Eddie Arnavoudian, a diasporan Armenian (born in Kenya!) who calls himself “longs distance Armenian,” wrote this moving letter after reading the issues of Shrjadardz. He calls on diasporan Armenians to support the magazine.

There isan immense amount of stuff in Shrjadardz that I disagree with strongly,
and that is putting it mildly. But for all that reading it I felt joyfully at home.

Here is a magazine in which one could sense and feel
concern for the people of Armenia, for the future of the land, one could
get an inkling of the way in which existing power was undermining the
future and how the effects of globalisation and its Armenian agents was
acting against the interests of the Armenian people.

Reading these issues was akin to being in Armenia, living like Armenians instead of
just being Los Angelo-Armenians or other variants of vanishing
species. As I walked through the large hall, a transformed barn, that we
occupied my mind was buzzing with ideas Armenian, both from Shrjadardz
about the conditions of Armenia and its people today and from Charents,
the problems of early 20th century Armenian state formation as expressed
in Antranig's clashes with the leadership of the first Armenian
republic. And much else.

As I pondered and delighted in these issues that I so love to engage with I was also exchanging glances with the people I loved. But there was an abyss between these two loves. No one
in the hall aside from my two children (6 and 3) and myself were
Armenian, and no one, including my two children had the least concern,
interest, knowledge let alone love for the matters I was pondering. It
was an eerie feeling.

To be Armenian in the Diaspora is just too lonely sometimes, especially if one lives isolated from any Armenian community. But even if one lives in dense Diaspora communities we then
become not Armenians but Los Angelo-Armenians, Anglo-Armenians, or
Franco, or Lebano, or Irano or any other o-Armenians. But here the
Armenian is the secondary particle. The hyphen denotes the process of
transition and assimilation.

As an article in one issue of Shrjadardz put it, the only enduring things Armenia are those that are made and exist in Armenia. It is no good being a long distance Armenian…

One must be an Armenian or just a Los-Angelo-Armenian or any other type of
Armenian. One can remain an excellent and admirable human being in all
these forms of course. So no ill judgments on any one. Just a thought
this is, as we plough the fields of life hoping for rich returns for our
children and their children's children too.

Anyone able to help get Shrjadardz back into print will do a great deal of good, even if they
disagree with almost everything in it! Eddie Arnavoudian

via e-mail communication

A press release from Zoryan Institute informs, “The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), headed by Israel W. Charny, President, and the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute), headed by Roger W. Smith, Chair, are pleased to announce that they have co-founded a new academic journal, Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal (GSP), published in partnership with the University of Toronto Press. GSP is the official journal of the IAGS.”

GSP’s mission is to understand the phenomenon of genocide, create an awareness of it as an ongoing scourge, and promote the necessity of preventing it, for both moral and pragmatic reasons. It seeks to educate, inform, and encourage new generations of scholars to conduct research on genocide and provide a forum for those who wish to work toward preventing it. This interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal will stress that genocide is a universal human experience; to that end, it will publish scholarly articles and reviews on all aspects of genocide and will welcome, in particular, comparative analyses and articles on intervention in and prevention of genocide.

The twentieth century has been called “The Age of Genocide.” Some historians estimate that over 100 million lives were lost in the twentieth century as a result of violence associated with genocide. From the extermination of the Hereros in what is now Namibia, through the genocide of the Armenians during World War I and the Holocaust during World War II, to the genocidal killings of Khmer by Khmer in Cambodia and the horrible massacres Bosnia and Rwanda, governments around the world refused to intervene. It became clear that the attention of the world needed to be focused on the massive destruction of human life. To that end the International Association of Genocide Scholars was formed, and it has now created a new journal to help focus the world’s attention on the necessity of saving human life.

More info on the journal here and here.

One cannot believe Turkey’s official denial of the Armenian genocide. But there are some individual Turks, whose courage is unbelievable too. We all heard about Turkish world-known novelist Orhan Pamuk going to trial for referring to the Armenian genocide. But he is not alone. There are Turks who risk everything they have to speak about the Armenian genocide. Consider a recent article by Ayşe Günaysu, who, I don’t know, where is going to end up for writing this piece…

This Country Loved Its Ağcas Very Much

By Ayşe Günaysu

The recent release of Mehmet Ağca from jail generated on different fronts a wide range of reactions. Yet Ağca is not the only member of a gang of murderers of his generation; like Abdullah Çatlı, İbrahim Çiftçi or Haluk Kırca, he is the descendant of a long tradition. This tradition is that employing for the interests of the motherland convicts to establish and use secret organizations, commit crimes, and ignore the execution of crimes. [With such precedence] the release of Agca is neither surprising nor unexpected.

This tradition goes all the way back to the days of the [Turkish] Independence Struggle. The Karakol organization, a continuation of the Union and Progress, was one of the most important organizations that prepared the independence struggle. This organization helped the CUP members who were wanted for the massacres committed against the Armenians and Greeks escape to Anatolia and join the independence struggle. Indeed, a significant proportion of the Nationalist Forces comprised of members of the Special Organization [Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa] who were mostly ex-convicts released from prisons in order to massacre the Armenians. The founders of the Nationalist Forces in the Marmara region included Dayı Mesut, Yahya Kaptan, Kara Arslan and İpsiz Recep who were pursued for their role in perpetrating the Armenian genocide and had therefore fled to the hills. The one who united these bands (çetes) was no other than Yenibahçeli Şükrü, a member of the Special Organization.

One of the heroes of the Black Sea region independence struggle, Topal Osman, owes his fame to none other than his massacres of the Kurds in Koçgiri, and Greeks and Armenians in the Black Sea region. Lieutenant Colonel Halit and Ahmet Barutçu from the same region are also members of the Special Organization and also participated in the Armenian massacres. Lt. Colonel Halit, later known as General Halit was being pursued by the authorities because of his role [as a perpetrator] during the Armenian massacres; he [therefore] had to lead his [military] division from his hiding place.

Celal Bayar, the leading person in the Aegean region who organized the national resistance against the Greeks, was likewise sought by the authorities in relation to his role in the actualization of Greek and Armenian deportations. Additionally, Colonel Avni Bey had been indicted due to his role in the Adana deportations [of the Armenians] and was in hiding. The members of the Special Organization, namely Captain Süleyman Sururi, Serezli Pehlivan, Kaymakam Köprülü Hamdi Bey, Izmir’s ex-police chief Hacı Muhiddin Efendi were all important characters of the Aegean Turkish national resistance. Taner Akçam, in his book “Human Rights and the Armenian Question, explains [the activities of] all these in great detail.

The historian Ahmet Refik’s book entitled Two Committees, Two Massacres contains a very interesting observation. Çerkez Ahmet, the “darling” in Ahmet Refik’s words of the Union and Progress, was one of the major perpetrators of the Armenian genocide. Because he had murdered Krikor Zohrab in Diyarbekir by crushing his head, he had, according to Cemal Pasha, gone “too far.” The former was therefore seized and sent to Istanbul. Ahmet Refik tells of his interview with him at the Eskisehir train station: “Brother,” [Çerkez Ahmet] said, “this situation hurts my honor. I served this country. Go and see. I turned Van and its environs into a desert. You can not find a single Armenian left there. I served the [Turkish] nation all the time. And then ruffians like that Talaat, while they drink cold beers in Istanbul, I am being transported like this. This is really so denigrating.”

The Turkish State has had [such] dark relationships and affairs in all its periods. The September 6-7 1955 events were started by false rumors that “the Greeks had bombed Atatürk’s house in Thessaloniki.” In reality, the bomb was planted by a Turk named Oktay Engin. This same Oktay Engin later assumed important positions at the MIT (Turkish Secret Service) and even served as governor at various Turkish provinces. It is also interesting to note that during an interview published in various magazines Retired General Sabri Yirmibeşoğlu boasted that: “the September 6-7 affairs were the work of the Special Combat Unit. It was perfectly organized and reached its goals.”

Yes, the tradition is ancient and still in existence. There is nothing to be surprised about.

Notes by Blogian:

Turkish original of this article appeared in Ozgur Gundem on 17 January 2006. English translation received through e-mail communication from a Turkish professor.

Last year alone, Azerbaijani and Turkish sources published information about several crimes committed by Turkish and Azerbaijani agents and terrorists that were done under ASALA’s (Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia) name.

Ironically, Ağca, a member of the Turkish terrorist Grey Wolves group, was also proclaimed “an Armenian terrorist” after he tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II (still many ignorant newspapers refer to Ağca as “Armenian”)

I have good news for Turkish nationalists. Denial, accompanied with massive hate mails, does work.

I read an article on 4 February 2006.

I do not know why I did not post this at Blogian then, but I am definitely going to do it now, because the British article has an answer to a question that I had been asking myself for a long time.

The question is the following: why the heck British media use the term “Armenian massacres” by avoiding to say “Armenian genocide?” Are they being “objective” or is there something else going on?

Actually the Muslim protests of Danish cartoons brought up many skeletons from the closet. One reason is that European journalists this time really freaked out with the pressure they faced. Such pressure, indeed, has been around from many groups as long as media have been in existence. But the violent riots really brought up serious issues, and not only about Muslims.

Without further notes, here is an excerpt from Mathew Parris’s “So They Have Thin Skins. That Shouldn’t Stop Us Poking Fun at Them” article (Times, 04 February 2006).

Muslims are not alone in this. I really hate the way some Israelis and their apologists become angry and rude whenever the state of Israel is criticised; the interviewees who jump down their interviewer’s throat the moment they dislike a line of questioning about Palestine; the readers who write — themselves offensively — to allege anti-Semitism when none was felt or intended, or bark at you if you talk about their “wall” rather than “fence”.

There is no doubting the result of this habit: we journalists are forever deleting a line here or a thought there because of the barrage of complaint we know would otherwise come from the Israel lobby. But does that lobby realise how much unvoiced hostility towards their cause this fans?

Many Turks react with similar aggression when the massacre of Armenians is mentioned. One takes care not to say “genocide” not because it wasn’t a genocide but because one cannot bear the prospect of all the furious letters from Turkish sympathisers.

Emma Ellis, an eighth grade student from the Elisabeth Morrow School in Englewood (New Jersey), has published a column about the genocide in Darfur with the support of her classmates. The group of these students, who are raising awareness about the Darfurian genocide, can be contacted at [email protected].

Emma writes in her first paragraph, “The Holocaust. Rwanda. The Armenian genocide. These words evoke thoughts of ineffable death and suffering. After these tragedies, the world vowed never again.’ Genocide is a problem of the past, right? But what about Darfur? Do you even know where it is?”

After briefly describing the genocide in Darfur, Emma continues, “The people of Darfur need help, and quickly. Currently, 10,000 people are dying each month.

Given these facts, how can people possibly remain silent? It does not seem possible that so few people know about this tragedy. Perhaps they don't care.

Indifference can kill as surely as a bullet.”

(from http://platform.blogs.com)

This great eight-grader calls upon us to end the genocide in Darfur by telling us to follow the example of her classmates and herself, “There is something everyone can do to help the people of Darfur. My classmates and I are currently writing letters to our congressional leaders, educating our peers, and giving people postcards to sign and send to Washington. We are also going to raise funds to send to Darfur relief organizations.”

The entire article is available here.

According to Canadian novelist Marsha Skrypuch’s blog, her newest novel, Aram’s Choice, will be in print soon.

Ms. Skrypuch writes on 19 February 2006:

Aram's Choice
A few days ago, I got the page proofs for one of my upcoming books, Aram's Choice.

This is a very special book. It's a short novel — only 72 pages — but it will have full colour illustrations throughout. I have never written a novel quite like this before. It's actually harder to write a novel as short as this because you don't have the luxury of extra words.

The story itself is a simple one. It's about Aram, an Armenian orphan, who comes to Canada in 1923. But he doesn't simply arrive in Canada, he's rescued. The story of the first 50 Armenian children to be rescued by Canada is a remarkable one and also a story that has been shoved under the carpet of time. This story is actually the one that compelled me to begin writing books in the first place.

The story is an emotional one. About a young boy who has already lost his mother and father and little brother because of the Armenian genocide in Turkey. But he now must choose to lose everything else that is familiar — his grandmother, the orphanage in Corfu that he considers home, and his beloved teacher — on the chance that he can gain freedom as a Canadian.

You'd think that because this story had been in my heart for so very long that seeing the page proofs would have no effect on me. After all, these are my own words.

But the page proofs include Muriel Wood's astonishing paintings. They are so real that I had tears pouring down my face as I read my own words. She got inside of this story and made it her own. The paintings are so realistic that Aram and his friends are heart-breakingly real.

I am proud of this novel and I am honoured to have Muriel Wood as my illustrator. And now, I wait anxiously until the final book is in my grubby little hands.

Here's the Amazon.ca page:

http://tinyurl.com/9mo9b

A very interesting article by Joseph A. D'Agostino, Vice President for Communications at the Population Research Institute, titled “USAID's 'Population Stabilization' Efforts Work Too Well in Third-World Countries” is published at Human Events, the National Conservative Weekly (20 February 2006).

The article discusses America’s ridiculous involvement in shrinking the population of poor and “suicidal” (with lower or no birth rate) countries.

“Population stabilization” in developing countries is an official purpose of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), though in keeping with the zeitgeist, efforts to achieve that goal are today called family planning programs. In this time of massive deficits, American taxpayers pay over $400 million a year (conservatively estimated) to reduce the populations of Third World nations whose birthrates have already collapsed or are collapsing.

The article pirtucarly pays attention to the fact that America also invests in decreasing Armenia’s population, a small nation of less than 3 million people, where emigration is becoming a national disaster. Mr. D’Agostino writes, “It is not only mighty former enemies to which USAID ships contraception by the boatload. Tiny little Armenia, already the victim of a massive genocide by the Turks in the 20th Century, has a birthrate of 1.4 also, and is also losing people though it has only 3 million to begin with. The UN conservatively projects that the proportion of retirees (people 65 or older) in the population will double to 24% by 2050. Can Armenia afford that? Why are we contributing to this problem?”

This is an interesting issue. I am glad Americans are bringing this up, because, ironically, I was thinking today of a conversation I had four years ago with an Armenian community leader, who was very concerned with America’s involvement to reduce Armenia’s already-small population.

Today, Gurgen Margaryan would be 28-years-old.

Exactly two years ago, on 19 February 2006, Gurgen was hacked to death by an axe.

Somewhere around the morning it seemed to me that the light was switched on, as I was sleeping with my face turned to the wall. Suddenly I heard a strange muffled noise, around two or three times. Then, without thinking of something bad, I turned round; being still half asleep I opened my eyes, and only then understood what had happened. By Gugo's bedside I saw the Azerbaijani classmate with a long-handled axe in his hands. I got up from my bed and in Hungarian, no, in English, said to him: 'Stop it! What are you doing?' When I saw that my roommate was lying on his back and his head and neck were bleeding, while he was wheezing as if he was short of air (those were very low sounds) I was simply shocked. I understood that I could not help any longer, but I had to stop the further events so I went downstairs and called for help. I knew that I could not help my friend any more.
The investigator showed Safarov's photograph. I explained that it was not the person I attended the course with, but it was the person who was standing with an axe in his hand in my room and was stabbing my friend.
When I shouted at that person, he turned to me and said (or I understood it from his gesture) that he had no problems with me and even after that he made two or more blows, after what he left the room, and I left after him. He left with such an expression on his face as if he had completed something important well enough. I went to look for help, and he turned right to the corridor, while I turned left. I didn't know where he planned to go.
I did not notice any strain in the relationship between Gurgen and Azeri, Gurgen didn't mention about it either.

(from the testitmony of Gurgen’s Hungarian roommate, Kuti Balazs. Read the entire testimony at http://budapest.sumgait.info/kuti-balazs-account.htm).

Gurgen's funeral in 2004

A new poem (in Armenian) by Sona Arshunetsi in memory of Gurgen Margaryan is available at http://gevorgian.com/hakob/archives/2006/02/17/13/15/55/.

Rest in peace, Gurgen… Rest in peace…

The Sudanese government is denying the Genocide in Darfur. Are we going to deal with another Turkey or what?

via Coalition for Darfur from Reuters (18 February 2006)

Sudan's government on Saturday rejected U.S. accusations that genocide was ongoing in its Darfur region and said it was discussing allowing a robust U.N. force to take over from African peace monitors there.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday said genocide was continuing in Darfur through a widespread campaign of rape, looting and killing and urged the African Union to accept the help of U.N. peacekeepers to stop the atrocities.

"She is biased because any authentic parties who are concerned with what's going on in Darfur have confirmed that this is not genocide," said Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Jamal Ibrahim.

"This is a systematic policy of the U.S. administration … of pressuring the Khartoum government," Ibrahim said, accusing the United States of responding to internal pressures from Congress and the African American lobby.

Foreign Minister Lam Akol said he had not heard Rice's comments, but, he told Reuters: "of course there is no genocide in Darfur."

Today, University of Michigan sociology professor Fatma Gocek mentioned in a group discussion, “according to an article in the public opinion quarterly fall 2005, at least 40% of the American public still think such weapons [weapons of mass destruction] were found in Iraq.”

Ironically, my own sociology professor at a Colorado college belongs to that 40%! She bravely stated during her lecture, “Saddam Hussein used weapons of mass destruction against his own people!”

The photo above is the scan of a handout that the same professor gave to her class earlier this week. One would think that a sociology professor would try to go behind prejudiced knowledge and help students to be critical. She actually gave the handout “for our knowledge.”

Please, read the attachment above and find the error in it.

The PROBLEM with the “information” is that it calculates every Washington D.C. resident while presenting the data. But when it says that there have been 2112 deaths, it only refers to American soldiers who were killed in Iraq, thus ignoring the death of many international journalists, other army members and the 30,000 (at least) Iraqi people who got killed as a result of the invasion!

Of course I told this to my professor in loud as soon as I read the “information” piece. She did not have any counterargument and said, “other lives are important too” and continued to speak about other things without making any sense.

Well, my professor says she is “not smart enough to come up with tricky questions in tests.” Having this information, I assumed that she would not be “smart enough” to come up with the “information” she provided us.

A Google search (complied at 10:30 Eastern time, 18 February 2006) indicated that the same “information” (little different in one sentence) is posted at over 390 (mostly Republican) websites. It is even posted at Republican congressman Doolittle’s (what a self-explanatory name…) official website (http://www.house.gov/doolittle/itk-12-2-05.html)!

The thing is in the “little different in one sentence.” My sociology professor had edited the last part of the following sentence out: “That means that you are about 25 percent more likely to be shot and killed in our nation’s capital, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, than you are as a member of the military in an active war zone in Iraq.”

The solution? She needs to become smart enough to copy passages correctly!

Hold on!!! The “information” is still incorrect in the “correct” form, since it is comparing military persons from Iraq to Washington D.C. residents.