ARMENIANS DEMAND JUSTICE, NOT RECOGNITION
By Harout Sassounian, Publisher, The California Courier
AZG Armenian Daily
05/12/2007
The National Herald, a Greek-American weekly, published a lengthy
interview with this writer last week on the issue of genocide
recognition. This column was prompted by the ideas expressed in
that interview.
The Armenian Cause is not about genocide recognition, but the pursuit
of justice which entails that the Armenian victims receive reparations.
Remembering the Genocide is also about keeping the hope and dream
alive for succeeding generations of Armenians — that some day,
they will regain their historic lands.
Armenians need to rethink their approach to the pursuit of their
cause and present their demands in a more effective manner. The
House of Representatives has already adopted an Armenian Genocide
resolution twice in 1975 and 1984. Pres. Reagan issued a Presidential
Proclamation in 1981 that refers to the Armenian Genocide. More than
20 countries, the European Parliament, a U.N. human rights panel and
many genocide and Holocaust scholars have acknowledged the Armenian
Genocide. Therefore, continuing attempts to seek genocide recognition
from the international community is no longer necessary and distracts
from the pursuit of more significant Armenian political objectives.
Armenians have been saying for decades that they have three demands:
"Recognition" of the genocide, "Reparations" for losses, and "Return"
of their territories — in that sequence. They have repeated these
three R’s so often that even Turkey’s leaders, who closely monitor
Armenian statements, have learned them by heart.
Consequently, Armenians and Turks now have the same distorted view of
what the Armenian Cause is all about. Both sides mistakenly believe
that once the Genocide is recognized by Turks and others, Armenians
will proceed to make demands for reparations and lands. This is the
main reason why Turks so adamantly refuse to acknowledge the Armenian
Genocide. They fear that acceptance of the Genocide would obligate
them to pay reparations and return the usurped Armenian lands.
And knowing well the sequence of the three R’s, Turks cleverly refuse
to acknowledge the Genocide — the first demand — thus preempting
the remaining two Armenian demands.
Armenians should not fall in the Turkish trap of getting stuck on
demand number one. Since genocide recognition has already been
accomplished, they should immediately proceed to the second and
third demands.
There is no prerequisite that the Turks — or the U.S. or anybody else,
for that matter — first acknowledge the Genocide before Armenians
can take legal action.
Armenians should present their demands to appropriate national and
international courts, regardless of whether the Turks recognize
the Genocide.
Is justice served when someone murders your family, and the criminal’s
descendants who still live on your property simply admit 100 years
later that such a crime actually occurred? Would you just thank the
murderer’s descendants for acknowledging the crime or would you press
to get your family’s stolen property back?
The acknowledgment of the Genocide by Turks or others is not an
occasion for Armenians to jump for joy.
Genocide is an undeniable fact. Armenians know it happened. The
civilized world knows it happened. Many Turks also know it
happened. The acknowledgment of a historical fact cannot be viewed as
a demand. Justice requires that the criminal be punished, reparations
paid, and the ill-gotten fruits gained through genocide returned to
their rightful owners.
Obviously, the Turks are not going to voluntarily return the
Armenian lands even though Armenians have a just claim to those
territories. Nobody gives an inch of land to anyone unless forced to do
so. So how does such a claim become reality? It can be done by keeping
the hope and dream alive and passing them on to the next generation,
the way the Jews did by proclaiming "Next year in Jerusalem" for two
thousand years. The just demand for the recovery of their historic
lands can disappear once Armenians lose all hope and unilaterally
give up their dream.
There is no country in recorded history whose borders have remained
unchanged. Mighty empires have come and gone. Likewise, the Republic of
Turkey will not have the same borders forever. No one knows what can
happen in the next 30 years or 300 years, but if Armenians relinquish
their claims now, they would have lost the chance of recovering
anything forever. Armenians must continue to remind their offspring
for generations to come that those lands which were unjustly stolen
from them will eventually return to their rightful owners.
Rather than demanding genocide recognition, Armenians should seek
justice.