On April 24, 2006, the Armenian flag became the first foreign nation flag to fly at Fresno’s City Hall on an annual basis. A proud day, indeed, to commemorate and reflect on the Armenian Genocide.
As we begin the process to again commemorate the Genocide, it is worth noting that supporters of Genocide justice are, these days, not so much commemorating the past, but are instead on guard as the Armenian Genocide continues to this day. To be sure, the Genocide never actually ended — no proclamation, no restitution, no reconciliation, no nothing, except patience by Turkey, waiting for the Soviet Union’s constituent states, Armenia in particular, to break away and fend for themselves.
Turkey waited patiently for 70 years for the Soviet Union to collapse, and over the past 30 years it has groomed its oil-rich puppet state Azerbaijan to do its bidding. Azerbaijan has blockaded the 120,000 Christian Armenians in Artsakh for nearly three months, and Azeri guns are trained on Armenia proper, including its older-than-Rome capital of Yerevan. Turkish strongman Erdogan and his Azeri flunky, the notoriously corrupt and oppressive Ilham Aliyev, have made it clear that eliminating Armenia and her inhabitants is on the top of their joint priority list.
Here in Fresno, we have a notoriously inept and radical City Council, determined to eliminate any trace of Armenians from downtown Fresno. This past fall, in an illegal and underhanded decision, the City Council transferred the remaining three Armenian houses in Historic Armenian Town to a developer to convert into low-income housing — just like that, with three old Armenian houses, each no more than 1,000 square feet, being stripped of their identity and re-purposed, the homeless crisis is apparently solved. Erdogan and Aliyev, I am sure, were impressed.
Gov. Newsom has designated April 24 as Genocide Remembrance Day. He did right, and this city, through its oft-misguided City Council, must complete the loop and designate the area around Holy Trinity Armenian Church and Valley Lahvosh Bakery an historic area. This area would touch the Saroyan Theater and the statue of David of Sassoon, the Armenian folk hero.
Mayor Dyer and his Historic Preservation Commission, along with business, entertainment, tourism and preservation groups, support this. Not only would this designation preserve the three remaining houses for Fresno’s posterity, and include Fresno’s oldest residence, the Vartanian House, but it would also honor an ethnic group that despite being maligned, remained proud and productive citizens. These houses can help break the cycle of failed downtown revitalization ventures. Fresno was founded, in large part, by Armenians, so it only makes sense that this old and revered section of downtown be designated both “historic” and “Armenian”.
April 24, 2023 can and should be different from April 24s of the past. Of course the Armenian flag should be flown high and proud above City Hall; it should be flown throughout downtown. Part of this year’s recognition process must incorporate Newsom’s decision that the Genocide of the Armenians be known by all Californians. That knowledge necessarily includes the press accurately reporting on what is happening today in Armenia and Artsakh; not sugar-coating it through soft euphemisms, but by honestly reporting that the Armenian Genocide continues, as you enjoy your morning coffee with this article.
The final aspect of this year’s commemoration must return the three Armenian houses, and the Vartanian House, to the community to further the goal of Historic Armenian Town revitalization and, by extension, downtown revitalization. The City Council did wrong, and it knows it. It needs to do right, not just for the Armenians, but for all of Fresno.
Marshall D. Moushigian is a Fresno attorney and financial adviser.
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