Special for the Armenian Weekly
And where do we go now? The storm of the Armenian Genocide Centennial has passed. The nation came out in full force in Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora. We saw and felt a unity that was unfelt and unseen since the days of Artsakh’s liberation. But where does that unity go now? Does it remain intact or does it go into retreat until the next occasion of national importance?
I came by some commentary about the day after April 24, 2015, with some stating that we’d lose our common identity with the passing of the big date; people would now go about their own struggles and would not find a common ground for a broader national struggle of any kind.
If your Armenian identity is wholly and only anchored in the genocide, then you are delusional about your own heritage. Armenian History 101 is a must for you to realize that 5 years of butchery does not overshadow 6,000 years of great history and the open vastness that is the future of this nation.
And if you thought that the struggle for genocide recognition—and more importantly, compensation—was only about Turkey coming to terms with its past, then you are once again mistaken. It is also about securing Armenia’s rightful position in the Caucasus politically and economically. The acknowledgment by our enemies of their past barbarity would go some way in safeguarding the development of the Republic of Armenia regionally. And if that in itself is not a common ground for a broader national struggle to somehow keep the identity intact, then I fear the potential of the next 100 years will be lost in stalemate.
A strong republic that is appreciated for its worth on the international stage and by its neighbors is the most effective platform from which to assert and exercise our inalienable rights in the lands of Western Armenia, Cilicia, Pokr Hayk (Lesser Armenia); bring the Hamshen Armenians back into the national fold; and find a just solution to the national rights of the Armenians in Javakhk.
If this past Centennial marked our rebirth as a nation, then let the next 100 years mark our consolidation as a nation with a republic that even our ancient monarchs would be envious of.
But that all starts with ridding ourselves of petty delusions and misplaced arrogance. It’s time to concentrate on the ills within our society.
…if you thought that the struggle for genocide recognition—and more importantly, compensation—was only about Turkey coming to terms with its past, then you are once again mistaken. It is also about securing Armenia’s rightful position in the Caucasus politically and economically. The acknowledgment by our enemies of their past barbarity would go some way in safeguarding the development of the Republic of Armenia regionally.
In today’s socio-political reality in Armenia, the government has carved out a state where its affiliates plunder the nation’s riches and feed into its corruption.
If Siamanto were alive today, he’d revise: “Ov Hayots artarutyun, togh tknem ko jagadin” (O, Armenian justice, let me spit in your face).
And if some of you do not find common identity in this struggle for the soul of the republic, then your usefulness ended on April 24, 2015.
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