Before I begin, let me explain the meaning of this photo: it is of a starving mother and her child, taken sometime during the Genocide. Their fate was most likely death, which is far better than what the others received. Imagine if that was your helpless mother, sister, or wife.
As you know, I try my best to keep this blog from turning into one of the thousands of other Armenian websites dedicated to showing the horrors of the Genocide. I try to take a fair look at issues, at least as much as my heritage would allow me to. But I'm troubled by what the Armenian government is vigorously attempting to get: diplomatic relations with Turkey without genocide precondition. What saddens me even more is the clear motive behind this push: the opening of the Kars-Gyumri railroad, and lucrative economic participation with neighbors Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Georgia, as well as general economic and political gain.
Armenia is literally begging Turkey to open relations:
Armenia called for establishing diplomatic relations with Turkey without any preconditions, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakosyan said...This is simply unacceptable. First and foremost, Armenia should impose a ban on ALL Turkish products and immediately halt anything entering the country, not just certain foods. And second, Armenia should under no circumstance enter into any talks - diplomatic or otherwise - with Turkey until it officially admits to the Genocide.
Kirakosyan added that since 1993, when Turkey closed its border with Armenia, the trade between the two countries had been realized via the territory of third countries and via air service.
We can't under any circumstance sell out our heritage. We can't sell out the lives of over 1,500,000 individuals - mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, grandparents, intellectuals, Armenians - for economic gain. The ends - which in our case would be greater trade, greater profit, greater taxation, greater military - cannot justify the means of dealing with the country responsible for the unrecognized atrocities against our people.
Source: Focus
2 comments:
You are letting your emotions get the better of you. The ROA is right in it statement that there should be no preconditions, on either side, to opening diplomatic relations. It's ironic that while many in the dispersion claim that the ROA isn't their real homeland (a fantasized western Armenia is?), these same Armenians want ROA to adopt the genocide issue as the prime underlying factor in it foreign affairs policy.The ROA has consistently rejected any Turkish overtures to "explore" the historical reality of the genocide. Should the ROA now claim that the "occupied lands" in western Armenia also be returned by Turkey before relations are normalized as well???
First, don't make blanket statements that people not in Armenia do not claim it as their homeland. I'm the U.S. and was born and raised in Armenia and it is my homeland. I intend to return in the near future.
Second, the Turks have never expressed any interest in objectively looking at their past, because they have officially denied any such events as a state-sponsored genocide and will continue to do so.
The lands in Eastern Turkey are indeed Armenian, but all we want now is admission of the genocide. I believe that that should be a precondition to any negotiations.
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