Armenian Genocide: Recognition and Reparation
The discussion on the web

Dear readers, you are invited to take part in the “Armenian Genocide: Recognition and Reparation” discussion on the web.
Dear readers,
Between April 15 and 25, you had an opportunity to express your views
on Yerkir Weekly’s website about the topic “Armenian Genocide:
Recognition and Reparation.” Below are the opinions express.

Thank you for your active participation: Spartak Seyranian,
editor-in-chief of “Yerkir” Weekly.

John – If the Ottoman Empire was the home to citizens belonging to
different nationalities, including Armenians, the question remains how
did the Turks become the sole owner of those lands and simply call it
Turkey? Don’t the Armenians, Kurds, Greeks and Assyrians, all Ottoman
citizens, have a legitimate land claims from the Turks?

Raffy Ardhaldjian/Graduate mid career scholar at the Fletcher School
of Diplomacy – 1) Do you think that Armenians should have an internal
dialogue on the topic of the Genocide -just like the Turks are having
it nowadays- to harmonize and organize their positions on this
issue. If yes, do you think a global referendum amongst Armenians on
this issue is possible in the age of the Internet ? 2) How should the
issue of “Armenian property” lost or confiscated during the 1915-1918
period be dealt with? Many Armenian families still hold deeds that
document their property rights. While there could be a statute of
limitations issue involved, the property issues should technically
have nothing to do with the Genocide. Thoughts ? 3) Is it important
that if the Genocide is recognized by Turkey, that all reparations
come from the Turkish treasury? Since Genocidal violence is a
humanitarian issue, do you see a scenario, where the International
community assumes part of the responsibility of paying reparations?
Do you have any benchmarks for what amounts Armenian demands should
be? Recently an International Court was looking into claims made by
Kurdish families against the Turkish state, where the lives of each
family member killed by the state in the 1980s were valued at $ 45,000
each. 4) While the government of Armenia recognizes the borders of the
Turkish Republic, do you think that if the ARF and others renounced
territorial demands from Turkey, there would be a shift in the Turkish
position on the issue of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide?

Steffan Sarkisian – Today Japanese PM apologized to all nations of
what Japan had caused them during the World War II. When will the
Turkish PM do that? 22.4.05

Zareh – Will the world ever be ready to address or back our demands
for financial or territorial claims even if Turkey is forced to
acknowledge the Armenian Genocide? On what capabilities can we depend
to successfully force such demands? On the other hand, how can we ever
forego the land that gave birth to our nation, taken away from us in
such a criminal manner? Will “we are sorry” alone be enough?