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GENOCIDE SYMPOSIUM AT UNITED NATIONS IS GREETED BY TURKISH DIPLOMATIC CORPS' IRE
By Florence Avakian
Mirror-Spectator
April 23, 2012
UNITED NATIONS, N.Y. - Possibly speaking for all Genocide victims,
a survivor of the Armenian Genocide once said, "I am somebody, but
I am nobody."
On Thursday, April 12, a symposium, titled "Toward Preventing Genocide:
Nations Acknowledging their Dark History: Psychosocial, Economic and
Cultural Perspectives," took place at the UN, attended by close to
50 diplomatic, educational and Armenian community members.
The event began with a moment of silence for the victims of all
genocides and was opened by Armenia's Ambassador to the United Nations
Garen Nazarian, who reminded the audience that this marked the 62nd
anniversary of the UN Human Rights Declaration outlawing genocide. He
stated that many countries, as well as scholars, including Turkish
intellectuals, have already recognized the Genocide of the Armenians by
Ottoman Turkey. He paid tribute to the memory and the 160th birthday
of the Norwegian humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen, who "gave support to
the fragile fragments of the Genocide," and issued the Nansen Passport
for the stateless Armenian survivors.
Before the program even began, two members of the Turkish Mission
to the United Nations unsuccessfully tried to disrupt the event with
loud protests, an action they again attempted at the conclusion.
Chairperson of the event, Dr. Ani Kalayjian, president of the
Association for Trauma Outreach and Prevention (ATOP) and the
Armenian-American Society for Studies on Stress and Genocide (AASSSG),
did not permit the Turkish outburst to continue.
Harrowing Testimonies The highlight of the event was the screening of
the film, "The River Ran Red," by the late Dr. Michael Hagopian, whose
wife and daughter were present. An account of the Armenian Genocide,
the documentary is a compilation of harrowing testimonies and archival
photos. "We were lying in blood in a forest. By day, we saw the dead,"
said one survivor. "The Turks forced children in a Turkish orphanage to
dig up the dead Armenian clerics and urinate on them," said another,
adding, "I saw a hundred children thrown into the Euphrates River
so the Turks could spare their bullets." Babies were buried in the
desert with only their heads above ground, which were then crushed
under the hooves of running horses, recalled another survivor.
In the film, the missionary, Mary Louise Graffam, reported from Malatya
that "the valley was full of corpses." And US Consul Jesse B. Jackson
related seeing 500 emaciated women and children from Sivas after they
reached Aleppo, Syria, following a 1,000-mile march. In one of the
scenes, a Turk who brought fruit to Fr. Krikor Guerguerian (a.k.a
Krieger), asked the Armenian priest for forgiveness for killing the
priest's father and three brothers and confiscating the house's garden.
His nephew, Dr. Edmund Gergerian, has established the annual Krieger
monetary Award for high school and college students who write the best
essays on "What the Legacy of Genocide Means to Me." At the symposium,
four high school students who read their writing were honored with
the award.
Carla Garabedian, director of the Armenian Film Foundation who
received the AASSSG's 2011 Outstanding Achievement Award, spoke about
"future legal proceedings concerning monetary compensation" for the
Genocide, a subject of fear for Turkey. "But how do you calculate such
a figure. The International Criminal Court should decide the amount,"
she said and reported that Turkish historian Taner Akcam and other
Turkish scholars have already revealed that "Armenian assets were
transferred into private and public hands." Under international law,
there is no statute of limitations on suing for stolen goods, she
said, adding that Germany, since 1952 has paid Holocaust victims $60
billion. She concluded by noting that Turkey would benefit by freeing
itself of Genocide denial, and save millions, which it currently
spends on its denial propaganda. "Turks should know and be able to
discuss their own history."
Evolution of Genocide Prof. Ervin Staub of the University of
Massachusetts focused on the evolution of genocide - "a gradual
process, which begins with discrimination and some violence, then
results in institutional and people changes, which can be reversed
but rarely happens. The passivity by the bystanders encourages
violence. It is crucial that bystanders actively resist but it
must start early," he said, adding that genocide takes place in
economically and psychologically difficult times. "Turks who were
called the 'sick man of Europe' were already down, plus Armenians
were in the way of Pan Turkism.
"Denial becomes part of the identity of both perpetrators and victims.
They see the world as dangerous. What is needed is acknowledgment of
the pain and reconciliation," he said, then advised that Armenians
should concentrate on the US denial, because constantly pointing out
the Turkish denial does not allow Turkey to acknowledge the crime.
Dr. Dennis Papazian, professor emeritus at the University of Michigan,
in a report, concentrated on the "Causes and Cures of Genocide,"
which involves the "concept of sovereignty" (complete power over life
and death). "Thus, until the signing of the Genocide Convention, the
killing of one individual was considered murder and thus punishable
by the state, while the killing of thousands and even millions by
the state had no name and went unpunished.
"State sovereignty must be limited if we are to end genocide. In
modern times, nationalism, pre-nationalism and religious exclusiveness
have been some of the drivers of genocide, as well as language, and
racism," he said, adding that "by the time of the Armenian Genocide,
the concept of 'us' and 'them' was developing."
Calling the 19th century the century of imperialism which "was not
so much an economic system inspired by the capitalist, as much as an
extension of the medieval concept held by the ruling aristocracies
that the more territory owned, the greater the prestige and glory. It
was in this lethal environment that the Armenian Genocide occurred."
The Ottoman government "looking for an internal scapegoat to deflect
attention from their own military ineptness, turned on the unarmed
Armenians," he added.
In conclusion, Papazian stated that it is "humanism, the understanding
that we all - black, white, yellow, rich, poor, educated, uneducated,
Armenians, Turks and all others - are actually one people with one
destiny on this frail earth which holds the key to ending genocide.
Thus, intellectual freedom is an absolute necessity for settling issues
like the Armenian Genocide and preventing other such atrocities."
The co-sponsors of the event included the Permanent Mission of Armenia
to the United Nations, ATOP, AASSSG, the Armenian General Benevolent
Union, Knights and Daughters of Vartan, Meaningfulworld.com, the
Tekeyan Cultural Association, the Armenian Constitutional Rights
Protective Centre of Armenia and Voices for Freedom.
By Florence Avakian
Mirror-Spectator
April 23, 2012
UNITED NATIONS, N.Y. - Possibly speaking for all Genocide victims,
a survivor of the Armenian Genocide once said, "I am somebody, but
I am nobody."
On Thursday, April 12, a symposium, titled "Toward Preventing Genocide:
Nations Acknowledging their Dark History: Psychosocial, Economic and
Cultural Perspectives," took place at the UN, attended by close to
50 diplomatic, educational and Armenian community members.
The event began with a moment of silence for the victims of all
genocides and was opened by Armenia's Ambassador to the United Nations
Garen Nazarian, who reminded the audience that this marked the 62nd
anniversary of the UN Human Rights Declaration outlawing genocide. He
stated that many countries, as well as scholars, including Turkish
intellectuals, have already recognized the Genocide of the Armenians by
Ottoman Turkey. He paid tribute to the memory and the 160th birthday
of the Norwegian humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen, who "gave support to
the fragile fragments of the Genocide," and issued the Nansen Passport
for the stateless Armenian survivors.
Before the program even began, two members of the Turkish Mission
to the United Nations unsuccessfully tried to disrupt the event with
loud protests, an action they again attempted at the conclusion.
Chairperson of the event, Dr. Ani Kalayjian, president of the
Association for Trauma Outreach and Prevention (ATOP) and the
Armenian-American Society for Studies on Stress and Genocide (AASSSG),
did not permit the Turkish outburst to continue.
Harrowing Testimonies The highlight of the event was the screening of
the film, "The River Ran Red," by the late Dr. Michael Hagopian, whose
wife and daughter were present. An account of the Armenian Genocide,
the documentary is a compilation of harrowing testimonies and archival
photos. "We were lying in blood in a forest. By day, we saw the dead,"
said one survivor. "The Turks forced children in a Turkish orphanage to
dig up the dead Armenian clerics and urinate on them," said another,
adding, "I saw a hundred children thrown into the Euphrates River
so the Turks could spare their bullets." Babies were buried in the
desert with only their heads above ground, which were then crushed
under the hooves of running horses, recalled another survivor.
In the film, the missionary, Mary Louise Graffam, reported from Malatya
that "the valley was full of corpses." And US Consul Jesse B. Jackson
related seeing 500 emaciated women and children from Sivas after they
reached Aleppo, Syria, following a 1,000-mile march. In one of the
scenes, a Turk who brought fruit to Fr. Krikor Guerguerian (a.k.a
Krieger), asked the Armenian priest for forgiveness for killing the
priest's father and three brothers and confiscating the house's garden.
His nephew, Dr. Edmund Gergerian, has established the annual Krieger
monetary Award for high school and college students who write the best
essays on "What the Legacy of Genocide Means to Me." At the symposium,
four high school students who read their writing were honored with
the award.
Carla Garabedian, director of the Armenian Film Foundation who
received the AASSSG's 2011 Outstanding Achievement Award, spoke about
"future legal proceedings concerning monetary compensation" for the
Genocide, a subject of fear for Turkey. "But how do you calculate such
a figure. The International Criminal Court should decide the amount,"
she said and reported that Turkish historian Taner Akcam and other
Turkish scholars have already revealed that "Armenian assets were
transferred into private and public hands." Under international law,
there is no statute of limitations on suing for stolen goods, she
said, adding that Germany, since 1952 has paid Holocaust victims $60
billion. She concluded by noting that Turkey would benefit by freeing
itself of Genocide denial, and save millions, which it currently
spends on its denial propaganda. "Turks should know and be able to
discuss their own history."
Evolution of Genocide Prof. Ervin Staub of the University of
Massachusetts focused on the evolution of genocide - "a gradual
process, which begins with discrimination and some violence, then
results in institutional and people changes, which can be reversed
but rarely happens. The passivity by the bystanders encourages
violence. It is crucial that bystanders actively resist but it
must start early," he said, adding that genocide takes place in
economically and psychologically difficult times. "Turks who were
called the 'sick man of Europe' were already down, plus Armenians
were in the way of Pan Turkism.
"Denial becomes part of the identity of both perpetrators and victims.
They see the world as dangerous. What is needed is acknowledgment of
the pain and reconciliation," he said, then advised that Armenians
should concentrate on the US denial, because constantly pointing out
the Turkish denial does not allow Turkey to acknowledge the crime.
Dr. Dennis Papazian, professor emeritus at the University of Michigan,
in a report, concentrated on the "Causes and Cures of Genocide,"
which involves the "concept of sovereignty" (complete power over life
and death). "Thus, until the signing of the Genocide Convention, the
killing of one individual was considered murder and thus punishable
by the state, while the killing of thousands and even millions by
the state had no name and went unpunished.
"State sovereignty must be limited if we are to end genocide. In
modern times, nationalism, pre-nationalism and religious exclusiveness
have been some of the drivers of genocide, as well as language, and
racism," he said, adding that "by the time of the Armenian Genocide,
the concept of 'us' and 'them' was developing."
Calling the 19th century the century of imperialism which "was not
so much an economic system inspired by the capitalist, as much as an
extension of the medieval concept held by the ruling aristocracies
that the more territory owned, the greater the prestige and glory. It
was in this lethal environment that the Armenian Genocide occurred."
The Ottoman government "looking for an internal scapegoat to deflect
attention from their own military ineptness, turned on the unarmed
Armenians," he added.
In conclusion, Papazian stated that it is "humanism, the understanding
that we all - black, white, yellow, rich, poor, educated, uneducated,
Armenians, Turks and all others - are actually one people with one
destiny on this frail earth which holds the key to ending genocide.
Thus, intellectual freedom is an absolute necessity for settling issues
like the Armenian Genocide and preventing other such atrocities."
The co-sponsors of the event included the Permanent Mission of Armenia
to the United Nations, ATOP, AASSSG, the Armenian General Benevolent
Union, Knights and Daughters of Vartan, Meaningfulworld.com, the
Tekeyan Cultural Association, the Armenian Constitutional Rights
Protective Centre of Armenia and Voices for Freedom.