SOME THINGS ARE NOT FOR SALE

Haytoug.org
1/some-things-are-not-for-sale/
Feb 12 2010

The Armenia-Turkey Protocols present a critical juncture in our
nation’s history.

Through the stroke of a pen, the rights, dignity and interests of the
Armenian people threaten to be sacrificed on the altar of political
and economic expediency.

The countless years of relentless work put into having the world
open up its eyes to the reality of the Armenian Genocide risk being
undermined through the creation of a so-called ‘historic commission.’

â~@¢ The Armenian people’s legal and moral claims to Ararat, Ani,
Kars, Van and the rest of our historic homeland threaten to be
forfeited through the legitimization of a border created through
Genocide and aggression.

â~@¢ The sacrifice of thousands of our best men and women in the
liberation of Artsakh threatens to be compromised by an agreement
emphasizing artificial state boundaries above the right to
self-determination.

The recent qualified ruling handed down by the Armenian Constitutional
Court–while deciding that the Protocols are constitutional–held
serious judicial reservations. The Court stated that ratification of
the Protocols cannot contradict Article 11 of Armenia’s Declaration
of Independence [The Republic of Armenia stands in support of the
task of achieving international recognition of the 1915 Genocide in
Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia] and that the Protocols cannot
speak on behalf of Artsakh.

The unprecedented international outpouring of anger and opposition to
the provisions of the Protocols resounded in a loud and unified "NO!"

to the officials in Yerevan. It reminded the ruling elite in Armenia
and throughout the world that our perseverance as a people has never
come out of submission and capitulation. Our triumph over the odds
has not been a result of backdoor deals and political maneuverings.

Rather, our survival has been due to the resilient determination to
struggle for our basic rights.

The dangerous implications of the Protocols for our national interests
point, more than ever, to the urgent need to change the undemocratic,
unjust, and inequitable conditions in our homeland. The lack of
accountability of those in power and the disillusionment of the
general population must be reversed if we want to see the viable and
prosperous Armenia we all envision in our hearts. Such a reversal
will require us to not turn away from Armenia, but rather to flock
more firmly towards it.

Just as we struggle against the odds to maintain our
identity and community in the Diaspora, we must come together
collectively–organized and determined–to overcome the obstacles
that stand before our nation’s future.

The onus is on us to unite and do the work required to see our
struggle through; to ensure the sanctity of our national and historical
interests and to declare that they are not for sale, at any cost.

The goals remain to secure the international recognition of Artsakh’s
statehood, the pursuit of reparations from the Government of Turkey
for the crime of Genocide, an end of the occupation of Western Armenia
and the establishment of social justice, human rights and democracy
in the Republic of Armenia.

The movement continues…

www.Stopthe Protocols.com