Don’t pay attention to the statements that the international community was saying that the status bar of Artsakh should be lowered. Third President Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia told this to reporters at France Square in downtown Yerevan.
"For ten years the international community was saying that Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] should self-determine," Sargsyan added.
UNESCO assessment mission’s visit to Nagorno Karabakh urgently needed – Armenia MFA spox
16:01,
YEREVAN, APRIL 29, ARMENPRESS. Armenia strongly condemns the acts of vandalism and desecration of the St. Harutyun Church in the city of Hadrut, that came under the control of Azerbaijan after the 2020 war, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan said in a statement released over the St. Harutyun Church in Hadrut.
The statement says:
“We strongly condemn the acts of vandalism and desecration of the St. Harutyun Church in the city of Hadrut, fallen under the control of Azerbaijan.
These pre-planned actions carried out by the authorities of Azerbaijan, aimed at destroying and desecrating the identity of Armenian religious, historical and cultural monuments in the territories under the control of the Azerbaijani armed forces, are another manifestation of Azerbaijan's ethnic and religious intolerance and the continuation of the policy of depriving Artsakh of Armenians and the Armenian trace.
The atrocities against Armenian churches and other cultural and religious monuments in Artsakh grossly violate the norms of international law, including the decision on application of provisional measures issued by the UN International Court of Justice on December 7, 2021.
This case reaffirms the claims of the Armenian side on the urgent need for the visit of UNESCO assessment mission to Nagorno Karabakh”.
LOS ANGELES—The Armenian National Committee of American-Western Region has endorsed incumbent Governor of California Gavin Newsom for his reelection.
“Governor Newsom has been an incredible friend to the Armenian community throughout his years in public office,” said chair of the ANCA-WR Board of Directors Nora Hovsepian, Esq. “Governor Newsom has been a committed advocate for justice for the Armenian Genocide, a true ally in the strengthening of ties between California and Armenia, and has been committed to honoring the contributions of the Armenian-American community to the State of California. We are grateful for the Governor’s principled leadership on issues of importance to our community, and look forward to continuing to work with him to strengthen ties between the State of California, Armenia and Artsakh,” Hovsepian concluded.
Governor Newsom has been a stalwart friend of the Armenian-American community, advocating for its interests from his time on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, through his tenure as Mayor of San Francisco, and then during his eight years as Lieutenant Governor before being elected as Governor in 2018.
As Governor, Newsom remained unwavering in his commitment to representing the voice of California’s Armenian community at the State Capitol. Governor Newsom has issued annual proclamations declaring April 24th as a “Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide” in solemn remembrance of the 1.5 million innocent victims of the grave crime against humanity.
Newsom has also been dedicated to pursuing justice for the victims and survivors of the genocide, signing AB1320 – the Divestment from Turkish Bonds Act – into law in 2019. This was the culmination of years of advocacy spearheaded by the Armenian Youth Federation, Armenian Students’ Associations along with the ANCA-WR to divest public funds from Turkish government-owned investments and securities in response to Ankara’s enduring denial of the Armenian Genocide.
As a further demonstration of his commitment to historic justice for the Armenian people, in 2021 Newsom launched the Governor’s Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education — an initiative spearheaded alongside Senator Henry Stern with the backing of the ANCA-WR which aims to support and promote education on the Holocaust and other genocides by providing schools, educators and students with the necessary resources and training materials to do so. The Council, which will include representatives of the Armenian-American community, will play an integral role in bringing Armenian Genocide studies to schools across the state.
As Governor, Newsom has demonstrated a commitment to honoring and celebrating the contributions of Armenian-Americans to the State of California and the United States as a whole – allocating $8 million from the California budget to the construction of the Armenian American Museum. Newsom has also made significant contributions to the strengthening of ties between California and the Republic of Armenia, signing an agreement to create a Trade and Services Desk in Yerevan that was formally inaugurated in 2021.
Governor Newsom has also been outspoken in support of the Armenian-American community during its most trying times. The Governor forcefully condemned the abhorrent hate crimes perpetrated against the Krouzian-Zekarian Vasbouragan (KZV) Armenian School and the Armenian center adjacent to the St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church in San Francisco. Newsom also indicated his support for the global Armenian community during the horrific invasion of Artsakh by Azerbaijan in 2020.
“I am humbled by the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region’s endorsement for my re-election as Governor of California,” remarked Governor Newsom. “Throughout my years in public service, I have been a proud friend and enthusiastic advocate for the Armenian community of California. I look forward to continuing to support projects like the Armenian American Museum to highlight the incredible contributions of the Armenian-American community to the Golden State – as well as to deepen ties between the State of California and the Republic of Armenia through the Trade and Services Desk in Yerevan. I also stand committed to the cause for justice for those innocent lives cruelly taken from us during the Armenian Genocide – and to honor their memory through the recently established Governor’s Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education. We must remain ever-vigilant in the face of bigotry and genocide denial so as to ensure these crimes are never forgotten – and never repeated. I will always be a proud friend and ally of the Armenian people, and look forward to continuing to represent your community’s voice at the State Capitol.”
California is home to the largest Armenian diaspora community in the world, with up to a million residents of Armenian ancestry across the state. The Armenian-American community of California has made an indelible impact on the social, cultural, political, and economic fabric of the state.
With primary elections approaching on June 7th, Armenian-Americans have an important opportunity to ensure our community’s collective voice is heard, and are poised to play a significant role in shaping the future of the state.
The ANCA-WR will continue to announce its endorsements as it works tirelessly to ensure issues of significance to the Armenian-American community are addressed by candidates ahead of the upcoming elections.
The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.
17:18,
NIZHNY NOVGOROD, APRIL 20, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan arrived in Nizhny Novgorod within the framework of his official visit in Russia, Armenpress correspondent reports.
At the airport, the Armenian PM was welcomed by Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Gleb Nikitin, chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Evgeniy Lyulin, Mayor of Nizhny Novgorod Yury Shalabayev and Russian Foreign Ministry representative in Nizhny Novgorod Sergei Malov.
PM Pashinyan is expected to visit the Gaz company’s factory where he will tour the company together with the company president Vadim Sorokin. Later, Pashinyan will visit the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin to pay tribute at the Eternal Flame monument and will tour the state art museum of the Kremlin.
Nikol Pashinyan will also have a private meeting with Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Gleb Nikitin.
The PM will visit the Holy Savior Armenian Church where he will meet with the representatives of the Armenian community.
Wednesday,
Armenian, Chinese FMs Discuss Karabakh
CHINA -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivers his opening remarks at the
Lanting Forum on in Beijing, February 22, 2021
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan reportedly briefed his Chinese counterpart Wang
Yi on the current state of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process in a phone call on
Wednesday.
“Presenting Armenia’s position on the establishment of peace and stability in
the region, Ararat Mirzoyan stressed the importance of negotiations between
Armenia and Azerbaijan in different directions as well as the role of the OSCE
Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship in the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,”
reported the Armenian Foreign Ministry.
“The two sides emphasized the viability of the existing internationally accepted
format of negotiations as well as the promotion of the peace process,” it said
in a statement.
The Minsk Group has for decades been co-headed by the United States, Russia and
France. Moscow says that Washington and Paris have stopped cooperating with it
within that framework because of the war in Ukraine.
Yerevan has expressed hope that the three world powers will resume their joint
mediation efforts.
Wang and Mirzoyan also stressed the importance of unblocking Armenia’s economic
and transport links with Azerbaijan. They agreed that this will help to boost
Chinese-Armenian commercial ties, added the Foreign Ministry statement.
China is already Armenia’s second most important trading partner after Russia.
Chinese-Armenian trade surged by over 30 percent, to $1.26 billion, last year.
The two foreign ministers also discussed Chinese-Armenian relations. They said
their governments are ready to “resolutely strengthen and deepen” them,
according to the statement.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his new Armenian counterpart Vahagn
Khachaturian made similar pledges earlier this month when they exchanged
congratulatory messages on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of
diplomatic relations between the two states.
Pashinian Upbeat On Russian-Armenian Trade
Russia - Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Armenian Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian meet in Moscow, .
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian expressed confidence on Wednesday that Armenia
and Russia will deepen their economic ties despite what he called new “common
challenges” facing the two countries.
Pashinian discussed with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin ways of
increasing Russian-Armenian trade and launching joint economic projects on the
second day of his official visit to Russia.
“We are certainly interested in expanding bilateral cooperation and launching
new joint projects in areas such as energy, mining, transport infrastructure,
pharmaceuticals, agro-industrial complex, digital economy, high technology, and
innovation,” Mishustin told Pashinian.
The Russian and Armenian governments should speed up preparations for the
signing of a new program of bilateral economic cooperation, he said in his
opening remarks at the talks.
“I think that we are facing common challenges in the current situation,”
Pashinian said, for his part. “But there are also opportunities which ... we
should try to use.”
“I am sure that in the future we will continue to cooperate very effectively and
find new ways and solutions for the further growth of mutual trade,” he added.
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and other senior officials attend a
Russian-Armenian business forum in Yerevan, September 20, 2021.
The volume of Russian-Armenian trade grew strongly in 2021 and in January and
February this year, solidifying Russia’s status as Armenia’s number trading
partner. But it reportedly shrunk in March following the start of the Russian
invasion of Ukraine and the resulting Western sanctions imposed on Russia.
Visiting Moscow last week, Armenian Economy Minister Kerobian said the two
governments should work together to “urgently eliminate the causes of the
decline and restore growth.” He also announced that Armenia has started paying
for Russian natural gas in rubles.
Citing the “illegal sanctions,” Mishustin called for a greater use of the
Russian as well as Armenian national currencies in mutual commercial operations.
Pashinian and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the impact of the
sanctions during their meeting held outside Moscow on Tuesday. In a joint
declaration issued after the talks, they criticized “the use of unilateral
restrictive measures by a number of countries.” They also pledged to “jointly
overcome the challenges caused by these measures.”
Because of its close economic links with Russia, Armenia is expected to be
significantly affected by the Western sanctions. The World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund have forecast that economic growth in the South
Caucasus country will slow down considerably this year.
Former Foreign Minister Explains Resignation
• Sargis Harutyunyan
ARMENIA -- Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazian at a meeting with his Russian
counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Yerevan, May 6, 2021
Former Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazian has shed more light on his resignation last
year and signaled support for the Armenian opposition’s stated efforts to oust
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
Ayvazian stepped down on May 27, 2021 following an emergency meeting of
Armenia’s Security Council which discussed mounting tensions on the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The meeting came days after Azerbaijani troops
reportedly advanced into Armenian territory at several sections of the border.
Speaking at a farewell meeting with the Armenian Foreign Ministry officials on
May 31, Ayvazian hinted that he decided to quit because of disagreeing with
government decisions which he believes put the country’s sovereignty and
national security at risk. He did not go into details. His four deputies also
tendered their resignations.
Ayvazian said late on Tuesday that he objected to Pashinian’s calls for a mutual
withdrawal of Armenian and Azerbaijani forces from contested border areas and
the deployment of international observers there.
“I believe that the mutual withdrawal [proposal] was a serious tactical mistake
on our part,” he told journalists.
Ayvazian argued that the United States, France and other foreign powers stopped
telling Baku to pull back its forces from Armenia’s Syunik and Gegharkunik
provinces after Pashinian voiced his proposal. He said the proposal meant that
Yerevan regards the border areas seized by Azerbaijani forces as disputed
territory.
Armenia - Opposition leader Artur Vanetsian holds a news conference in Liberty
Square, Yerevan, April 18, 2022.
Ayvazian, who was appointed as foreign minister in November 2020, spoke with
reporters as he visited Yerevan’s Liberty Square to talk to Artur Vanetsian, an
opposition leader who began a nonstop sit-there on Sunday.
Vanetsian’s Fatherland party and other major opposition groups have pledged to
stage coordinated street protests in a bid to topple Pashinian over they see as
unacceptable concessions to Azerbaijan planned by him.
Pashinian said last week that the international community is pressing Armenia to
“lower a bit the bar on the question of Nagorno-Karabakh’s status” and recognize
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. He signaled Yerevan’s intention to make such
concessions to Baku, fuelling more opposition allegations that he has agreed to
Azerbaijani control over Karabakh.
Asked whether he supports the opposition push for regime change, Ayvazian said:
“I resigned because I thought that the policy pursued [by Pashinian’s
government] does not help to further our national interests.”
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
ArmInfo.Talking to reporters in Yerevan's Liberty Square, Armenia's former foreign minister Ara Aivazyan said no requirement of Artsakh's lower status was laid down when he was Armenia's minister of foreign affairs.
"If we act with prudence, we could ensure a minimum," he said.
The diplomat said that he agreed to the post of foreign minister being sure Armenian diplomacy would succeed in reaching certain agreements and ensure Armenia's national interests.
"I would not like to make assessments now, but I think much was done and we managed to ensure certain accents by the international community," he said.
Commenting on the developments during the last year, Mr Aivazyan said:
"It was not so when I was minister. You will recall the co-chairs made several statements – on December 3, April 13, and the accents of the statements were in full conformity with our national interests."
According to him, peoples' self-determination was among the priorities.
Mr Aivazyan is sure that after analyzing the situation one can see the process would have never ended in war.
"Can you see what is going on around us? The ongoing geopolitical processes are involving not only Armenia and Azerbaijan. It is much more serious. Armenia could appear the weakest state in the South Caucasus, but much depends on Armenia's position in the context of the region's geopolitical future," Mr Aivazyan said.
As to the Azerbaijan-proposed five points, he said: "I am sure that by diplomatic means we can ensure a minimum if we take reasonable steps – even in this grave situation. We have human resources, former foreign ministers with great experience. I think we must mobilize all our national potential."
As regards withdrawal of troops on both sides, Mr Aivazyan is sure that the process was a tactical blunder committed by the Armenian side. He said that the issue was first raised on May 27, and he resigned a few hours later. "There was theorizing about border delimitation and demarcation. I had a negative opinion. I think the mutual withdrawal of troops was a tactical blunder on our part because, you will recall, specifically addressed statements had been issued before May 27. And the last statement by the U.S. Department of State was a strong-worded one. It was preceded by statements by France, the EU, Germany, Canada, India and Iran," he said. As to whether effective solutions to the Artsakh problem could be found through removal of Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his team, Mr Aivazyan is confident that the situation can be remedied by diplomatic means. However, it is a long and hard process.
"I say again, a geopolitical gamble is extremely dangerous to us now," he said. As regards the concerned over the so-called Zangezur corridor, which could be a precondition for a peace agreement with Azerbaijan, Mr Aivazyan said he is not involved in the negotiations.
"At least, when I worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, no document or idea was proposed to us. I only heard on regular occasions that Azerbaijan was stating it had proposed peace," he said. As to normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, Mr Aivazyan points out a need for a dialogue, but not by setting preconditions.
If the regional and other nations are interested in peace and stability, they should reject such categories as "winner" and "loser." "I do not see the forcing supporting Turkey and Azerbaijan are thinking so," he said.
Asked if he is supporting the Armenian premier's removal from power, Mr Aivazyan said he stated his opinion by resigning from the post of foreign minister.
Ara Aivazyan was appointed to the post on November 18, 2020, and resigned on May 27, 2021.
Russia and Armenia will not provide their territories to third countries for use against each other's interests in the field of biological security, according to a joint statement following talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik – 19th April, 2022) Russia and Armenia will not provide their territories to third countries for use against each other's interests in the field of biological security, according to a joint statement following talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
"The leaders stressed the importance of further implementation of the agreements reached between Moscow and Yerevan in the field of ensuring biological security, including on the basis of a memorandum of understanding on issues of ensuring biological security dated May 6, 2021. It was confirmed that the territories of both states will not be provided for the use of third countries in order to carry out activities directed against each other's interests in the field of biosecurity," the statement says.
On April 15, on the eve of the Armenian Cinema Day "Anahit" Film Awards took place with the support of the legendary Armenian ARARAT brandy.
ARARAT brandies have always supported both Armenian and international significant cultural events by uniquely documented the brightest moments of triumph.
“Anahit” Awards was founded in 2016 by the Armenian National Film Academy. By uniting professionals of the Armenian film industry, Armenian National Film Academy awards the most promising pictures, which on the long run draws a huge perspective for them to seek new success on the leading film awards worldwide.
The celebrated moments of the festive award were accompanied by the legendary Armenian ARARAT brandies.
“To the degree, brandy-making is an art of portraying the present for the sake of future joy. I believe, that in that sense, it is similar to filmmaking. Masters from both industries leave their unique trace in history – in the chronicles of brandy-making as well as in the rich archives of the Armenian Cinema,” says Serge Khachatryan, Chief Operating Officer of Yerevan Brandy Company.
“The birth of the Armenian Cinema was set on April 16, 1923, with the decision to establish State Cinema institution. Armenian filmmakers have their significant role in the history world cinema. Founded by the Armenian National Film Academy, the 3rd “Anahit” Film Awards took place to promote and to mark the progress of the Armenian Cinema. We are all delighted to announce that the celebration was festive. Indeed, this bright event became possible thanks to our partners, especially Yerevan Brandy Company, who stood by our side by intertwining the taste and warmth of the legendary brandies with the magic of films,” says Ruben Jaghinyan, the President of Armenian National Film Academy.
The winner of “Anahit” Film Awards for the best picture is “Should the Wind Drop” (Ani Vorskanyan as producer), for the best director is Nora Martirosyan, for the best actress is Lily Elbakyan for her role in “Chnchik” and the award for the best actor went to David Hakobyan for his role in “Should the Wind Drop”.
Photo: MoD of Armenia, March 13, 2021
It’s been over a year and a half since Pashinyan dragged Armenia into catastrophe in the 44-day war. Azerbaijani soldiers continue to occupy parts of Armenia and Artsakh and attack their people. Yet, the Pashinyan regime shows little signs of having learned from its egregious mistakes and rebuilding the Armenian military accordingly.
In this article, I’ll outline some arms acquisitions that should be heavily considered for defending against Azerbaijan. If Russian peacekeepers leave the borders of Armenia and Artsakh, it will be up to us to prevent another Armenian Genocide.
The survival of a nation cannot be left to the mercy of a single allied government. Our resounding victory is completely attainable, but we have urgent, hard work to do.
Tor
When Azerbaijan started the 44-day war, the Armenian military was equipped with a small number of high-quality Russian Tor-M2KM anti-aircraft systems. These systems registered outstanding successes throughout the course of the war.
According to Captain Sergey Mkrtchyan, who operated a Tor during the war, a single Armenian Tor division “in the course of 44 days destroyed 87 aircraft, including three planes, two helicopters, four Bayraktar-type unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as other aircraft.”
The survival of a nation cannot be left to the mercy of a single allied government.
Former President Serzh Sargsyan revealed in a post-war interview that Armenia was supposed to receive three batches of the Tor system, but instead received only one, because the Pashinyan administration decided not to carry out the Sargysan administration’s arms acquisition program.
How many young men died and how much of our homeland was lost needlessly because of this decision? These are the poison fruits of the 2018 western-supported regime change.
It’s urgent that the Pashinyan regime be replaced by one that has the desire and skillset to defend the Armenian people. And when such leadership comes into place, the acquisition of additional units of the Tor system should be seriously examined based on their effectiveness in the 44-day war.
Pantsir
The Pantsir medium-range anti-aircraft system should also be strongly considered. In both Libya and Syria, the Pantsir has reportedly scored repeated successes shooting down Turkish Bayraktar TB-2 drones, which were used against Artsakh in 2020.
According to the site “Lost Armour,” which claims to catalog destroyed military vehicles based on video and photo evidence, Turkey lost at least 19 TB-2 drones and a number of other drones in Libya. Furthermore, Turkey lost four TB-2 drones, two Anka-S drones and other aircraft in Syria.
Both the Libyan National Army and Syrian Arab Army were in possession of Pantsir systems, which were reportedly the weapon responsible for many of the destroyed Turkish drones.
Don’t fear the drone boogeyman. Toil and drudge to replace the capitulation regime in Armenia with one that actually fights for Armenia, and it will rain scrap metal, God willing.
Ironically, Armenia’s greatest weapon against Azerbaijan’s drones may not be an anti-aircraft weapon at all. As I noted in a prior article, when the war began, Armenia already possessed four types of ground-to-ground missiles and rockets that have the range to reach Azerbaijani airfields and destroy military aircraft on the ground: Smerch, Scud, Tochka and Iskander.
Why didn’t Pashinyan exercise this option during the 44-day war? Why did he let thousands die, including women and children? Why did he let our homeland of thousands of years be stripped from us, while his government constantly told us we would win?
If the Armenian people restore true leaders to the government, a preemptive strike with these missiles can go a long way to help win the next war before it even begins. It worked for Israel. In the Six-Day War, “Israel staged a sudden preemptive air assault that destroyed more than 90 percent [sic] Egypt’s air force on the tarmac.”
Orlan-10
The Russian Orlan-10 drone has been used in the Donbass and in Syria, as well as in the 44-day war. In the final days of the conflict, videos emerged of what were apparently Armenian Orlan-10 drones coordinating with artillery to destroy invading hostiles.
The Orlan-10 is used for reconnaissance, target-finding for artillery and electronic warfare. According to one source, an Orlan-10 drone costs between $87,000 and $120,000.
For the sake of simplicity, suppose the price of an Orlan-10 drone is $100,000. Pashinyan notoriously wasted approximately $100 million on four SU-30 jets without missiles. The Armenian government could have purchased a staggering 1,000 Orlan-10 drones or other cost-effective assets with these wasted resources.
In fact, President Sargsyan had a similar idea. Sargsyan stated in an interview that his administration had drafted a multi-year plan to acquire 2,500 drones by the year 2024, consisting of a combination of reconnaissance and attack drones, among other weaponry.
Slightly over 1,000 of these 2,500 drones were to be acquired between 2018 and 2020. After the 2018 regime change that brought Pashinyan to power, these plans were not fulfilled.
What is to be done?
I’ve briefly presented three systems that may prove useful in defending Armenia: Tor, Pantsir and Orlan-10. There are many more possibilities that cannot be covered in a single article.
Further still, weapons acquisitions are only one part of an effective defense. There are also the questions of leadership, training, infrastructure, fortifications, etc.
We must immediately rid ourselves of Pashinyan and labor alongside true leadership to rebuild our military and society. If we do so, not only will we be able to defend ourselves, but we can also be a victorious people again as we were not long ago.
Protest against Azerbaijani aggression, October 2020, Boston (Photo: Knar Bedian)
Here’s a memo to the Armenian nation on the occasion of the 107th year of the start of the Armenian Genocide: we need to alter our messaging by not referring to it as a finite historical event with a beginning and an end. Sometimes dates can be a distraction from the message. We focus on 1915, but the Hamidian atrocities in 1894-96 are viewed by many as the start of a significant shift in Ottoman Turkish policy that established the evil momentum. We label 1923 as the endpoint of the duration of the Genocide, as if a treaty, armistice or ceasefire ended the oppression. We know better, as Turkish policy shifted in the new republic from wholesale massacre to institutional denial and racism. After the initial assault, there weren’t enough Armenians left to commit large scale massacres, but that does not mean it was the end of the nightmare. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Why is this distinction important? We are pursuing justice, not simply commemorating a historical event. When focused on a specific window from another era, we unintentionally enable our audience to do two things. They can patronize the atrocities as an unfortunate part of history and absolve the current government from responsibility from the crime. When attempting to “correct history,” we only solve half of the problem. In his carefully worded recognition of the Armenian Genocide in 2021, President Biden was equally sensitive not to lay blame on the current Turkish government. Essentially, the message was that your ancestors committed a heinous crime by attempting to annihilate the indigenous population of western Armenia, but don’t worry, we don’t hold you accountable. This is the danger of defining or believing recognition is the goal. Fortunately, it was a political not legal announcement. The United States government wanted to do the right thing and recognize the Genocide, but they treated it as only an historical event by essentially exonerating the successor government. The US recognition announcement defines the challenge that we face in seeking justice; simply correcting history or recognizing the truth is not to be confused with justice.
We need to take responsibility for our portion of this issue. The global Armenian nation is responsible for the message that we broadcast to ourselves and to the international community. We have generally defined the Armenian Genocide from 1915-23. In doing this, we relegate it to an historical event as the Turks opened a new and enlightened page in 1923. We know that the beginning is tied to the arrest and murder of intellectuals on April 24 in Constantinople. Fair enough. One can argue the continuum of oppression from Abdul Hamid in the 1890s into the Ittihad regime in the first decade of 1900, but the intent was clearly established in 1915 under the cover of a world war. The year 1923 is an artificial endpoint simply because the indigenous population had been removed, but other forms of repression began that are directly related to genocide. Essentially, in October of 1923 the new Turkish Republic was established under Mustafa Kemal. Did his elevation as leader of the post-war Turks create a peaceful environment for the Armenians? Hardly! When he became president after consolidating his power by defeating the Greeks and pushing the allies out, his hands were already stained with the blood of Armenians, Pontic Greeks and Assyrians. It was clearly a continuation of the policies of his Young Turk predecessors. Ataturk was the author of the institutional coverup of the Genocide in Turkey in the history books and educational system by labeling Armenians as undesirables, disloyal and rebellious. He may be viewed by some as the secular change agent and liberator of Turkey, but to the indigenous people who were purged from the Anatolian landscape into the 1920s, he was a racist murderer. By the 1930s, nearly all of the two million plus Armenians living in Western Armenia were either dead, forced to migrate or became what we call today “hidden” Armenians. Armenians were openly slandered and subjected to discrimination through communal and personal property confiscation. Those battles are still being fought today with litigation to recover lost property of Armenian foundations. The Turkish government closed both the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic seminaries in Constantinople denying the churches the lifeblood of native ordained priests, despite the freedom of religion asserted in the Treaty of Lausanne. By insisting on a provision that any patriarchal candidate must be a native of Turkey, the government interference is a thinly disguised attempt to weaken the church. The 1955 riots against the Greek and Armenian Christian populations are still recalled as horrific and intentional. The continued oppression took on new forms with institutional discrimination, economic bias and cultural deprivation. When the majority of our ancestors were murdered or forced into exile, they left behind their communal/personal property and the cultural infrastructure of several millennia. Scholars have researched and documented the illegal confiscation of the wealth that became one of the financial pillars of the new republic, founded on the blood money of the murdered nations. Thousands of churches, monasteries, schools and other monuments were either converted by the government or left to decay, subject to the vile behavior of looters. This “white” genocide has been responsible for the intentional destruction of the historical presence of the Armenian nation in the Highlands. First, you kill the people, and then you continue the crime by destroying any evidence that they ever existed. This has been the policy of the Turkish government until the present. They have continued what their Ittihad/Young Turk brothers began.
In recent years, the duplicitous Turkish government has become more “sophisticated” as it operates as a sly fox with the west. Publicly, they portray themselves as the benevolent gatekeeper and stewards of other civilizations that lived on those lands. What they don’t tell a naïve world is that they are responsible for that absence felt when viewing Holy Cross at Akhtamar or vestiges of the Pontic Greek or Assyrian presence. They don’t discuss their refusal to place a cross on the dome of the Akhtamar Cathedral or the generic explanation on visitor information that hides Armenian ownership. They have graciously granted one badarak a year which the patronizing Patriarchate anxiously appreciates. But where are the parishioners? When the Church of St. Giragos in Diyarbekir was renovated and consecrated, it was a joyous occasion for Armenians and brought many forward to reclaim their identity. During one of many attacks on the Kurds, the Turkish army occupied the Sur district of the city. During their hunt for “terrorists,” they occupied and desecrated the restored Armenian church. The examples have been far too frequent and continuous. It is dangerous in Turkey today for a hidden Armenian to declare their true identity. There is a reason why they are called “hidden.”
During the early part of the last century, the Tartars to the east (now known as Azeris) began to take on some of the barbaric behavior of their cousins to the west. There were massacres in 1905 and around Baku in 1920 of Armenians. As a result of the illegal award of Nakhichevan to Azerbaijan, the greater than 50 percent Armenian population was systematically purged. By the 1980s, there were no Armenians left in that region. Following the playbook of the Turks, they began a campaign to destroy the Armenian monuments in Nakhichevan in an attempt to erase the truth. Revisionist history through physical destruction is a part of a continued genocide. In large part, the heroic defense of Artsakh in the last 30 years has been to prevent what happened in Nakhichevan. Despite a historic presence in Azerbaijan proper, approximately 350,000 Armenians were forced to abandon their homes after premeditated murder, pogroms and street violence in several cities from 1988-91. The recent occupation of parts of Armenian Artsakh has been filled with documented accounts of atrocities, cultural genocide and intimidation. This is but a small sample of the last several decades. Each of these examples is from different eras, with different leaders and a variety of crimes, but what they all have in common is the criminal intent to destroy the Armenians and to deny their basic right to exist. Simply put, the Armenians have continued to be in the path of Turkish racism and expansionism.
Conclusion: it never ended so let’s stop discussing this only in the context of some historical event in the past. It is the Turks who have proved the Turkish intent. Aside from the challenges of overcoming the legal obstacles to justice, I perceive additional risk that, if we chose to, can be manageable. Most of our friends in the journey of recognition may view that as an endpoint. They may feel morally and politically fulfilled by setting the “record straight.” Our ability to open their minds (and political power) to an unpunished crime is to connect the dots of 1915 to 2022. A genocide unpunished is an enabler for future crimes. We have repeated these thoughts countless times, but have we presented our case in this way? I fear that no one will punish the Turks for crimes committed over 100 years ago. They will stop at recognition and the rhetoric of accountability, but they may consider action against a nation that not only has denied the truth but has continued the policy of oppression to this day. Our children in Artsakh today are the children of 1915. The criminal has been encouraged by his ability to escape accountability. The UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment for the Crime of Genocide addresses the “intent to destroy in whole or in part.” The definition contains the following: “Killing members of the group…Causing serious bodily or mental harm…Deliberately inflicting…conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction…” The actions of the Turkish and Azerbaijani governments in their attempts to deny sovereignty, life and cultural identity to the Armenians are current events that represent a continuum of the crime. It is the difference between Armenians speaking upon deaf ears of a crime last century and making the case that the crimes never stopped and are impacting lives today. Our message must be effective, and the emotional commitment of our people to the crimes of 1915-23 is not sufficient. In order to pursue reparations, our message must be relevant to a world distracted by competing problems. The day will come when criminal regimes such as Turkey and Azerbaijan will fall out of favor. Conditioning the power brokers for that day with an integrated message begins now.