history.”

St. Marinos monastery, Van province (Photo: George Aghjayan)

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Over 200 AYF Members from Across North America Attend

‘We survived the past and will fight for our future. A United, Free Armenia.’

From May 15-18, the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) of Canada hosted the biennial North American AYF Tri-Regional Seminar at Camp Kinkora in Quebec, Canada. An unprecedented 200 AYF members from Montreal, Laval, Toronto, Cambridge, Vancouver, St. Catharines, as well as from the Eastern and Western United States attended the three-day seminar. Members from 16 AYF chapters were represented.

An unprecedented 200 AYF members from Canada and the United States attended the three-day seminar (Photo: Ishkhan Ghazarian)

Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of Canada chairman Mher Karakashian (Photo: Ishkhan Ghazarian)

The AYF Tri-Regional Seminar takes place every two years, with AYF Canada, AYF Eastern U.S., and AYF Western U.S. alternatively hosting the special gathering. The seminar provides a unique opportunity to unite AYF members from across North America to share their insight, enhance their knowledge, establish life-long bonds with fellow AYF-ers, and create new ideas to better the organization and further the Armenian Cause.

As this year marks the Armenian Genocide Centennial, the seminar’s theme was the AYF’s ultimate goal: a united, free Armenia. The organizers crafted the seminar’s program around the future—how the youth led by the AYF could build on the momentum of the 100^th anniversary to drive the Armenian Cause forward. Topics focused not only on Hai Tahd and political activism, but also on bringing positive social and economic change in Armenia with the understanding that we will only achieve our goals through the collective efforts of a strong Armenia and a strong diaspora.

ANCA communications director Elizabeth Chouldjian (Photo: Ishkhan Ghazarian)

Lecturers included ARF Canada Central Committee chairman Raffi Donabedian; former chairman of the Armenian National Committee of America and prominent activist Mourad Topalian; Armenian National Committee of America communications director Elizabeth Chouldjian; Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of Canada chairman Mher Karakashian; Armenian National Committee of Canada Executive Director Apraham Niziblian; and Professor of International Relations and ARF leader Dr. Khatchik Der Ghougassian (via Skype).

Led by the expert panel of speakers, the AYF-ers also had the chance to participate in practical workshops to learn and refine their skills in advocacy and activism. Through the workshops, the members made recommendations that the AYF can execute within our diasporan communities and in Armenia.

Throughout the weekend, participants also had the unique opportunity to create life-long memories with their fellow ungers. Entertainment at the seminar was provided through a variety of outdoor activities, including singing revolutionary songs around a nightly campfire, and the seminar’s very own Tri-Regional AYF band.

The seminar concluded with remarks by ARF Bureau Representative Hrant Markaryan, who joined the group via Skype. After an engaging Q&A session, Markaryan concluded his message by stressing that the AYF is the fuel that fires and strengthens the ARF.

Former chairman of the ANCA and prominent activist Mourad Topalian speaks to the AYF members (Photo: Ishkhan Ghazarian)

The AYF Tri-Regional Seminar Kitchen Crew (Photo: Ishkhan Ghazarian)

A scene from the panel discussion (Photo: Ishkhan Ghazarian)

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YEREVAN (A.W.)—The New York-based group ContourGlobal signed a takeover deal on June 8 to acquire Vorotan Hydro Cascade, Armenia’s largest hydroelectric complex, becoming the first Western firm to purchase a major stake in Armenia’s Russian-controlled energy sector.

Armenia – Energy Minister Yervand Zakharian and Joseph Brandt, the CEO of the U.S company ContourGlobal, sign a deal on the sale of Vorotan Hydro Cascade in Yerevan (Photo: gov.am)

The $250 million (USD) purchase was quickly hailed by Armenia’s Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, who called the deal an “important step towards strengthening bilateral economic relations” between the U.S. and Armenia.

The agreement, which was signed in Yerevan by ContourGlobal CEO Joseph Brandt, was initially due to be completed by last April, but was put on hold when Abrahamyan announced that some of its provisions ran counter to Armenian law and needed to be renegotiated.

According to Azatutyun.am, RFE/RL’s Armenian service, ContourGlobal will pay $180 million (USD) for Vorotan Hydro Cascade’s equity and invest another $70 million in the facility’s modernization over the next five years.

Speaking to the Armenian Weekly, Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Executive Director Aram Hamparian welcomed the news . “We welcome the growth of U.S.-Armenia trade and the increased diversification of the foreign investment environment in Armenia,” said Hamparian, adding, “Expanding bilateral commerce creates jobs in both countries, strengthens the longstanding friendship between the American and Armenian peoples, and –very meaningfully – provides Armenia with a broader set of strategic options in dealing with regional powers.”

The Vorotan Hydro Cascade consists of three power plants, which are situated on Vorotan River in Syunik.

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SECAUCUS, N.J. (A.W.)—With the 16th overall pick in the 2015 Major League Baseball draft, their highest draft pick since 1993, the New York Yankees selected Armenian-American right-handed pitcher James Kaprielian of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

James Kaprielian (Photo: Larry Goren)

In his three seasons with the UCLA Bruins, Kaprielian, 21, posted a 17-10 record with a 2.06 Earned Run Average (ERA), and helped lead UCLA to a national championship in his freshman season as a reliever.

Kaprielian had a 33-3 with a 0.96 ERA in high school and was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 40th round of the 2012 draft. At the time, Kaprielian decided to attend UCLA instead of playing professionally.

While still in high school, Kaprielian spoke to the Los Angeles Times about the support of the Irvine Armenian community. “There’s a small Irvine community and when they hear about me or read about me, they give me a call,” he said, in the 2012 interview. “There’s definitely a lot of support from the Armenian community.”

Below is Kaprielian’s prospect video.

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A delegation led by the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) was invited by the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP, Halklarin Demokratik Partisi) for a short-term observation mission to  the Parliamentary Election in Turkey on June 7.

EAFJD delegation with Garo (Garabed) Paylan, newly elected Armenian member of the Turkish Parliament with the HDP

The delegation was comprised of Kaspar Karampetian (President, EAFJD), Bedo Kurkjian-Demirdjian (PR and Communication, EAFJD), Vera Yacoubian (Executive Director, Armenian National Committee of the Middle East), Peter Petrossian (Chairman, Armenian National Committee of Belgium), and George Aghjayan (Member, Armenian National Committee of America, Eastern Region).

In a statement issued in May, the EAFJD supported the HDP and called on the Turkish citizens of Europe to vote in favor of HDP, taking into consideration the party’s inclusiveness of minorities and their rights, promotion of open democracy, and challenge to Erdogan’s autocratic aspirations.

Prior to the June 7 election, the EAFJD delegation was briefed by HDP on the attacks, intimidation, fear, smear campaign, and terror, and all other legal and illegal difficulties the party faced. HDP co-president Selahattin Demirtas was personally targeted by the ruling AK Party for “collaborating” with the Armenian Diaspora.

AKP smear campaign against HDP and Demirtas for ‘collaboration’ with Armenian Diaspora

On election day, the EAFJD-led delegation visited a number of electoral districts and centers, noted the irregularities and difficulties that the opposition parties in general and the HDP in particular faced. The findings of the delegation will be published in a report in the coming days.

After the ballots were cast, the delegation followed the election results at the HDP Istanbul Central Office, where many voters were assembled to celebrate the victory. The delegation was also present at the press conference given by HDP co-presidents Figen Yuksekdag and Selahattin Demirtas.

Three Armenians—Garo Paylan (HDP), Markar Esayan (AKP), and Selina Ozuzun Dogan (CHP)—were elected, and  became the first Armenians to enter parliament since 1961.

Karampetian, president of EAFJD, welcomed the results of the elections. “We are happy that three Armenians are elected to the Parliament, and at the same time we are pleased that HDP could exceed the threshold of 10 percent that would allow them to enter the Parliament with an unprecedented representation,” said Karampetian, adding, “We have already stated that a HDP parliamentary group in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey would mean the presence of a party that will struggle for freedom, equality, peace and justice.”

EAFJD delegation with Figen Yuksekdag, co-President of HDP

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Justice.

The justice that Armenians deserve.

More importantly, the justice that the Armenian nation requires.

Justice is, very simply, vital to Armenia’s future.

Look at the map.

Read the history.

Study the numbers.

They all point to the fact that the security of the Armenian homeland and, more broadly, the long-term survival of the Armenian nation require the restoration of our national territory, the return of our national assets, and the payment of national reparations.

Turkey must surrender, willingly or not, the fruits of its crime, compensate for our losses, and return the core elements of viability that sustained our nation upon our ancient homeland of 5,000 years, including:

– defensible borders;

– economic and demographic resources;

– sea-access and trade routes;

– agricultural and water resources.

From any angle, justice is the answer:

Justice is the key to promoting regional peace, because the only durable foundation for improved Armenian-Turkish relations is the just resolution of the Armenian Genocide.

Justice is the key to protecting Armenia, because the Armenian people cannot be secure as long as they’re bordered by an over-armed and unrepentant perpetrator of genocide.

Justice is the key to transforming Turkey into a post-genocidal state, because true reform there is impossible while leaders in Ankara lie about the very founding of their republic and demonize those who dare speak truthfully about it.

Justice is the key to preventing future genocides around the world, because the dangerous precedent of an atrocity committed with impunity makes future atrocities more likely.

And finally, justice is the key to Armenia’s survival, because the long-term viability of the Armenian nation requires the restoration of losses and full reparations for this vast and still unpunished crime.

So, let me be very clear, in this Centennial year, our efforts going forward are not aimed at simply securing recognition, demanding renewed U.S. acknowledgment, or seeking a Turkish apology. Truth is imperative, primarily because it serves justice. Denial is dangerous, chiefly because it obstructs justice. And justice is our aim. In all its forms.

To be sure, we proudly honor our past, but, just as surely, our eyes are fixed upon the future.

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: The Armenian history that matters most remains unwritten, by generations yet unborn.

That’s our North Star: Our future.

All that we do is aligned with the survival and long-term viability of the Armenian nation.

That’s why we have, as a diaspora, dedicated ourselves to a 360-degree defense of the Armenian nation.

Justice for the genocide.

Security for Armenia.

Freedom for Artsakh.

Strength for our diaspora.

It is in humble appreciation of this sacred obligation—on these issues and many others—that we serve as unofficial ambassadors of the Armenian people.

It is in this noble and selfless spirit that we fight, as a second army of the Armenian nation.

It is this tireless work that has sparked a small but growing pro-justice movement within Turkey itself, and that will expand to include new legal initiatives to realize our national aspirations.

We have it in our power today to make the coming century—the second since our near annihilation—one of truth, justice, and prosperity.

We survived, and against all odds we have thrived.

The doubters, the critics, and the second-guessers. You know them. Washington is surely full of them; some may be in your neighborhood too. Well, they all got it wrong.

They said Armenia could never be independent. Artsakh would never be free.

They told us that we lacked the power to break down Ankara’s wall of denial. But we did. We moved the world to recognize the Armenian Genocide. We have, today, isolated Turkey and its apologists. They are on the defensive, and we are advancing.

We will face renewed Turkish attacks. We will hear the inevitable background noise of the cynics and the skeptics. But we—like the heroes of Avarayr, Sardarabad, and Artsakh—will be undeterred. We are, as Armenians worldwide, united as one nation in seeking the reparations that we are owed, the justice that we deserve, and the security and prosperity that our homeland requires.
With your help. With your spirit. With your faith. Our struggle continues.

Kenneth V. Hachikian is chairman of the Armenian National Committee of America.

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The following statement was issued by the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis on the occasion of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

The Massachusetts Board of Rabbis reaches out in solidarity and sorrow to Armenians everywhere on the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. We acknowledge the pain carried through generations of a people decimated, the psychic scars transmitted, the truncated branches of family trees yet to regenerate. We hear the echoes of pleading voices long stilled that call us to remember, to learn, to witness. We call for universal recognition of what happened on the plains of Anatolia, the 1915-23 atrocities carried out by the Ottoman government. Only truth shall be surety for the timeless cry of “Never Again.”

Details unfold as a scroll of lamentation, these we remember and pour our hearts out. We remember the hundreds of Armenian intellectuals, the writers, artists, doctors and lawyers, the communal and political leaders arrested and executed on April 24, 1915. We remember the desert death marches, the killing squads, and the concentration camps. We remember the 1.5 million Armenians killed of some 2 million in their ancestral homeland prior to World War I, mourning the destruction and exile of an ancient people. We remember the use of trains for deportation to death, cattle cars packed with human beings, portent of genocide to come. We remember the heroic efforts of American Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, the missionaries and aid workers who cried out to the world for response. We remember the continuing denials and the shame of refusing to recognize what happened, to call it for what it was.

We remember words that challenge silence and disallow denial. Words of witness by Ambassador Morgenthau, laying bare the plan by its architect, Talat Pasha: “It is no use for you to argue…we have already disposed of three quarters of the Armenians…we have got to finish with them…” Igniting the flames of one genocide from the embers of another, Adolph Hitler, his memory be blotted out, cynically asked, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?” We honor with pride and humility the work of Raphael Lemkin, a Polish Jew who did speak, who coined the word “genocide” in 1943, his long-held anguish for Armenians merging in the midst of the Holocaust with anguish for his own people.

We take to heart Elie Wiesel’s lament for the “double killing” of Armenians that happens through silence. Challenging Turkey to acknowledge what happened, it is our challenge, as well. Recognition of another’s suffering and willingness to describe it accurately should never be a matter of political expediency. The prevention of future genocides rests with our willingness to acknowledge those of the past. As the Holocaust should not be subsumed within the Second World War, neither should the Armenian Genocide be subsumed within the First World War.

We call on Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Heirs to the Ottomans, Turkey’s burden is also an opportunity to insure that what happened 100 years ago will no longer define the relationship today between descendants of the victims and descendants of the perpetrators. We call on the United States to unequivocally recognize the Armenian Genocide, affirming our commitment to justice and giving meaning to annual expressions of condolence and sorrow. We call on Israel to unequivocally recognize the Armenian Genocide, giving voice to the moral legacy of its own emergence from the ashes of the Holocaust.

Toward healing among communities and peoples:

We call on the American Jewish community through its official organizations to unequivocally recognize the Armenian Genocide, to apologize for past reticence, to reach out from heart to heart.

We call on local Jewish communities to learn about the Armenian Genocide and to reach out to their Armenian neighbors, building friendship and cooperation.

We call on all people to refrain from manipulating past horrors to demonize members of any people or faith today, Christian, Muslim, or Jew.

In the midst of Anatolia where the Biblical Mount Ararat rises, Noah’s ark found rest, a dove with its olive branch still waiting to alight. To give rest to the dead and peace to the living, a rainbow promise of never again, the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis calls for universal recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

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STRASBOURG, France—The Plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg (France) adopted the 2014 Turkey progress report on June 10. The report paints a negative image of the human rights situation in Turkey, noting concerns about freedom of expression, decline in democracy, worries about minority rights, the aggressive attitude against Greece, and a rejection of the existence of the Republic of Cyprus.

The Plenary session of the EP in Strasbourg adopted the 2014 Turkey progress report on June 10

The report welcomes the high voter turnout at the June 7 election in Turkey; the presence of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in the newly formed parliament; as well as the sheltering of 1,600,000 Syrian refugees in the country.

The preamble of the report also mentions “the European Parliament resolution on the centenary of the Armenian Genocide.” After Turkey became a candidate country to enter the European Union in 2005, the Armenian Genocide stopped being an issue in the reports. It should be noted, the above mentioned resolution explicitly calls on Turkey to reconcile with its past and recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Article 49 repeats the call to Armenia and Turkey to establish diplomatic ties and open the border between the two countries without preconditions.

President of the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) Kaspar Karampetian welcomed the resolution calling on Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide, as well as to open the border without preconditions. Karampetian stressed the fact that the European Parliament once again showed that it does not succumb to Turkish pressure, recalling, the threats by Volkan Bozkir, EU Minister and chief negotiator of Turkey, that Turkey will not accept the report if there is any reference to the Armenian Genocide. Rapporteur Kati Piri (Socialists and Democrats, the Netherlands) has already reacted, saying that the European Parliament cannot deny documents which have already been adopted.

The report leaves Turkey’s accession to the EU open; a political process that is has only become more difficult harder the years.

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Newly Elected MPs Paylan, Doğan Speak about Being Armenian, Turkey Politics

Garo Paylan, an Armenian elected to Turkey’s Parliament on June 7, believes the Armenian Genocide issue should be solved in Turkey. “The Armenian Genocide took place here and coming to terms with the genocide should also take place here,” he said in an interview with Ermenihaber.am, adding that the Diaspora and Armenian political parties, specifically the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), should continue the struggle in Turkey. Paylan, 42, also spoke about the election results, his future plans as a parliamentarian, and prospects of normalizing Armenia-Turkey relations.

Paylan, a member of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), Markar Esayan from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), and Selina Özuzun Doğan from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) became the first Armenian members of Turkey’s Parliament in decades.

Garo Paylan speaks to Armenian reporters at the HDP offices in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara (Photo: Rupen Janbazian, November, 2014)

Speaking about his entry into Turkish politics, Paylan explained that being an active member of the Armenian community prompted his interest in politics. “Even saying ‘I am Armenian’ is a political statement in Turkey. If you are interested in Armenian issues and your identity, then you’re automatically interested in politics,” said Paylan, who explained that his involvement in the Armenian community started in his youth.

Paylan explained how he served as the principal of an Armenian school in Istanbul until Hrant Dink’s murder. “Hrant’s death was a real turning point—it made us politically active… I realized that something needed to change in this country and I dedicated my life to find those responsible for Hrant’s murder. I also wanted to shed light on the problems Armenian students faced in Turkey,” said Paylan. “In 2011, we founded the Democratic People’s Congress (HDK) with a group of social activists, and set up our party in 2013.”

Paylan said that he is ready to work towards the normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations, and that genocide recognition is crucial in the matter. “The Armenian Genocide is often viewed in the context of Armenia-Turkey relations. The Armenian Genocide is only one part of the Armenia-Turkey relations, not the foundation,” said Paylan. “However, as long as the public does not face the true history, the signing of the protocols cannot have a true meaning,” he added.

Paylan said he disagreed with Armenia’s President Serge Sarkisian’s proposal to open the Armenia-Turkey border without any preconditions, and called for Armenian political parties to have a more active role in Turkey. “I do not accept [Sarkisian’s] view. First and foremost, Turkey must recognize its guilt when it comes to the genocide, and hatred towards Armenians and Armenia should disappear. I respect the struggles of both Armenia and the Armenian diaspora and urge all Armenian political parties, namely the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), to come and carry out their struggle here. Every Armenian that comes to Turkey can have a huge impact,” said Paylan.

Paylan also stressed that he feels a great responsibility to shed light on Armenian issues in his new role. “We [Armenians in Turkey] have a number of problems; confronting the past, Hrant’s [Dink] and Sevag’s [Balikci] unsolved murders, and genocide recognition. We have suffered a huge cultural loss, for which we have not received any compensation,” he said. “I don’t believe we [Armenians] will be able to solve these issues alone. Our party’s principle is to work together with other peoples to overcome these problems,” he added.

Paylan says that he is ready to work with at least one of the two other Armenians elected last Sunday. “Selina [Özuzun Doğan] is a close friend of mine and I believe we can work well together,” said Paylan. “Markar [Essayan] and I shared a similar ideology in the past; we’ve even released joint statements against [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan. But over the past three years, his [Essayan’s] rhetoric has been completely pro-government; something that I can’t participate in. If he starts criticizing the wrongdoings of the government, then I would be ready to work with him. If not, his Armenian heritage means little to me,” said Paylan. “Non-Armenians can be much more beneficial to our cause than he has ever been. Many fellow non-Armenian HDP-members have been 1,000 times more compassionate towards the Armenian cause,” he added.

For Paylan, running on the list of another party has always been out of the question. “Equality for all is a very important concept for me. There are many questions to be asked about the democracy preached in all the other major parties in Turkey. They don’t believe in real democracy; they are all centered on individuals. In our party, democracy reigns without any exception. As an Armenian, I have never felt like a foreigner in our party,” said Paylan.

When asked about HDP’s recent success, Paylan said that it was expected. “There is a saying—‘it’s darkest right before dawn.’ Truly, we were at that darkest point and have now entered dawn.”

Doğan: Millions of Armenians lived in Turkey, they are not here today

Newly elected Turkish-Armenian Member of Parliament Selina Özuzun Doğan of Turkey’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) also granted an interview to Ermenihaber.am, during which she said that her party wants Turkey to face its past, but fell short of calling the Armenian Genocide by its true name.

“CHP will admit that there are some issues relating to the past that need to be faced. Like Turkish civil society, the CHP is also in a process of transformation,” Doğan explained. “Our party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has called the events of 1915 a ‘great tragedy’ and has said that we are not afraid to face the truth. Call the 1915 events whatever you’d like; that is a separate issue. The bottom line is, those people [Armenians] aren’t here today. Millions of Armenians once lived in Turkey—there are only about 50-60,000 today,” she said.

‘No one should doubt the fact that I am Armenian,’ said Doğan, who explained that although there was initially some opposition to her within the party, fellow CHP members have now accepted her (Photo: formiche.net)

In April, Kılıçdaroğlu said that Pope Francis’ statement and the European Parliament (EP) ruling on the Armenian Genocide would not serve reconciliation between Turks and Armenians well, and lent his party’s support to a joint declaration against the EP’s adoption of a resolution on the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

When asked how free she felt to express herself as an Armenian within the CHP, Doğan explained that freedom of speech was one of the most important issues for the party. “There is a sense of political morality and respect for freedom of expression within the [CHP], therefore I can freely say whatever I think is true and argue that point until the end,” she explained.

“No one should doubt the fact that I am Armenian,” said Doğan, who explained that although there was initially some opposition to her within the party, fellow CHP members have now accepted her.

According to Doğan, the CHP is ready to normalize relations with all neighboring countries, including Armenia. “Why should the borders be closed and why shouldn’t people be able to trade with each other? There is a major lack of political will to bring the two societies [Armenian and Turkish] closer. There is also a serious negative view of the Armenian diaspora. We need to eliminate that,” said Doğan, adding that she sees her election to Parliament as an initial positive step in that regard. She also said that she did not agree with “tying Armenian-Turkish relations to the Karabagh issue.”

“We need to support the work of non-governmental organizations working on this issue, in order for the two [Armenian and Turkish] societies to better understand each other and for the borders to open,” she said.

When asked about her role as a female politician, Doğan said her party will work hard to eliminate gender inequalities in Turkey. “We will fight all discrimination and violence against women,” she said, adding that Turkey is moving in the right direction in terms of gender equality. “We will have 97 female members of parliament out of 550 in the upcoming Parliament. Although the number is low, it is still a positive leap.”

The post Paylan Calls on Diaspora, ARF to Bring Struggle to Turkey appeared first on Armenian Weekly.

WATERTOWN, Mass. (A.W.)—The Armenian Weekly had the opportunity to sit down with His Holiness Aram I of the Holy See of Cilicia on June 2 to discuss issues facing the church and Armenian communities worldwide.

Catholicos Aram I with Armenian Weekly Editor Nanore Barsoumian (left), and Hairenik Weekly Editor Zaven Torikian

During the interview, Aram I discussed the concept of justice—a recurring theme in his public speeches, from Washington, D.C. to Boston—and the role of international law. He also spoke about the lawsuit the Holy See of Cilicia has filed against Turkey to reclaim the historic headquarters of the Sis Catholicosate.

Among other issues discussed was the Syrian crisis; Aram I emphasized the importance of preserving the Syrian-Armenian community, although he acknowledged that the situation is dangerous.

He also discussed women’s rights—specifically the ordination of women into priesthood—and addressed the challenge of remaining relevant in an ever-changing world.

“The church is not a museum. It is a missionary and dynamic reality,” he said.

Aram I arrived in Washington on May 7, and following the Centennial commemorations that took place in the capital, embarked on a pontifical tour of the Armenian communities in the Eastern U.S. He returned to Lebanon on June 4.

Below is the interview in its entirety.

* * *

Nanore Barsoumian—You were recently in Armenia, Rome, and Washington, D.C. What is your general assessment of the Armenian Genocide Centennial commemorations?

Aram I—On a global, pan-Armenian level, the commemorations were well organized. Each community organized the Centennial according to its own environment. My general impression is that not only was it well organized, but the spirit of the Centennial and our objectives were clearly manifested and articulated through these activities. What is most important is not just what we did within the context of the Centennial, but how we should continue the spirit of the Centennial. It is vitally important that we identify the emerging concerns, realities, and priorities, and try to bring them together to develop a common pan-Armenian strategy and vision.

In other words, I don’t consider the Centennial a collection of activities or functions pertaining to [the genocide], but a process. It’s a dynamic process and as such it must go beyond the limits and limitations of the Centennial. That is the message and the challenge of the Centennial.

N.B.—Your message consistently draws on the importance of justice. Please talk about the concept of justice in Christianity, and as it applies to the descendants of genocide survivors today.

Catholicos Aram I during the interview

Aram I—I have repeatedly reminded our people and the international public that justice is not a human-made concept or reality. Justice is a gift of God. But justice within the context of humanity is not an absolute value in the sense that justice implies accountability and transparency. We should use justice accordingly. That is the meaning of international law.

Justice is a core value that is at the heart of international law. Justice implies accountability from a Christian perspective—accountability to God. From a political perspective, [it implies] accountability to structures and institutions that are engaged in the governance of a given society. Therefore, we need to get justice both from a theological perspective, as well as within the context of political governance.

We cannot govern human societies—or any organization—without justice.

N.B.—Could you talk about the Sis Catholicosate lawsuit within the broader context of justice you spoke of moments ago?

Aram I—A number of international conventions—humanitarian conventions, conventions for the prevention of genocide, the declaration of human rights, and others—together constitute international law. The purpose of international law is to govern societies and states. Justice is there, at the heart of international law.

What concerns the lawsuit, we clearly said that the Catholicosate belongs to the Armenian Church. Due to historical circumstances, the clergy who had lived there for centuries were forced to leave their spiritual house. After 100 years, we think that it is time that we file this lawsuit demanding the return of the Catholicosate.

But let me look at this within a broader context: Almost two years ago, we organized an international conference in Antelias [Lebanon]; the theme of the conference was “From Recognition to Reparation.” That means that after 100 years, we believe that we need to move from recognition to reparation—in other words, from lobbying, from political activities, to the legal field.

Well, it’s not easy, but it is a must in my judgment. I believe that when we speak of justice, we look at it within [the context of] international law. Recognition of the genocide is important, but recognition is not an end in itself. Recognition has clear implications, meaning reparations.

International law uses different terms to define reparation, such as restoration, restitution, and compensation. So reparation is a general framework through which the perpetrator of the genocide—whether the state, the organization, the community, or even a person—should remain accountable.

Now, what do we mean by accountability? That you accept your crime and you take certain actions to repair that. What concerns the Armenian Genocide, we need to start this process of reflecting together as Armenian people. I believe that the state, the political organizations, and our churches should be part of this process. We need to develop a pan-Armenian vision, a pan Armenian strategy in respect to reparations. I think we may have different views, perspectives, and approaches towards what we want from Turkey. We have to bring these perspectives together within a holistic framework and try to develop our common pan-Armenian demands. We have not done so yet.

What concerns the Armenian Genocide, we need to start this process of reflecting together as Armenian people. I believe that the state, the political organizations, and our churches should be part of this process. We need to develop a pan-Armenian vision, a pan Armenian strategy in respect to reparations.

I believe that the lawsuit of the Catholicosate is a first legal action taken in the right direction. Our intention is to open—as far as possible—the legal door which was closed before us for a hundred years. For different reasons, we have not tried to open that door. This will become the first step in a long and complex process. It is not an easy process.

N.B.—The crisis in Syria continues to be worrisome, and it has galvanized Armenians around the world. What is your assessment of the situation in Aleppo? What can the diaspora do?

Aram I—The Syrian crisis is complicated. From the very beginning, we have adopted a clear policy with respect to our Armenian community. We said that we are with the people of Syria—we remain grateful to the people of Syria who received us after the Armenian Genocide and shared their homeland and bread with us. The regimes, the governances are provisional. We should remain attached to the basic perennial values of the people—the people’s power. That was our policy in respect to Syria.

…We are with the people of Syria—we remain grateful to the people of Syria who received us after the Armenian Genocide and shared their homeland and bread with us. The regimes, the governances are provisional. We should remain attached to the basic perennial values of the people—the people’s power.

Secondly, I know that the security situation is extremely unstable—not to say, dangerous. In spite of that, we believe that our community should stay there because the reorganization and revitalization of our community in Syria has a profound importance for our communities in the Middle East, the Armenian cause, and the Armenian people in the diaspora as a whole.

The Middle East is an important region for us. Lebanon and Syria are two very important countries. By all means we have to preserve our community there. That is why we are doing our utmost to help them on social and humanitarian levels.

Some families have left. I understand that. Around 10,000 Armenians are in Lebanon. Less than 10,000 are in Armenia. This is the actual situation in Syria. The most dangerous—I would say, precarious—situation is in Aleppo. We are closely following certain developments in Aleppo. We are trying our best, within the limits of our abilities, to preserve our community in Syria in general, and in Aleppo in particular.

N.B.—Like all churches, the Armenian Church is faced with modern changes today, struggles to be more current on major issues, as well as to reach out to the younger generation. What are some of the ways in which the church is trying to interact with the new realities on the ground?

Aram I—This has been and remains my major concern. I have written on this subject intensively. Today, the renewal of the Armenian Church is a must. Renewal is not just a reformation. The church should become more and more responsive to the emerging realities, to the issues and challenges that we are faced with today in different ways and in different environments.

Our church cannot remain stagnated and self-contained. The church is not a museum. It is a missionary and dynamic reality. The church has to become relevant, credible, intelligible, and acceptable.

Our church cannot remain stagnated and self-contained. The church is not a museum. It is a missionary and dynamic reality. The church has to become relevant, credible, intelligible, and acceptable. In order to do that, the church should constantly and creatively interact with its environment, and with the people. If you ask me whether this is the actual reality of our church, I will say yes to a certain extent. We need more—not only in the U.S. but in different parts of the world.

The church building is a structure; it is not as important. Our ultimate aim should be to have that church building serve to build our community as a church. The church should try to identify with the concerns, expectations, and needs of our people—to try to reorganize its missionary engagement accordingly. Otherwise, the youth will isolate themselves from the life of the church. We need to make our church attractive and relevant in order to attract the young generations.

Our organizations have become petrified and frozen. We are living in a globalized world—the global culture has been attracting our youth. Our organizations should come out of these stagnated and petrified states. In order to become a more dynamic organization, that interaction between the youth and the churches—or our organizations generally—is very important.

N.B.—Now societies in different parts of the world are more accepting to things that they weren’t so accepting of in the past. The church has generally held very traditional values.

Aram I—When you say traditional values, I think we need to differentiate between being traditional and blind. Blind traditionalism is one thing, and constructive and open traditionalism is something else. Tradition is very important. People, communities, structures, and organizations cannot be without traditions pertaining to values, aspirations, objectives, and ways of life. But tradition should keep pace with the rhythm of changing times and realities. We have not yet been able to do that. There are certain attempts and initiatives here and there, but we need more. We need to renew and change our traditions—keep the core and essence, but change the form to become more and more relevant to the new realities and expectations of our peoples.

N.B.—Women’s rights and equality are important issues today. You have, on several occasions, highlighted the importance of giving key roles to women. Even though there are women deacons in the Armenian Church, the church hierarchy is dominated almost exclusively by men, as it is in most churches around the world. What are your thoughts on women’s rights in general, and the church’s role in particular?

Aram I—Our church has been a broad-minded church. We have taken a very moderate, flexible, and comprehensive stand vis-à-vis the critical or controversial issues and challenges that face many societies. What concerns women, from its very inception our Armenian Church has always encouraged the participation of women in the life of the church. In the past, we have had the monasteries for women. We have deaconesses. So in the different spheres of our church, women are there. As I’ve always said, the woman’s place is not in the kitchen; the woman’s place is in our community and church life.

The only issue is women’s ordination into the priesthood. I think we need to discuss this matter. We need to discuss the theological and socio-cultural aspects. My approach is not a categorical one—a “yes” or a “no.” This is a question; and this should remain a question on the agenda of our church, and all the churches. This is an issue. At the proper time, we need to discuss this matter in our common attempt to renew and reform our church.

N.B.—Do you think one day we’ll see a woman Catholicos?

Aram I—The Bible says hope never abandons you.

The post On Justice, Syria, and Women’s Rights: An Interview with Catholicos Aram I appeared first on Armenian Weekly.

House Appropriators Cite Need for Continued Assistance to Syrian Refugees 

WASHINGTON—U.S. House Appropriators prioritized aid for Syrian relief, but remained largely silent on specific Fiscal Year 2016 (FY2016) aid levels for the Caucasus, underscoring the pivotal role that pending Senate consideration of this measure will play in addressing Armenian-American concerns, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

A scene from the June 11 House Appropriations Committee mark-up of the FY2016 Foreign Aid Bill

The full House Appropriations Committee “marked up” and voted on their version of the FY 2016 foreign aid bill, after considering a short list of amendments offered by members of the panel, all but one of which were rejected on party-line votes. In the draft report submitted alongside the measure, appropriators cited continued funding to assist Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey in dealing with the Syrian refugee crisis, then went on to note, more broadly:

“The Committee remains concerned about the plight of refugees from Syria and the burden they face as well as the strain on host communities. The Committee urges the Department of State to continue to do the following: (1) help host countries expand their national systems to accommodate refugee needs; (2) assist host country capacity to deliver basic services to their own citizens; (3) strengthen the ability of local governments to respond to the refugee influx; and (4) ensure that refugees have freedom of movement and meaningful access to economic opportunity.”

The measure did not make specific reference to U.S. economic aid priorities in Armenia, Artsakh, Azerbaijan, or Georgia, though $20 million was allotted in military assistance to Georgia. The resolution also maintained “Section 907″ restrictions on U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan, based on the 1992 law which condemned that country’s aggression and blockade against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabagh.

The Senate’s consideration of its version of this bill is set to start in early July with a mark-up by the Appropriations Subcommittee of State-Foreign Operations. Armenian-Americans can continue contacting their legislators through the ANCA advocacy portal by visiting: http://www.anca.org/aid

In the months leading up to the House and Senate FY2016 foreign aid process, the ANCA has led a grassroots initiative to secure:

1) At least $5 million in U.S. developmental aid to Nagorno-Karabagh

2) Zero-out U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan until it agrees with OSCE Minsk Group calls to pull back its snipers, ceases its aggression, renounces violence, and commits to a purely peaceful resolution of regional conflicts

3) At least $40 million in U.S. economic assistance to Armenia

4) A special focus on addressing the difficulties in providing humanitarian and resettlement aid to Armenian, Assyrian, and other at-risk minorities in Syria, as well as targeted aid to help Armenia settle thousands fleeing from Syria.

5) At least 10 percent of U.S. assistance to Georgia to be used for job creation programs in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of that country

6) Language strengthening Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan

Earlier this year, the ANCA’s Kate Nahapetian testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee, outlining the Armenian American community’s foreign aid priorities. Video of Nahapetian’s presentation is below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

In February, the Obama-Biden Administration released its FY2016 budget which called for yet another reduction in U.S. economic assistance to both Armenia and Azerbaijan, while maintaining parity in appropriated military aid to these two countries.

The President’s proposal of $18,360,000 in Economic Support Funds for Armenia in Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 would, if approved by Congress, represent a record low in such aid since Armenia’s independence. The White House’s proposal for Armenia is over $2 million less than FY 2014’s actual economic aid allocation, and less than half of the $40 million requested in a Congressional Armenian Caucus letter and ANCA Congressional testimony submitted last year.

The ANCA has, amid declining aid levels, prioritized an aid-to-trade transition for Armenia. The recent adoption of a U.S.-Armenia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement represents one of the most recent results of the ANCA’s work in this direction.

The post ANCA Sets Sights on Senate as House Appropriators Finalize Foreign Aid Bill appeared first on Armenian Weekly.

Special for the Armenian Weekly

On May 29, many Armenian news outlets reported with enthusiasm that Brazil had joined the list of nations that recognize the Armenian Genocide. Although the basis for the announcement in the Armenian press was information provided by Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs —which in turn was based on information disseminated by Armenia’s Embassy in Brazil—no Brazilian press agency had confirmed the recognition; neither had Brazil’s Embassy in Yerevan. A few hours later, the Brazilian Senator from São Paulo, Aloysio Nunes Ferreira, from the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) posted on his Facebook page that the “vote of solidarity” (request no. 550/2015), which was co-sponsored by himself and José Serra (also from São Paulo’s PSDB), had been adopted by the Federal Senate. Yet, the request was only submitted to and approved by the Committee of Foreign Relations and National Defense of the Senate, chaired by Aloysio Nunes himself.

While both the Republic of Armenia and the diaspora were trying to understand what this approval meant, the Senate put the matter to a vote during its Plenary Meeting of June 2, presented by Nunes and Serra and signed by 52 other Senators (out of a total of 81). During this critical meeting, all of the political parties represented in the Senate recommended voting in favor of the resolution. The ensuing unanimous approval by the Senate reflected the strength of the Armenian community in Brazil, with its many institutions that are able to articulate political goals and engage in effective advocacy ahead of the vote.

The Brazilian flag added to the flags of countries recognizing the Armenian Genocide at Northern University in Yerevan (Photo: Heitor Loureiro)

It is clear that the atmosphere created by the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide in April helped this process. Never before had Brazilian society been exposed to this much information about Armenia and the genocide. The Centennial was visible in the mainstream media, driven by news of various governments that were supporting recognition and, most significantly, Pope Francis’ speech urging recognition. It is important to note here that Brazil has the largest Roman Catholic community in the world.

However, we cannot claim that the Centennial was the only driving force behind this victory by the Armenian community in Brazil. We have to take into account the work that the community has been doing since the re-democratization of the country in 1985, especially in São Paulo. In the first half of the 1980’s, still under the military regime’s rule, the Armenians of São Paulo began a campaign to change a subway station’s name to “Armenia Station.” This initiative started a political discussion that continues today, particularly with then-governor of São Paulo Franco Montoro, from the Brazilian Democratic Movement (currently PMDB), and some of his allies, such as Fernando Gasparian. These men would found the PSDB, the main political ally of the Armenians in Brazil. The PMDB/Social Democrats ruled the country between 1994 and 2002 under Fernando Henrique Cardoso (FHC), Gasparian’s close friend. In the FHC government, the banker Varujan Burmaian was appointed as the ambassador of Brazil to Armenia.

In May 1989, the Legislative Assembly of the State of São Paulo passed law no. 6,468, creating the “Day of solidarity with the Armenian People,” which was sponsored by deputy Abdo Haddad. This law represents the recognition by the state of São Paulo of the Armenian massacres. But it was only on April 23 of this year that the same Assembly passed a new law (no. 15,813) that defines the events of 1915 as genocide and uses the term, which was absent in the 1989 law. The law designates April 24 as the “day of recognition and remembrance to the victims of the Genocide of the Armenian People.” This law was sponsored by deputy Pedro Tobias, from PSDB.

Interestingly, despite having the sympathy of FHC and his party, PSDB, the Armenian Cause hit a dormant period in Brazil in the 1990’s. The years of neoliberalism and the country’s deep economic crisis affected the Armenian community in São Paulo, where institutions were (and still are) supported by businessmen. Since 2003, during the Lula da Silva government, the Workers Party (PT) of Brazil underwent a period of large economic growth, which led to the establishment of a large and emerging middle class. The spread of technology and internet in the country provided an opportunity for those with Armenian ancestry to connect with their roots through the use of social media networks; this generated the revival of some Armenian institutions in Brazil, which had been facing collapse since the early 1990’s. This new wave of mobilization, combined with a political-economic tailwind, led Armenians to resume their activism in the country’s political arena. In 2007, the Brazilian chapter of the Armenian National Committee of South America (also known as CNA) received the support of the Federal Deputy Arnaldo Faria de Sá (Brazilian Labor Party, PTB, from São Paulo) to present draft bill no. 899/07, which would create the “day of tolerance and respect among peoples, in recognition to the Genocide perpetrated against the Armenians.” The following year, however, strong opposition from Federal Deputy Arnon Bezerra (PTB from Ceará) led Faria de Sá, in accordance with the CNA, to withdraw the draft bill, fearing a political defeat.

However, in 2011, the nationally acclaimed actor and Federal Deputy Stepan Nercessian (Popular Socialist Party, PPS, from Rio de Janeiro) publicly urged the Brazilian government to recognize the Armenian Genocide. A year later, Federal Deputy Walter Feldman (PSDB from São Paulo) presented draft bill no. 3,190/2012 that would penalize the denial of the Armenian Genocide in Brazil, following the introduction of a similar draft bill that was being debated in France. For various reasons, none of these drafts passed.

While these draft resolutions were being discussed in Congress, the Brazilian government and the Ministry of External Relations were nurturing close ties with Turkey. In 2010, President da Silva met with then-Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to mediate the Iranian nuclear program. Turkey had become a strategic partner of Brazil during the PT government, which worked to create alliances with countries from the so-called “Global South.” When confronted about the Armenian Genocide issue, the official response from the government was that relations between Armenians and Turks were not a Brazilian issue.

Beginning in 2010, the Armenian community received new impetus when the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Brazil was created and then-Consul General Ashot Yeghiazaryan was promoted to ambassador. Meanwhile, the General Consulate in São Paulo was headed by Hilda Diruhi Burmaian, the widow of Varujan Burmaian, the former ambassador of Brazil to Armenia. The nomination of Hilda Burmaian, who is well known and respected in the Armenian community, brought the community closer to the Republic of Armenia, and led both sides to work together in seeking common objectives. In addition, the reorganization of the local chapters of the Armenian National Committee and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), and the infusion of their boards with young members, brought about a new approach towards the Armenian Cause, especially in the use of social media. It is important to underscore here the creation of the website Estação Armênia, one of the most important media services of Armenians in Latin America, among other efforts by other institutions, such as the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU).

On April 24, 2009, then-Governor of São Paulo José Serra published an article in the main Brazilian newspaper entitled, “No genocide may be forgotten,” which was well received by the Armenian community. Serra would become the opposition candidate in the 2010 presidential elections, losing the run to Dilma Rousseff, from the PT. The little enthusiasm shown by the ruling party toward issues important to Armenians led the community to instead give its support to Serra and the PSDB, the main opposition party. PSDB, keeping an eye on the votes from the Armenian community in Brazil (which party leaders estimated to be around 100,000, though the real numbers are closer to 40,000), accepted the mission of taking the Armenian Cause to the National Congress.

The turning point for the Armenian Cause in Brazil came in 2014. First, because the imminence of the Centennial led the community to work towards a common agenda for the first time in decades. The “Brazilian Committee for the Recognition of the Armenian Genocide” unified all institutions in different working groups to propose activities that would raise awareness of the Armenian Cause in Brazilian society. The various institutions nevertheless held parallel activities, such as a demonstration organized by the ANC and ARF in front of the Turkish Consulate in São Paulo, where hundreds gathered. Similarly, during the presidential and parliamentary elections in 2014, representatives of the Armenian community sought candidates and asked for support towards recognition. Serra, then Senate candidate, was one of the politicians who met with these representatives. Once elected, in 2015, Serra had the support of his fellow Aloysio Nunes Ferreira, who proposed the resolution that was approved by the Senate in June 2015.

It remains to be seen what this approval means. It is necessary to highlight, as we are reminded by Flávio de Leão Bastos Pereira, a lecturer of constitutional law at Mackenzie University, that Brazil is a presidential federal republic with a bicameral congress, in which the Chamber of Deputies stands for the Brazilian people and the Federal Senate represents the states of the federation. Technically, this unanimous approval during the Senate’s plenary meeting constitutes recognition of the Armenian Genocide by all Brazilian states, but not recognition by the Brazilian people (represented by the Chamber) nor the Brazilian state. In accordance with the Brazilian constitutional political system, to say that Brazil effectively recognizes the Armenian Genocide, we would need a legislative decree edited and approved by the Chamber of Deputies, which would be ratified by a presidential decree, since the president of the republic is both the head of government and the head of state before the international community. Another possibility, according to Article 84, item VIII, of the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil of 1988, would be the recognition of the genocide by the executive power, followed by ratification by the National Congress. It is worth noting that request no. 550, approved by the Senate, does not have the force of national law, unlike what happened in Argentina and Uruguay, which have similar political systems and recognize the Armenian Genocide.

The approval of this vote of solidarity doubtless reflects the hard work by the Armenian community in Brazil over the last 30 years, and especially over the last 12 months. However, it is still too early to celebrate and consider the mission accomplished. It is essential to resume attempts to get the Armenian Genocide recognized by the executive power in order to impact Brazilian foreign policy regarding the Armenian Cause. The victory in the Senate has implications, predominately in domestic affairs, as it showed the ability of the Armenian community in Brazil to lead the political class to support their interests. While this discussion is only among the politicians who are “friends of the Armenian Cause,” Brazil remains vulnerable to the Turkish-Azeri lobby, whose influence has increased over the past few years.

One day after the voting, the Brazilian ambassador in Ankara was recalled for clarifications. Five days later, Ankara recalled its ambassador in Brazil for consultations. The Brazilian Ministry of External Relations states the Senate passed the resolution in observance of the constitutional prerogative on the principle of the separation of powers. The Brazilian government also states that relations with Turkey are defined by both parties as “strategic” and that it hopes for the normalization of bilateral relations as soon as possible. In the year that marks the Centennial, it seems the Armenian Genocide is on the Brazilian political agenda to stay.

Heitor Loureiro is a Ph.D. candidate in history at the São Paulo State University in Brazil, as well as a CAPES Foundation visiting scholar at the “Matenadaran” Scientific Research Institute in Yerevan.

The post Beyond the Brazilian Vote: Three Decades of Activism and Counting appeared first on Armenian Weekly.

Special for the Armenian Weekly

The following is based on a speech Dr. Antranig Kasbarian gave on the 97^th anniversary of the First Republic of Armenia during a program/celebration held in Watertown, Mass.

Before beginning, I’d like to convey my sense of honor and privilege in sharing the podium today with His Holiness Aram I, who through his words and deeds has enhanced our sense of dignity, pride, inspiration, and above all, our sense of national responsibility in this, the Centennial year of the Armenian Genocide.

Dr. Antranig Kasbarian delivering his remarks (photo: Aaron Spagnolo)

Your Holiness, your accomplishments are many, but permit me to point out two that are particularly salient for our people here today: First is your repeated assertion of the Armenian Church as both a spiritual home and a national home—one that lives and breathes with, for, and by the people, and that is unafraid to tackle contemporary issues in the life of our nation. Second is the leading role you have played in bolstering the Armenian Cause—a cause that does not simply remember, commemorate, or preach awareness, but that actively seeks justice in all its forms. This has become apparent of late, in your bold step of taking Turkey to court in an effort to reclaim that which was stolen from the Catholicosate of Sis, and from all of us, a century ago. We deeply thank you and look forward to your continued leadership on these and many other issues.

I’d also like to acknowledge the presence of another distinguished human rights defender, Mr. John Evans, who during his tenure as U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, spoke truth to power by openly acknowledging the Armenian Genocide. This was a bold, daring, and unprecedented act for which he has paid dearly, both personally and professionally. Ambassador Evans, it gives us great pride to know that in our midst there stand public servants, such as yourself, who hold firm on human rights issues not for expediency, popularity, or personal gain, but simply out of concern for what is fair and just. Welcome.

Now, turning to the matter at hand: There is much to be said on this, the 97^th anniversary of May 28, 1918. As many of you know, this date marks the declaration of independence of the Republic of Armenia, a fledgling nation-state built on the ashes of genocide and against great odds; the first sovereign Armenian state in over five centuries; and a state that formed the basis, territorially and juridically, for the modern-day Armenian Republic we treasure today.

May 28, 1918 also marks the culmination of a heroic self-defense struggle, one that was life-or-death in the truest sense, and one that mobilized the entire resources of the nation: trained officers alongside untrained peasants, genocide survivors, refugees, and many others who had nothing left to lose. As we know, this ragtag bunch of defenders somehow filled the vacuum left when Russian forces withdrew from Asia Minor, and mustered the strength to repel Ottoman forces at Sardarabad, Gharakiliseh, and Bash Abaran, holding their tenuous positions until an armistice between Turkey and the European Allies caused a full withdrawal and cease-fire.

There are many things to be said on this occasion. First, we should evaluate, not simply celebrate, the First Republic in its various dimensions: There is the road to independence itself, replete with stories of heroic struggle amid peril and plight. But there are also the difficult years that ensued during independence. The burdensome and vulnerable conditions under which the government operated; the agonizing choices and decisions made in both domestic and foreign policy spheres; the hopes surrounding President Woodrow Wilson’s arbitration between Turkey and Armenia, and the ensuing disappointment of the failed U.S. mandate for Armenia; and, ultimately, the fall of the republic under the combined onslaught of resurgent Kemalist and Red Army forces. This, and more, should be examined in hopes of drawing parallels and comparisons we can apply toward Armenia’s current potential and predicament.

Here I would like to address a more focused question: Why, after all these years, do we continue to celebrate May 28 at all? Skeptics points out, for instance, that we now have a new independent republic, with its own independence day—Sept. 21—which should supersede the earlier one. Others, more cynical perhaps, might ascribe our continued remembrance to a Dashnaktsakan desire to hold on to the glory days of the past, revering and remembering its pantheon of heroes who, indeed, not only won our independence, but in so doing, won the hearts and minds of our people as well.

In my view, neither of these scenarios is sufficient to account for the staying power of May 28. To do so properly, we must account for the reverence, the mystique, the hope and idealism aroused by that tiny First Republic, which in many ways remains a standard—even with its flaws and troubles—of the ideals we should aspire to in developing our nationhood.

To begin, we should note that the republic’s leaders were themselves titans, formed in the crucible of struggle during the preceding decades. What they lacked in statecraft and diplomatic experience, they made up in their organic ties to the people, in their pure revolutionary zeal, and in their personal codes of conduct, in which they always gave more than they took. When we consider the lives of Simon Vratsian, Armen Garo, Dro, Aram Manukian, Levon Shant, Ruben Ter-Minasian, and many others, we see a political character quite different from those of contemporary politicians. Public service, to them, was not a means to an end; rather, it was a sacred mission: Can we imagine these men taking bribes, seeking refuge in parliamentary immunity, or using their influence for personal ends?

…The republic’s leaders were themselves titans, formed in the crucible of struggle during the preceding decades. What they lacked in statecraft and diplomatic experience, they made up in their organic ties to the people, in their pure revolutionary zeal, and in their personal codes of conduct, in which they always gave more than they took.

Meanwhile, the problems the Republic faced were as enormous as they were immediate: Famine, pestilence, refugees, border disputes with neighboring Georgia and Azerbaijan, as well as unrest from domestic factions. And yet, somehow, the leadership found time to forge some semblance of democracy, based on inclusiveness, tolerance, and respect. Women were found in the parliament and diplomatic corps; indeed, women were granted voting rights before such measures were adopted in the US and other Western democracies. Parliament also featured minority voices alongside the Dashnak majority – not only Social Democrats and other Armenian factions, but ethnic minorities including Kurds and Yezidis. It was also a government that thought long and hard about separation of powers, fighting corruption, ensuring the civil liberties of its population, and other concerns that might be dismissed as luxuries for a troubled, fledgling republic.

But these revolutionaries-turned-statesmen were not of that sort. They truly believed in the experiment they were undertaking. The process of independent statehood was as important as the form: Independence was not an end in itself, but a means toward developing something more valuable – progress, prosperity, national dignity and security, and the safeguarding of the fundamental rights of all.

I say all of this not to whitewash the past. Certainly the First Republic’s leaders committed mistakes. We can and should question their tactics and choices at various times, but not their motivations. Today, at a time when Armenia faces enormous challenges both within and without, the moral strength and clarity provided by these early leaders can point a better way forward for all of us. Above all, they remind us of the need to root our actions in the life and needs of our entire people; not only the elite, but everyone without exception. That, I believe, is a lesson worth repeating.

The post A Lesson Worth Repeating: Reflections on the Occasion of May 28 appeared first on Armenian Weekly.

When today we are forced to talk about “escalations” of collective violence, state-sponsored violence, and genocide, doesn’t that mean that we have failed in the decisive task left to us by the experience of Nazism and the Shoah: the commitment of “Never Again!”?

It was a key political belief held after 1945 that studying the murder of the European Jews could provide important guidelines for the democratization of societal structures. However, changes in international politics after 1990, especially the new proximity of violent conflicts, have demonstrated that collective violence and genocides cannot be regarded as singular events from the past, let alone historical errors. Moreover, it would be inadequate to describe the violence in the Balkans in the 1990’s, the Rwandan Genocide, the genocidal politics in the Darfur region of Sudan, or the mass violence of IS and Boko Haram as escalated reactions or as eruptions of hatred.

This leads to the question: Can we uncover similar or even identical causes behind different historical instances of mass violence? What are the implications of the obvious repeatability and actual repetition of state-organized violence, even after the Shoah?

Against this background, the question “Are genocides comparable?” needs to address three issues. First, we have to clarify what we mean by the term “genocide.” Where does it come from and what analytic value for the study of collective violence can we derive from it? Second, we must discuss at which level a comparative perspective on genocide can be usefully employed. In this context, we also have to ask what a “comparison” can contribute to the task of early warning and the prevention of violence. Finally, we need to raise questions of uniqueness and comparability, including the difficult topics of relation of relativization.

The Term ‘Genocide’

The term “genocide” was coined in 1944 by the Polish-Jewish expert of international law Raphael Lemkin in a study on the rule of the Axis Powers in occupied Eastern Europe. He used the term to “signify a coordinated plan of different actions aiming at the destruction of essential foundations of the life of national groups.”¹

According to Lemkin’s proposal, genocide is not yet another level of escalation in conflict or war. Rather, it is a political program that is pursued intentionally and systematically to reach one goal: the disintegration and, ultimately, total annihilation of an entire national group.

Thus, the term captures the quality and the strategies of destructive collective violence in modern times, and emphasizes its genuinely political character. It was in his reflections on the Armenian Genocide of 1915-16 that Lemkin first pointed out that violence against groups does not constitute a specific element of crime; it was then that he began to propose ways to overcome this deficit. In light of the Nazi crimes, he explicitly added a criminal law dimension to his previous reflections on international law. Lemkin, who was an aide to the American Chief prosecutor Robert H. Jackson during the Nuremberg trials of the major war criminals in 1945-46, was eventually also involved in the formulation of the Genocide Convention, which was adopted by the United Nations on Dec. 9, 1948, even though the wording of the Convention in some regards differed from Lemkin’s original concept.

Unlike in Lemkin’s original version, the U.N. Convention does not explicitly label “genocide” as a political act and state crime. The Convention defines a crime and, in line with legal conventions, its subjective and objective elements: the intention (a subjective element of crime) to annihilate a “national,” “ethnic,” “racial,” or “religious” group as such (an objective element of crime).

Looking back at the history of the tern “genocide,” it now becomes clear that although the term developed within a legal context, it is not a legal/normative term in the narrower sense. Unlike the category of “war crimes,” the term was not initially coined to define an element of crime in international law, but to distinguish a certain form of political violence from others, and to describe and capture it conceptually. The legal/normative dimension was added to the term only later.

Comparison and Comparability

It first needs to be made clear that a comparison of genocidal politics should not seek to determine homologies. Rather, a comparative perspective must consider differences. In fact, one of the tasks that researchers on collective violence and genocide have to tackle is distinguishing the typical structures and aims of different politics of violence, such as war, civil war, forced displacement, massacres, “ethnic cleansing,” and, ultimately, genocide. This is necessary not to create a ranking of horrors, but to more clearly categorize the different forms of collective violence. It is possible to draw a distinction between violence, war, and civil war based on typical structural traits. Among others, these concern the respective perpetrator groups and institutions, mechanisms of publicity, the ideological framing, motives, and aims of the perpetrators, and the legitimizing arguments.

This means that a comparative perspective has to make visible the structural similarities as well as differences. It is therefore crucial to remind ourselves what a comparison should not look like:

– In no way should a comparison be limited to a collection of cases, an accumulation of different crimes of collective violence.

– Moreover, it is crucial for a comparative perspective not to try to deduce generalized patterns from the Shoah and transfer them to other instances of collective violence.

Genocides display structural features that can be repeated, but the planning processes as well as the triggering events are very much unique; they follow from the historical, religious, and cultural self-conception of the respective societies.

The observation of structural features repeating themselves was also a precondition for introducing “genocide” as a legal term in international law, because defining such an element of crime requires that intentions, acts, events, and consequences are comparable across historical cases. The observability of repeatable structural elements is, last but not least, a premise for establishing “genocide” as a legal term in international law—for the definition of an element of crime necessarily presumes that the intentions, acts, events, and consequences constituting it can be compared historically.

As the Princeton historian Anson Rabinbach put it succinctly, “For example, if lawyers were to conclude from historical comparisons and juridical evidence that the events judged at Nuremberg were ‘utterly incommensurable’ they would have to conclude that ‘the legal rules that emerged from the trial would be inapplicable to virtually all subsequent events however similar.’”² If, for example, the legal professions would deduce from historical comparisons and legal elements of crime, that acts, which had to be judged at the Nuremberg Trials would be completely non-comparable, then they would have to conclude that the legal norms developed during the Nuremberg Trials could not be applied to all other following acts, as similar as they appear.

We thus have to assume that genocides contain structural features that are typical and can be repeated. This is a precondition for the recognition, the possible prevention and, eventually, the legal prosecution of genocides.

Regarding those repeatable structural features, it is crucial to recognize that genocides have to be considered as processes involving societies as a whole—as societal processes aimed at the transformation and reorganization of society, a populace, or a territory. It is precisely at this point that comparisons become useful and promise insights, because the specific processes of modern genocides basically cannot be detached from the structures and characteristics of modern societies.

Of course, the planning and implementation of the different processes on which genocide is based can only be understood as specific processes. But persecution and violence rely on arguments that reflect norms common to the modern world: stability, balance, the restoration and protection of identity, the rhetoric of domestic enemies, or the realization of a new order. The possibility of a genocide is considered especially in the context of plans to mold the future of a society—legitimized as “security” or “salvation,” legitimized by reference to general patterns of progress and civilization.

As a consequence, it is crucial that we take seriously the ideological frameworks that perpetrators use to justify their actions, intentions, strategies, and motivations—for genocidal ideologies are not just world views, but social visions developed against the background of a certain knowledge of the political and social order. The perpetrators of a genocide empower themselves to take decisive historical action in order to create fundamentally changed conditions for the future of a nation. Their goal is to achieve a radical transformation of social reality—a new history—by means of a radical break. The actions taken are said to constitute a moral obligation. They can only be judged by the history of the following generations.

The two most important aspects that connect genocides at a structural level and, at the same time, separate them from other forms of collective violence, are the intentions of the perpetrators and the realization by society as a whole, because the politics of genocide are typically embedded in society. More precisely,

– by preparatory discourses of exclusion

– by the planning and implementation at the hands of societal support groups

– by legitimation strategies for an extermination policy that are socially acceptable

– or by the aims and blueprints of a society as well as the social transformations that genocidal procedures try to achieve and leave behind.

Relation and Relativization

A comparative perspective on genocide is easily suspected of attempting to relativize the Holocaust or, at least, of indirectly contributing to a relativization. As a consequence, both in research and the context of commemorative culture, it is has become common to speak of “the Holocaust and genocide.” This formulation directly links the Holocaust to the category of “genocide,” and at the same time reserves a special status for the Holocaust within this category or conceives of the Holocaust as transcending the category.

As Kristin Leah Platt convincingly argued, this idea of the Holocaust being something “special” would not only move the event to a symbolical level, but also construct the group of victims as symbolic victims of civilization.³ The designation of the Holocaust as a “breach of civilization” (Zivilisationsbruch) therefore has the effect of mystifying the event and taking it out of history, even de-historizing it. Related to the mystic-symbolic status of the Shoah as a unique event is a universal paradigm of the politics of remembrance and a moral responsibility to the “Never Again!” that I mentioned at the beginning—the demand to vigorously counter politics of destructive violence and to prevent them.

Thus, the comparison with other genocides does not imply a relativization of the Shoah. Rather, it means locating it in broader historical and social contexts and emphasizing its importance for these contexts.

Tendencies of relativization become a problem when singularity and uniqueness are played off against each other. But all historical events are singular in an absolute sense, that is, they do not repeat themselves in an identical manner.

An event can be unique only in differentiation from other, analogous events, which requires a comparison, too. Moreover, an event can claim to be unique only with regard to certain factors, because if all factors were unique, they could not be analyzed scientifically. From where, then, would we be able to derive standards and criteria?

This also means that uniqueness, individuality, and general traits of an event do not originate from the event itself. Determining them requires the description, analysis, and evaluation of (historical) facts with the help of terminological constructs (e.g., the term “genocide”), which is constitutive for the reconstruction of socio-historic reality.

In his book Rethinking the Holocaust, published in 2001, Yehuda Bauer made this point by offering a strongly worded, almost polemical comment on discourses about the uniqueness of the Shoah: “Absolute uniqueness thus leads to its opposite, total trivialization: if the Holocaust is a onetime, inexplicable occurrence, then it is a waste of time to deal with it.”⁴

Comparisons basically want to isolate causal factors that can be seen as possible reasons for the occurrence of a social phenomenon.

This shows the genuine contribution of a comparative perspective on the structures of genocide, because only in comparison with analogous or similar events and their contexts is it possible to identify these factors. On the other hand, a comparison can highlight the individuality of a case. However, what all genocides have in common is the aspect of a constitutive violence. A violence that is supposed to shape the future.

It is the attempt to implement a visionary blueprint for society within a very short time, within the lifetime of a generation empowering itself to create.

Notes

[1] Lemkin, Raphael: Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, New Jersey (2^nd Edition), 2008 (first: 1944), p.79.

2 Rabinbach, Anson: Raphael Lemkin’s Concept of Genocide, Website der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik, Jan. 1, 2005 (https://ip-journal.dgap.org/en/ip-journal/topics/raphael-lemkin%E2%80%99s-concept-genocide).

3 Platt, Kristin Leah: Perspektiven und Aufgaben der Genozidforschung. Vom sozialen Testament zum Problem der globalen Enthistorisierung, in: Zeitschrift für Genozidforschung 6, 1, 2005, pp. 8-41, here p. 23.

4 Bauer, Yehuda: Rethinking the Holocaust, New Haven CT: Yale UP 2001, S. 14.

Mihran Dabag is the director of the Institute for Diaspora and Genocide Studies of Bochum’s Ruhr University

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WATERTOWN, Mass.—Unprecedented! Historic! Truly unique!

Superlatives are in order as the National Representative Assembly (NRA) of the Eastern Prelacy ended its conclave on a rather historic note June 4-6.

For the first time ever, in this convention’s history, a gathering of more than 100 delegates and clergy heard in person His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon.

Group shot of the NRA delegation and priests with His Holiness Aram I on the steps of St. Stephen’s Church in Watertown (Photo: Tom Vartabedian)

The Pontiff rounded out a month-long visit with a rousing message focused upon unity, the power of youth, resourcefulness, and greater involvement within the church structure—in short, not only bringing the church to the people but quite the reverse.

In previous years, the delegation heard from the Vehapar via Skype, through a recorded or televised message, or through a written correspondence.

As members gathered in the sanctuary of St. Stephen’s Church, in walked His Holiness led by his entourage. He took his seat on the altar between Srpazans Oshagan Choloyan and Anoushavan Tanielian, as clergy from 18 churches occupied their front-row seats, joined by an enthused audience situated behind.

His Holiness had just flown back from a visit to Ottawa and admitted being a little tired but buoyant as his mission neared its end. It seemed that weariness never truly showed with the Pontiff upon visits from one location to another, including an eclectic presence in Washington, D.C.

His Holiness Aram I is joined by Srpazans Oshagan and Anoushavan in conducting a prayer service (Photo: Tom Vartabedian)

“For the past four weeks, I’ve been with my community on a parish and Prelacy level,” he told members, many of whom held their cellular phones in overdrive. “I’ve listened and I’ve heard. We must all engage ourselves in a listening and learning process. Only then can we assess our problems and move forward with progress.”

The Vehapar admitted that some of his most genuine moments were with the youth, especially at St. Stephen’s Church and at the Junior Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Seminar. In the end, he passed out accolades to the following:

– Both Eastern Prelacy Srpazans for their leadership and service.

– The clergy en masse for its spiritual guidance and leadership.

– The Executive Council, Board of Trustees in various parishes, the different church organizations, and formational committee planning his visit.

“Collaboration between the Diocese and Prelacy-related churches is a must,” he confirmed. “In the last decade, advances have been made in this direction, both regionally and nationally. It’s been a renewed effort that has been wholesome to our church and nation in the Diaspora.”

The Vehapar, together with Srpazan Oshagan, then conferred a Pectoral cross upon Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian for a decade of commendable service to the Prelacy. Der Lakissian is pastor of St. Illuminator’s Cathedral in New York City and secretary of the Religious Council.

Meanwhile, the Ladies Guild (NALG) met separately at an alternate site with some 40 delegates in attendance, where Maro Matosian, director of the Women’s Support Center in Yerevan, delivered an inspiring talk.

Group shot of Ladies Guild (Photo: Tom Vartabedian)

Special applause went to Madonna Kzirian and Sharke DerApkarian for completing their terms, the latter six years in executive office. Commending their work was John Daghlian, the Prelacy’s liaison to the Guild.

NRA co-chairmen Jack Mardoian and Artin Dermenjian kept the meetings orderly and fastidious. A motion to make the NRA biennial (every two years) was narrowly defeated, keeping it annual. Next year’s gathering will take place in Douglaston, N.Y., hosted by St. Sarkis Church.

In what was a wonderful touch to tradition, Srpazan Oshagan conferred the NRA awards to individuals for their invaluable service to the community. It was all about family here.

Heather (Apigian) Krafian was presented an award for distinguished service to her community for the invaluable work she has rendered to the Armenian Relief Society, the elementary school, Board of Trustees, 24 years with the Education Committee and the trips to Armenia for the schoolchildren.

Heather has been unwavering in her quest toward family, the various organizations and most important, her church and its people. There is also the Armenia Tree Project, Armenian National Committee, and Hairenik’s anniversaries which she helped see to success.

In a statement, of all the causes, all the venues and organizations, the most important mission was her family with husband Ara and her four daughters, all of whom are chips off the parental block.

Four youth awards were also bestowed by Srpazan, including one to Nairi Krafian, a model Sunday Schooler, a key member to the children’s choir, and a teaching aide in her Sunday School, as well as a music teacher for the younger ones.

The Abaka Dance Ensemble of Greater Boston entertains the gathering (Photo: Tom Vartabedian)

Also, add the fact she was an Armenian School teacher and nature instructor at Camp Haiastan, not to exclude her athletic prowess as a gold medalist in the AYF Olympics. Nairi also organized the annual Walk for Life fundraiser for the Armenian Bone Marrow Registry and continues to stay involved.

Two other awards went to the brother-sister tandem of Anahis and Antranig Kechejian, for their impeccable work with “Stand Up for Your Survivor” in identifying survivors of the Armenian Genocide in an era of diminishing numbers.

Both recipients are active in their church and communities and have brought a vital complement to the genocide commemorations in Greater Boston. People holding posters of their survivors are grateful for the opportunity to stay connected with their loved ones.

Ani Belorian was tapped for her academic and extra-curricular achievements, along with her leadership skills and exemplary behavior. Her thoughtful approach to literacy activities and her theatrical flair benefit the youngster in reading, writing and social studies. She edits writing assignments and directs presentations.

The group was also treated to a wonderful performance by the Abaka Dance Ensemble.

With parting words, Srpazan Oshagan was adamant toward the dawn of a new era for his Prelacy, especially with the reconstruction of its quarters.

Prelacy awards were presented for outstanding service. From left, St. Stephen’s Board Chairman Raffi Manjikian, Ani Belorian, Nairi Krafian, Anahis Kechejian, Srpazan Oshagan, Antranig Kechejian, Heather Krafian and Rev. Archpriest Antranig Baljian (Photo: Tom Vartabedian)

“I hope we will confront the challenges before us harmoniously and decisively,” he told the delegates. “By creating more space and improvements, we benefit the success of our programs and the perpetual continuation of our mission.”

Elected to the Executive Council were: Noubar Megerian, Sue Ericson, Daniel Gulbankian and Karen Jehanian. Named to the Religious Council were: Rev. Mesrob Lakissian and Rev. Archpriest Nerses Manougian.

The hospitality committee left no stone unturned with a lobster dinner and the distribution of tee-shirts commemorating the centennial with the forget-me-not flower.

Two other presentations were made to Rev. Archpriest Aram Stepanian and Executive Council activist John Daghlian (three terms) for their unwavering service to the Prelacy. Daghlian pointed to his dad, the late Rev. Archpriest Arshag Daghlian, as being the motivating force behind his service.

Leo Vartanian launched his own efforts toward the Syrian Relief Fund and others reciprocated, raising hundreds of dollars impromptu.

Considering his family longevity, Steve Hagopian, chairman of the Executive Council, followed in the footsteps of his grandfather—a first delegate—to his father. A birthday celebration was in order. More importantly, his years of unquenchable service as chairman and spokesman for the Prelacy.

“It’s time for fresh eyes,” he told the gathering, upon retiring as a delegate. “I’ll always be attached to the Prelacy.”

Antranik Boudakian reported 640 Prelacy tickets being sold, a slight decrease from previous years. Winners will be announced separately.

In a rather emotional moment, a tearful Der Aram embraced his long-time friend Rev. Archpriest Gomidas Baghsarian upon his retirement from the Religious Council with the words:

“I love you brother!”

Group shot of the clergy with His Holiness Aram I (Photo: Tom Vartabedian)

ARF Eastern Region Central Committee Chairman delivering his remarks (Photo: Tom Vartabedian)

Rev. Father Mesrob Lakissian, right, is presented a Pectoral Cross from His Holiness Aram I, joined by both Srpazans Oshagan and Anoushavan (Photo: Tom Vartabedian)

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Special for the Armenian Weekly

A capacity crowd of over 16,000 fans packed the Republican Stadium to welcome Cristiano Ronaldo and Group leaders Portugal to Yerevan on Sat., June 13. The match was the first for Sargis Hovsepyan as interim Armenian manager since replacing Bernard Challandes at the helm in late April. There was no fairytale start to his tenure, however, as Armenia yet again relinquished a first half lead and ultimately fell by a 3:2 score-line.

Ronaldo (left) and Berezovsky (right) exchanging handshakes prior to the match (Photo: ffa.am/tiskanderyan)

The performance was a microcosm of what Armenia has become in recent times. They are a team that compete well for spells during games and flirt with establishing themselves alongside Europe’s stronger sides, but ultimately are undone by untimely lapses in concentration and individual mistakes. Following this performance, Armenia have now held early leads in four of their five contests to-date, only to come up short in the closing stages of each of those games.

Armenia raced into an early lead following a super free kick from Marcos Pizzelli. Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio cheated towards the expected cross, only to be left red-faced by Pizzelli who sent a dipping effort off the underside of the crossbar and into the unguarded net. The strike was on-par with anything Cristiano Ronaldo could ever conjure.

Portugal was gifted their way back into the match with a first half penalty kick, following an ill-advised challenge in the box by Henrikh Mkhitaryan on João Moutinho. Ronaldo stepped up and duly obliged with the equalizer from the spot. Following the substitution of midfield talisman Karlen Mkrtchyan due to injury, the remainder of the first half saw Armenia hold their own against their highly acclaimed opponents and the sides made the turn all-square.

A couple of Armenia fans before the match (Photo: Armenian National Team Facebook page)

Armenia started brightly at the beginning of the second half and was probing once again for a chance to steal another goal. Marcos Pizzelli came close with a dipping effort from the edge of the box, this time from open play, but within minutes of that effort flashing wide off the post, a calamitous error in defense presented Cristiano Ronaldo with his and Portugal’s second goal. Indecision in dealing with a long ball led to an inexplicable error between two of Armenia’s oldest campaigners, Robert Arzumanyan and goal keeper Roman Berezovsky. It was a chance put right on a plate for one of the world’s greatest players, and Ronaldo made no mistake in poking the ball into an empty net.

Moments later Ronaldo was at it again. After clinically controlling a long ball from the sky with a sublime touch, he shifted the ball from his feet and buried a long range effort into the top corner. It was a top drawer strike that gave the crowd a trademark sample of his talent and gave Berezovsky no chance of retrieving.

A calamitous error in defense presented Cristiano Ronaldo with his and Portugal’s second goal (Photo: ffa.am/tiskanderyan)

With just under half an hour left in the match, Armenia was thrown a lifeline with the sending off of Portugal’s Tiago Mendes. A petulant off-the-ball foul saw him collect his second yellow card and an early shower. It took just under ten minutes for Armenia to get back into the match. A decent strike from substitute Aras Özbiliz was spilled into the welcome path of Hrayr Mkoyan, and the stalwart defender made no mistake in punishing Rui Patricio, who was having a poor night by his own standards.

With 20 minutes to go and playing with renewed vigor against 10 men, Armenia pushed for the equalizer. On a number of occasions Armenia was able to string some nice passes together at the edge of the box, but the final piece of quality, that elusive final ball evaded the home side. To Portugal’s credit, the players made adjustments by keeping possession and killing time whenever possible. Long balls to Ronaldo were always a threat and would keep the Armenian defense honest by not allowing them to cheat too far up the field.

As the teams played out the final minutes, reality sunk in for the partisan crowd. Armenia are once again relegated to also-rans as a campaign that oftentimes showed signs of promise, ultimately now remains in tatters. As things stand, mathematically Armenia is still in with a chance of a play-off spot. Based on performances to date, it is looking unlikely that Armenia will turn their fortunes around. Hypothetically, Armenia would need to collect at least seven points from their remaining three matches and hope for a reversal of fortunes for a buoyant Albania side. Such an occurrence is something I wouldn’t bet my house on.

The Armenian National Team (Photo: ffa.am/tiskanderyan)

Armenia: Berezovsky, Mkoyan, Andonian, Arzumanyan, Airapetian, Mkhitaryan, Mkrtchyan (29’ R. Hovsepyan YC), Hovhannisyan (61’ Özbiliz), Pizzelli, Ghazaryan, Sarkisov (72’ Korian)
Coach: Sargis Hovsepyan

Portugal: Rui Patricio, Vieirinha, R. Carvalho (79’ Fonte), Alves, Eliseu, Nani, Tiago Mendes (62’ YC/RC), Moutinho, Coentrao (72’ Silva), Danny (64’ W. Carvalho), Ronaldo

Coach: Fernando Santos

The post Soccer: Armenia Undone by Cristiano Ronaldo Hat-Trick appeared first on Armenian Weekly.

Special for the Armenian Weekly

ISTANBUL (A.W.)—On April 24, 2015, Armenians from all over the world converged in Istanbul to commemorate the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide. In the sea of people, Sevag Balıkçı’s portrait loomed overhead. Who was this young Armenian soldier killed during his military service four years ago, on April 24, 2011?

Ani and Garabet Balıkçı hold a photograph of their son Sevag (Photo: Elsa Landard)

A Century after the Genocide

On April 24, 2015, the sun rose on Istanbul just like any other day. In Kadikoÿ, in the Asian part of the city, the streets were quiet. Shops were open and people were eating breakfast outside. It seemed as though everyone had chosen the same dish: a big white plate with cucumbers, greens, tomatoes, ham, cheese, and olives, and another plate with little compartments filled with jelly, butter, Nutella, and, in the middle, a boiled egg. I grabbed a quick bite and walked to the ferry station to get to the European side of Istanbul. I took the ferry heading in the direction of Eminönü. On the boat, waiters walked around with silver trays, offering orange juice, tea, and paninis to people on board. For 2 Turkish liras—not even $1.50—we could enjoy an apple tea while watching the landscape along the Bosporus.

When I arrived in Eminönü, I could see that we had to walk through a tunnel to get to the other side of the road and into the city. I followed the crowd, past little kids asking for money or selling things. I wondered who they were; someone would later tell me that they were Syrian refugees. In the spice bazaar, I wanted to stop and admire all of the colors in those little stores. But the streets were too small and the crowd was too big. And I needed to move fast. I had to be somewhere in less than 15 minutes.

For the inhabitants of Istanbul, April 24 is a day just like any other. But it is a symbolic day for the more than 40,000 Armenians who live there. This April 24, Armenians the world over united to commemorate the Armenian Genocide Centennial. Politicians headed to Yerevan. But for many Armenians, Istanbul was the place to be. At 11 a.m., the first event of the day took place in front of the Islamic and Turkish Arts Museum. One hundred years before, on April 24, 1915, this had been the Central Prison where 250 Armenian intellectuals were rounded up before being taken to the Haydarpasa Train Station, and then sent to their deaths.

Around 300 people were present this April 24 to commemorate the memory of the intellectuals. Arkan, 28, is Turkish. He was at the demonstration for one reason: “It is important to recognize the genocide of the Armenians. My whole life, it was like a subject we couldn’t talk about. I think it is our responsibility to show some solidarity. We did it. My ancestors did it. And since the genocide is not recognized, I feel ashamed. And until it is recognized, I will be [here]… All Turks should be [here] too.”

This is a feeling shared by human rights lawyer Eren Keskin. “We are the grandchildren of the perpetrators of genocide,” she said. “Perhaps not each and every one of us comes from the lineage of the people who directly participated in the massacres…but we were born into their ethnic and religious identity. We belong to a social group that has unquestioningly benefited from the order and privileges created by the perpetrators of the genocide.”

Hovhannes lives and works in Istanbul. As an Armenian, being in front of this prison is more than symbolic. “It is where it all started. We had to be here,” he told me.

One activist read a statement at the demonstration—“What we are speaking of here is a crime lasting 100 years. A denial lasting 100 years…”—that was signed by Anadolou Kultur; the Human Rights Association; the Committee Against Racism and Discrimination; Nor Zartonk; the Platform for Confronting History; the Turabdin Assyrians Platform; and the Zan Foundation for Social, Political, and Economic Research.

Some people wore a pin or a T-shirt with the design of the forget-me-not flower, and the words “Project 2015.” Inna is 25, and she came from Ankara. “I’ve been waiting a long time to wear this badge here in Istanbul. This flower means lots of things, but the most important for us is: ‘Don’t forget me.’ We will never forget,” she told me.

Many demonstrators held up portraits of the arrested intellectuals of 1915: Daniel Varoujan, Krikor Zohrab, Hagop Terzian, Roupen Zartarian… And in the middle of these old pictures, one was more recent than the others. It bore the words: “SEVAG, unutturmayacağız,” which translates to “Sevag, we won’t forget you.” Sevag Balıkçı was a young Armenian soldier who was killed on April 24, 2011, during his military service in the Turkish Army.

On the way to the ferry, to go to the next step of the commemoration, Benoît Marquaille, Regional Council of the Ile-de-France region, expressed his commitment to the recognition of the genocide. “I came with Benjamin Abtan, president of the Anti-racist European Movement. They are doing such an amazing job. I think I am the only French politician here today because they are all in Yerevan for the commemoration. It is symbolic to be here in Istanbul. It is where everything started. It is here that everything has to be played,” he said.

After 30 minutes on the boat, we got off at the Haydarpasa Train Station. As we had witnessed in front of the museum, people stood up in front of the station holding portraits of victims of the genocide, as well as signs that read, “This building is a crime scene,” “Genocide! Compensate!” and “Genocide! Recognize!” Some also came with portraits of their ancestors or with a red flower with the names of the intellectuals who were arrested and later killed. The train station is on the Asian side of Istanbul. The intellectuals were taken there to be deported to their deaths. And still, in the middle of the crowd, Sevag’s face stared back.

A demonstrator holds a poster of Sevag’s face and the words, ‘Sevag, we won’t forget you.’ (Photo: Elsa Landard)

At the end of the day, Istiklal Street, the longest street in Istanbul near Taksim Square, was filled with protesters, still holding pictures of the intellectuals and other victims of the genocide. They shouted slogans calling for unity, marking this day as only the beginning, and vowing to continue the struggle for recognition. Demonstrations are usually forbidden in Taksim Square, but Nesrin Goksungur, who is my translator, says the police can’t do anything in front of the French Consulate. “France recognized the genocide. In front of the consulate, we are normally safe. Normally. When there is a demonstration here, usually the police let it happen for about half an hour, just to let people say what they have to say. But after, we have to scatter. If we don’t, the police could intervene, and it won’t be fun,” she explained.

Turkish and Armenian songs were heard during the evening demonstration. Between the speeches, we could hear noise coming from the streets behind. No one around me could say with certainty if the approaching noise was coming from ultranationalist protesters. In fact, earlier that day, ultranationalists had held speeches in front of the French Consulate claiming that the Turks did not commit genocide, that they defended their native land.

Yervart Danzikyan, the editor in chief of Agos, told the Armenian Weekly that black flowers had been placed in front of the newspaper’s offices that very same day. “Being an Armenian journalist and especially writing about this issue is not easy. Sometimes, we can be fearful, but if there is no hope there is no life. So we hope things are going to change,” he said.

And everywhere along Istiklal Street, we still see Sevag’s portrait.

Who Was Sevag?

I am in a cab with my translator, Nesrin. Martin, who will record the interview, and Elsa, who will photograph, are also with us. Nesrin is on the phone with Ani Balıkçı, Sevag’s mother. The driver decided to drop us off early; thankfully, we are on the right street, but not the right number. Ani tells us where to go. Walking down this street, we can see a woman, wearing black clothes, on the phone on the terrace of an apartment building. Located on a quiet street of Kadıköy, the Balıkçıs’ apartment is on the last floor of the building. Ani motions to us to come up. She welcomes us. As do her cat and her dog. Nesrin is not very comfortable since she is afraid of cats and dogs—very ironic in a city where cats are everywhere and are often cherished. Ani reassures her: “We took him in because he was crying on the street. But I don’t like the cat hair.” Ani invites us to take a seat around her living room table. She sits. Behind her, a portrait of Sevag is on the mantel. Ani takes a deep breath. She knows I want her to tell me about her son.

On April 1, 1986, Ani Balıkçı is taken to the hospital. She is 7 months and 2 weeks pregnant. She and Garabet (Garbis), her husband, think they still have time before the birth of their son. However, she delivers the child early. She names him Sevag. The name is a tribute to Roupen Sevag, the famous Armenian poet who was arrested on April 24, 1915, and later executed. It is also a tribute to Sevag’s eyes, as “sev ag” means “black eyes” in Armenian.

After 20 days of hospitalization, the steep hospital bills weigh on Ani. Her son is in stable condition, and she wants to go home. The doctors insist that she stay. The hygiene of the premature infant is important, they say. They fear for the baby. Ani is a teacher in an Armenian school. She has to be present for an event she has organized with her pupils. April 23 is a holiday in Turkey: National Sovereignty and Children’s Day. Every year on that day, Turks mark the birth of the Turkish Republic. Children are at the center of this event, and speeches are delivered in schools. Ani remembers the long weeks of preparation: “I thought I still had weeks before delivering my baby. I had prepared the celebrations with my pupils. I could not miss it.”

Even though Ani was a teacher in an Armenian school, the event was compulsory. In Istanbul, around 3,000 Armenian students attend 16 Armenian schools. Teachers work hard to keep the Armenian language and culture alive. But students must follow the Turkish school program. Armenian children live between two cultures, and the Turkish one is dominant. But Ani loves to teach and to pass on her values. On April 23, 1986, she leaves Sevag home with his grandmother. The celebration goes well as planned, but the following day, on April 24, 1986, Sevag turns purple. Ani has to call the doctor and bring Sevag to the hospital. His lips are blue, his life in danger. Doctors don’t have any hope and tell Ani she should be prepared to lose him. That same day, Sevag’s heart stops beating. “A few minutes after they told me this, we heard the sound of a baby. It was Sevag. I’ve never felt so happy in my entire life. How could I know that I would lose him the exact same day, 25 years later?” she asks.

Sevag is a good child; he smiles a lot. He is also close to his sister, Lerna, who is like a second mother to him. He is roguish and full of joy and life. He loves to smile when people point the camera at him. He is also very sociable. The Balıkçıs are a normal family. And like in other families, meals are occasions to talk about neighbors or acquaintances. The Balıkçıs sometimes talk about people they don’t appreciate. Sevag, on the other hand, eats and listens but remains disinterested in these conversations Unlike his friends, Sevag does not like to fight. He is against violence. Except once. “I’d never seen him get into a fight with his friends. But one time, he came back home with his clothes completely torn. I asked him what happened and he told me that he had a fight to defend a girl that others had offended,” Ani remembers.

One day the Balıkçıs go on vacation in Cappadocia. This area in the center of Turkey is protected as a World Heritage Site. It is a volcanic region with rock formations called “fairy chimneys” that were sculpted by the wind, and dot the landscape. The subterranean cities are everywhere. Centuries ago, men dug in the rock to protect themselves from potential invasion.

Sevag is 8 years old when he discovers this area. He has a revelation when he sees the ceramics produced in the region: When he is older, he will become a ceramist. Fascinated by the arts, he decides to study plastic arts in high school, and then ceramic art in college. When he is a teenager, he makes a sculpture. His parents are very proud and display his art in the street. The sculpture disappears, though, and no one knows where it ended up. The Balıkçıs keep a picture of Sevag with his sculpture—it is precious for them.

Sevag loves to walk. During the summer, his family goes to the Prince Islands—more specifically, the Kınalıada Island, the fourth biggest island of the Prince Islands. The family spends their vacations there, where cars and other motor vehicles are forbidden.

When he is in Istanbul, Sevag likes to walk in Kadıköy, and more particularly in Moda. “After his death, we found Sevag’s pictures. Most of them were taken in Kadıköy,” says Ani. This district is located in the Asian part of Istanbul, and has become a cultural hub. Kadıköy’s center has many car-free streets. Simit sellers are everywhere, as are fresh juice sellers. Even if they are common in Istanbul, they make Kadıköy seem like a village, unlike the European part of the city where crowds are constantly present. The center of the district welcomes artists, writers, and second-hand booksellers. Soccer-lovers go to this area when there is a game at the Fernerbahçe Stadium. The area also has a reputation of being more liberal. It is where students like to go out, where people from all over the world like to live. In Moda, the parks offer a view to the Marmara Sea. There are many playgrounds for children. Along the walkway, couples sit looking at the sea.

Ani Balıkçı looks at photographs of her son in what was intended to be his bedroom in their new home (Photo: Elsa Landard)

It is here that Sevag likes to walk with his girlfriend, Melani Kumruyan. Sevag wants to marry her. He has a ring for her. He likes this area so much that his parents decide to move to there while Sevag does his military service. They know their son will be very pleased by this. They even set up a room for him.

Sevag’s room is bright. The walls are white. One bed is set up on the right corner of the room, in front of the door. At the bed end, there is a little table made of wood and glass. There is a soccer cup, shaped like a plate. Next to the table, there is a piece of furniture, built in the shape of a glass bottle. Ani is proud: “Sevag made this.” His pictures are everywhere in the room. We can see his baptism, but also Sevag with his friends and family. Ani smiles as she looks at a picture of her dancing with Sevag. But Sevag never saw his bedroom. He died 20 days after his parents moved here.

A Deliberate Execution?

Sevag starts his military service in February 2010. His family tries to convince him to change his mind. If he signs up for another year of school, he could postpone his compulsory military service. In fact, the military service has to be completed before a person’s 38^th birthday. At that time, in 2010, military service lasted 15 months—nowadays, it ends after 12. But in Turkey, men who have not completed their military service can’t do much else: They can’t get married; they can’t have a job. Military service is written on CVs, and is, almost always, a condition for employment. Being exempted is also not a good option. In fact, those who are exempted are called “kurut” in Turkish, which means “rotten.” The “kurut” are, for example, homosexuals. Homosexuality is not forbidden in Turkey, but it is considered a psychosexual disorder. Conscientious objection is not a good idea either, because it is considered as a crime for which you can go to jail. Ani remembers when she tried to convince him: “I told him to register at a college again, but he answered ‘I am sick of it. I want to do it, to end it, and I’ll be all set for the rest of my life.”

Military service has two parts. First, there is the learning portion. Sevag is sent to Bilejik, in the west of Turkey. When he takes the uniform, the army gives him a gun. Ani remembers their first phone call: “He told me, ‘Mum, they gave me a gun. What am I going to do with a gun?’” Ani tries to reassure him, telling him that he probably won’t have to use it. Even when he was a kid, Sevag never played with guns. “He neither liked weapons, nor the army. He has been raised in an anti-military way. He never had any plastic weapons as toys.”

After some time, Sevag is sent to the Batman area, in the southeast of the country, less than 100 kilometers from the Syrian border. The area is dangerous mainly because of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) who claim the area. Kurdish identity is rejected, the Kurdish language is forbidden. The Turkish Army bombards them, and the PKK strikes back. One more time, Sevag’s family asks him to request a transfer to somewhere else. But Sevag does not want to. In Batman, he can make phone calls, which is not the case in all the bases. He asks his mother to send him colorful clothes since he dislikes the army uniform. Ani smiles as she remembers how happy Sevag was when he received his clothes. He calls often but does not tell his parents what’s really going on at the base.

Nothing makes them think that things are going wrong with the other soldiers. Pictures show Sevag on good terms with the others, even with the man who shot him. But some incidents worried the family. Sevag’s father, Garbis, has to go to the Batman base. Sevag was beaten by non-commissioned officers. One soldier said that Sevag stole from him. Garbis wants to protect his son, and tells Sevag they will pay for the missing items. Sevag is angry. Ani explains: “He was very angry. He said, ‘I don’t want us to pay for something I did not do.’” Sevag protects his parents from the truth; he just talks to his girlfriend. She tells Ani and Garbis that at Sevag’s base, there are fascists and ultra-nationalists.

The army claims Sevag’s death was an accident. But the “accident” occurred on April 24, 2011, the day of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. Coincidence or not, the family and the Armenian community have doubts regarding the army’s explanation.

For Ani, April 24 is the day she lost her son. (Photo: Elsa Landard)

Ani asks if she can light a cigarette. I can feel that talking about her son brings forth many emotions. She tries to channel them. Tears are coming. She looks at the large glass of water in front of her, and takes a minute. She is going to tell me the day she learned about Sevag’s death.

April 24, 2011: It is a Sunday. The Balıkçıs are ready to celebrate Easter. They are not very religious but Garbis likes to go to church sometimes. This day is also the 96th commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. It is a symbolic day and a double occasion for Sevag’s father to go to church. On Easter morning, Ani calls Sevag to remind him that today, it is a holiday. Sevag asks if she can send him some pastries. Ani remembers: “I used around 7 kilograms of flour to make as much cake as I could.” She wants to please Sevag, but also the other soldiers of his unit. Sevag asks for clothes. He specifically wants white clothes. The post office is not too far from the apartment. Ani prepares the package and mails it to him. She wants her son to receive it as soon as possible. He only has around 20 more days to spend in the army before coming back home. Ani knows that very soon, he will be home and that he can eat as much cake as he wants. He will also go back to work at his father’s jewelry shop, not very far from the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.

The day moves forward. Garbis is still at church. Ani receives a call. Her husband is calling. He seems worried. He tells her that a friend told him something was written about Sevag on Facebook. He asks Ani to look into it. Ani is not very familiar with social networks. “I wondered how I will find something about it. And I did some [online] search about the Batman area and the military [base] over there. I found a post in which I read that a soldier had been killed while joking with a friend. It was Sevag.” That is how she learned of her son’s death. The army tried to reach her but since the Balıkçıs had recently moved, they did not have time to notify the family. Ani couldn’t believe it. Sevag’s grandmother loses consciousness. She is still at the hospital—she hasn’t been the same since. During the funeral, officers from the Turkish Army are present in the Armenian church of Feriköy, in the Şişli area. Sevag’s coffin is covered with the Turkish flag. For the army, Sevag died a martyr.

Ani can’t talk anymore. Around the table, we can feel the emotion. Everyone is emotional. It was four years ago and I have the sense that it just happened. Ani has tears in her eyes. She asks if we want some coffee. We say yes without thinking about the fact that Turkish coffee is one of the strongest coffees in the world. Ani offers some chocolate to eat with the coffee. Garbis walks into the living room. He sits on the sofa and listens.

Symbol of a Community

When she learns about the death of her son, Ani is in shock. She tells the media that Sevag’s death has nothing to do with the Armenian Genocide. The soldier who killed Sevag was a friend of his. “I regret that. At that time I was in shock, and for me it was impossible to believe that he was killed intentionally. But he died on April 24.”

Melani and Sevag

A week after Sevag passed away, a delegation of officers appears at their doorstep. They say, again, that it was an accident. That Sevag and Kıvanç Ağaoğlu, the shooter, were friends. That the two young men were joking around and that it was a single shot that killed him. This is also the version of the defendant. The army offers to take the family to where the shooting happened. It pays for the trip. Soldiers welcome the Balıkçıs in Batman. After a 15-minute helicopter ride they arrive at the base and meet the soldiers who were present the day of Sevag’s death, including Ağaoğlu. When it happened, Sevag and a few other members of the unit were fixing the fence around their station. They were not supposed to be armed, except for Ağaoğlu who was supposed to protect the unit in case of an attack. The area is on alert. On this day, no officer is present, which is unusual. For Ani, the incident was planned. “There was no officer, only soldiers are witnesses. One of them was shaking when we went over there. He was still afraid.” Ani asked him why he was so fearful. He said that he saw the shooter aim at Sevag. In court, the witness gets cold feet and on the day of the trial changes his story. Sevag’s family is now convinced: Their son was murdered.

The trial begins in the Diyarbakir Military Court, in eastern Turkey, a few weeks after the murder. Ağaoğlu is investigated. The Balıkçıs’ lawyer, Cem Halavurt, through an investigation of Ağaoğlu’s presence on various social media—especially Facebook—shows that he is a supporter of the nationalist politician Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu and of the hit man Abdullah Çatlı, who was responsible for bombing the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Altfortville, France, in 1984. Ağaoğlu’s Facebook page also shows that he is a member of the Great Union Party, an extreme right-wing Islamist political party.

Another fact intrigues the family. During the first hearing on July 24, 2011, a witness declares that Ağaoğlu threatened Sevag, saying, “I’ll kill you fatty.” But the witness later changes his story.

Melani Kumruyan, Sevag’s fiancée, tells the family that Sevag told her more than once that he was being threatened. She says that a soldier told him once, “If there is a war with Armenia, you will be the first I kill.”

Because of witnesses’ unwillingness to come forward, Ağaoğlu is still a free man. The trial went on for three years; at each hearing, Ani and Garbis had to move to a different city. For Ani, this was “a way to make us give up. They wanted us to get tired of it.”

Since April 24, 2011, Sevag has become a symbol for the Armenian community. April 24 is not only the day of the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, it is also the day a 25-year-old Armenian was killed. It is what Garbis and Ani have been commemorating for the past 4 years now.

“We don’t commemorate April 24 as the day of the genocide, but as the day we lost our son,” says Ani. Last year, the Balıkçıs went to Paris to visit family members. It was on April 24. The French Armenian community was commemorating the genocide. Ani saw many portraits of Sevag held up high by the demonstrators on the Champs-Elysées. She is touched, but asks herself why her son’s picture is in the crowd. She wonders that on every April 24. It is a fate in the middle of history. Sevag’s fate. Between the insights provided by his family and the lack of evidence that continues to obstruct justice, Sevag’s family and the rest of the world will have to wait many more months, or perhaps years, before the truth comes out.

Until then, Ani and Garbis Balıkçı will keep wearing white on every April 24—the color Sevag mentioned when he last asked for new clothes. And every April 24, Sevag’s dark eyes will stare back at them from the crowd of demonstrators. Until justice is done.

The post Remembering Sevag Balıkçı on April 24 in Istanbul appeared first on Armenian Weekly.

LAS VEGAS (A.W.)—Armenian-American billionaire investor, real estate giant, and a driving force behind the development of Las Vegas, Kirk Kerkorian died on the night of June 15, MGM Resorts International confirmed today. He was 98 years old.

Kirk Kerkorian (1917-2015) (Photo: forbes.com)

Kerkor “Kirk” Kerkorian was born in 1917 in Fresno, Calif., to Armenian immigrants Aharon and Lily Kerkorian. He was the youngest of four children. “Our first language, although we were born here, was Armenian,” Kerkorian once recalled. “We didn’t learn the English language until we hit the streets.”

Named after his two daughters, Kerkorian’s Lincy Foundation made vast charitable contributions throughout the years, especially in the aftermath of the 1988 earthquake. The foundation made major contributions to Armenia on various infrastructure projects, including the repair of 420 kilometers of major highways and the construction of 3,700 new apartments in the country’s northwestern regions hit hard by the 1988 earthquake. In May 2005, Armenia’s then-President Robert Kocharian awarded Kerkorian Armenia’s highest honor, the Medal of Fatherland, which carries the title of “National Hero of Armenia.”

In February, it was reported that Kerkorian was planning on funding a feature film about the Armenian Genocide. Only yesterday, reports claimed that Terry George of “Hotel Rwanda” would direct the film that will be shot in Spain. In addition, it was reported that Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac will co-star in the film, called “The Promise,” and that Mike Medavoy will be lead producer.

The post Armenian-American Billionaire Philanthropist Kirk Kerkorian Dies at 98 appeared first on Armenian Weekly.