Armenian-Americans march at Capitol for recognition of genocide
By Parth Gejji

The Daily Texan, TX
May 3 2005

Seeking acknowledgement, 90 years later

Some came in buses. Some came in cars. Some ventured forth from San
Antonio, others from Houston and Dallas; both young and old alike.
They all gathered in the hall of the First United Methodist Church in
downtown Austin on a Saturday afternoon. They were there to be heard;
to commemorate the anniversary of a wound that still hasn’t healed,
left many dead and embittered the relations between two nations.

On April 23, nearly 400 Armenian-Americans marched to the Capitol to
commemorate 90 years since the deaths of many Armenians at the hands
of the Ottoman Empire. This event is sometimes called the Armenian
genocide. The protesters called for an official acknowledgment, by
both Turkey and the United States, that the events that took place
during the year of World War I should be labeled as a genocide.

“Our biggest impact is [that] we are able to raise the consciousness
of the people [about] what happened in the past,” said Father Vazken
Movsesian, a member of the Armenian Church Youth Ministries.

The protesters’ cause is not a new one. Yet, the march on April 23
marked another attempt by Armenian-Americans to change U.S. policy
regarding the acknowledgment of the death of Armenians in World War
I as a genocide. Generations of advocates have called for a Turkish
admission of the genocide, but the government continues to refute its
existence, which has caused years of uneasiness between the Armenian
and Turkish people.

The events of 1915-1922

Armenia, a country measuring slightly smaller than the state of
Maryland, neighbors Turkey. As a former state in the Soviet Union,
it had a troubled history during World War I when it was part of the
Ottoman Empire.

The Armenian National Institute, an organization based in Washington,
D.C., that is committed to advocating the acknowledgment of the
events as genocide, claims on its Web site that during World War I,
“The great bulk of the Armenian population was forcibly removed from
Armenia and Anatolia to Syria, where the vast majority was sent into
the desert to die of thirst and hunger. Large numbers of Armenians
were methodically massacred throughout the Ottoman Empire.”

The death toll estimate for the years of the claimed genocide is 1.2
million people, said Dr. Levon Chorbajian, professor of sociology at
the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and academic chair of the
Zoryan Institute, an organization that documents Armenian history.

Estimates aside, not everyone agrees that the Armenian deaths between
1915 and 1922 were part of a planned genocide on the part of the
Turkish government.

“We admit that the Armenians living in the Ottoman empire during
that period lost their lives,” said Emriye Ormanci, vice consul at
the Turkish Consulate in Houston. “[But] it was not a genocide.”

Narguiz Abbaszade, executive director of Assembly of Turkish American
Associations, an organization that advocates Turkish interests,
claims that for now there is simply not enough evidence to support
Armenian claims.

“This is a historical and legal debate that needs to be studied,”
she said.

Advocates of the Turkish community argue that Armenians died during
their relocation from one part of the Empire to another – not during
planned executions by the military.

“The Ottoman Empire was fighting with the Russians on the eastern
front, and also on the western front they were fighting with [the]
British and [the] French,” said Ormanci.

In 1915, Russia attempted to invade the Ottoman Empire from the east,
enlisting the help of Armenians to fight the Turks. As a result, the
Ottoman Empire decided to relocate the Armenian population to Syria,
said Ormanci. Armenians claim that this relocation was the first step
in a series of events that would become known as the Armenian genocide.

A lecture on disagreement

Ninety years later, on Friday, April 22, Dr. Chorbajian gave a lecture
entitled “The Importance of the Armenian Genocide: Then and Now,”
at the invitation of the Armenian Cultural Association, a UT student
organization.

As he prepared to talk about the Armenian people and their legacy,
a handful of listeners filtered into the Texas Union Theater.

“I just kind of saw it randomly, and I have a friend who is Armenian,”
said Thomas Hjelm, a religious studies senior. “There’s a lot of
things I don’t know about [the Armenian genocide].”

As the start of the lecture neared, a small group of Turkish students
gathered outside, handing out fliers that presented an opposing view
of the events during World War I.

“I wanted to express that the facts are different,” said Selim Erdogan,
one of the members of the executive committee of the Turkish University
Students Association, also a UT student organization. Erdogan wanted
to make sure that their voices would be heard, he said.

Professor Chorbanjian disagreed with the Turkish University Students
Association’s version of the events.

“[The] Armenian genocide is a documented historical fact,” he said.
Missionaries and diplomats from America and England who traveled to
the Ottoman Empire, documented the existence of the Armenian genocide,
said Chorbajian.

“It was much more directed and willful,” he said. “The plan of the
marches from the beginning was the intent of killing.”

Marching for awareness

One day later, protesters lined up in silence as a motorcade of
gleaming police bikes rode ahead of them. Little children carried
banners in their hands and walked cautiously in front of the adults.
Everyone walked silently as the march began. Slowly people started
singing a song in Armenian. Then came the chants: “1915 … Never
Again” and “We need justice now, we need justice now!”

Although they are not Armenian, Daniel and Allison Haynes, a couple
from Waco, participated in the march. After their Armenian friends
told them about the events of World War I the Haynes took up the
Armenian cause as well.

“I never heard of it growing up or in history books,” said Daniel,
referring to the Armenian deaths. “I think awareness is the most
important thing.”

Ed Bodont, an elderly man from Austin, felt compelled to honor the
memory of his Armenian parents by marching.

“It’s a recognition that there are a lot of people that have suffered
atrocities,” he said.

When the crowd reached the Capitol, the protesters quieted down as
they moved to the steps of the entrance. Ken Maranian, chairman of
the Texas Joint Committee for the 90th Anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide, started the event.

“I can’t tell you how moved I was to see you,” he said, addressing
the marchers. “We are hoping we can raise some awareness of genocide,”
said Maranian, in an interview. “It’s one of those things that needs
attention; 90 years later it’s [still] not recognized as genocide.”

Maranian was followed by a series of speakers, including Chorbajian
and Father Movsesian.

Advocates of the Armenian community’s cause claim that reconciliation
between the two countries will not be possible without a Turkish
effort to affirm the Armenian understanding of the events, Chorbajian
and Movsesian said.

“There does need to be an acknowledgment so Armenia and Turkey can
move forward,” said Chorbajian. “It’s a human rights issue.”

Until recently, there was little pressure on Turkey to issue such
an acknowledgment because of its influence on the United States,
which holds Turkey as a key military friend, Chorbajian said.

State of affairs

The Turkish government may soon adopt new a policy towards the
Armenian killings. Turkey, which is applying for membership to
the European Union, is feeling increased pressure from EU members
to formally acknowledge the deaths of the Armenians as genocide,
according to Maranian.

“Nine of the EU countries have recognized the genocide,” he said.

Particular attention is being paid by Greece, a prominent member of
the EU. Many Greeks in Turkey were expelled from the Ottoman Empire
around the time of the Armenian relocation, said Chorbajian.

“Thirty-eight states have properly commemorated the Armenian genocide,”
said Peter Abajian, deputy executive director of the Armenian Assembly
of America, a group that promotes public understanding and awareness
of Armenian issues.

Many lawmakers in Congress have also been lobbying to raise awareness
of Armenian interests.

In a letter to President George W. Bush, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr.,
D-N.J., and Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Mich., co-chairmen of the
Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, urged him to formally use the
term genocide when he refers to the events, writing: “The United States
must never allow crimes against humanity to pass without remembrance
and condemnation.”

Many U.S. lawmakers are slowly changing their views on the issue.
Last year, only 22 senators and 169 representatives signed similar
petitions. This year 32 senators and 179 representatives were in
support of such a resolution, said Abajian.

Other lawmakers suggest that the problem does not lie on the side
of the Turkish government. Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., and Rep. Robert
Wexler, D-Fla., issued a letter to Congress commending recent steps
taken by the Turkish government.

“We are deeply encouraged that Prime Minister Erdogan and his
government are taking a historic step by reaching out to Armenia,
calling for open, structured, introspective and result-oriented
dialogue on difficult issues involving Turks and Armenians.”

They were referring to the prime minster’s recent proposal to
Armenian President Robert Kocharian to allow each country to open up
its archives to the other, an act that would allows scholars from
both countries to research the accuracy of the claims of genocide,
said Ormanci.

Hatred felt

“We really want to have good relations with the Armenian people,
because we have a common history,” said Ormanci. “[But] there are
certain issues that have to be solved.”

Progress doesn’t seem possible until there is some reconciliation of
the issue of the Armenian genocide.

As the meeting on the Capitol neared its end, Selim Erdogan felt
disappointed by the hate he felt from the protesters in the crowd,
who compared his efforts to those of Holocaust deniers.

“It’s not just that you hated us. It’s not just that you killed us.
Apparently, you still hate us,” said Maranian, referring to Turkey
insistence that no genocide occurred during the Ottoman Empire.