Tweet
MENSOIAN: ALICE IN FANTASYLAND
by Michael Mensoian
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/04/04/mensoian-alice-in-fantasyland-2/
April 4, 2012
If we were like Alice we could live in the comfortable world of
fantasy, although at times it seems that is exactly where we are
living. Like Alice, we would be able to ignore the reality that
Armenia is getting weaker and that Turkey, which we like to depict
as a toothless tiger, is getting economically stronger and more
influential in the international arena. We would be able to blot from
our mind the pandering by President Obama as he heaped unwarranted
accolades on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a recent meeting
in Seoul, South Korea. We would believe that Artsakh will be given
its de jureindependence because it is the right thing to do. And that
Georgia will voluntarily improve conditions in Javakhk because their
Armenian citizens are good people.
However we define final victory, for certain it will not be won in
the diaspora. It will be won only through the liberation movements
that must take place within Armenia, Artsakh, and Javakhk.
Living in fantasyland, it is difficult for Alice to understand that
there is no legitimate basis to believe that our well-intentioned
efforts in the diaspora-whether for genocide recognition, criminalizing
denial, economic and humanitarian aid, or the return of religious
properties-can effectively replace the liberation movements that must
take place in the Homeland (Armenia, Artsakh (Karabagh), and Javakhk).
In Armenia, the worker and his family must be liberated from a system
that robs him of his self-esteem and denies him the opportunity to
share in the wealth he produces. In Artsakh, our brothers and sisters
live day by day not knowing what may become of their fragile peace.
They must be liberated from the uncertainties of a de facto
independence. And in historic Armenian Javakhk, our people must be
liberated from the government's discriminatory and harassing policies
to enjoy the same opportunities, privileges, and freedoms as their
Georgian neighbors.
During the 20 years of Armenia's independence, instead of seeing a
year-to-year improvement in conditions, we have witnessed, by any
measure we choose to use, a steadily deteriorating situation. Our
population has been on a steady decline and the diaspora, born out of
the genocide, continues nearly 100 years later to expand as energetic
young Armenians and entire families flee their economically depressed
country. Increasing numbers of married wage-earners living in foreign
countries are intensifying the number and range of marital problems.
Persistent high levels of unemployment and underemployment are
contributing to increasing levels of social problems. And an
aging population, which must be properly cared for, is placing an
insurmountable burden on public agencies. Is it necessary to go on?
Alice living in fantasyland may not see these problems. Evidently, none
of the three governments that have ruled Armenia since independence
have seen these problems either. Just as unfortunate is the fact that
the worker and his family have had no political benefactor willing to
take up their cause. A cause that requires the creation of a system
based on the concepts of equality, opportunity, and justice that
will be beneficial to all Armenians irrespective of age, infirmities,
talent, or intellect.
Approximately a hundred years earlier our forebears lived under onerous
conditions on either side of the Russo-Turkish border. These villagers
were constantly subjected to the capricious whims of officials and
local rulers. They had no recourse but to suffer and endure. However,
there were men and women, members of various political persuasions,
who sought to ameliorate the condition of their compatriots as best
they could. Today, the Armenian worker and his family, whether in
the cities or in the rural hinterlands, must also be liberated,
not from Ottoman Turkey or Imperial Russia, but from an oligarchic
system that bleeds Armenia of its wealth, both human and physical,
and its future potential as a viable and vibrant nation.
The revolutionary fervor of decades past seems to elude us today. The
sine qua non of a revolutionary is devotion, determination, and
selflessness. The revolutionary has chosen the most difficult role
within society to occupy. He is viewed with skepticism, possibly undue
suspicion by a cynical electorate-the very people he seeks to help-and
as an enemy of the status quo by the leaders of the mundane political
parties that feel threatened by his liberating message. No one has the
right to fault a man for not wanting to be a revolutionary. However,
a man can be rightly faulted for pretending to be one.
When Alice looks at Artsakh she is proud of what her people have
accomplished. It has been close to 20 years since the 1994 ceasefire
established Artsakh's de facto independence. It was a victory that was
achieved through the sacrifices of some 7,000 azatamartiks for their
families, their homes, and the freedom to join their compatriots
in Armenia. However, the victory sought hangs precariously in the
balance. Does Alice ask what needs to be done to secure the final
liberation of her brothers and sisters in Artsakh? This is important.
Important because the liberation of Artsakh is the key to Armenia's
century-old struggle for justice. Failure here is unthinkable. Failure
here would end our quest for justice. If we cannot secure Artsakh,
how realistic is it to believe that any of our historic lands can be
successfully claimed?
Alice does not worry about this possibility because in fantasyland,
by wishing and having faith in others will make it so. Believing that,
she is unconcerned that there is no effort to make an historic and
moral case for Artsakh's de jure independence. Believing that, there is
no need to ask where the Soviet constitutional scholars are to support
Artsakh's right to have declared its independence. And believing that,
there is no need to ask where the international legal scholars are
to make the case for remedial secession or self-determination.
And finally we have our brothers and sisters in Javakhk. This past
month, a delegation from Samtskhe-Javakheti presented their grievances
and solutions to Members of the European Parliament in Brussels. When
an attempt was made to hold a meeting several weeks later to inform
the local community in Javakhk, the Georgian government harassed
the organizers and participants (as only a government is capable of
doing) with the result that only a handful of individuals braved the
threats and attended the meeting. This took place within a country that
Obama anoints as a beacon of democracy in the south Caucasus. Javakhk
represents the last of the three liberation movements that must be
successfully undertaken in the Homeland. The question that remains
to be answered is, by whom?
Our failure to improve the economic, political, and cultural
environment of the Javakhayer would mean that this historic Armenian
land will be irretrievably lost within another 20-30 years. What
Georgia is doing in Javakhk is no different than what Azerbaijan did
for 70 years in Artsakh. It is a more sophisticated form of genocide,
but just as effective as the sanguinary methods employed by the
Ottoman-Turkish government when it unleashed its planned genocide of
the Armenian nation.
However we define final victory, for certain it will not be won in
the diaspora. It will be won only through the liberation movements
that must take place within Armenia, Artsakh, and Javakhk. This in no
way precludes the vital role that advocacy groups within the diaspora
from representing Artsakh's cause for de jure recognition and the
cause of Armenian citizens in Georgia to achieve economic, political,
and cultural equality within a federated political structure.
Without achieving a strong, vibrant, and secure Homeland, our struggle
for justice will have reached, for all practical purposes, a political
cul-de-sac. How long before Alice escapes from fantasyland to face
reality?
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
by Michael Mensoian
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/04/04/mensoian-alice-in-fantasyland-2/
April 4, 2012
If we were like Alice we could live in the comfortable world of
fantasy, although at times it seems that is exactly where we are
living. Like Alice, we would be able to ignore the reality that
Armenia is getting weaker and that Turkey, which we like to depict
as a toothless tiger, is getting economically stronger and more
influential in the international arena. We would be able to blot from
our mind the pandering by President Obama as he heaped unwarranted
accolades on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a recent meeting
in Seoul, South Korea. We would believe that Artsakh will be given
its de jureindependence because it is the right thing to do. And that
Georgia will voluntarily improve conditions in Javakhk because their
Armenian citizens are good people.
However we define final victory, for certain it will not be won in
the diaspora. It will be won only through the liberation movements
that must take place within Armenia, Artsakh, and Javakhk.
Living in fantasyland, it is difficult for Alice to understand that
there is no legitimate basis to believe that our well-intentioned
efforts in the diaspora-whether for genocide recognition, criminalizing
denial, economic and humanitarian aid, or the return of religious
properties-can effectively replace the liberation movements that must
take place in the Homeland (Armenia, Artsakh (Karabagh), and Javakhk).
In Armenia, the worker and his family must be liberated from a system
that robs him of his self-esteem and denies him the opportunity to
share in the wealth he produces. In Artsakh, our brothers and sisters
live day by day not knowing what may become of their fragile peace.
They must be liberated from the uncertainties of a de facto
independence. And in historic Armenian Javakhk, our people must be
liberated from the government's discriminatory and harassing policies
to enjoy the same opportunities, privileges, and freedoms as their
Georgian neighbors.
During the 20 years of Armenia's independence, instead of seeing a
year-to-year improvement in conditions, we have witnessed, by any
measure we choose to use, a steadily deteriorating situation. Our
population has been on a steady decline and the diaspora, born out of
the genocide, continues nearly 100 years later to expand as energetic
young Armenians and entire families flee their economically depressed
country. Increasing numbers of married wage-earners living in foreign
countries are intensifying the number and range of marital problems.
Persistent high levels of unemployment and underemployment are
contributing to increasing levels of social problems. And an
aging population, which must be properly cared for, is placing an
insurmountable burden on public agencies. Is it necessary to go on?
Alice living in fantasyland may not see these problems. Evidently, none
of the three governments that have ruled Armenia since independence
have seen these problems either. Just as unfortunate is the fact that
the worker and his family have had no political benefactor willing to
take up their cause. A cause that requires the creation of a system
based on the concepts of equality, opportunity, and justice that
will be beneficial to all Armenians irrespective of age, infirmities,
talent, or intellect.
Approximately a hundred years earlier our forebears lived under onerous
conditions on either side of the Russo-Turkish border. These villagers
were constantly subjected to the capricious whims of officials and
local rulers. They had no recourse but to suffer and endure. However,
there were men and women, members of various political persuasions,
who sought to ameliorate the condition of their compatriots as best
they could. Today, the Armenian worker and his family, whether in
the cities or in the rural hinterlands, must also be liberated,
not from Ottoman Turkey or Imperial Russia, but from an oligarchic
system that bleeds Armenia of its wealth, both human and physical,
and its future potential as a viable and vibrant nation.
The revolutionary fervor of decades past seems to elude us today. The
sine qua non of a revolutionary is devotion, determination, and
selflessness. The revolutionary has chosen the most difficult role
within society to occupy. He is viewed with skepticism, possibly undue
suspicion by a cynical electorate-the very people he seeks to help-and
as an enemy of the status quo by the leaders of the mundane political
parties that feel threatened by his liberating message. No one has the
right to fault a man for not wanting to be a revolutionary. However,
a man can be rightly faulted for pretending to be one.
When Alice looks at Artsakh she is proud of what her people have
accomplished. It has been close to 20 years since the 1994 ceasefire
established Artsakh's de facto independence. It was a victory that was
achieved through the sacrifices of some 7,000 azatamartiks for their
families, their homes, and the freedom to join their compatriots
in Armenia. However, the victory sought hangs precariously in the
balance. Does Alice ask what needs to be done to secure the final
liberation of her brothers and sisters in Artsakh? This is important.
Important because the liberation of Artsakh is the key to Armenia's
century-old struggle for justice. Failure here is unthinkable. Failure
here would end our quest for justice. If we cannot secure Artsakh,
how realistic is it to believe that any of our historic lands can be
successfully claimed?
Alice does not worry about this possibility because in fantasyland,
by wishing and having faith in others will make it so. Believing that,
she is unconcerned that there is no effort to make an historic and
moral case for Artsakh's de jure independence. Believing that, there is
no need to ask where the Soviet constitutional scholars are to support
Artsakh's right to have declared its independence. And believing that,
there is no need to ask where the international legal scholars are
to make the case for remedial secession or self-determination.
And finally we have our brothers and sisters in Javakhk. This past
month, a delegation from Samtskhe-Javakheti presented their grievances
and solutions to Members of the European Parliament in Brussels. When
an attempt was made to hold a meeting several weeks later to inform
the local community in Javakhk, the Georgian government harassed
the organizers and participants (as only a government is capable of
doing) with the result that only a handful of individuals braved the
threats and attended the meeting. This took place within a country that
Obama anoints as a beacon of democracy in the south Caucasus. Javakhk
represents the last of the three liberation movements that must be
successfully undertaken in the Homeland. The question that remains
to be answered is, by whom?
Our failure to improve the economic, political, and cultural
environment of the Javakhayer would mean that this historic Armenian
land will be irretrievably lost within another 20-30 years. What
Georgia is doing in Javakhk is no different than what Azerbaijan did
for 70 years in Artsakh. It is a more sophisticated form of genocide,
but just as effective as the sanguinary methods employed by the
Ottoman-Turkish government when it unleashed its planned genocide of
the Armenian nation.
However we define final victory, for certain it will not be won in
the diaspora. It will be won only through the liberation movements
that must take place within Armenia, Artsakh, and Javakhk. This in no
way precludes the vital role that advocacy groups within the diaspora
from representing Artsakh's cause for de jure recognition and the
cause of Armenian citizens in Georgia to achieve economic, political,
and cultural equality within a federated political structure.
Without achieving a strong, vibrant, and secure Homeland, our struggle
for justice will have reached, for all practical purposes, a political
cul-de-sac. How long before Alice escapes from fantasyland to face
reality?
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress