The Daily Star, Lebanon
Aug 12 2004
Lebanese students travel to Spain to raise awareness of Armenian
genocide
Youths gathered at annual festival use venue for open discussion
While agreement is not always achieved, openness and mutual respect
abound
By David Munir Nabti
Special to The Daily Star
Friday, August 13, 2004
BARCELONA, Spain: Close to 10,000 young people have gathered in
Barcelona for the 3rd World Youth Festival, holding intense
discussions on complex and controversial global events, interspersed
with friendly encounters, social gatherings and music and dancing
from around the world.
However, despite feelings of solidarity and cooperation that are
clearly evident among most of the young people participating in this
event, conflict and controversy is unavoidable at an event of this
size, populated with active, engaged and energetic young people from
all corners of the globe.
Taline Ladayan, a sociology student at Universite St. Esprit Kaslik
in Lebanon, is one of several Lebanese attending the Festival. Back
in Beirut, when she’s not engrossed in her studies, she works with
other Lebanese of Armenian descent to draw attention to the treatment
of Armenians in the early part of the 20th century, in the waning
years of the Ottoman Empire.
“We are trying to let the world know about the Armenian genocide,”
Ladayan explained. “We want Turkey to recognize the atrocities,
because that is a step closer to peace, to a peaceful world, and
making sure something like that doesn’t ever happen again.”
Ladayan came to Barcelona to help spread that message to young people
from other parts of the world, to try to build awareness and
understanding for a largely unknown situation, and to “help build a
world with more peace and justice.” Different perspectives and
challenging opinions, however, are a prevalent aspect of this
gathering.
Several Turkish youth took issue with some of the materials and
information that Ladayan and her group were distributing.
Esra and Sebnem, both 21 and studying at the Middle East Technical
University in Ankara, Turkey, were open to discussion and wanted to
explain their views, but did not want to give their last names.
Esra explained that she and her friend “are not nationalists and we
know that many bad things happened under the Ottomans, but we are
against the references to Turkey, the word genocide and the numbers
they are giving are really exaggerated,” referring to the statistic
of 1.5 million Armenians killed under Ottoman rule during World War I
in an effort to ethnically cleanse Armenians from the Ottoman empire.
Even more frustrating for Esra and Sebnem is the feeling that, as
Turkish people are trying to improve their country, the issue of the
treatment of Armenians in the past constantly hinders their movement.
“We do not deny our heritage, but whenever Turkey becomes more
qualified in the eyes of the global community,” Sebnem said,
“Armenians say that Turkish history is very bad. Turkey is then
denied any sort of advancement. These actions support the backward
attitudes in Turkey.”
Esra added that “in the process of joining the European Union many
things are changing, but many people cannot see that. Turkey has a
lot of problems, we do not deny this. We are not in the Middle East
and we are not in Europe. We are something different.
“Armenian people always say we are doing bad things, and we do not
have a strong lobby, we do not explain ourselves well,” she said.
Ladayan appreciated the frustration that Esra and Sebnem were
voicing, and again offered a suggestion as to how to resolve the
conflict.
“The long-standing conflict between Turkey and Armenians should end,”
Ladayan said. “Turkey should recognize and pay for the suffering they
caused, and then we can move on.”
After a heated discussion, Ladayan agreed to change her materials
referring to Turkey, and instead have them refer to the Ottoman
empire. Beyond that, however, they mostly agreed to disagree. The
encounter was positive, though.
Ladayan said she spoke with another Turkish participant earlier in
the day, and after their heated conversation, “We were nice to each
other. We were friends. We even shook hands at the end.”
Hovig Kouyoumdjian, another Lebanese student attending the Festival
and working with Ladayan, said these encounters are important, even
if most disagreements are not resolved on the spot. “I see in this
event the leaders of the future,” Kouyoumdjian said.
“Reconciliation starts in places like this. It is in the hearts and
minds of people.”