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TAJIK SCHOLAR SHAVKAT KASYMOV: "WE AGAIN MUST RAISE THE ISSUE OF GUILT AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR THER 1915 GENOCIDE"
14:08, May 3, 2013
By Maneh Hakobyan
A much discussed topic of late is the need to place genocide studies
on a firm scientific footing.
Parallels are made with the Jewish holocaust, an event that was
recognized as a genocide soon after WW II. Germany has still not been
able to wrest itself from the moral and material responsibility it
has been forced to assume as a result of the correct policies followed
by the Jewish people.
Concurrently, as we approach the 100th anniversary of the 1915 Armenian
Genocide, we are still attempting to present that event to the world
and convince the international community that it indeed took place,
for the most part without scientific substantiation.
There are hundreds of Holocaust studies centers while we Armenians have
a mere two or three such centers that are indexing and disseminating
three international journals ((Journal of Genocide Research, Holocaust
and Genocide Studies and Genocide Studies and Prevention) Presently,
, there are no academics from Armenia with any published articles in
any of them.
Naturally, we have certain excuses from this lack. The first is that
in 1915 we didn't possess the science and thus we couldn't follow
a scientific approach to the issue. Then there was the Soviet state
policy that created obstacles in this field. But what excuses can we
point to during the past twenty years of Armenian independence?
Certain individual benefactors have appeared who are trying to spur
the development of Genocide studies in Armenia.
There are the recent joint efforts of the Tashir Foundatin and the
"We Demand Greter Financing of the Science" Facebook page. They have
organized an awards ceremony to promote the publication of academic
articles by RA and foreign citizens in international journals on the
eve of the 100th anniversary of the 1915 Genocide.
In addition to Vahram Ayvazyan (a 2012 graduate of the university
program of the Zoryan Institute's Genocide & Human Rights University
Program) and Tigran Sarukhanyan (a senior researcher at the RA Academy
of Sciences Archeology and Ethnography Institute) , another person
who applied to participate in the competition is Shavkat Kasymov from
Kyrgyzstan and now a graduate student at the University of Notre Dame,
Indiana, USA, who submitted the essay, "The example of the Armenian
genocide and the role of the millet system in its execution".
I recently spoke with Shavkat Kasymov.
The journal Social Identities recently published your essay "The
example of the Armenian genocide and the role of the millet system
in its execution". Why did you write this article on the Armenian
Genocide?
I wrote it because I felt there was a need to pay respect to the
victims of that unfortunate event, especially given the upcoming 100th
anniversary. The Genocide caused the death of 1.5 million people. I
believe we must again raise the issue of guilt and responsibility
given that on the basis of numerous analyses, including mine, the
Armenian Genocide was the targeted and premeditated work of the Ottoman
Empire. The goal, among others, was to wipe out all Christian peoples,
especially Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians.
Can you briefly explain the main arguments of your essay?
The article discusses the two main theoretical approaches to genocide
and why one supersedes the other, using the example of the Armenian
Genocide.
I wanted to illustrate the validity of the strategic killing
model proposed by Benjamin Valentino, which underscores the
primary significance of elite group interests in the initiation
and implementation of genocidal policies against certain ethnic or
political groups.
I argue that the Armenian genocide was primarily driven by the policies
of the Young Turks' regime whose main objective was to rid the Ottoman
Empire of the Armenian population and to consolidate a power base. I
substantiate the superiority of the strategic killing model over
the national upheaval thesis brought forward by Barbara Harff in her
study on genocide, and support the main argument that genocide is a
well-organized political strategy of power elites which is aimed at
transforming a society through the deportation or extermination of
a certain ethnic or political group that is seen as a threat to them.
The Young Turk regime regarded the Armenian minority as an obstacle
to its goal of pan-Turkism, which resulted in the creation of modern
Turkey. To substantiate my claims I used empirical facts and secondary
sources and theories.
Are you planning to write more on this topic?
Yes, I would like to write additional articles on te Armenian Genocide,
especially when I locate leading sources and empirical evidence.
I feel that we should not only approach the issue of genocide from
a historical perspective, but rather from a genocide studies point
of view. The long-term objective of this approach must be to craft
and implement such policies that will avert similar brutalities in
the future.
http://hetq.am/eng/interviews/26127/tajik-scholar-shavkat-kasymov-%E2%80%9Cwe-again-must-raise-the-issue-of-guilt-and-responsibility-for-ther-1915-genocide%E2%80%9D.html
14:08, May 3, 2013
By Maneh Hakobyan
A much discussed topic of late is the need to place genocide studies
on a firm scientific footing.
Parallels are made with the Jewish holocaust, an event that was
recognized as a genocide soon after WW II. Germany has still not been
able to wrest itself from the moral and material responsibility it
has been forced to assume as a result of the correct policies followed
by the Jewish people.
Concurrently, as we approach the 100th anniversary of the 1915 Armenian
Genocide, we are still attempting to present that event to the world
and convince the international community that it indeed took place,
for the most part without scientific substantiation.
There are hundreds of Holocaust studies centers while we Armenians have
a mere two or three such centers that are indexing and disseminating
three international journals ((Journal of Genocide Research, Holocaust
and Genocide Studies and Genocide Studies and Prevention) Presently,
, there are no academics from Armenia with any published articles in
any of them.
Naturally, we have certain excuses from this lack. The first is that
in 1915 we didn't possess the science and thus we couldn't follow
a scientific approach to the issue. Then there was the Soviet state
policy that created obstacles in this field. But what excuses can we
point to during the past twenty years of Armenian independence?
Certain individual benefactors have appeared who are trying to spur
the development of Genocide studies in Armenia.
There are the recent joint efforts of the Tashir Foundatin and the
"We Demand Greter Financing of the Science" Facebook page. They have
organized an awards ceremony to promote the publication of academic
articles by RA and foreign citizens in international journals on the
eve of the 100th anniversary of the 1915 Genocide.
In addition to Vahram Ayvazyan (a 2012 graduate of the university
program of the Zoryan Institute's Genocide & Human Rights University
Program) and Tigran Sarukhanyan (a senior researcher at the RA Academy
of Sciences Archeology and Ethnography Institute) , another person
who applied to participate in the competition is Shavkat Kasymov from
Kyrgyzstan and now a graduate student at the University of Notre Dame,
Indiana, USA, who submitted the essay, "The example of the Armenian
genocide and the role of the millet system in its execution".
I recently spoke with Shavkat Kasymov.
The journal Social Identities recently published your essay "The
example of the Armenian genocide and the role of the millet system
in its execution". Why did you write this article on the Armenian
Genocide?
I wrote it because I felt there was a need to pay respect to the
victims of that unfortunate event, especially given the upcoming 100th
anniversary. The Genocide caused the death of 1.5 million people. I
believe we must again raise the issue of guilt and responsibility
given that on the basis of numerous analyses, including mine, the
Armenian Genocide was the targeted and premeditated work of the Ottoman
Empire. The goal, among others, was to wipe out all Christian peoples,
especially Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians.
Can you briefly explain the main arguments of your essay?
The article discusses the two main theoretical approaches to genocide
and why one supersedes the other, using the example of the Armenian
Genocide.
I wanted to illustrate the validity of the strategic killing
model proposed by Benjamin Valentino, which underscores the
primary significance of elite group interests in the initiation
and implementation of genocidal policies against certain ethnic or
political groups.
I argue that the Armenian genocide was primarily driven by the policies
of the Young Turks' regime whose main objective was to rid the Ottoman
Empire of the Armenian population and to consolidate a power base. I
substantiate the superiority of the strategic killing model over
the national upheaval thesis brought forward by Barbara Harff in her
study on genocide, and support the main argument that genocide is a
well-organized political strategy of power elites which is aimed at
transforming a society through the deportation or extermination of
a certain ethnic or political group that is seen as a threat to them.
The Young Turk regime regarded the Armenian minority as an obstacle
to its goal of pan-Turkism, which resulted in the creation of modern
Turkey. To substantiate my claims I used empirical facts and secondary
sources and theories.
Are you planning to write more on this topic?
Yes, I would like to write additional articles on te Armenian Genocide,
especially when I locate leading sources and empirical evidence.
I feel that we should not only approach the issue of genocide from
a historical perspective, but rather from a genocide studies point
of view. The long-term objective of this approach must be to craft
and implement such policies that will avert similar brutalities in
the future.
http://hetq.am/eng/interviews/26127/tajik-scholar-shavkat-kasymov-%E2%80%9Cwe-again-must-raise-the-issue-of-guilt-and-responsibility-for-ther-1915-genocide%E2%80%9D.html