Tag: Armenian diaspora

  • Turkey is Backing its Citizens Abroad While Armenia is Alienating its Diaspora

    Turkey is Backing its Citizens Abroad While Armenia is Alienating its Diaspora

    Armenia has a very large Diaspora, estimated at seven million — more than double Armenia’s population. Successive Armenian governments have attracted only a negligible portion of this valuable asset for the homeland’s benefit. The Diaspora is Armenia’s most valuable backer, yet it is ignored. This is akin to a starving man neglecting the bag of diamonds in his possession. 

    Regrettably, rather than attracting Diaspora’s support, the Republic of Armenia has done the exact opposite by erecting obstacles for the Diaspora’s participation in Armenia’s development. Diaspora Armenians are deprived of the right to vote in Armenia’s elections and are banned from holding high office. Even those who possess Armenian citizenship but live overseas are not allowed to cast their votes at Armenia’s embassies or consulates in foreign countries.

    The current Armenian government has gone out of its way to destroy the only bridge that existed between the homeland and its large Diaspora by closing down the Ministry of Diaspora. Instead, Prime Minister Nilol Pashinyan unwisely appointed Zareh Sinanyan, a useless Diasporan, as the “High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs.” Sinanyan travels around the world, at Armenia’s taxpayers’ expense, to carry out propaganda for the Pashinyan regime.

    Meanwhile, the powerful Turkish government, recognizing the benefits of having close relations with its Diaspora, has embarked on a major campaign to strengthen its ties with Turks around the world.

    Turkish investigative reporter Abdullah Bozkurt posted on the Nordic Monitor website an article titled: “Turkey is expanding its diaspora engagement to promote political goals abroad.” He provides important details about Turkey’s outreach to its Diaspora.

    “The Turkish government plans to enhance its support for diaspora groups abroad, both financially and through other means, with the aim of fostering stronger allegiance to Turkey, navigating legal and administrative challenges in host countries, encouraging active political engagement and forging connections with non-Turkish religious communities,” Bozkurt wrote.

    The Turkish government’s Diaspora agency, “the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities” (YTB in Turkish), has prepared a 71-page official report titled: “Strategic Plan for 2024-2028,” which provides in great detail the specific goals of the agency, its vision, mission, and “strategy to mobilize approximately seven million members of the diaspora community to advance Turkish government policies.”

    YTB’s goal is “to contribute to Turkey’s ambition of becoming one of the world’s leading powers — a vision articulated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the ‘Century of Turkey.’”

    YTB “recommended several policy actions to the Erdogan government. It urged the use of its diplomatic influence and public diplomacy tools to exert pressure on foreign countries to lift restrictions on Turkish diaspora groups. Cooperating with other Muslim religious groups in foreign countries is another recommendation put forward by the YTB to overcome restrictions on the Turkish diaspora.”

    YTB provides funding, logistical and technical support for the activities of Turkish Diaspora groups around the world. “YTB recently participated in a program organized by the Union of International Democrats (UID), an organization acting as a foreign interest group representing Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) abroad in Ankara.”

    The YTB report identifies groups who oppose the Turkish government’s policies, labeling them as ‘terrorists.’ “YTB said these opposition groups undermine the Turkish government’s public diplomacy efforts, sow division within the diaspora and pose political and security risks to groups aligned with the Erdogan government.”

    YTB stated that Turkish Diaspora students who receive scholarships from the Turkish government to study in Turkey will “become voluntary Turkish ambassadors.” YTB also suggested that these students be connected “with Turkish companies engaged in foreign trade” so they can “become economic actors” in the countries they reside.

    More ominously, “YTB actively collaborates with other Turkish government institutions, particularly Turkish intelligence agency MIT (Milli İstihbarat Teşkilatı), and also serves as a recruitment source for the spy agency within diaspora communities abroad. This includes exchange students who have studied in Turkey on government scholarships. Turkish embassies are also instructed to help with the work of the YTB in foreign countries with every available means.”

    YTB also collaborates with “non-Turkish groups referred to as ‘related communities,’ which include global Islamist networks such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hizb ut-Tahrir networks, among others.”

    The Turkish government provided the YTB a total budget of $544.2 million for the years 2024-28, starting with $61.5 million for 2024, increasing to $83.5 million in 2025, $103.3 million in 2026, $133.5 million in 2027, and $162.4 million in 2028.

    YTB closely monitors the activities of the 15,000 foreign exchange students on government scholarships from 170 countries. In his speech on May 6, Pres. Erdogan disclosed that there are also 340,000 foreign students from 198 countries. “Furthermore, the agency [YTB] coordinates outreach efforts with over 150,000 graduates who have completed their education in Turkey. The Erdogan government also funds and supports nongovernmental organizations to complement the activities of the YTB with a $92.5 million budget. One of the main beneficiaries of this program is the UID, President Erdogan’s long arm abroad.”

    There are valuable lessons for Armenia’s leaders to learn from the Turkish government’s outreach to its Diaspora. But, is anyone in Armenia listening or cares?

  • Armenian Revolt

    Armenian Revolt

    A balanced view of the struggle between the Ottoman Empire and the Armenians in the Eastern Anatolia during the late 19th century what is considered by some today, a genocide. This in-depth documentary is based on two years of research in the United States, Russia, Germany, Romania, England, and Bulgaria with historical footage and images from the national archives of the United States, Romania, Bulgaria, Russia and Germany with participation of an international team of experts.

    User Reviews

    Finallly…historical context for a highly politicized subject

    14 October 2007 | by telstar7 (United States) – See all my reviews

    Most of us know nothing about the Armenian Revolt, which is why it is so easy for the Armenian Diaspora to convince people that their ancestors were the victims of genocide. While they are very effective in their advocacy, their approach is also unethical because they use “selective truth” to “prove” their point. They also know that most of us will jump on the bandwagon and sympathize with their claims. As for others who beg to differ, the Armenian Diaspora in the US, Australia and Europe denounce them as “genocide deniers.”

    How sad that such organizations such as the Armenian National Committee and other radicals must unjustly accuse an entire nation in order to preserve their fragile cultural identity. After all, what does it mean to be an Armenian, other than descended from victims of “genocide”? In the meantime, Armenians steer clear of the Armenian Revolt; many of them are ignorant on the subject and do not realize that the revolutionary Dashnak and Hinchak parties began to attack and kill innocent Muslims many years before Armenians were deported in 1915.

    Our Congressmen have better things to do than pass resolutions about emotional, politicized claims that have never been substantiated by the historical record. But they don’t have enough spine to stand up to their Armenian constituents and say, “Enough is enough. We sympathize with you, but this is a matter between Turkey and Armenia. Let them settle it.”

    This program on the Armenian Revolt is apparently the only one of its kind. Small wonder! It seriously undermines the genocide claim, and should be required viewing for any politician, teacher or journalist who has been co-opted by the Armenian Diaspora’s arguments.

    Yes, Armenians were tortured and massacred. But so were Muslims. If we are willing to call what happened to the Armenians a genocide, then what do we call what happened to the Muslims?

    I often wonder how some members of the Armenian Diaspora sleep at night, knowing that their political game is based on deceit.

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  • International Conference and Student Workshop on the Armenian Diaspora

    International Conference and Student Workshop on the Armenian Diaspora

    BOSTON—Boston University will host an international conference and a student workshop on the Armenian Diaspora during the weekend of February 12. The three-day event is organized by the Charles K. and Elisabeth M. Kenosian Chair in Modern Armenian History and Literature, Boston University.

    Armenian Diasporan communities emerged over centuries as a result of voluntary migration and forced displacement in times of military conflicts, the Genocide during World War I, and economic and political crises. Featuring ten panels, the conference and the workshop will bring together more than forty scholars to present their views and new research on the Armenian Diaspora. They will explore a wide range of topics, including the formation of Armenian Diaspora communities and identities in different parts of the world, the role of the Armenian communities in host societies, and the development of diasporic cultures in various contexts (e.g., nationalism, transnationalism, feminism).

    Friday Program:

    The student workshop will take place on Friday, February 12, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at The Castle, 225 Bay State Road, Boston University.

    The workshop is sponsored by the Charles K. and Elisabeth M. Kenosian Chair in Modern Armenian History and Literature, and the International Institute for Diaspora Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute).

    Session 1: Diasporic Identities and Community-building
    Friday, 10 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
    Chair & discussant: Simon Payaslian (Boston University)

    Presenters:

    Cynthia Oliphant (California State University, Fresno)
    “The Effect of Organizational Structure on the Diaspora Experience”

    Anna Harutyunyan (Freie Universität Berlin, Institute Of Ethnology)
    “Challenging the Theory of Diaspora from the Field”

    Hakem Rustom (London School Of Economics)
    “The ‘Others’ of the Diaspora: Armenian Migration from Anatolia to France”

    Session 2: Diaspora and Cultural Development
    Chair: Bedross Der Matossian (MIT)
    Discussant: Kevork Bardakjian (University Of Michigan, Ann Arbor)
    Friday, 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

    Presenters:

    Lilit Keshishyan (UCLA)
    “Wandering as Rule: The Diasporic Subject in Vahe Berberian’s Namakner Zaataren”

    Marie-Blanche Fourcade (Université De Montréal)
    “Heritage Challenges in Diaspora: How to Preserve, to Share and to Pass Down? The Case Study of the Quebec Armenian Community”

    Stephanie Stockdale (Thunderbird School Of Global Management)
    “Cultural & Social Factors of the Armenian and Jewish Diasporas of Argentina: A Comparative Study”

    Session 3: Transnationalism, Nationalism, and Conflict
    Friday, 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
    Chair: Richard G. Hovannisian (UCLA)
    Discussant: Asbed Kotchikian (Bentley University)

    Presenters:

    Stepan Stepanyan (Fletcher School Of Law And Diplomacy, Tufts University)
    “The Armenian Community of Georgia as a Factor of Security in the South Caucasus Region”

    Anush Bezhanyan (University Of South Carolina)
    “Iraqi Armenians after the Toppling of Saddam Hussein: Emigration or Repatriation”

    Katherine Casey (University Of Chicago)
    “Agree to Disagree: The Incompatible Nationalisms of Armenia and Its Diaspora”

    Lorand Poosz (Bolyai University)
    “Data Concerning the Transylvanian Armenian Community’s Response to the Armenian Genocide”

    Saturday-Sunday Program

    The conference will take place on Saturday, February 13, from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and on Sunday, February 14, from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. On both days the conference will be held at the School of Management, Auditorium-Room 105, 595 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston University.

    The conference is sponsored by the Charles K. and Elisabeth M. Kenosian Chair in Modern Armenian History and Literature, the International Institute for Diaspora Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute), and the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research, Belmont, Mass.


    Saturday Program

    Session 4: Diasporic Identity, Human Rights, and Genocide
    Saturday, 9 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
    Chair: Simon Payaslian (Boston University)
    Discussant: George Shirinian (Zoryan Institute)

    Presenters:

    Nanor Kebranian (Kenderian) (Columbia University)
    “Can the Armenian Diaspora Speak? Diasporic Identity in the Shadow of Human Rights”

    Joyce Apsel (New York University)
    “Teaching the Armenian Genocide in North America: New Resources, Programs, and Integration within Genocide Studies”

    Rubina Peroomian (UCLA)
    “The Third-Generation Armenian-American Writers Echo the Quest for Self-Identity with the Genocide at Its Core”


    Session 5: Narrativization of Diasporic Belongingness and Revival
    Saturday, 10:30 a.m. – noon
    Discussant: Khachig Tölölyan (Wesleyan University)
    Chair: Marc Mamigonian (NAASR)

    Presenters:

    Susan Pattie (University College London)
    “Constructing Narratives of Belonging among Armenians in the Diaspora”

    Sebouh Aslanian (Cornell University)
    “Networks of Circulation, Patronage, and ‘National Revival’: The Armenian Translation of Charles Rollin’s History of Rome”

    Sona Haroutyunian (Ca’ Foscari University Of Venice)
    “Vittoria Aganoor’s Alter Ego”

    Session 6: Armenian Repatriations 1946-1949: Contexts, Experiences, Aftermaths
    Saturday, 1:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
    Chair & Discussant: Susan Pattie (University College London)

    Presenters:

    Sevan Yousefian (UCLA)
    “Picnics for Repatriates”

    Astrig Atamian (Inalco, Paris)
    “Armenia, here we come! The French Armenian Communists during the Repatriations”

    Kari Neely (Middle Tennessee State University)
    “Kevork Ajemian’s Use of Middle Eastern Armenian Repatriation in ‘A Perpetual Path’ ”

    Session 7: Desnelle Collective
    Saturday, 4 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.   
    Chair: Hrayr Anmahouni/Eulmessekian (La Crescenta, Calif.)
    Discussant: David Kazanjian (University Of Pennsylvania)

    Presenters:

    Helin Anahit (Middlesex University, London)
    “Diaspora Landscapes as a Thought Model”

    Emily Artinian
    (Chelsea College Of Art & Design, London)
    “From Ararat to Anywhere?”

    Christopher Atamian
    (New York)
    “Thinking the Past: Restorative and Reflective Nostalgia in Frounze Dovlatian’s ‘Garod’”

    Charles Garoian
    (Penn State School Of Visual Arts)
    “Scattered Flesh / Tservadz Mort”

    Neery Melkonian (New York)
    “A Feminism that is Often Accented, Sometimes Whispers, Even Stutters: Modern and Contemporary Armenian Women Artists in Transnational Contexts”

    Abelina Galustian (University Of California, Santa Barbara)
    “The Substance of Orientalism in Visual Representation”

    Sunday Program

    Session 8: Culture & Economy in Diasporan Communities
    Sunday, 9:30 a.m. – noon
    Chair: George Shirinian (Zoryan Institute)
    Discussant: Marc Mamigonian (NAASR)

    Presenters:

    Aida Boudjikanian (Montreal)
    “The Armenian Jewelers’ Niche of Montreal: Between a Local Trait and an Armenian Diasporic Tradition”

    Gregory Aftandilian (Washington)
    “Re-cementing Kinship Ties: Armenian-American Soldiers and the French Armenian Community during World War II”

    Philippe Videlier (Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique, Lyons)
    “Armenians and Turks in France Confronting the Genocide”

    Matthias Fritz (State Linguistic V. Brusov University, Yerevan)
    “The Evolution of the Armenian Diaspora in Germany during the Past Two Decades”

    Session 9: Transdisciplinarity of Diaspora Studies
    Sunday, 1 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
    Chair: Richard G. Hovannisian (UCLA)
    Discussant: Khachig Tölölyan (Wesleyan University)

    Presenters:

    Daniel Douglas And Anny Bakalian (CUNY)
    “Armenians in the United States: A Quantitative Analysis Using the American Community Survey”

    Carel Bertram (San Francisco State University)
    “Diasporic Armenians as Pilgrims to Their Family Towns and Villages”

    Joan Bamberger (Anthropologist, Watertown, Mass.)
    “Re-Generation of Armenian Arts in Watertown, Massachusetts”

    Nikol Margaryan (Yerevan State University)
    “Anthroponyms in the Context of Ethnic Identity”


    Session 10: Diasporan Ethnonationalism and Transnationalism
    Sunday, 3:45 p.m. – 6 p.m.
    Chair: Asbed Kotchikian (Bentley University)
    Discussant: Bedross Der Matossian (MIT)

    Presenters:

    Ara Sanjian (University Of Michigan-Dearborn)
    “Limits of Conflict and Consensus among Lebanese-Armenian Political Factions in the Early 21st Century”

    Vartan Matiossian (Hovnanian School, New Jersey)
    “Domino Effect: U.S. Immigration Policies and the Formation of the Armenian Communities in Latin America”

    Ohannes Geukjian (American University Of Beirut)
    “Armenia-Diaspora Intransigence in Light of Armenian-Turkish Relations and the Resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, 1991-Present”

    Both the workshop and the conference are open to the public, and admission is free.

    Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized institution of higher education and research. With more than 30,000 students, it is the fourth largest independent university in the United States. BU consists of 17 colleges and schools along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes that are central to the school’s research and teaching mission.