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YEGPARIAN: OCCUPATION, LIBERATION
By: Garen Yegparian
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2011/10/17/yegparian-occupation-liberation/
Mon, Oct 17 2011
Nope, this article is not about the new movement that's working to
take back the reins of government from Wall Street. It's about a
strange juxtaposition, somewhat jarring, that exists in our Armenian
reality. It struck me on the two days of this past weekend.
Entrance to the "Anatolian Cultures and Food" festival I, with my
youngest brother to keep me well behaved, went to check out the
"Anatolian Cultures and Food" festival (October 6-9) held in Orange
County and the bitterness of occupation slapped me resoundingly. This
festival is a huge production. I find it hard to believe it is the
doing, exclusively, of the Pacifica Institute, whose name was plastered
all over the place. I'm convinced the Turkish government has a hand
in this (especially since a similar event has already taken place
in Melbourne, Australia). That same Turkish government currently
controls our lands, so they get away with representing the history,
reality, and culture of the region any which way they please. Hence,
that bitter taste of occupation.
Imagine, ambling down a walkway created by walls of history. One
side is written in English, the other, Turkish. Hittites, Phrygians,
Turks, and all other occupants of Asia Minor (NOT just Anatolia which,
as Richard Hovanissian pointed out recently, includes Anatolia and
the Armenian Plateau/highlands; the Turks are conflating the two for
their own nefarious reasons). Except, of course, we, the Armenians,
are largely missing. How is that possible? How is it possible to tell
the story of the Roman conquest of the Eastern Mediterranean without
ever mentioning Dikran the Great? It's eminently possible if you're
a liar, a historical revisionist, and a genocidal state striving at
all costs to avoid accountability.
After the walkway, on the right (the south end of the festival area),
the visitor is treated to reproductions (images printed on material
attached to framing) of parts of the Topkapi palace with pictures
of various artifacts inside. There was even a reading going on, from
what I assume was the Quran. Upon leaving this exhibit, I was struck
by the size ofthe festival area, probably on the order of at least
thrice the footprint of the Navasartian Games Homenetmen organizes
at Birmingham High School.
Continuing to the right, there was a food preparation show, with
audience participation, going on and dozens of dishes pictured on
the wall. Next door were some booths- Pacifica Institute, books, the
Turkish Journal, and the like. Then, the visitor turns right into the
food area with various vendors and some on the spot preparation in
traditional ways. Unfortunately, there was one booth with an Armenian
name. This may be good or bad, and I've already encountered arguments
on both sides of the issue. Regardless, it's bad because it was not
done in consultation with our community institutions. A substantial
stage for various dance troupes and other performances bounds the
packed food area on the north.
Beyond lay the most frustrating and insulting exhibit... a
representation of Akhtamar. This is the height of cultural thievery,
despite mention of Armenians as the builders, though as minimally as
possible. Comically, the texts describing the church alternately used
its correct name or the Turkified "Akdamar", sometimes in sequential
sentences! This is a clever Turkish revisionist tactic, essentially
saying "yeah, there are these things called Armenians, and a few of
them were around, even built a church, but they ain't worth much
mention beyond that". They thus insulate themselves somewhat from
criticism, but must be called out for every gimmick they use.
After Akhtamar, Constantinople, and other exhibits (all photographic
representations as I described Topkapi) are laid out on the northern
end of the festival area. Interspersed are booths with stone carving,
carpets, various locales soliciting tourism, etc. The northwest corner
was set up as a children's playground. Finally, the western part had
numerous booths selling handcrafts, more tourism-hawking towns, and,
what might be the most interesting booth in this medley... an FBI
and DEA recruiting station!
But the festival exhibits are not the only aspects of the festival
that jarringly drove home the occupation of our homeland. The
positive propaganda garnered for Turkey is immense. I heard lots
of Farsi being spoken, followed by Arabic, three families speaking
(Western) Armenian, and I saw many East Asians and Europeans wandering,
gawking, and sampling. Add to this the lecture series proffered on
Saturday and Sunday which not only gave an intellectual veneer to
this propaganda-fest, but included a lecture by an Armenian titled
"Cultural legacy of Armenians in Anatolia and in the Ottoman Empire".
For the same reasons as above, this presentation was out of line. It
allows Turkish propagandists to claim "even-handedness" when we appear
at their affairs. But again, I emphasize, the biggest problem with
this is that our community institutions were not consulted, while the
speaker's biography referenced leadership posts held in some of our
organizations. This makes the organizations unwitting accomplices to
Turkish propaganda.
On the other end of the spectrum was liberation. The Artzakh
Development Group had organized a conference on Sunday at the
Glendale Public Library. Unfortunately, I could only attend the
first half. It was very informative with discussions of development,
propaganda activity by Azerbaijan in the scholarly war over that part
of our homeland, and the diplomatic front. The lineup of speakers
was impressive, as you've seen in media reports. But mostly, it spoke
to me of the possibilities that open up for progress towards a free,
independent, and united Armenia, when we actually control our lands
and even more importantly... when we live on them.
Next time, let's thwart the Turks' taking advantage of the occupation
of our lands.
By: Garen Yegparian
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2011/10/17/yegparian-occupation-liberation/
Mon, Oct 17 2011
Nope, this article is not about the new movement that's working to
take back the reins of government from Wall Street. It's about a
strange juxtaposition, somewhat jarring, that exists in our Armenian
reality. It struck me on the two days of this past weekend.
Entrance to the "Anatolian Cultures and Food" festival I, with my
youngest brother to keep me well behaved, went to check out the
"Anatolian Cultures and Food" festival (October 6-9) held in Orange
County and the bitterness of occupation slapped me resoundingly. This
festival is a huge production. I find it hard to believe it is the
doing, exclusively, of the Pacifica Institute, whose name was plastered
all over the place. I'm convinced the Turkish government has a hand
in this (especially since a similar event has already taken place
in Melbourne, Australia). That same Turkish government currently
controls our lands, so they get away with representing the history,
reality, and culture of the region any which way they please. Hence,
that bitter taste of occupation.
Imagine, ambling down a walkway created by walls of history. One
side is written in English, the other, Turkish. Hittites, Phrygians,
Turks, and all other occupants of Asia Minor (NOT just Anatolia which,
as Richard Hovanissian pointed out recently, includes Anatolia and
the Armenian Plateau/highlands; the Turks are conflating the two for
their own nefarious reasons). Except, of course, we, the Armenians,
are largely missing. How is that possible? How is it possible to tell
the story of the Roman conquest of the Eastern Mediterranean without
ever mentioning Dikran the Great? It's eminently possible if you're
a liar, a historical revisionist, and a genocidal state striving at
all costs to avoid accountability.
After the walkway, on the right (the south end of the festival area),
the visitor is treated to reproductions (images printed on material
attached to framing) of parts of the Topkapi palace with pictures
of various artifacts inside. There was even a reading going on, from
what I assume was the Quran. Upon leaving this exhibit, I was struck
by the size ofthe festival area, probably on the order of at least
thrice the footprint of the Navasartian Games Homenetmen organizes
at Birmingham High School.
Continuing to the right, there was a food preparation show, with
audience participation, going on and dozens of dishes pictured on
the wall. Next door were some booths- Pacifica Institute, books, the
Turkish Journal, and the like. Then, the visitor turns right into the
food area with various vendors and some on the spot preparation in
traditional ways. Unfortunately, there was one booth with an Armenian
name. This may be good or bad, and I've already encountered arguments
on both sides of the issue. Regardless, it's bad because it was not
done in consultation with our community institutions. A substantial
stage for various dance troupes and other performances bounds the
packed food area on the north.
Beyond lay the most frustrating and insulting exhibit... a
representation of Akhtamar. This is the height of cultural thievery,
despite mention of Armenians as the builders, though as minimally as
possible. Comically, the texts describing the church alternately used
its correct name or the Turkified "Akdamar", sometimes in sequential
sentences! This is a clever Turkish revisionist tactic, essentially
saying "yeah, there are these things called Armenians, and a few of
them were around, even built a church, but they ain't worth much
mention beyond that". They thus insulate themselves somewhat from
criticism, but must be called out for every gimmick they use.
After Akhtamar, Constantinople, and other exhibits (all photographic
representations as I described Topkapi) are laid out on the northern
end of the festival area. Interspersed are booths with stone carving,
carpets, various locales soliciting tourism, etc. The northwest corner
was set up as a children's playground. Finally, the western part had
numerous booths selling handcrafts, more tourism-hawking towns, and,
what might be the most interesting booth in this medley... an FBI
and DEA recruiting station!
But the festival exhibits are not the only aspects of the festival
that jarringly drove home the occupation of our homeland. The
positive propaganda garnered for Turkey is immense. I heard lots
of Farsi being spoken, followed by Arabic, three families speaking
(Western) Armenian, and I saw many East Asians and Europeans wandering,
gawking, and sampling. Add to this the lecture series proffered on
Saturday and Sunday which not only gave an intellectual veneer to
this propaganda-fest, but included a lecture by an Armenian titled
"Cultural legacy of Armenians in Anatolia and in the Ottoman Empire".
For the same reasons as above, this presentation was out of line. It
allows Turkish propagandists to claim "even-handedness" when we appear
at their affairs. But again, I emphasize, the biggest problem with
this is that our community institutions were not consulted, while the
speaker's biography referenced leadership posts held in some of our
organizations. This makes the organizations unwitting accomplices to
Turkish propaganda.
On the other end of the spectrum was liberation. The Artzakh
Development Group had organized a conference on Sunday at the
Glendale Public Library. Unfortunately, I could only attend the
first half. It was very informative with discussions of development,
propaganda activity by Azerbaijan in the scholarly war over that part
of our homeland, and the diplomatic front. The lineup of speakers
was impressive, as you've seen in media reports. But mostly, it spoke
to me of the possibilities that open up for progress towards a free,
independent, and united Armenia, when we actually control our lands
and even more importantly... when we live on them.
Next time, let's thwart the Turks' taking advantage of the occupation
of our lands.