Armenia and the Diaspora have been working hard for years towards international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide. For years Armenia has consistently promoted the agenda of preventing the crime of genocide. In 2015, through Armenia's efforts, December 9 was added to the list of UN International Days as International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime. However, since 2018, according to expert on Turkey Varuzhan Geghamyan, Armenia has not dealt with the issue of the Armenian Genocide at all.
Panorama.am spoke with Varuzhan Geghamyan about the Armenian authorities' steps towards the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide over the past year, the main message of April 24, the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, this year as well as the basic steps that should be taken in case of the formation of a pro-Armenian government.
Panorama.am: How would you assess the steps taken by the Armenian authorities towards the international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide from April 24, 2021 to date, that is, over the past year?
Varuzhan Geghamyan: Unfortunately, it is impossible to give a positive assessment to the efforts of the Armenian leadership and the international community towards the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide due to only one circumstance: the Armenian state, which has always been in the forefront of this struggle, its coordinator and organizer, has essentially abandoned it, considering it not only ineffective, but also not in the interests of the Armenian people.
Moreover, there are now attempts on the part of Armenia's de facto leadership to rewrite history by saying that Armenia has never acted as a state institution in this matter, and the Armenian cause has been dealt with exclusively by the Armenian Diaspora, particularly by some Diaspora organizations.
This is also a distortion of the historical record by the de facto authorities in Armenia, an anti-Armenian statement, because it essentially echoes the Turkish propaganda thesis which have existed since the 1960s that if it were not for the Diaspora, Armenia and Turkey would live peacefully side by side, but some “Diaspora nationalists” undermine Armenian-Turkish relations by raising, in their words, the artificial issue of genocide, etc. This is an indirect repetition of this propaganda thesis of Ankara. Moreover, it runs counter to the basic law of Armenia, because the Constitution of Armenia is based on the Declaration of Independence, and one of its most important provisions is about the commitment to be consistent in the recognition and condemnation of the 1915 Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia.
Thus, it's against Armenian interests in every way. Naturally, as a result of this policy we can't make any progress in the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
The only noteworthy episode last year was the U.S. president's use of the word "genocide", which had no legal effect because amid Armenia's failure to deal with the Armenian Genocide issue at all, this move essentially amounts to nothing. Meanwhile, it could have been used to step up pressure on Turkey and could have become an important tool in our foreign policy.
Panorama.am: What will make April 24 stand out this year, what will be its message?
Varuzhan Geghamyan: This year's commemorative events, the events preceding and following them, will most likely send one clear message: at this point, we are on the threshold of opening the era of genocidal threats, in order to prevent such a scenario, we must remember how and why the Armenian Genocide, the numerous massacres and other crimes against the Armenian people up to and including what happened in Artsakh and Syunik in recent years and months, were committed.
Identifying this as part of the genocidal program will enable the Armenian society and various Armenian groups to rethink the ongoing processes, to overcome the stupor and manipulation by the current authorities and to be able to respond adequately to the current threats. This is the message.
Unfortunately, the capitulant authorities will do nothing about it, since the issue of the Armenian Genocide has long been closed for them. In the best-case scenario, we can see only some standard statements without any political message, only pathetics and no coherent policy at the state level aimed at addressing such acute issues.
I do not think that any action should be expected from any state institution. At the same time, all Armenian groups and organizations catering for the interests of the Armenian people must make April 24 of this year one of the most important symbolic days, during which messages must be conveyed to the widest possible audience that will enable the people to get out from under the manipulations of the capitulant authorities.
Panorama.am: What will Turkey's recognition of the Armenian Genocide give us? Is that our end goal?
Varuzhan Geghamyan: I think that the ultimate goal is not Turkey’s recognition [of the Genocide]. The end goal has always been to prevent the crime of genocide against us. And one of the best ways to achieve this is for Turkey to recognize it and take appropriate steps to make amends.
The Genocide recognition by Turkey is only one way to achieve the main goal, so I believe it would allow us to create an additional mechanism to prevent such a crime. Amid its absence, we see the continuation of genocidal actions under peaceful slogans – from beheadings of people in Artsakh to torture of Armenian prisoners of war, which did not take place 100 years ago like the Armenian Genocide, but right now, before our eyes.
Panorama.am: If we have a government that takes Armenia’s interests into account, what should be its first steps towards the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide?
Varuzhan Geghamyan: First and foremost, the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide as well as our pioneering role in preventing the crime of genocide should be made a part of the state policy. We had that role, but since 2018 it has virtually been non-existent, now it no longer exists de jure either. After this step, it is necessary to review the previous experience of struggle, i.e. to record the positive sides, failures, and in accordance with that to build a completely new, clear-cut policy, which must be all-embracing, because the issue of the Armenian Genocide is of national importance, directly concerns the identity of the Diaspora and its preservation. Therefore, all of this really should be in the focus of state attention, because Armenia is also responsible for the Diaspora. In this regard, the need for a state policy on the matter is once again emphasized.
Of course, these three steps should be combined with a broader political program, a concept to be adopted by the national government to neutralize the threats facing the Armenian states, Armenia and Artsakh, to set new national goals and achieve them. In other words, there should be a general picture of what we are going to do to restore the security system, the territorial integrity of Artsakh and Armenia, and how the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide should be used in this context. Only in case of adopting such an approach will we succeed.