DERSIM ARMENIANS IN SEARCH FOR THEIR TRUE IDENTITY

19:34, 24 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

Nine Mayors from Dersim have arrived in Armenia at the initiative
of the “Modus Vivendi” center and with the support of the Armenian
Ministry of Diaspora. The Mayors have visited Tsitsernakabersd to
pay tribute to the memory of the Armenian Genocide victims. They
have also been at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Khor Virap,
the History Museum of Armenian and Matenadaran.

The Mayos met with reporters today to share their impressions. They
spoke about the serach for their identity and the problems of returning
to their roots. They also presented the joint programs with Zazas
and Alevis.

Head of Modus Vivendi Center Ara Papyan said the initiative aims to
provide Dersim Armenians with an opportunity to get to know Armenia
ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Ara Papyan said they have worked with the Dersim Province for several
years now. They often organize festivals featuring groups from Armenia.

Many residents of Dersim now openly accept their Armenian descent and
even baptize. Others, however, continue to hide their true identity
out of decades-long fear.

Considering all this, it’s hard to calculate today what percentage of
Dersim residents is of Armenian descent. The number could be between
20 and 90. One thing is clear: people in Dersim have started to return
to their Armenian roots.

Chairman of the Dersim Union of Armenians and Alevis Sercan Saritas
attaches importance to the organization of Armenian language courses.

“We want to intensify the social communication. During a festival in
July we’ll host guests from Arnenia,” he said.

Representative of the Armenian Union of Dersim Miran Pirgic said “we
have a pain and we should think what we can do jointly.” “Genocide
is seated so deep in people that our brothers in Istanbul even find
it hard to accept our Armenian descent, because the names of all our
brothers in Dersim are changed, “Turkified” or “Kurdified.” However,
the reality cannot be hidden any more. We have already disclosed
the truth. We only need the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey and the
Etchmiadzin Catholicosate to accept us,” he said.

The Mayors said a number of joint events will now be organized. Joint
organizations have been set up to implement joint programs. The guests
also said they have compiled the list of Armenian churches in Dersim.

They intend to maintain and renovate the 162 churches. They work in
cooperation with the Istanbul-based Union of Armenian Architects.

One of the Mayors said that because of the importance the Turkish
authorities attach to the cooperation with the European Union, they
sometimes ignore the initiatives of Dersim Armenians. But they exert
greater pressure through the Istanbul Patriarchate, i.e. by creating
problems with the baptism.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress