ARMENIANS NO LONGER NEED RECOGNITION

Aysor
Sept 1 2009
Armenia

In 1915, the Ottoman Turks committed Genocide against the Armenian
people, resulting in 1.5 million deaths. Three fourths of historic
Armenian lands were taken over by Turkey, the site of Armenian youth
forum reports.

It has been 94 years since the Armenian Genocide and emotions are
still raw. However, Armenians need to move on from their non-stop
efforts for the recognition of the Genocide, simply because it has
already been recognized. Justice must occur as the Turkish government
must return the properties and possessions it stole from the Armenian
victims. Reparations must be sought through the courts.

In recent decades, Armenian-Americans have supported presidential
candidates on the basis of who they hope would recognize the
Genocide. Most Armenians do not know that the Genocide has already
been widely recognized.

In his article titled, "Armenians Demand Justice, Not Recognition,"
Harut Sassounian stated: "The House of Representatives has
already adopted an Armenian Genocide resolution twice in 1975 and
1984. President 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."

Armenians need to move on from the issue of recognition to the pursuit
of justice and reparations. The long years that Armenians have spent
trying to get recognition are over.

During the Genocide, countless items and properties were stolen from
Armenians. Armenians who still have the title deeds for lands owned
by their ancestors should try to reclaim them in court. Article
530 of International Humanitarian Law states: "Any violation of
an obligation under international law gives rise to an obligation
to make reparation. The aim of reparation is to eliminate, as much
as possible, the consequences of the illegal act and to restore the
situation that would have existed if the act had not been committed."

In former Western Armenia, which is now Eastern Turkey, there are
thousands of Armenian churches. The Turkish government used some of
these ancient churches for target practice.. Most of the churches in
Eastern Turkey are severely damaged and falling apart.

"Turkey – which in 1915 committed Genocide against the Armenian
nation and has since waged an international campaign of threats
and intimidation to deny its crime – is, today, in full view of the
world, destroying the surviving cultural and religious heritage of its
victims, seeking to erase even their memory from the Armenian homeland
of four thousand years," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.

The disrespect shown by the Turkish government towards these churches
is not acceptable. The Armenian government should demand that this
cultural genocide end. The government of Armenia and Armenians
around the world should press Turkey not for recognition but for
reparations. When the Genocide occurred, the overall financial
stability of Armenia collapsed. Peoples’ life savings, family
heirlooms, and other properties were stolen.

For the past 94 years, the Genocide issue has been a highly emotional
issue for every Armenian. Even though Armenians feel passionate about
the genocide, it does not mean that they should continue to cry over
it. It is time to seek justice and reparations.

Armenians must continue to push for justice. If Turkey had been
condemned by the international community for its shameful act, then
maybe Nazi Germany would not have committed the Holocaust. Adolf Hitler
said in 1939: "After all, who today remembers the extermination of
the Armenians?"

By Aram Sassounian (9th grade, Clark High School, Glendale, CA)

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress