Armenians Worldwide to Deal Turkey’s
By Appo Jabarian
Executive Publisher / Managing Editor
A worldwide debate has been raging on whether the Sept. 19 Ankara-sponsored one-day mass in a 10th century Armenian Church -- now converted into a Turkish museum should be supported by the exiled victims of the Armenian Genocide and their offspring.
An ill-advised Turkish decision to entrap Armenians in a Turkish propaganda ploy has backfired. Armenians have once again used the opportunity presented by the international media to amplify their demands for justice and for the return of their lands and over 2,300 churches and monasteries illegally confiscated by Turkey.
Initially, the Akhtamar issue seemed divisive. However, it ended up giving Armenian activists a timely window to share their political awareness and strategic thinking with fellow Armenians, seeking to develop their sense of Turkish politics vis-à-vis the Armenians.
The political debate in Armenia and the Diaspora revealed that the overwhelming majority of Armenians worldwide were bracing to deal Turkey’s denialist propaganda machine a major defeat.
There is a distinct possibility that in case of a lack of sizeable Armenian participation, Turkey may bus thousands of Turks and force them to masquerade as Armenians during the one-day Mass at Akhtamar.
Turkish newspapers are still using the turkified name “Ak-damar” (“white vein” in Turkish) instead of the Armenian name “Akh-Tamar.” Would denialist Turks call Turkey, “Durkey,” or even “Durkhey”? Of course not! But when it comes to mutilating the Armenian name of “Akhtamar” church, they have absolutely no qualms. They’re all too willing to desecrate even the names of historic Armenian and Greek landmarks in Turkish-occupied Armenian and Greek lands.
The Armenian name is derived from the words “Akh,” (gasping in Armenian) “Tamar” (girl’s name) as told in an old romantic story. As the story goes, those words were uttered by a drowning mainland Armenian young man who loved an Armenian girl living on the island. One night he swims towards the island’s secret rendez-vous place to see Tamar. She held an oil lamp to give him guidance in the darkness of the night. Other island boys – jealously in love with her, extinguish the oil lamp. Tamar’s lover loses his orientation, gets exhausted, and eventually drowns barely uttering the words “A’kh” “Tamar.”
According to Panorama News of Armenia, a group of eight Armenian youth organizations have called on all Armenians worldwide last week not to take part in a Mass to be “served” in Sourp Khach (Holy Cross) Church on Akhtamar Island in Turkish-occupied Western Armenia’s Lake Van. The statement by the group said: “We call on all Armenians not to go and not to participate in that event that mocks Armenians. … Remember we can never be guests in a land which was seized from us by barbarians.”
According to another news report, visiting Armenian children wanted to light candles in the Akhtamar Armenian church, “but policemen said that it is forbidden, as ‘it is a museum and the walls will be stained.’ Ms. Tonoyan, the tour organizer, told the children to stand in the center, not to stain the walls. The children started singing and praying; but suddenly a policeman came and told us to leave the church. Tonoyan said that the kids left the church, but continued to sing outside. They were not allowed to burn incense by the khatchkars (cross-stones) or gravestones outside the church. “The children tried to burn incense near one of the khatchkars, but a Turkish policeman came up and stepped on it,” Tonoyan said.
"Last week, tempers flared in Armenia when the Holy See of Etchmiadzin announced its intention to send two clergymen to the Sept. 19 ceremonies. His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II usually consults with Armenian officials before taking decisions on matters involving foreign countries. Since he was absent from Armenia while this announcement was made and possibly unaware of the objections raised, His Holiness now has the opportunity to make a final determination regarding the sending of representatives of the Holy See to Akhtamar. As Armenians in Turkey are not permitted to freely express their views, Church officials and lay leaders outside Turkey should take the initiative to condemn the Turkish exploitation of Armenian religious ceremonies," wrote Harut Sassounian, publisher of The California Courier on August 17.
Sassounian wrote: “Ever since the Genocide, after nearly a century of banning Armenian church services, the Turkish government has finally decided to allow a one-time celebration of Mass to be held at the 10th Century Holy Cross Church on Akhtamar Island. … Those calling for a boycott indicate that the true aim of the Turkish authorities is to score propaganda points with the European Union and the United States, by feigning tolerance towards Christians and other minorities. In reality, successive Turkish governments have carried out a systematic policy of eliminating all visible signs of Armenian presence throughout Western Armenia (Eastern Turkey) for over nine decades, during which more than 2,000 Armenian churches and monasteries have been destroyed or converted into non-religious use.”
Sassounian’s article titled “Why Would Armenians Go to Akhtamar, And Become Tools of Turkish Propaganda?” sparked an avalanche of reactions from readers on several websites worldwide.
At press time in the evening of August 24, in response to Sassounian’s article, 103 comments were posted on The Armenian Weekly’s website. About 85% or 86 reactions reflected categorical opposition to the idea of attending the one-day Mass at the Akhtamar Church in Turkish-occupied Van, Western Armenia. Nearly 15% were in favor.
Addressing her remarks to Boyajian, on August 20, Katia K. wrote on armenianweekly.com: “Boyajian… as eloquent as always. I completely agree with you. A silent Boycott will be an opportunity lost as I said in a previous post. If we do not make noise in the international media and just stay away from the mass at Sourp Khach (Holy Cross), we will have abandoned an opportunity at exposing the truth about the church. The truth is that the church belongs to us, it belongs in the Wilsonian map of Western Armenia, and it is being exploited by its occupier.”
Edward Demian wrote: “I have serious qualms about not attending. … Will the Turkish authorities say then, for lack of interest by the Armenians, we will hand it over to the local religious authorities, who will dispose of it at their pleasure?”
Perouz countered: “Those who go are bending their knee in obedience to the butchers of our people. what else is it when Turkey tells Armenians when and where and for how long, and all we can say is how much?”
Gina wrote: “Whatever the underlying motivation of Turks, I don’t think we are gaining anything by boycotting this event. Absence of Armenians can be interpreted and presented as indifference from our part.”
Stepan stated: “I simply believe that when you overtly boycott, your take away your voice”
Countering Stepan and Gina, Gordon P. answered: “’when you overtly boycott you take away your voice’…? In Turkey? Really???? Regarding Armenians? They have a voice like other Turks? This is news. I almost fell off my chair in jubilant laughter… . What ‘voice’ are you referring to Stepan? The one muzzled by the Turkish authorities on an hourly basis by the likes of good for nothing zealots like Robert, Murat and the other stooge that entertain us every week on this site? Any other lame excuse for going I could have stomached I guess, but the ‘take away your voice’ bit really is out there….”
Irate "Armenian" wrote: “I love how some people in their comments here suggest softening the approach to Turks by making quirky ‘symbolic gestures highlighting the sorrow we feel as a nation.’ FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE PEOPLE WAKE THE HELL UP! The majority of these people still relish in the fact that their great grandfathers put a stake into the ground with your ancestors sliced-off head on it as a head bust to display their pride in killing-off everything non-Turkish.”
On August 20, Garbis wrote: “I think the underlying notion that really undermines arguments for going to Akhtamar is the false belief that Armenians have an influential say in what happens to Akhtamar post-September regardless of whether we attend or not. It’s an unfounded assumption that many of you are making.
One of the participants of the discussion on The Armenian Weekly blog, Gayane’s passion and dedication came from her “great grandfather who dedicated his entire life finding orphans and reuniting with their families after the Genocide.”
On August 17, Vrej A. wrote: “This really is an easy decision to make. … No Armenian with any semblance of dignity would step foot into this trap.”
Addressing his remarks to defeatist Armenians, Fredrick wrote on August 19: “Turks are still playing the Armenians like a fiddle. First the protocols and now this!!! When are you guys going to wakeup and start to lead? I guess due to hundreds of years of being subservient to the Turks it has become a second nature!”
On Auguist 17, Jerry Tutunjian wrote on 24april200x@yahoogroups.com: “Within seconds after Holy Mass at Sourp Khach, Ankara's propaganda machine will try to drown the global airwaves and the electronic highways with articles and images of the lucrative farce, to demonstrate to the world that Turkey does not persecute Armenians, that friendly relations are blossoming between Turkey and Armenians, that the bothersome Genocide issue is buried and forgotten. … Armenians who participate in this charade are either ignorant or do no care about our national rights or don't mind being the brain-dead play things of Turkish propaganda.”
Does Ara Sarafian, the director of the Gomidas Institute in London, pay attention to Tutunjian’s concerns? A few days ago, Hürriyet Daily News of Turkey reported that he plans to attend the ceremony to be held at Akhtamar church. Several readers of USA Armenian Life Magazine have called to condemn Sarafian’s act. They were especially offended by Mr. Sarafian’s position as a Turkish apologist. Sarafian had said that if Akhtamar Armenian Church “is not turned into a church, that is not the end of the world and we should not read anything negative into it.”
One would ask if Sarafian is an authentic historian or is he a historian for hire? Deeply upset readers asked “whether Sarafian was being showered by gifts from Ankara both in the form of Armenian blood money, and other intrinsic favors.”
Some Armenians, who are still reeling from centuries-old slave mentality under the yoke of ottoman-Turkish occupiers, are expressing “immense satisfaction” and “eternal gratitude” towards their Turkish perpetrators. Thank goodness, these naïve Armenians are in the minority. But will they ever muster courage and self-respect to stand up to renewed Turkish appetite to rob the Armenians once again – this time of their right to full recovery and full usage of over 2,300 churches, monasteries, cultural monuments, cemeteries and other Armenian community properties illegally confiscated by Turkey?
I wonder what the defeatists have to say about several denialist aspects that still prevail in today’s Turkey.
Murdered journalist Hrant Dink, posthumously continues to be target for denialist Turkish hatred. According to Milliyet Daily News, Turkey’s foreign minister has said he regrets the defense the Turkish state gave at the European Court of Human Rights in the case concerning Dink -- drawing parallels between Hrant Dink’s perspectives and Neo-Nazism that were prepared by his Ministry.
Turkey continues to severely punish Turkish media outlets that utter the words “Armenian Genocide.” Recently, the Turkish state’s television and radio monitoring agency, the RTUK penalized Haberturk TV station’s “Teke Tek” (“One to One”) debate show for comments made by Sevan Nisanyan on the topic of the Armenian Genocide. The episode in question aired in March.
In addition to occupying Western Armenia, Armenian Cilicia, Greek Smyrna, Greek Constantinople, Greek Pontus, Northern Kurdistan (historic Medea), Syrian Arab lands, Northern Cyprus, Turkey continues to suppress the true identity of hidden Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, even Kurds, Arabs, Jews, and other minorities who are barred from living freely with their real ethnic and religious identities.
Turkey fears that the moment it “authorizes” the re-establishment and the full usage of the churches, a social and political earthquake will take place and millions of forcibly turkified individuals will revert back to their real identity. That in itsself may cause irreversible process of de-turkification of large segments of today’s society in what is now Turkey which in turn may ultimately trigger secession processes in Wilsonian Armenia (now eastern Turkey) and Armenian-Greek-Arab-Kurdish Eastern Mediterranean basin now occupied by Turkey.
How can one call a robber “a good-hearted” individual when that robber has killed most of the neighboring family, forcibly has “adopted” the surviving children; has plundered the victims’ assets worth millions of dollars; and then one day just to “show” some “good-will,” “returns” a few pennies as opposed to the entire loot. Some of the survivors would be naïve to call the perpetrators “good-hearted.” Luckily, in contrast to the few naïve victims, the majority of the survivors would call a spade, “a spade,” and call the criminals “perpetrators,” “plunderers,” “usurpers” and “illegal confiscators” of the victims’ properties.
THE FUNDAMENTALS OF ARMENIAN IDENTITY OR WHO IS AN ARMENIAN?
In the current most complex period of development of
After all, who can be considered Armenian today? As sensitive as this question is, since it touches the feelings of millions of people (especially our compatriots abroad), answering it is imperative. For an adequate illustration of the topic let us first present the state of affairs which the Armenian nation finds itself in today.
There are some irrefutable realities which we must see and accept exactly as they stand, rather than turn a blind eye to them, as do a significant section of the Armenians, including its "elite".
Thus:
Fact 1: The Armenian ethnicity is under the threat of extinction on the territory of its own homeland – in the
a) the possibility of military aggression by
b) a critical demographic crisis (the exhodus of over a million Armenian citizens and the ongoing emigration negatively impact the viability of all spheres of life in the country);
c) the stalling of Armenian nation/state building process as well as the solidification of its political institutions;
d) uncultivated state of
e)
f) social tension, including the class and regional aspects (inter alia, the artificially created but effectively maintained dangerous antagonism between "hayastantsi" and "gharabaghtsi", the total mistrust towards politicians and political institutions, the alianation of the people from the decision-making process);
g) the complete absence of any struggle against corruption which pervades all spheres of public life in the republic;
h) the lack of a consistent language policy in
i) The Georgian state policy of forcing out Armenians from Javakhk using administrative, economic, cultural, religious, linguistic and demographic pressures, and now even through open show and use of force.
Yet, the foremost threat is characterized by the highly probable Azerbaijani aggression, which is being methodically planned and scrupulously prepared, with
Fact 2: Armenians can survive only if
Fact 3: Without
Fact 4: During the last decades the inevitable acculturation and assimilation processes in Spyurk have sharply accelerated to an unprecedented level. In particular, as a result of emigration, every year the ranks of the Armenian communities are thinning out in the Middle East, where until recently the percentage of mixed marriages were extremely low, and the Armenian schools and other community structures functioned effectively. In 20-30 years from now there will remain at best tiny islands of the once flourishing communities of
Fact 5: There is no Armenian culture without the Armenian language. Along with the statehood and the territory under its control, the language is the foundation and paramount means of preserving the Armenian ethnicity. The fact that many of our compatriots, especially in Spyurk, can feel and consider themselves Armenian without knowing the Armenian language, is possible only thanks to the people of Armenia who still speak, write and create in Armenian. Let us picture a hypothetical situation where Armenians in Armenia have forgotten their mother tongue and communicate with one another, are educated, write and create in a foreign language, no matter which – Russian, English or Chinese. This would signify nothing less than the end of the Armenian civilization, the end of the Armenian culture and the end of the Armenian ethnos!
Yet, today
Conclusions
Conclusion 1: The Armenian nation is in the active phase of the struggle for survival on a fraction of its own homeland, preserved at the cost of unimaginable sacrifices. In other words, the Armenian nation is a struggling organism whose main, vitally important function is the struggle for survival.
Conclusion 2: The frontlines of this struggle for survival stretch out not only along
Based on the above-mentioned strategic considerations I will attempt to answer the question: "who is an Armenian?" and in what way is s/he differentiated from an Armenian by birth.
One is an Armenian if s/he:
1) considers
2) has strong psychological attachments to his homeland – its territory, people, language and culture;
3) feels personal responsibility for
4) if living abroad, seriously contemplates avenues for his and his family’s repatriation;
5) either is or tries to become the bearer of the Armenian language and culture;
6) strives to maintain his offsprings Armenian, including by means of passing on to them the knowledge of the Armenian language and by bringing them into the realm of the national culture.
Those of our compatriots who consider the country of their birth or citizenship and not Armenia as their homeland, who do not feel psychological attachments and political responsibility towards Armenia, who do not wish to think about living in the Homeland, who do not seek to be the bearers of the Armenian language, who consciously or unconsciously have reconciled with and are not concerned about the inevitable assimilation of their offsprings, can be considered Armenians by origin only, because, in reality, they are already either cosmopolitans or representatives of another nationality. Indeed, it does not matter at all if they shout from the rooftops that they are the most real and authentic Armenians (a genuine self-deception!). The fact is that these individuals, regardless of the reasons, are beyond the nation’s life-process and do not partake in its subsistence even at its most fateful moment.
It should also be emphasized that genetics are of a secondary importance in determining of an Armenian or any other national identity. The real identity of an individual is defined by his personal involvement in and contribution to the life processes of the relevant nation.
Thus, we should differentiate between an Armenian on the one hand, and a person of Armenian origin on the other. This does not mean at all that the former is good and the latter is bad. Simply, the latter no longer can or wants to sacrifice anything for the sake of
For Armenians by origin it would be useful perhaps to look at themselves honestly and without self-deception and hypocracy: They have actually left the field of the nation’s life activities. Nevertheless, the road is still open for them both ways – total and irreversible assimilation or the return to national roots, the rediscovery of the Armenian language and culture and participation in the nation’s life. In this sense, a large segment of Spyurk are potential Armenians. Unfortunately, such alianated potential Armenians are not rare in
I would like to repeat what I have written about many times before. Preserving Armenianness abroad, "hayapahpanum", cannot be an end in/of itself. The true goal for the preservation of Diasporan Armenians is their reunion with their motherland under the auspieces of an independent state, as of now on the territory under the control of Armenian armed forces. Considering the preservation of Armenianness an end goal (as a considerable part of the Armenians abroad does) severely weakens the most important elements of the same "hayapahpanum."
The struggle for physical survival is unfortunately the core function of life of the Armenian nation. It is this very function that determines and necessitates the fundamental pillar of the Armenian identity – direct and personal engagement in this struggle for the realisation of the national objectives, which presently are:
- the preservation at all cost of that territory, essential for security, on which Armenia (RA and NKR together with the liberated territory around it) has existed for the whole period of its latest independence;
- the increasing of the number of the Armenian population in the Homeland;
- the preservation of the Armenians of Javakhk on their lands;
- the building of a nation-state based on the principles of rule of law, social justice, democracy and protection of national interests and values, including the development of the Armenian language and culture.
There are tremendous practical, ideological and psychological obstacles and ossified stereotypes that must be overcome throughout this struggle. They emanate essentially from non-Armenian sources but are often coming in to the scene through those Armenian political structures which long ago or recently have fallen under the slavish dependence of foreign powers. The engagement in the struggle for the achievement of the above-mentioned objectives will underpin an Armenian’s ethnic resistability with such a breath of emotions, feelings and knolewdge that he/she will indeed have the drive and the need to acquire and become the bearer of the basic elements of the national self-consciousness – the language, culture, customs and traditions.
To sum up, we can conclude that as long as Armenia as a nation and state is drawn into a long-term struggle for survival against powers superior in terms of numbers, resources and territory (Turkey and Azerbaijan), the most natural and functionally strongest ethnically differentiating characteristic feature of an Armenian is the acknowledgment and assumption of personal responsibility – proportionate to his/her strengths and capabilities – for destiny of the homeland.
By Armen Ayvazian, Ph.D. in Political Science, Director of the "Ararat" Center for Strategic Research
P. S. At the end I invite you to read an English translation of an excerpt from a poem by Raphael Patkanyan entitled "The Armenian and Armenianness" written back in 1855, and a quote from Garegin Nzhdeh. Both are most relevant to this discourse.
Who is an Armenian? Is he the one who speaks in Armenian?
Or whose name ends with the suffix yan?
The one who always eats tolma, pilav for lunch
Or proudly always wears Armenian attire and hat?
Who is an Armenian, is he the one who attends an Armenian Church
And goes to confession at least four times a year?
That has never ignored the lent and also fasts during that
And when he yawns he crosses his open mouth?
No, my dear, nationhood is not an external act
Not even your Armenian birth will give you that right...
If you are an Armenian, you must respect the Armenians for sure,
Love your nation not by words but as you love yourself,
For her sake if necessary, sacrifice all your self,
Don’t even save your life, give your blood to her
Not with the hope that your nation instatntly will appreciate you.
(Translated from Armenian by Hratch V. Vartanian, M.D.)
Later, in mid-20th century the same concept is highlighted by Garegin Nzhdeh: "
This coincidence could testify only to the following: the struggle for survival of the Armenian nation has now been going on for over one and a half century.
