Category: Harut Sassounian

Over 40 Armenian Genocide specialists from nine countries met in Yerevan on March 22-23 to strategize on how to devise a legal framework to mitigate the consequences of the Genocide, counter Turkish denialism, and organize genocide studies programs and museum exhibits. The conference was organized by the State Commission coordinating activities leading to the 100^th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

In his message to the conference, Pres. Serzh Sargsyan expressed regret that the Armenian Genocide has gone unpunished which paved the way for the Jewish Holocaust. He hoped that the 100^th anniversary would be an occasion to demonstrate Armenian unity and resolve to alleviate the consequences of the Genocide, secure restorative justice, and pass on to the next generation new methods of struggle and survival. The President welcomed the fact that more conscientious elements of Turkish society are shattering the wall of silence and denialism, and reexamining the revisionist policies of their country. The President asked conference participants to recommend suggestions to the State Commission for the commemoration of the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Here is a summary of the comments made by some of the genocide experts participating in the March 22-23 conference:

Israeli scholar Yair Auron criticized the State of Israel for not recognizing the Armenian Genocide, pointing out, however, that a large segment of the Israeli public acknowledges it. Having experienced a similar tragic fate during the Holocaust, Israel should have been the first country to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, stated Prof. Auron.

Historian Richard Hovannisian of Los Angeles urged the State Commission to plan artistic and cultural events rather than academic conferences to reach out to more people around the world. He suggested organizing a pan-Armenian philharmonic orchestra that would tour the world during the months leading to April 24, 2015. He also expressed the concern that the Turkish government is better prepared to counter the Centenary activities than Armenians are in planning them.

Hayk Demoyan, Secretary of the State Commission and Director of the Genocide Museum in Yerevan, presented to conference participants the plans for the expansion of the museum by 2015.

Prof.  Vahakn Dadrian of New York commented that when a denialist country is weak, it accepts its crimes more easily. As long as Turkey remains a powerful country, it will not recognize the Armenian Genocide, Dadrian observed.

Researcher Mihran Minassian from Aleppo, Syria, suggested that commemorative events be jointly observed with Greeks and Assyrians. He pointed out that Turkish denialists had not accused members of these two ethnic groups of joining the Russian Army or forming armed bands, yet they too became victims of mass violence and genocide.

Prof. Nikolay Hovannisyan of Yerevan explained that contrary to popular belief, the Ottoman Empire, not Uruguay, was the first country to recognize the Armenian Genocide through court verdicts in 1919-1926. Uruguay’s Parliament recognized the Armenian Genocide in 1965.

Vladimir Vardanyan, Head of International Treaties Department of Armenia’s Constitutional Court, stated that the concept of Crimes Against Humanity was first used on May 24, 1915 in a joint declaration issued by Britain, France and Russia, warning Turkish officials that they would be held responsible for the Armenian massacres. Similarly, after World War II, the Nuremberg Tribunal accused Nazi war criminals of committing Crimes Against Humanity rather than genocide. Vardanyan suggested that the Republic of Armenia set up a permanent state body that would research and develop the legal framework for the pursuit of genocide-related demands from Turkey in international courts.

Ragip Zarakolu, a prominent Turkish human rights activist from Istanbul who has been frequently jailed for publishing Armenian Genocide books, spoke about the “growing denial industry in Turkey.”  He suggested that denialism encouraged terrorism in Turkey.

As a participant in the genocide conference, I spoke about the need to pursue “justice” rather than mere “genocide recognition,” which has already been accomplished. The concept of justice comprises all Armenian demands from Turkey: moral, financial, and territorial restitution.

I also suggested that before planning any specific activities for the Genocide Centenary, Armenians worldwide first develop a single message and agreed upon set of goals. Otherwise, they would be sending mixed messages to Turkey and the international community as to what they really want and seek to accomplish on April 24, 2015.

Finally, the pursuit of Armenian demands must not end in 2015. They should persist in seeking their just demands from Turkey until they accomplish “justice” for their cause!

Shortly after Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis I, Armenian and Turkish media outlets rushed to inform their audiences that the Argentinean Archbishop had acknowledged the Armenian Genocide on a number of occasions.

When Catholicos Karekin II visited Buenos Aires on April 23, 2004, Cardinal Bergoglio joined him in an ecumenical liturgy and spoke during the commemoration of the victims of the Armenian Genocide. The Cardinal stated: “We are united in grief over a genocide — the first of the 20^th century — a genocide that powerful empires seek to silence and cover up by all means.”

Last week, in his congratulatory letter to Pope Francis I, Karekin II “fondly remembered” their joint meetings and prayers in Argentina, and praised the Catholic Pontiff “as a courageous, wise, and righteous shepherd.” The Catholicos recalled Cardinal Bergoglio’s “sincere affection toward the Armenian people,” adding: “We gladly confirm that the historical relationship between our churches is marked by fraternal warmth. We greatly value the progress registered by our churches as a result of collaborative efforts undertaken during the pontificates of ourselves and our predecessors. This has been manifested during mutual visits and elaborated through a multitude of educational and charitable programs.”

On April 22, 2006, during a program commemorating the 91^st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in Buenos Aires, Cardinal Bergoglio urged Turkey to unconditionally recognize the Armenian Genocide as the “gravest crime of Ottoman Turkey against the Armenian people and the entire humanity.”

More recently, in 2011, after an Argentinean Federal Court found Turkey guilty of committing genocide against Armenians in response to a lawsuit filed by survivor Krikor Hairabedian, Cardinal Bergoglio issued a statement condemning “the abominable crime of genocide that the Turkish state committed against the Armenian people between 1915 and 1923.”

Both Armenians and Turks are now wondering if in his new capacity Pope Francis I will repeat the words he uttered as Cardinal Bergoglio. Armenians are delighted that a close friend of their community in Argentina has been elected to lead the Catholic Church. Meanwhile, the Turkish press has expressed great concern that “the new Pope could be influenced by [Armenian] lobbying groups.”

Now that he has ascended to the highest office of the Roman Church, no one really knows what position Pope Francis would take on Armenian issues. One must remember that the Pontiff has two distinct functions as head of the Catholic Church and the sovereign city-state of Vatican. In other words, he is both a spiritual leader and head of state. Hence, depending on the issue, he may not necessarily express the views he held as Cardinal Bergoglio. At times, he may assume positions on political matters that diverge from his personal views and coincide with Vatican’s more worldly interests. As head of the Vatican state, the Pope may be forced to act as any other politician, such as Pres. Obama, who said one thing before the election and changed his tune afterward. However, as the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church and a man of strong moral values, the Pope cannot simply ignore or contradict his deeply held convictions.

Realizing that all Popes are not alike, it may be useful to review recent papal pronouncements on the Armenian Genocide. Pope John Paul II, on two occasions, used the term Armenian Genocide — on November 9, 2000 and September 27, 2001. However, unlike his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI refrained from using that term, preferring to qualify the Genocide as “martyrdom” and “unspeakable suffering.”

In the case of Pope Francis I, there is no need for Armenians to insist that he use the term Armenian Genocide; as the Vatican has twice acknowledged the Armenian Genocide. Thus, no purpose is served by demanding that every new Pope reaffirm the facts of the Armenian Genocide all over again. It is important, however, that Pope Francis I not retreat from his earlier position on the Armenian Genocide; substitutes and euphemisms would not be appropriate.

Given the Vatican’s positive record on the Armenian Genocide, it would be best to go beyond this issue and look for other areas in which the Pontiff could be supportive, such as pressing for the security of Armenians and other Christians in Syria. Efforts should also be made to strengthen the existing amicable ties between the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic churches, and friendly relations between the Vatican State and the Republic of Armenia.

The Empire Strikes Back, not in a science fiction movie, but in a French court!

For several years, the French-Armenian community has been trying to pass a law to penalize Armenian Genocide denial, similar to the law that sanctions Holocaust denialism. Even though the French Parliament and Senate have approved such a law, and both Pres. Hollande and former Pres. Sarkozy have supported it, the Armenian efforts have been aborted by powerful Turkish political and economic circles.

Turning the proposed law on its head, Sirma Oran-Martz, a French citizen of Turkish origin, had filed a lawsuit in France against Laurent Leylekian, a French-Armenian, for defamation of character. Leylekian, former editor of “France-Armenie” magazine and former executive director of the European-Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy, had written a sarcastic editorial titled, “Martz Attack” in the magazine’s website, denouncing attempts to transplant Turkish denialism to French soil. Ironically, Oran-Martz is daughter of Prof. Baskin Oran who resides in Turkey and acknowledges the facts of the Armenian Genocide without using that term because Turkish law penalizes those who recognize the Genocide.

In a shocking verdict last month, the court found Leylekian guilty, ordering him to pay a total of 7,500 euros ($10,000): 4,000 euros to Oran-Martz for moral damages, and 3,500 euros for court costs, despite her evasive and irrational testimony during the proceedings. She had lost an earlier court case after suing Jean-Paul Bret, the Mayor of Villeurbanne, who had requested that she acknowledge the Armenian Genocide before agreeing to include her in his party’s candidate list. She refused and withdrew from the race. In that verdict, the court referred to the Turkish state’s “vast program of denialism — powerful, perverse, and sophisticated” — a sentence later quoted by Leylekian in his editorial.

Three prominent individuals testified in court on Leylekian’s behalf: Francois Rochebloine, a French Parliamentarian; Yves Ternon, renowned expert on genocide and denial; and Hilda Tchoboian, former Chairwoman of the European-Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy. Oran-Martz was accused by Leylekian of taking part in a protest by the Turkish extremist Grey Wolves group against an Armenian Genocide Monument in Lyon, France, and signing a petition against the law on genocide denial. Testifying on behalf of Oran-Martz were: Murat Erpuyan, director of Paris-based ATA Turquie Association; Maxime Gauin, a French researcher working at a denialist Think Tank in Ankara; Alain Mascarou, a retired French teacher who knew the plaintiff in Ankara; and her husband, Jean-Patrick Martz.

Hopefully, Leylekian would be vindicated when he appeals this outrageous guilty verdict. Clearly, the judge has made a mockery of French justice by siding with a genocide denialist, while punishing a descendant of Armenian Genocide victims. By condemning Leylekian for ostensibly defaming Oran-Martz in an editorial, the judge has chosen to deny him free speech, especially a journalist’s right to express his views in an opinion column. Surely, the French judge knows the difference between an opinion piece and a news item! Furthermore, the judge ignored the public prosecutor’s request not to file criminal charges against Leylekian and to refrain from sentencing him.

It is ironic that while the French-Armenian community is trying to penalize genocide deniers, an Armenian is being sued by a denialist Turk. This topsy-turvy state of affairs makes the best case as to why the French government should pass a law banning genocide denial.

While Oran-Martz gave incoherent answers in court, frequently irritating the judge, Leylekian provided clear, concise, and convincing arguments in his defense. This is why his guilty verdict was completely unexpected. Could it be that the long arm of Turkish influence peddling has reached into the French judicial system?

After losing her first lawsuit against the Mayor of Villeurbanne three years ago, Oran-Matz vowed to continue her legal battle by announcing that this was “only the first round.” It is imperative that the verdict against Leylekian be reversed through an appeal filed by a competent, high-powered lawyer in order to right this miscarriage of justice and put a stop to more anti-Armenian lawsuits by Turkish denialists.

The French-Armenian community should not remain silent, but express its outrage in the strongest possible terms against this unjust verdict and demand that the judge be disciplined for violating French laws and insulting the memory of genocide victims.

It is high time Armenians show some resolve to defend their rights in France and elsewhere, particularly on the eve of the 100^th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide!

The Voice of Armenians TV in New York (VOATV NY) held its second annual fundraising banquet on March 2, at The Palisadium in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. On this auspicious occasion, the television network’s Board of Directors honored Zarmine Boghosian, writer and Principal of Holy Martyrs Armenian Day School; Dr. Herand Markarian, playwright, director and actor; and Harut Sassounian, Publisher of The California Courier and President of the United Armenian Fund.

After opening remarks by Master of Ceremonies Haik Kocharian and welcoming words by VOATV Chairman, Dr. Aram Cazazian, the honorees were introduced by Natalie Gabrelian, Director of Alternative Education, AGBU; Haroutiun Misserlian, educator and engineer; and Appo Jabarian, Publisher, USA Armenian Life Magazine. Congratulatory remarks were made by curator Vicki Shoghag Hovanessian and VOATV Executive Producer and host Karine Kocharyan.

In his acceptance speech, Sassounian shared with the 300 guests in attendance his deeply held convictions based on 40 years of political activism and community involvement. He expressed the hope that the recommendations outlined below would strengthen and empower Armenians worldwide:

1) Encourage the participation of women in every level of community activity. Since women comprise 50% of the Armenian people, once old-fashioned obstacles are removed, Armenians could overnight double their overall resources and capabilities.

2) Involve the youth in all societal activities by assigning them special responsibilities, as they constitute the future of the Armenian nation. If Armenians today fail to transmit their achievements and activities to the next generation, all of their efforts would have gone to waste.

3) Treat every Armenian as a family member, regardless of personal disagreements or differences in social, political, and religious affiliation or country of origin. Armenians should relate to each other as equals. No distinctions should be made between Armenians from the Diaspora and the Homeland.

4) Discard the Ottoman and Soviet mentalities inherited by some Armenians. Even though they left the Ottoman Empire long ago, and the Soviet Union more recently, it appears that the regressive influence of these mentalities has not left them.

5) Extend assistance to the people of Armenia and Artsakh, regardless of the differing views about their leadership. Presidents and Prime Ministers are temporary, while the Homeland is perpetual.

6) Strive always to form a coalition rather than causing dissension. Be a unifier, not a divider. Keep in mind the exhortation of prominent poet Yeghishe Charents: “O Armenian people! Your salvation only lies in your collective power.” Ideally, the Armenian Diaspora should have a democratically elected representation, bringing Armenians under a single umbrella by a popular vote.

7) Support all community organizations, be they social, cultural, religious or political in nature, thus helping to ensure the survival of the Diaspora. A powerful Diaspora is the backbone of a strong and secure Armenia.

8) Reject feelings of helplessness and inferiority and eliminate all defeatist attitudes. Individually and collectively, Armenians can realize their legitimate aspirations, as long as they work together for the common cause. They can overcome all adversaries and adversities by remaining united and strong. If Armenians can put their domestic house in order, they can easily counter all external threats.

9) Finally, with the approach of the Armenian Genocide Centennial, Armenians worldwide — the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh, as well as the Diaspora — should rally around a single unified message about their demands from Turkey. Armenia and Diasporan communities should not make separate and different demands, causing confusion among their supporters and adversaries. The single word that encapsulates all Armenian demands from Turkey is “Justice,” which encompasses moral, financial and territorial restitution to the Armenian nation.

While Armenia is grappling with the fallout from the February 18 presidential voting and trying to accommodate a newly energized opposition, its two hostile neighbors, Azerbaijan and Turkey, are entangled in a feud with each other over the Armenian election.

A year ago, in a column titled, “Who Rules Turkey: Erdogan or Aliyev?” I expressed my astonishment that Turkey was allowing Azerbaijan to repeatedly interfere in its sovereign policies, as in the case of the Armenia-Turkey Protocols. Now there are two fresh examples of Azerbaijan’s unwarranted interference in Turkish decision-making.

No sooner had Turkish Airlines announced that it would distribute a copy of Agos, a bilingual Armenian-Turkish weekly newspaper to its international passengers, Fikret Sadikov, an Azeri professor and political analyst, objected to its dissemination, calling it an “absolutely absurd and irresponsible gesture.”

Sadikov also complained that Turkish President Abdullah Gul had sent a congratulatory letter to Pres. Serzh Sargsyan for his re-election. “Such steps would cause great sorrow both in Turkey and Azerbaijan,” Sadikov told Trend, an Azeri publication. Prof. Sadikov’s objection was part of a larger campaign orchestrated by Azeri leaders, accusing Turkey of undermining their efforts to pressure Armenia into making territorial concessions regarding Artsakh (Karabagh).

Here are some of the objections leveled at Pres. Gul by leading Azeri officials:

— “Turkey must clarify the issue of Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s sending congratulations to his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan,” stated Novruz Mammadov, chief foreign policy of Azerbaijan President.

— “This hurt us…. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that no matter how many signs of politeness may be expressed to Armenia, it uses it for other purposes,” stated Oqtay Asadov, Speaker of Azerbaijan’s Parliament.

— “We didn’t expect this…. It is regrettable that the President of Turkey, a strategic partner of Azerbaijan, hastily congratulated Sargsyan, who was elected as a result of fraud,” stated Mubariz Gurbanli, member of Parliament and Deputy Executive Secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party.

— “Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s sending of congratulations before the official announcement of the results is the wrong step. This is the continuation of Turkey’s zero-problem policy with neighboring states. But, actually this policy failed. With this policy, Turkey’s relations with most of the states in the region have become tense. Moreover, the Turkish President’s congratulations to Sargsyan contradict the interests of Azerbaijan. At a time when the international community is expressing views that an illegitimate government exists in Armenia, the Turkish government sealed the legitimacy of the Armenian leadership. This is wrong and regrettable,” stated Arif Hajili, Central Executive Board Member of Azerbaijan’s Musavat Party.

— “If someone thinks that Armenia and Armenians will give up the so-called genocide and territorial claims thanks to these steps, they are mistaken,” stated Gudrat Hasanguliyev, Chairman of the United Azerbaijan Popular Front Party.

— “Pres. Gul’s congratulations of Serzh Sargsyan was a hasty decision,” stated Nizami Jafarov, Parliament member and head of the working group on inter-parliamentary relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey.

— “This step will not gain Turkey positive assessment by the global community. Turkey can be sure of it. Congratulating Serzh Sargsyan was a hasty step. This is not in the national interest of either Azerbaijan or Turkey,” stated Parliament member Fazail Aghamali.

— “Serzh Sargsyan is Turkey’s enemy. He accuses Turkey of so-called Armenian genocide and makes territorial claims. It is not clear why Abdullah Gul decided to be one of the first to congratulate Sargsyan on his re-election. This is unacceptable,” stated Vafa Guluzade, foreign policy advisor to the former president of Azerbaijan.

Rather than lashing back at the undue Azeri interference in Turkey’s decisions, the Turkish Foreign Ministry sheepishly explained that Pres. Gul’s congratulatory letter to Pres. Sargsyan was “a diplomatic courtesy and a gesture of goodwill.” Gul had also congratulated Sargsyan’s first presidential election in 2008.

How long will the all-powerful Turkish government, which projects its political, economic, and military clout far and wide, tolerate Azerbaijan’s repeated interference in Turkey’s policies? When will Ankara dare to tell Baku to mind its own business and make it clear that Turkey will not subordinate its national interests to Azerbaijan’s self-centered wishes?

Armenia is fortunate that, while it is dealing with the repercussions of the presidential election, its two hostile neighbors, Azerbaijan and Turkey, are busy feuding with each other!