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ARMENIANS AND KURDS: WORKING TOGETHER
Keghart.com report, Toronto, 31 May 2014
It was full house as Armenians and Kurds gathered at the AGBU Toronto
on May 28 to attend a panel discussion on how the two nations can work
together for their mutual benefit. The three-man panel included Dr.
Henry Astarjian of New Hampshire, and Suleyman Guven and Raffi
Bedrosyan of Toronto.
(L-R) Mr. Raffi Bedrosyan, Mr. Suleyman Guven & Dr. Henry Astarjian
Dr. Astarjian is a long-time "student" of Armenian/Kurdish affairs and
has attended five Kurdish summit conferences where he has asserted
Armenian rights in Western Armenia. Mr. Guven, an Alevi cleric and
editor of "Yeni Hayat" newspaper, is an award-winning journalist and an
activist for Alevi Kurdish rights. Mr. Bedrosyan, a civil engineer,
has been closely involved in the reconstruction of Diyarbakir's
Surp Giragos Cathedral's reconstruction and in encouraging "hidden"
Armenians to come out and declare their identity. He also has done
volunteer work in Armenia/Artsakh.
Although the discussion was intended to be about the future, inevitably
the Genocide and the Kurdish persecution of Armenians in the 19th
century and in 1915 had to be addressed first.
Mr. Bedrosyan said: "The Ittihat ve Terakki government of the Ottoman
Empire used the Kurds as a willing and able partner in carrying out
the annihilation of the Armenians from their 4,000-year-old homeland.
Kurds became the killing instruments, with the reward of the massacred
Armenians' possession of assets, their homes, their shops, as well
as their women, boys, and girls."
Kurdish leaders have started acknowledging the Kurdish role in the
Armenian Genocide only in words and not deeds, said Mr. Bedrosyan.
Exceptions are Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir and Sur Municipality
Mayor Abdullah Demirbash. The first helped facilitate the
reconstruction of Surp Giragos and contributed a third of the
reconstruction costs while the second "helped organize Armenian
language courses" to be established in Diyarbakir. Mayor Demirbash
also continued cooperating in the return of assets and properties
belonging to the Armenian Church through negotiated settlements.
Mr. Guven said: "Unfortunately, Kurds have Armenian blood in their
hands. This is shameful for the nation. As a first step the recognition
of the Armenian Genocide by the Kurdish leadership is good but not
enough. There has a lot to be done on the Kurdish side without delay."
In response to the panel's unanimous condemnation of the Kurdish
participation in the massacres of Armenians and in the Genocide,
several Kurds in the audience insisted, during the question-and-answer
session, that Kurds were ordered by the Ottoman authorities,
were forced to do what they did. They also stated that the present
generation of Kurds cannot be responsible for what had happened in
the past nor the Kurdish people as a whole, because only some tribal
leaders co-operated with the authorities. In many instances Kurds
saved Armenian lives by adopting or marrying them, they said.
Mr. Guven said that 36,000 Armenians, who had fled from the Genocide,
sought sanctuary in his home region of Dersim. "A dormitory and an
orphanage were built for Armenians in Agzunik. When the Russian army
invaded Erzincan, the majority of the Armenians were handed over to
the Russians under the supervision of Dersim leadership. Armenians
who stayed moved to the US, Syria and Istanbul," he said.
Next was the main item of the evening's "agenda": How Armenians and
Kurds should co-operate for their mutual benefit. Perhaps because
the Kurdish goal (to establish Northern Kurdistan) is well known,
it was not enunciated. Thus Armenian goals took front seat.
Mr. Bedrosyan said: "Armenians have two expectations from Kurds: first
to be with the Armenians in their quest for justice and restitution
against the crimes of 1915, instead of being against the Armenians;
and second, to encourage--not to discourage--the emergency of the
hidden Armenians among the Kurdish population."
Since the [Armenian] problem is within Turkey, the solution must also
be within Turkey, he said. "It would be far more effective to have
Kurds and emerging hidden Armenians to work effectively within the
Turkey toward resolution of issues, rather than to rely on third
countries and their parliaments to work for us. Outside pressure
doesn't work in Turkey," stressed Bedrosyan.
In concluding his argument, Mr. Bedrosyan said that after the hidden
Armenians come out and reveal themselves they should work with the
Kurds (there are 34 Kurd parliamentarians) and Turkish progressive
groups and individuals to achieve Armenian goals through the Turkish
parliament.
Mr. Guven said that to understand Turkey one has to remember there
are two power bases in the country: Erdogan and the PKK (the strongest
Kurdish political/military party).
In a forceful presentation, Dr. Astarjian stressed that Armenians
have wasted too many years seeking Genocide recognition by the world.
Recognition even by the US and the UN means nothing, he said. "For
99 years we have been preoccupied by the Genocide. We should get
out of the recognition trap. The Genocide is human rights issue,
not a political issue," he said.
Before the Kurds and the Armenians begin to work together, "they
should organize internally; put aside the past and then plan for the
future. Armenians and Kurds are fragmented--perhaps the Kurds more
so than the Armenians," surmised Dr. Astarjian.
Harking to an article he wrote in 2010, where he said that Armenian
relationship with the Kurdish nation is not based on ideology, but
on land rights and demands in Western Armenia, he said the Armenian
goal should be Western Armenia. "Don't just talk. Work toward its
establishment. Do something or shut up. Enough with the beating of
chests. We should educate our young, our people about our rights. The
Treaty of Sevres is one of the best ways the Diaspora can pursue its
rights in Western Armenia. The treaty is still valid. It's alive but
not healthy. Go back to the Wilsonian map. If the Treaty of Kars is
alive, so is the Treaty of Sevres. Armenians and Kurds should work
together to pursue the realisation of the Treaty of Sevres. Our rights
were spelled out, in detail, in the provisions in the Sevres Treaty.
It is to our advantage, and to the detriment of Turkey, to stick to
this map and the provisions in the Sevres Treaty," said Dr. Astarjian.
He added that there's no hope that the Republic of Armenia will do
anything regarding the recovering of Western Armenia. An attendee
challenged Dr. Astarjian's assertion and said that Armenia is in a
recovery stage and once it strengthens its statehood it will become a
"big player" in the recovery of Armenian lands.
Although the lively Thursday evening gathering could have gone on
for several hours more, it being a week night, the discussion was
adjourned after two-and-a-half hours.
http://www.keghart.com/node/3291
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Keghart.com report, Toronto, 31 May 2014
It was full house as Armenians and Kurds gathered at the AGBU Toronto
on May 28 to attend a panel discussion on how the two nations can work
together for their mutual benefit. The three-man panel included Dr.
Henry Astarjian of New Hampshire, and Suleyman Guven and Raffi
Bedrosyan of Toronto.
(L-R) Mr. Raffi Bedrosyan, Mr. Suleyman Guven & Dr. Henry Astarjian
Dr. Astarjian is a long-time "student" of Armenian/Kurdish affairs and
has attended five Kurdish summit conferences where he has asserted
Armenian rights in Western Armenia. Mr. Guven, an Alevi cleric and
editor of "Yeni Hayat" newspaper, is an award-winning journalist and an
activist for Alevi Kurdish rights. Mr. Bedrosyan, a civil engineer,
has been closely involved in the reconstruction of Diyarbakir's
Surp Giragos Cathedral's reconstruction and in encouraging "hidden"
Armenians to come out and declare their identity. He also has done
volunteer work in Armenia/Artsakh.
Although the discussion was intended to be about the future, inevitably
the Genocide and the Kurdish persecution of Armenians in the 19th
century and in 1915 had to be addressed first.
Mr. Bedrosyan said: "The Ittihat ve Terakki government of the Ottoman
Empire used the Kurds as a willing and able partner in carrying out
the annihilation of the Armenians from their 4,000-year-old homeland.
Kurds became the killing instruments, with the reward of the massacred
Armenians' possession of assets, their homes, their shops, as well
as their women, boys, and girls."
Kurdish leaders have started acknowledging the Kurdish role in the
Armenian Genocide only in words and not deeds, said Mr. Bedrosyan.
Exceptions are Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir and Sur Municipality
Mayor Abdullah Demirbash. The first helped facilitate the
reconstruction of Surp Giragos and contributed a third of the
reconstruction costs while the second "helped organize Armenian
language courses" to be established in Diyarbakir. Mayor Demirbash
also continued cooperating in the return of assets and properties
belonging to the Armenian Church through negotiated settlements.
Mr. Guven said: "Unfortunately, Kurds have Armenian blood in their
hands. This is shameful for the nation. As a first step the recognition
of the Armenian Genocide by the Kurdish leadership is good but not
enough. There has a lot to be done on the Kurdish side without delay."
In response to the panel's unanimous condemnation of the Kurdish
participation in the massacres of Armenians and in the Genocide,
several Kurds in the audience insisted, during the question-and-answer
session, that Kurds were ordered by the Ottoman authorities,
were forced to do what they did. They also stated that the present
generation of Kurds cannot be responsible for what had happened in
the past nor the Kurdish people as a whole, because only some tribal
leaders co-operated with the authorities. In many instances Kurds
saved Armenian lives by adopting or marrying them, they said.
Mr. Guven said that 36,000 Armenians, who had fled from the Genocide,
sought sanctuary in his home region of Dersim. "A dormitory and an
orphanage were built for Armenians in Agzunik. When the Russian army
invaded Erzincan, the majority of the Armenians were handed over to
the Russians under the supervision of Dersim leadership. Armenians
who stayed moved to the US, Syria and Istanbul," he said.
Next was the main item of the evening's "agenda": How Armenians and
Kurds should co-operate for their mutual benefit. Perhaps because
the Kurdish goal (to establish Northern Kurdistan) is well known,
it was not enunciated. Thus Armenian goals took front seat.
Mr. Bedrosyan said: "Armenians have two expectations from Kurds: first
to be with the Armenians in their quest for justice and restitution
against the crimes of 1915, instead of being against the Armenians;
and second, to encourage--not to discourage--the emergency of the
hidden Armenians among the Kurdish population."
Since the [Armenian] problem is within Turkey, the solution must also
be within Turkey, he said. "It would be far more effective to have
Kurds and emerging hidden Armenians to work effectively within the
Turkey toward resolution of issues, rather than to rely on third
countries and their parliaments to work for us. Outside pressure
doesn't work in Turkey," stressed Bedrosyan.
In concluding his argument, Mr. Bedrosyan said that after the hidden
Armenians come out and reveal themselves they should work with the
Kurds (there are 34 Kurd parliamentarians) and Turkish progressive
groups and individuals to achieve Armenian goals through the Turkish
parliament.
Mr. Guven said that to understand Turkey one has to remember there
are two power bases in the country: Erdogan and the PKK (the strongest
Kurdish political/military party).
In a forceful presentation, Dr. Astarjian stressed that Armenians
have wasted too many years seeking Genocide recognition by the world.
Recognition even by the US and the UN means nothing, he said. "For
99 years we have been preoccupied by the Genocide. We should get
out of the recognition trap. The Genocide is human rights issue,
not a political issue," he said.
Before the Kurds and the Armenians begin to work together, "they
should organize internally; put aside the past and then plan for the
future. Armenians and Kurds are fragmented--perhaps the Kurds more
so than the Armenians," surmised Dr. Astarjian.
Harking to an article he wrote in 2010, where he said that Armenian
relationship with the Kurdish nation is not based on ideology, but
on land rights and demands in Western Armenia, he said the Armenian
goal should be Western Armenia. "Don't just talk. Work toward its
establishment. Do something or shut up. Enough with the beating of
chests. We should educate our young, our people about our rights. The
Treaty of Sevres is one of the best ways the Diaspora can pursue its
rights in Western Armenia. The treaty is still valid. It's alive but
not healthy. Go back to the Wilsonian map. If the Treaty of Kars is
alive, so is the Treaty of Sevres. Armenians and Kurds should work
together to pursue the realisation of the Treaty of Sevres. Our rights
were spelled out, in detail, in the provisions in the Sevres Treaty.
It is to our advantage, and to the detriment of Turkey, to stick to
this map and the provisions in the Sevres Treaty," said Dr. Astarjian.
He added that there's no hope that the Republic of Armenia will do
anything regarding the recovering of Western Armenia. An attendee
challenged Dr. Astarjian's assertion and said that Armenia is in a
recovery stage and once it strengthens its statehood it will become a
"big player" in the recovery of Armenian lands.
Although the lively Thursday evening gathering could have gone on
for several hours more, it being a week night, the discussion was
adjourned after two-and-a-half hours.
http://www.keghart.com/node/3291
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress