‘Facts should drive’ Genocide analysis, says UN Ambassador-nominee Samantha Power

July 19, 2013 By administrator

UN Ambassador-nominee Samantha Power said during her confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday that “facts should drive” analysis of Genocide, Asbarez reported.

This came in response to a series of questions from committee chairman, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), who was probing Power’s position on Genocide, given her past record of being an advocate for Armenian Genocide recognition.

Power played an instrumental role in getting Sen. Obama to issue a strongly-worded statement on the Armenian Genocide and Armenian issues in general during Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. She also made a video in which she recounted Sen. Obama’s outstanding record on issues of special concern to Armenian Americans, including his “very forthright statement on the Armenian Genocide; his support for the Senate Resolution acknowledging the Genocide; his willingness as President to commemorate it and call a ’spade a spade’; and to speak the truth about it.”

Power failed to deliver—just as the Obama Administration—on her pledge to get US recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

“Is genocide, genocide when all of the facts that we observe would lead to a conclusion that a genocide has taken place, or is that only when it is convenient to acknowledge it as genocide?” asked Menendez.

“The former, the facts should drive the analysis,” responded Power.

“And if the facts drive the analysis, then we should call that set of actions–whether historical in nature or present, god forbid–in reality a genocide,” queried Menendez.

“I believe so, yes,” said Power.

“Is violation of human rights a violation of human rights depending upon where it takes place, or is it universal?” asked Menendez, to which Power responded: “Universal, sir.”

“I think you understand why I asked you those questions. And I hope that your past history in this regard–even in the context of understanding the new role that you’ll play–will not diminish your fire for making the case internally why genocide should be called genocide when the historical facts attain themselves to that standard,” Menendez told Power, who had no response to the statement.

Menendez told Power that he is “incredibly appreciative of the principled position you’ve taken on the Armenian Genocide.”

At the start of the highly anticipated and widely broadcast hearing, Chairman Menendez noted that, “You have been an unrelenting, principled voice when it comes to human rights and crimes against humanity – and I know that voice will be heard around the world — should you be confirmed,” adding: “Personally, I am incredibly appreciative of the principled position you’ve taken on the Armenian Genocide. In 2007, you wrote in Time Magazine – ‘a stable, fruitful, 21st century relationship’ [with Turkey] cannot be built on a lie,’ and I completely agree,” reported the Armenian National Committee of America.

The New Jersey Democrat also stressed that, “Your belief that we should use the lessons of what clearly was an atrocity of historic proportions to prevent future crimes against humanity is a view consistent with my own and which is supported by your role on the President’s Atrocities Prevention Board. I agree that we must acknowledge and study the past, understand how and why atrocities happen, to put-into-practice and giving meaning to the phrase, “never again.”
In 2003, Power received the Pulitzer Prize in literature for the best general non-fiction book was awarded to Samantha Power for her book “A Problem from Hell: America in the Age of Genocide.”

Power’s book revisited the Armenian Genocide–the Holocaust–Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge–Iraqi attacks on Kurdish populations–Rwanda–and Bosnian ethnic cleansing. Power makes a compelling argument that US intervention in all these instances of genocide has been inadequate.

‘No justice, equality or freedom for Armenians’ – Radikal blogger

July 19, 2013 By administrator

Senan Porteron, a blogger for the Turkey-based Radikal newspaper, who spend his childhood in Baku, Azerbaijan, tells about attitude to Armenians both in Baku and in Turkey.

Below are excerpts from his article.

“I was eleven. There was a very old building in our neighborhood in those days. That was a historical building, and no one lived there. One day, my father and I went to see the building. There were inscriptions in Armenian on the rear of the building. My father told me the building was left by Armenians.

“A few months later that building was destroyed, and a new 16-story building was constructed on the site. I was upset when I saw it destroyed. That must have been the only thing to remind you of Armenians. The day it was pulled down my father told me about their Armenian neighbors. They were very kind and hospitable people. They were on the same wave.

“Years passed. You can feel only hatred for Armenians in Baku, mainly among young people. Ramil Safarov is a glaring example. He got a life term for murdering a sleeping Armenian officer. However, justice did not triumph because the victim was Armenian. On August 31, 2012, Safarov was extradited to Azerbaijan and pardoned by President Ilham Aliyev.

“In Turkey the situation is not much different that in Azerbaijan. Everyone is speaking of ‘Armenians’ in an insulting manner. As years pass, the number of Armenians is decreasing, their culture is being destroyed. Armenians are pressed and called ‘strangers’. Armenians have not seen justice, equality or freedom. Unfortunately, they do not see it now either.

“Almost 100 years have passed since the 1915 Armenian Genocide, but the society has not changed. Some people are still seeking to wipe out Armenian culture. An action has been launched to save the remaining 20 Armenian houses in Mus.

“The destruction of Armenians’ property is a continuation of the genocide. Property of Armenians and Greeks is being plundered both in Mus and in other cities.”

According to the book entitled ‘Les Arméniens dans l’Empire ottoman à la veille du genocide’ by Raymond Haroutioun Kévorkian and Paul B. Paboudjian, in 1915 Mus had 299 churches, 94 monasteries, 53 places of sacred places, 135 Armenian schools and a cemetery. The Armenian population in 355 villages totaled 75,000.

Sen. Menendez praises Samantha Power’s stance on Genocide

July 19, 2013 By administrator

July 19, 2013 – 10:36 AMT

Senator Robert Menendez, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, opened his hearing on the confirmation of Samantha Power to serve as U.N. Ambassador by telling her that he is “incredibly appreciative of the principled position you’ve taken on the Armenian Genocide,” reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

Armenian Genocide Museum construction launched in Uruguay

July 19, 2013 By administrator

July 19, 2013 – 11:48 AMT

The construction of Armenian Genocide Museum in Uruguay was launched on Wednesday July 17. The Museum, organized by the Ministry of Education and Culture and members of the Armenian community, will open on April 24, 2015, on the Genocide Centennial Anniversary.

The Museum will be the first one created by initiative of a State outside the territory of Armenia.

Uruguayan Undersecretary of Education, Oscar Gomez, said that the initiative “ratifies the Uruguayan policy of defense of human rights”. Gomez recalled that Uruguay was the first country in the world to recognize the Genocide in 1965.

“The Museum will not only refer to the Armenian Genocide, but also to the defense of human rights in general and the recognition of other genocides, such as the Holocaust or the Africans genocide during slavery”, he added.

Ukraine is mature enough to express its position on Armenian Genocide – Ukrainian political scientist

July 19, 2013 By administrator

July 12, 2013 | 11:18

Commenting on the submission—to the Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Council; i.e., the Parliament) of Ukraine—of the bill to recognize the Armenian Genocide, well-known Ukrainian political analyst Vyacheslav Pikhovshek stated that he will be in favor of its adoption.

“It is important for me that this is done not solely because of the political conjuncture, but that it is accompanied with some explanatory work,” the analyst stressed, Analitika.at.ua reports.

“This matter is known to the Ukrainians. We remember that the ‘black chapters’ of history were covered up as much as possible during the Soviet time, albeit these wounds continued to cause pain.

“To my recollection, the Ukrainian parliament has never spoken [about] and has never expressed an official position with regard to this matter. It seems to me that a balanced decision needs to be made. It seems to me we [i.e., the Ukrainians] have matured in our view to express on the Armenian Genocide,” the political scientist stressed.

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, a bill on the Armenian Genocide’s recognition was registered on June 6 in the Verkhovna Rada. Ukrainian parliament members Arsen Avakov and Vilen Shatvoryan are the persons behind this law proposal.

Jews must be first to recognize Armenian Genocide – Israeli historian Yair Auron

July 17, 2013 By administrator

Today, President Serzh Sargsyan received Yair Auron, an Israeli historian and specialist of genocide studies, the Armenian presidential press service reports.

The Armenian version of his The Banality of Indifference book, which is based on the extensive research of the archive materials, has recently been presented in Yerevan. Present at the meeting was also the former member of the Knesset, former Minister of Immigrant Absorption Yair Tzaban.

President Serzh Sargsyan extended his congratulations on the publication of the Armenian version of The Banality of Indifference and expressed gratitude to Yair Auron for his invaluable work and exertion. The President of Armenia underscored that many of the Jewish intellectuals have been standing side by side with the Armenian nation, sharing the Armenians’ grief and tragedy, taking interest in our nation’s problems. Serzh Sargsyan noted that it would be hard to name one by one all those Jewish intellectuals who have spoken about the Armenian Genocide and said that the modern Israeli historian Yair Auron with his significant work is one of them.

Yair Auron thanked the President of Armenia for his warm words and for the affection and appreciation showed to him by the Armenian public during the days of his visit. He said that all this gives him a new impetus to carry on with his struggle. The Israeli historian underscored that he shares Armenians’ pain first, because of the genocide our nation was subjected to and second, for the policy of unconcern manifested toward that despicable crime. He said that he and a number of progressive Jewish intellectuals are fighting against such policies. According to Yair Auron, the Jews must be the first to recognize the Armenian Genocide. He noted that in recent years, there has been a considerable change of attitude in his country’s civil society and expressed hope that it will also influence the current policies.

***

In his book, historian Yair Auron has documented the situation of the two national minorities – the Armenians and the Jews, in the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 20^thcentury, political forces, a complicated balance of morals and pragmatism, and analyzed the attitude of the Jewish community of Palestine and leaders of the Zionist movement toward the Armenian Genocide.

Genocide Was Prelude to the Holocaust, Israeli Historian Says

July 16, 2013 By administrator

Yerevan—Israeli writer Yair Auron and ex-parliamentarian Yair Tzaban have arrived in Armenia at the invitation of the Union of Writers of Armenia. In his book titled Banality of Indifference, the Israeli historian speaks about the Armenian Genocide for the first time in the history of Israel. The book says the Genocide of the Armenians was the prelude to the Holocaust. Genocide studies expert Auron expresses his dismay at the behavior of the Israeli authorities. According to him, it is not acceptable to speak about one’s own tragedy and forget the similar pain of other nations. Zori Balayan has written the introduction to the book. The Armenian publication of the book has been released thanks to Moscow-based businessman Karen Baghdasaryan.

“By failing to recognize the genocides inflicted on other nations, we demean the Holocaust. We are obliged to respect the memories of other peoples and must discuss the Armenian Genocide on the parliamentary level,” Yair Auron told a press conference in Yerevan.

Using archived materials, the author of the book analyzes the attitudes of the Jewish community of Palestine and the leaders of the Zionist movement towards the Armenian Genocide at the turn of the last century.

“With this book I expressed my protest against the official stance of Israel, which is unacceptable,” the author said.

Auron said, however, that there have been changes in Israeli diplomacy. “The Israeli Knesset has been discussing the Armenian Genocide issue for the eighth year in a row, and this is a great achievement, as the issue had never been put on the agenda before,” he added.

The historian said the behavior of the Israeli government is immoral. “Israel has no right to deny the Armenian Genocide because of its past,” Auron said.

Ex-member of the Knesset, Yair Tzaban, underlined, in turn, that Israel does not recognize the Armenian Genocide because of diplomatic considerations regarding Turkey; considerations which are in pursuit of military and economic interests.

“For twenty-four years now I have been struggling for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. I was the first minister to visit the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem and participate in the events dedicated to the Armenian Genocide,” Yair Tzaban said.

Armenian Genocide was justified and lawful – Turkey’s ex-president

July 14, 2013 By administrator

July 13, 2013 | 00:04

In the report which was signed by Kenan Evren, who had come to power in Turkey as a result of the military coup in 1980 and who became the country’s seventh president, the Armenian Genocide was noted as “justified and lawful.”

Extremely harsh sentences are written about the Armenians in the “Turkey’s Internal Threat” report, which the Turkish Armed Forces Chief of Staff has forwarded to the trial on the military coup, writes Radikal daily of Turkey.

The report, which was prepared three months before the military coup, was signed by Evren.

In the report, Armenians were accused of treason in connection with the events that occurred in 1914 and 1915, and it was noted that what was done to the Armenians in 1915 was justified and lawful.

Also in the report, the loss of Armenian lives was estimated at 50,000-100,000, at the same time adding that the loss of Turkish lives was considerably more.

Turkey: The fate of 5 Milion non-Muslim and Armenian Massacre by: Zeynep TOZDUMAN

July 13, 2013 By administrator

July 13, 2013

By: Zeynep TOZDUMAN

see below Turkish version

5 million from the fate of the Armenian Massacre

Massacre in 1915 changed the fate of the non-Muslim peoples in Turkey, in particular, more than half of the Armenian population by the central committee of the Young Turk Party for 12 people, through the Special Organization by the destruction carried out in such a short period of 16 months.

Crimes of humanity in this country in 1915, but yurtsuzlaştırma the economy and metruke’lere emval-i and the seizure of bank accounts, etc. economic and cultural-historical genocide marked as a black stain.

The Assembly plenary session held on June 10, 1915 by disabling the temporary confiscation and expropriation law, the parliamentary committee responsible for the financial affairs of the relocated Armenians edildi.Yasa considered, including bank accounts, ‘left behind’ the confiscation of property rights were recognized. Dışılılık compliance with the law, under the law, given that the decision of the Turkish Parliament, even criticism, but it could be caused by sporadic.
Faced with protests in parliament until 1918 Senator Ahmed Riza would say many times in one session. Emval-mentioned goods behind by the show as” kanunsuzluktur. Because of this property is determined in the owners did not leave willingly, they were forcibly, extracted with algebra. Government officials through their possessions sattırıyor now. 21 of this Constitution, contrary to article … It is a tyranny. Keep me in the arm, out at my village, then sell my property and possession, it is not permissible to no time.”
In June 1915 the amount of the value of the Ottoman government treasury banosuna invested 5 million Turkish liras. This investment is then entrusted to Berlin and Vienna, as gold was to be secured. This money Ottoman, European banks to be used after the war had made the investment. Passing up the opportunity into the hands of Germany, the Ottoman official debt immediately singled out the money. Because of the German credit institutions and banks in the first quarter of 1915-1916 due to the loans granted to the Armenians, the lending institutions suffered huge losses, financial losses by declaring that the 5 million mark, did not return the money.

5 million lira sent to Berlin by the Turkish government to protect a part of the sale of Armenian women and children, have been obtained. (1915 Armenian Genocide in the process of captive markets for the sale of women and children in need in areas where the military has been organized for the brothels. (Mardin To give an example, in front of the military commander of the slave market) Missed, haremlerinde confiscated and kept enslaved Muslim women, seizure of the Armenian gene pool application, the use of free labor alongside their men were killed and their women and children as sex slaves by destroying the fertility of the Armenian people running, ie the elimination of one of the most important pillars of the genocide. sexual slavery, genocide, and then finds a wide application area in the region. sexual slavery also one of the organizers of the aracıdır.Seks enrichment area and slavery, slave owners Besides being a means of enrichment, it has also been used as a means of humiliation of slavery also) ‘1

Armenians from Turkey and müttefikilerinin murderous policies, not only their lives, but economies have lost their homeland. After the defeat of triple alliance, confiscations of property stolen from the public were Armenian.
In the meantime, the newly founded Republic of Turkey, Dec. 26, 1925, the government statement, the process is guided by the Young Turks, which was destroyed by the Kemalists” elements” goods confiscated and continued state level.
The question of the fate of five million lira, was introduced at the end of September 1924, the Treaty of Lausanne. After the Germans confiscated by the British as to what the fate of five million lira, wrote a letter to Mary Terzyan 10 October 1944, Stanley Baldwin. Baldwin copy of the memorandum for the year 1924, the British government through the invisible forces, not to Cadogan proposed. The fate of five million of money, so that Mary remained inconclusive attempt Terzyan’nın. Financial obligation to the genocide of the second letter addressed his letter to Lord Halifax, Britain’s ambassador to Washington, has been raised for the second time. Turkey in Berlin, the German Bank (Deutsche Bank) and then transferred to London’s five million pounds of the” What happened to the Armenians?” in vain sought the answer to the question. ‘2
Here in England, stole Armenians by Turks in Germany, London, transporting and keep the 5 million pounds of gold, onion, peeled and conversion of the victims of the genocide is not only Germany was complicit in the United Kingdom. Not restricted to abet. British government officials, the British insurance companies and a variety of people carry their financial obligations towards the Armenians before the war, prevented the fulfillment of the.
The most obvious example of this, the star of life and property insurance company may Assurance Company. No payment in accordance with the agreements with the Armenians so far has done hundreds or even thousands of cases.
The blood of an innocent people who would not have gotten the money to anyone. Until this money returned to the descendants of the Armenian people living in these days it is until the money eventually burn them.

If the time-out is how to crimes against humanity, crimes against humanity madurların the economic claims of the timeout can not be processed. This is contrary to the dialectics of the capitalist economy. These days, living in Australia, Europe and America and the Armenian diaspora in the countries they live parlementolarına simultaneously bringing up the issue of 5 million coins can be disposed of fate and a step towards the collection, I think.
It is my conviction that the crime committed against the Armenian people stop before the international area, then that should be condemned by the legislative bodies and the Government of the Republic of Turkey, Turkey’s financial demands, but also can come up.

Zeynep TOZDUMAN

1-Genocide Laboratory study: Mardin 1915 Çetinoğlu Sait.
2-Proceedings, Relocation and Disposal”” massacres of Christians in the Ottoman Empire between 1912-1922 Compiled by: Tessa Hofmann

Turkish Version:

Ermeni Katliamı ile elde edilen 5 milyonun akibeti

Türkiye’deki gayri müslim halkların kaderini değiştiren 1915 katliamı; özellikle Ermeni nüfusunun yarıdan fazlası Jön Türk Partisinin 12 kişilik merkez komitesi tarafından, Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa aracılığı ile 16 ay gibi kısa bir süre içinde imha ederek gerçekleştirmiştir.

1915’de bu ülkede insanlık suçuyla birlikte, yurtsuzlaştırma,ekonomiye ve emval-i metruke’lere ve de banka hesaplarına el konulması v.b. gibi ekonomik ve kültürel- tarihsel soykırıma damgasını vuran kara bir lekedir.

10 Haziran 1915’te ki meclisde yapılan oturumda genel kurul devre dışı bırakılarak gecici müsadere ve kamulaştırma kanunu, mali işlerden sorumlu parlemento komisyonunda kabul edildi.Yasa tehcir edilen Ermenilerin banka hesapları da dahil, ‘geride kalan ‘ mallarına el konulması hakkını tanıyordu. Hukuka uygunluk görüntüsü altında karar verilen bu yasa dışılılık, Türk parlementosu’nda bile eleştirilere, ancak tek tük neden olabildi.
1918’e kadar defalarca parlementoda protestolara karşılaşan senatör Ahmet Rıza şöyle diyordu bir oturumda. ” sözü edilen malları emval-i metruke olarak göstermek kanunsuzluktur. Çünkü bu emvalin sahipleri mallarını isteyerek terk etmemişler, onlar yerlerinden zorla, cebir ile çıkartılmıştır. Hükümet şimdi onların mallarını memurları vasıtasıyla sattırıyor. Bu anayasa’nın 21. maddesine aykırıdır… Bu bir zulümdür . Beni kolumdan tut, köyümden dışarı at, sonra da malımı ve mülkümü sat; bu, hiçbir vakit caiz değildir.”
Osmanlı hükümeti 1915 Haziran’ında 5 milyon Türk lirası değerindeki miktarı hazine banosuna yatırım yapmıştı. Bu yatırım daha sonra Berlin ve Viyana’da emanetlere altın olarak güvence altına alınması için konuldu. Osmanlı bu parayı, savaştan sonra kullanmak üzere avrupa bankalarına yatırım yapmıştı. Eline fırsat geçen Almanya, bu parayı hemen Osmanlının resmi borcuna saydı. Çünkü, Alman kredi kuruluş ve bankalarının 1915-1916 yılının ilk üç ayında Ermenilere verilen krediler nedeniyle, kredi veren kuruluşların büyük zarara uğradıkları, maddi kayıplarının 5 milyon mark olduğunu bildirerek parayı iade etmedi.

Türk hükümeti tarafından korunması için Berlin’e gönderilen 5 milyon liranın bir kısmı, Ermeni kadın ve çocukların satışından elde edilmiştir. ( 1915 Soykırımı sürecinde Ermeni kadınların ve çocukların satılması için esir pazarlarının olduğu yerlerde askerin ihtiyacı için genelevler organize edilmiştir. (Bir örnek verecek olursak Mardin Askeri komutanlığı önündeki köle pazarı) Kaçırılan, el konan ve esir edilen kadınların Müslüman haremlerinde tutulması, Ermeni gen havuzuna el konma uygulaması, bedava işgücü olarak kullanılmasının yanında Erkeklerinin öldürülerek kadınlarını ve çocuklarını da seks kölesi olarak çalıştırılması Ermeni halkını doğurganlığını yok ederek, ortadan kaldırılması yani Soykırımın önemli ayaklarından biridir. Seks köleliği Soykırım ve sonrasında bölgede geniş bir uygulama alanı bulmaktadır. Seks köleliği ayrıca organizatörleri açısından da bir zenginleşme alanı ve aracıdır.Seks köleliğinin, köle sahiplerinin zenginleşmesinin aracı olmasının yanında, bu köleliğin ayrıca bir aşağılanma aracı olarak da kullanılmıştır)’1

Ermeniler, Türkiye ve müttefikilerinin katliamcı politikaları sonucu; sadece yaşamlarını, vatanlarını değil ekonomilerini de kaybettiler. Üçlü ittifak yenilgisinden sonra, çalınan Ermeni mallarının gaspına da ortak oldular.
Bu arada yeni kurulan T.C, 26 Aralık 1925’te hükümet açıklamasıyla, jön Türkler tarafından yön verilen süreci, Kemalistler’de imha edilen ”unsurların ” mallarına devlet katında el konularak devam ettirdi.
5 milyon liranın akibeti sorusu, lozan antlaşmasının 1924 Eylül sonunda ortaya atıldı. Almanlardan sonra ingilizlerin el koyduğu 5 milyon liranın akıbetinin ne olduğu konusunda, Mary Terzyan 10 Ekim 1944’te Stanley Baldwin’e bir mektup yazmıştır. Baldwin’e 1924 yılına ait memorandumun kopyasını, İngiliz hükümeti aracılığı ile görünmez güçler, Cadogan vermemesi önerisinde bulunmuştur. 5 milyon paranın akibeti, Mary Terzyan’nın girişimi de böylece sonuçsuz kalmıştır. Soykırımın maddi yükümlülüğüne ait ikinci mektup İngiltere’nin Washington’daki elçisi lord Halifax’a hitaben yazdığı mektupla ikinci kez gündeme gelmiştir. Türkiye’den, Berlin’deki Alman Bankası’na ( Deutsche Bank ) ve daha sonra Londra’ya havale edilen ”Ermenilere ait beş milyon liraya ne oldu ”? sorusuna beyhude cevap aradı.’2
Burada İngiltere, Türk’lerin Ermeni’lerden çalıp Almanya’da muhafaza ettiği 5 milyon altın lirayı Londra’ya nakletmesi, soykırım kurbanlarının soyulup soğana çevrilmesinde sadece Almanya’yı değil İngiltere’yi de suç ortağı yapmıştır. Suç ortaklığı kadarla da sınırlı kalmadı. İngiliz devlet adamları, çeşitli ingiliz sigorta şirketleri ve kişilerin savaş öncesinde Ermenilere karşı taşıdıkları mali yükümlülüklerini, yerine getirmelerini de engellediler.
Bunun en bariz örneği olarak, hayat ve mülk sigortası yapan star Assurance Company şirketi gösterebilir. Ermenilere yapılan sözleşmelere uygun olarak bu güne kadar hiçbir ödemenin yapılmadığı yüzlerce hatta binlerce vaka vardır.
Mazlum bir halkın kanıyla kazanılmış para kimseye yaramaz. Ta ki bu para Ermeni halkının bu gün yaşayan torunlarına iade edilinceye kadar o para, onları er geç yakacaktır.

İnsanlık suçlarında nasıl ki zaman aşımı yoksa, madurların insanlık suçu işlendikten sonra da ekonomik alacaklarında zaman aşımı olamaz. Bu kapitalist ekonominin diyalektiğine de terstir. Bu gün Avrupa ve Amerika ve de Avustralya’da yaşayan Ermeni diasporasının, yaşadıkları ülkelerin parlementolarına bu konuyu eş zamanlı gündeme getirerek 5 milyon paralarının akıbetleri ve tahsili yolunda bir adım atılabilirler diye düşünüyorum.
İnancım o dur ki Ermeni halkına karşı işlenen suçun önce Uluslar arası alanda, sonra da Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Hükümeti ve yasama organları tarafından mahkum edilmeli ki, Türkiye’deki maddi talepleri de ancak gündeme gelebilsin.

ZEYNEP TOZDUMAN

1-Soykırımı Laboratuvarında incelemek: Mardin 1915 Sait Çetinoğlu.
2-Takibat, Techir ve İmha ”Osmanlı imparatorluğu’nda 1912-1922 yılları arasında Hıristiyanlara yönelik katliamlar ” Derleyen: Tessa Hofmann

Sojourn to Western Armenia: From Ancient Cities to Modern Realities

July 9, 2013 By administrator

BY MARIA TITIZIAN

We left the now-beloved city of Ani behind, but a secret promise was made to return one day only for her. Spending a few hours in that once majestic Armenian capital currently on Turkish territory was fiercely unfair to its history, heritage and legacy…it warranted days, weeks perhaps even a lifetime of introspection and discovery. That was one of the first lessons that I learned on this trip to Western Armenia.

As we drove away Ani got smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared from view. Our van now sped along the lonely stretch of highway toward Doğubayazıt. Crudely made houses, mostly out of mud, had several satellite dishes mounted on their roofs. The juxtaposition of the modern with the ancient left me feeling slightly bewildered, it felt as though we were at the juncture where the old met the new with no common language to bridge the divide. The homeowners and landowners in this region of Turkey were not Turks but Kurds. In fact, most of present-day Western Armenia is inhabited by Turkish-Kurds…

As we drove along the slopes of Mount Ararat we could see the hardened lava flows resulting from volcanic eruptions. Nothing grew there, it almost looked like the surface of some other worldly planet pockmarked with craters and meandering crevices. It was strange to be so close to Ararat and yet so impossibly far. It was also on this point of the journey that we saw Yerevan for the first time from Western Armenia. So often we talk about Mt. Ararat being so close from Yerevan that we feel the need to reach out and touch it…this time I wanted so much to reach out to Yerevan…

In the late afternoon we arrived in Doğubayazıt which lies southwest of Mount Ararat. It was a messy, dirty city teeming with cars, motorbikes and bicycles. We saw a family of five on a motorbike; the father driving, the mother behind him, holding an infant and two more children holding on to their mother for dear life. From Doğubayazıt the smaller of Ararat’s two peaks was almost completely hidden. A large oval shaped cloud sat atop the main peak, resembling a hat as streaks of red and orange pierced the sky as the sun was settling in for the night. We spent the evening in Doğubayazıt, preparing ourselves for the next day’s journey to the city of Van where we would visit the Fortress of Van and then take a short boat ride to Akhtamar Island.

Early the next morning, we began our journey to Van. We were following an old map, trying to make sure we were on the right road. I can’t recall how long it took us to finally see the beautiful shores of Lake Van but I do remember the unbridled excitement in the van when we did see it. It was almost too much to bear. We quickly told the driver to stop so that we could get our first impression of this historic lake. The fusion of discovery and loss was slowly becoming a common theme on this trip. We continued on till we reached the city of Van where our first stop was going to be the famous fortress.

The Van Fortress or Citadel is a colossal and imposing structure built between the 9th and 7th centuries BC by the ancient kingdom of Urartu (prehistoric Iron Age Armenian kingdom centered in Lake Van in the Armenian Highlands).

The fortress was ominous, it could easily provide the perfect backdrop to a nightmare. The sky was overcast and there was a wind that cut to the bone. As we began climbing up, flocks of crows would swoop down upon us and then veer skyward. One of my friends commented that he had heard from someone that crows never leave the site where tragedy had taken place…I was having difficulty breathing not from the climb but from the strange energy that seemed to engulf the structure. I needed to descend, to escape the haunting quality of the place when a small Kurdish boy approached me and started speaking Turkish. I shook my head and said, “Ermeni.” He immediately switched to English and began regurgitating a memorized historical monologue about how the Armenians had once lived here…I quietly listened to him and then began climbing down to escape the suffocating aura of the citadel.

Once we had reassembled at the base of the fortress, a group of local Kurds approached the men in our group and through our Kurdish interpreter wanted to know if we had “the maps” with us. By this they meant had we come to dig up our forefathers’ golds and riches long known (to them) to have been buried at the foot of the fortress before they were massacred or forced off their historic lands. I was nervously watching this warped interchange, feeling sick to my stomach. The Kurds told us to come back at midnight with “the map” to dig up the treasure, which we would then divide equally amongst us….We agreed but never returned. The idea was a knife that cut to our hearts.

The next day, we headed toward the small dock where a boat would take us to the island of Akhtamar where we would finally get to see the 10th century Cathedral Church of the Holy Cross, a masterpiece of Armenian church architecture…The exterior of the church is covered in bas-relief carvings depicting scenes from the Bible. We could not enter the church because it was under renovation by the government of Turkey. We were able to explore the island where we stumbled upon countless stone crosses and other artifacts strewn about. The island was covered with almond trees and as we roamed about the grounds we felt suspended in time and space. Our friend brought almonds back to Armenia with him from Akhtamar Island. He planted them on his property, where they continue to live and thrive today. We filled old water bottles with soil which we also brought back and mixed with our soil in Armenia. We collected pieces of rocks and stones, took videos and photos and stood on the cliffs of the island to let the spirit of the lake fill our lungs and feed our souls. The overwhelming sense of loss that I had felt in Ani did not follow me here to the island…here, I felt light and radiant, and instead of loss, the discovery of the Holy Cross Church, of this spectacular monument that had somehow survived the onslaught of hatred and annihilation filled me with pride.

We left the island and returned to the sand-covered beach by the dock. My husband announced that he had not come all this way not to dip his feet into the waters of Lake Van and proceeded to take off his shoes and socks, rolled up his pants and walked into the frigid waters. In his hand he had two water bottles which he proceeded to fill with the salty waters of the lake while I stayed a safe distance inland to videotape his labors. Talking incessantly while filming to ensure that our children had a recorded memento of our trip to the “other side of the border” a strong wave unexpectedly rolled in, almost knocking my husband over and completely derailing my plans for staying dry. It was the first time we had laughed in days and truly felt light hearted as the waves kept coming…it was as though the lake was sending us a message, beseeching us to return. I will never forget that moment full of such joy and an almost irreverent peacefulness and oneness with our history.

When he left Van, we drove through the cities of Mush, Erzerum, Ardvin and then on to Hopa on the shores of the Black Sea until we crossed the border into Georgia and spent the night in Batumi.

The stories along the way are countless. We traveled back in time, through time and with the spirit and love, memories and narratives of our grandparents on our shoulders. We witnessed greatness and loss, we saw the ghostly towns and cities of our forefathers now inhabited by Kurds and Turks. We saw churches that had been destroyed or converted into mosques or had undergone controversial “renovations.” We had lived and breathed the past with all its trajectories.

Among the multi-layered stories and experiences we were blessed with on this journey, a particular one will forever stay with me. One of our friends discovered that in the dark forgotten recesses of her memory, she had stored much of the Turkish language she had heard as a child from her grandmother and which she thought she had forever lost. As the days wore on and as we moved from city to city, traveling through the past, she slowly began to remember and by the time we reached the city of Hopa she was able to converse in Turkish. I wonder how deeply and profoundly she must have been affected by this journey to be able to recall a language she thought was lost… such was the power of the past.

For my part, the defining moment was when we approached the Armenian border. It was bittersweet because I desperately wanted to get back to Yerevan where we had left our children alone for the first time ever yet I knew that our very short sojourn into the past was coming to an end. I would be entering the borders of present-day Armenia but what I didn’t know is that I would be making the re-entry as a different person. We got out of the car to present our passports and clear Armenian customs. I had to suppress the urge to walk up to the young Armenian soldiers at the border and embrace them and thank them for protecting all that is left of the ancient Armenian Kingdom…for I had see all that we had lost and because I had seen it, I appreciated even more what is left. I appreciated it with my heart and my head for I finally began to understand the value of what it meant to have an independent state.

This is the message, the story, the narrative that I want to impart. Without ceasing to demand for the restoration of our historical rights, we need to simultaneously and with the same passion embrace the Armenia we have today. We have to accept it and love it and put aside unrealistic expectations and faulty notions. It is not the homeland that existed in the dreams of our grandparents, it never will be. We have to create and construct the modern homeland of our dreams, not theirs. We are living the dream. We are free and independent, we have the makings for democracy, stability and prosperity, we have the institutions and the resources, we just now need to find the will, define the mechanisms, and utilize our capacity to make it stronger and better. This is the burden of our generation, of the Armenians living in the homeland and in the Diaspora. The historical imperative to move forward with a new narrative has never been so pressing then it is today. I cannot imagine nor do I want to imagine a day that these liberated lands that I have the honor to walk on become a story of loss and memory…