TARGET OF CONVENIENCE: ANTI-SEMITISM ON INCREASE AS PROVOCATION AGAINST TER-PETROSYAN
Vahan Ishkhanyan
ArmeniaNow.com
04 July, 2008
Armenia
Rimma Varzhapetyan, chairwoman of the Jewish Community of Armenia,
says there is no anti-Semitism in Armenia as such, however, sometimes
anti-Semitic materials appear in the press and their number has grown
in the recent days.
Her statement was in response to a comment last week by US Assistant
Secretary of State David Kramer, that some media outlets propagandize
anti-Semitism. He said "It is unacceptable to have anti-Semitism in
a country with historically friendly relations with Israel and the
Jewish community."
Varzhapetyan says there are two reasons that stir Armenia
anti-Semitism. One is the long-standing resentment that Israel does
not recognize the Armenian Genocide. The other – and the reason for
more recent hate-talk – is the exploitation of the heritage of the
wife of Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who comes from Jewish ancestry.
Varzhapetyan says anti-Semitism is provoked as a tool in the current
political struggle
"In the first case it is the natural reaction of the nation that
has undergone genocide to the views of people who have survived a
Holocaust. But it is not widely spread and nothing of the kind is
seen on a state level," Varzhapetyan says.
Varzhapetyan, who is Jewish, says she is noticed for her activities
in the fight for recognition of the Armenian Genocide among the
representatives of the ethnic minorities of Armenia, although attacks
in the press are targeted against her and the Jewish community (Hayots
Ashkarh, May 7th, called friendship with the Jewish community and
personally with Varzhapetyan a form of fawning).
The second reason had disappeared with the presidency of Ter-Petrosyan
and has now returned with him.
Varzhapetyan recalls the Golos Armenii newspaper in a number
of publications used to explain the crisis in Armenia with
Ter-Petrosyan,’s wife, Ludmilla, being a Jew and a Zionistic
plot connected with her. "We were very much annoyed proving the
hardships were tied up to the blockade, the Perestroika and other
circumstances." The Jewish community that was equally impoverished
during the ‘dark and cold’ years had appealed to Ludmila Ter-Petrosyan
for support but was denied with an explanation saying: "I have no
such opportunity [to support]: I help all women of Armenia."
The community has had almost no problem with the media after the change
in power. Only the ALM TV channel used to make anti-Jewish statements,
but ceased after the State Department report mentioned the facts and,
as the news said, after then President Kocharyan reprimanded the
channel. Armen Avetisyan, chairman of the Union of Armenian Aryans
was tried and sentenced to two months in jail for anti-Semitic and
anti-Yezidi propaganda.
Ten years later anti-Semitism is used against Levon Ter-Petrosyan,
this time as an opposition; it’s examples were the articles published
in May 24th issue of Hayots Ashkharh titled: "Levon Ter-Petrosyan
or Levon Fraimi Pliskovski: Armenian National Congress or Jewish
Congress?" as well as the article’s retelling in May 27th Golos
Armenii. The article says "the Jewish-Masonic lobby spent $65-70
million and plans to spent twice and thrice more on Ter-Petrosyan’s
campaign" to bring him to power.
Varzhapetyan says Kramer recalled the article in a conversation with
her during a meeting with non-governmental organizations at the US
Embassy qualifying it as typical anti-Semitism: "The first reaction
to the publication was to respond, but we didn’t, because the aim
of the article was to fight the opposition by means of irritating
anti-Semitic sentiments. But probably the person responsible for
the media monitoring discovered the article and the problem of
anti-Semitism was included in Kramer’s program. "He is also a Jew and I
am deeply grateful to him for raising the issue before the government."
Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan called the manifestations of
anti-Semitism in the media condemnable and unacceptable during the
meeting with Kramer, saying there is no anti-Jewish atmosphere in
Armenia in reality.
Varzhapetyan says many real arguments can be brought to fight against
the opposition, but they are not used: "There are so many things to
be used for the struggle – to show the negative sides of one and
the positive sides of the other, but they don’t do that, they opt
for irritating anti-Semitism and it’s terrible that the kind of an
article may cause hatred against Levon [Ter-Petrosyan]."
Varzhapetyan says she can’t tell the way the Jewish community here
of 800 people participated in the voting, because it is personal
business. She says she has voted for Serzh Sargsyan as the country has
witnessed progress after LTP’s resignation: "I can recall the hard life
of those days when Ter-Petrosyan ruled the country. I can forgive it,
but I have not forgotten and wouldn’t like to return to it."
She says also the problems of ethnic minorities were neglected under
the previous authorities, but were paid serious attention under
Kocharyan and the state budget begun providing them with a certain
amount of money.
The article in Hayots Ashkharh says Peter Rosenblat, the representative
of the Jewish Committee of America arrived in Armenia in late May as
if for getting a report from Levon Ter-Petrosyan.
During the meeting with the Jewish community on May 27th Rosenblat
stated the publications are fake and authorized the Jewish community
to deny them in his name.
In reality Rosenblat met President Serzh Sargsyan, although this
meeting also became a matter of political speculations, this time from
the opposition side. The pro-Ter-Petrosyan Haykakan Zhamanak mocked the
meeting, saying Sargsyan is forced to meet with unimportant persons.
The flag of Israel appeared at one of the post-election opposition
rallies in February that Hayots Ashkharh used to tie Ter-Petrosyan
to Jews.
The Jewish community stated then they were annoyed with the appearance
of the flag in the rally. "We thought then it was a provocation, but
it appeared later it was done by a Jewish woman living in Armenia,
who has nothing to do with the community in support of Lyudmila
[Ter-Petrosyan], despite she had neither the moral nor the legal
right for that."