SAMVEL KARAPETYAN – ARMENIANS LOOSING TOUCH WITH HISTORICAL ROOTS
Kristine Aghalaryan

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2009/03/31 | 15:39

Society

At a press conference held today Rouben Babayan, Artistic Director
of the Yerevan Puppet Theater, and Samvel Karapetyan, who heads the
Armenian Architectural Research NGO, argued that Armenians have lost
practically all connection to their historical and cultural roots
and warned of the dire consequences such a "process of alienation"
would have in the near future.

Mr. Karapetyan angrily commented on the fact that when he walks up
the hill to the Tzitzernakaberd Genocide Memorial Complex he witnesses
the worst kind of behavior on the part of many Armenians who wind up
laying flowers at the eternal flame. He stated that such behavior
proved that many are merely engaged in a sham display of respect
towards their ancestors and that such "shows" are to be seen at many
commemorative events like the April 24th remembrance.

According to Mr. Karapetyan, "We have become alienated and that
which is alien has become second-nature for us." He pointed to the
profusion of foreign words on Yerevan billboards and stores. "He
will no longer use the Armenian language; we just write in Armenian
letters," he argued. He added that while foreign names are to be
seen on taxi fleets in Armenia, on Turkish taxis in western Armenia
you will see the geographical names of our fatherland – Msho Taxi,
Lake Van, etc. In his view this means that we have severed the ties to
our origins and that we have strayed from our national underpinnings.

"If we lay flowers it means that we respect the memory of our
forbearers. We must care for the remnants of our culture on a state
level. You don’t love your country by shouting slogans. You must come
to know it and such recognition leads to a desire to protect it,"
Mr. Karapetyan argued.

Rouben Babayan stated that it will take decades for us to comprehend
the significance of 1915. "We only talk about the victims and the
lost lands. But we forget about what the 1915 Genocide has left in
its wake. It has left a mentality of victimization and a victim is
bereft of feeling national honor," he concluded.

Mr. Karapetyan lashed out at the ARF, noting that in practice this
party which claims to reflect the pain and torment of the "Erkir"
has done nothing to justify such claims. He went on to say that the
burning of the Turkish flag on April 24th by ARF youth is just another
part of this "theater of show".

"While it is acceptable for me to burn the raised flag of the enemy
when it is captured on the battlefield, one has to make sacrifices to
capture that flag. Thus, I find it laughable and my heart goes out to
those kids who are being brought up in such a way in the name of the
party’s philosophy," Mr. Karapetyan noted. "By building a restaurant
with the name ‘Erkir’ they are satisfied that they have solved the
issues of western Armenia and have adopted an attitude of neglect
for decades on end."

"There are Hay Dat (Armenian National Committee) offices around
the world. You would expect that they’d initiate real ‘dats’
(court case) in the name of our rights. But have they ever taken
Azerbaijan to court for the destruction of the stone-cross cemetery in
Jugha?" Mr. Karapetyan rhetorically asked. "Cyprus has 1,600 claims
against Turkey in the European Court for destroying Greek monuments
on the island. Recently, Turkey has been forced to pay $1million in
compensation for its actions."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress