Tweet
OUR BEST OPTION...FOR NOW
Editorial, 19 October 2013
Because too many Armenians willfully ignore some of the fundamental
truisms of international politics, it bears to repeat the number
one "law" on how states ultimately relate to each other. To put it
bluntly, military muscle is the tacit but determining "supreme court"
of political conflict. And since the Big Powers dominate militarily,
it is their will that will be done, not that of Burkina Faso,
Fiji...or Armenia. Many other diplomatic "laws" get their cue from
this first law.
For all the striped pants, top hats, elegant tails, and the diplomatic
civilities at the UN, international politics is, in essence, little
different from the way "peace" is maintained by the street-corner
bully. Power will not be denied. Witness the western invasions of the
Middle East or Turkey's recent Kurdish-friendly reforms. The latter
are being proposed not because Ankara has suddenly seen the justice
of the Kurdish cause, but primarily because the Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK - Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan), the Pesh Mergas have cost
Turkey thousands of casualties, not to mention $300 billion to wage
war against the Kurds.
When we lobby for the recognition of the Genocide, demand the return of
our lands, argue that Artsakh is rightfully ours, and insist Armenians
should retain some western Azerbaijani territory to discourage future
Baku attacks, it behooves us to pay heed to the above rules.
Another rule is that no country cedes an inch of land, unless it is
forced to do so. The time-honored way of acquiring land is war or
its threat. Which brings us to the subject of the return of some of
Western Armenia to Armenia.
For more than a decade some in the Armenian media and intelligentsia
have expressed the hope that a democratic-liberal Turkey is our
best chance to regain parts of Western Armenia. Despite Armenian
disappointments in Turkish promises of modernity and tolerance ("Young
Turks" in 1908; Ataturk's "modern" Republic of Turkey), these same
Armenians hope against hope that Ankara would return to us Kars,
Ardahan, Ararat, Van, etc. because somehow and someday Turkey would
believe it's the right thing to do.
But democracy, liberalism, etc. have nothing to do with self-interest,
especially when it comes to occupying another's land or returning lands
to their rightful owners. Britain acquired its empire when it was
a liberal democracy. It gave away its empire only when the "natives
got restless" and packed the British back to their island. To this
day, Britain refuses to give up the Falklands in the South Atlantic
or Gibraltar. The U.S, a democracy since its birth, illegally took
everything west of continental Northeast US from the Natives. To this
day, it keeps its hold on Guantanamo, a Cuban beach outpost.
France was a democracy when it acquired its African and Southeast
Asian colonies. It was a democracy when it refused to return Algeria
to the Arabs or Vietnam to the Vietnamese.
When western countries, with centuries of democratic values, refuse to
return what's not theirs, why do we assume a traditionally intolerant
and racist Turkey would behave differently? This is delusional thinking
writ large. Besides, how will Turkey return an inch of Western Armenia
to us when from Kozan (Sis) to Kars, the land is populated mostly by
Kurds who demand autonomy, if not independence.
Turkey has lost thousands of troops and civilians, in addition to
spending vast sums to suppress Kurdish insurgency. Why would it just
hand over anything to us?
To say that regaining our lands from Turkey through military means is
not an option is to state the obvious. Thus the Kurdish option (see
Q&A with Dr. Henry Astarjian in our previous issue) is the only game
in town--for now. As Kurds get stronger in Iraq, Syria and Turkey, it
seems inevitable to many observers that Ankara will eventually concede
some of Western Armenia to a future Kurdistan. Meanwhile, as Dr.
Astarjian suggests, we should make serious and strategic approaches
to the Kurdish leadership. Representatives of the National Congress
of Western Armenians have been touring Western Armenia for the past
several years and meeting Kurdish leaders, half-Kurd/half-Armenian,
converted and hidden Armenians. Their focus is cultural ties with
the Kurds. These are incipient moves. We need to see more vigorous
exchanges. Armenian organizations in North America, in Europe and
elsewhere should establish friendly relations with the Kurds. We need
Armenian-Kurdish Friendship Associations wherever Armenians and Kurds
live. We should-in particular--learn how we can help the Kurds. One
obvious strategy is promoting the Kurdish cause in the west.
Our efforts would require a quid pro quo--a solid agreement that when
Kurds take control of Western Armenia, they would return some of the
land to us...at least those adjacent to the western slopes of Ararat.
The "rule" which says states don't cede land, unless militarily forced,
stands. But there are always exceptions to the rule. Let's try to
regain some of our lands through means other than military. A pipe
dream? Perhaps not. It IS a dream, but one with a plan attached to it.
It's certainly more constructive than what we've done for so long:
chatter among ourselves as Western Armenia drifts away from us.
http://www.keghart.com/Editorial-Best-Option
Editorial, 19 October 2013
Because too many Armenians willfully ignore some of the fundamental
truisms of international politics, it bears to repeat the number
one "law" on how states ultimately relate to each other. To put it
bluntly, military muscle is the tacit but determining "supreme court"
of political conflict. And since the Big Powers dominate militarily,
it is their will that will be done, not that of Burkina Faso,
Fiji...or Armenia. Many other diplomatic "laws" get their cue from
this first law.
For all the striped pants, top hats, elegant tails, and the diplomatic
civilities at the UN, international politics is, in essence, little
different from the way "peace" is maintained by the street-corner
bully. Power will not be denied. Witness the western invasions of the
Middle East or Turkey's recent Kurdish-friendly reforms. The latter
are being proposed not because Ankara has suddenly seen the justice
of the Kurdish cause, but primarily because the Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK - Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan), the Pesh Mergas have cost
Turkey thousands of casualties, not to mention $300 billion to wage
war against the Kurds.
When we lobby for the recognition of the Genocide, demand the return of
our lands, argue that Artsakh is rightfully ours, and insist Armenians
should retain some western Azerbaijani territory to discourage future
Baku attacks, it behooves us to pay heed to the above rules.
Another rule is that no country cedes an inch of land, unless it is
forced to do so. The time-honored way of acquiring land is war or
its threat. Which brings us to the subject of the return of some of
Western Armenia to Armenia.
For more than a decade some in the Armenian media and intelligentsia
have expressed the hope that a democratic-liberal Turkey is our
best chance to regain parts of Western Armenia. Despite Armenian
disappointments in Turkish promises of modernity and tolerance ("Young
Turks" in 1908; Ataturk's "modern" Republic of Turkey), these same
Armenians hope against hope that Ankara would return to us Kars,
Ardahan, Ararat, Van, etc. because somehow and someday Turkey would
believe it's the right thing to do.
But democracy, liberalism, etc. have nothing to do with self-interest,
especially when it comes to occupying another's land or returning lands
to their rightful owners. Britain acquired its empire when it was
a liberal democracy. It gave away its empire only when the "natives
got restless" and packed the British back to their island. To this
day, Britain refuses to give up the Falklands in the South Atlantic
or Gibraltar. The U.S, a democracy since its birth, illegally took
everything west of continental Northeast US from the Natives. To this
day, it keeps its hold on Guantanamo, a Cuban beach outpost.
France was a democracy when it acquired its African and Southeast
Asian colonies. It was a democracy when it refused to return Algeria
to the Arabs or Vietnam to the Vietnamese.
When western countries, with centuries of democratic values, refuse to
return what's not theirs, why do we assume a traditionally intolerant
and racist Turkey would behave differently? This is delusional thinking
writ large. Besides, how will Turkey return an inch of Western Armenia
to us when from Kozan (Sis) to Kars, the land is populated mostly by
Kurds who demand autonomy, if not independence.
Turkey has lost thousands of troops and civilians, in addition to
spending vast sums to suppress Kurdish insurgency. Why would it just
hand over anything to us?
To say that regaining our lands from Turkey through military means is
not an option is to state the obvious. Thus the Kurdish option (see
Q&A with Dr. Henry Astarjian in our previous issue) is the only game
in town--for now. As Kurds get stronger in Iraq, Syria and Turkey, it
seems inevitable to many observers that Ankara will eventually concede
some of Western Armenia to a future Kurdistan. Meanwhile, as Dr.
Astarjian suggests, we should make serious and strategic approaches
to the Kurdish leadership. Representatives of the National Congress
of Western Armenians have been touring Western Armenia for the past
several years and meeting Kurdish leaders, half-Kurd/half-Armenian,
converted and hidden Armenians. Their focus is cultural ties with
the Kurds. These are incipient moves. We need to see more vigorous
exchanges. Armenian organizations in North America, in Europe and
elsewhere should establish friendly relations with the Kurds. We need
Armenian-Kurdish Friendship Associations wherever Armenians and Kurds
live. We should-in particular--learn how we can help the Kurds. One
obvious strategy is promoting the Kurdish cause in the west.
Our efforts would require a quid pro quo--a solid agreement that when
Kurds take control of Western Armenia, they would return some of the
land to us...at least those adjacent to the western slopes of Ararat.
The "rule" which says states don't cede land, unless militarily forced,
stands. But there are always exceptions to the rule. Let's try to
regain some of our lands through means other than military. A pipe
dream? Perhaps not. It IS a dream, but one with a plan attached to it.
It's certainly more constructive than what we've done for so long:
chatter among ourselves as Western Armenia drifts away from us.
http://www.keghart.com/Editorial-Best-Option