Անձրև

At a pumpkin feast last night, I got a copy of a cool new book... You'll hear more about it on this blog, but for now I'll just say it goes along with the theme of this blog!

As many of you probably know, Armenia's first post-independence president, who resigned under pressure, has announced his candidacy for... president! The constitution only allows 2 terms, and he won twice (though he stole the second election, then only ended up serving part of the term), so I'm not sure how this will go over. Raffi Hovanissian of course was not allowed to run for not having been an Armenian citizen for 10 years, while Kocharian was (even though he was from Karabakh).

So this year Halloween is quite rainy, though I think all the Halloween parties were last weekend anyway... the weather has definitely cooled, though we get the intermittent warm day.

Towards an organic democracy?

As one of the articles Raffi posted attests to, Levon Ter-Petrossian announced his presidential candidacy at a rally last Friday. I went to the rally (against advice from several worried friends) because my coworkers were attending and I wanted to see what it was all about. I am not going to pretend to know much about Ter-Petrossian, or Kocharian for that matter, and this blog really has nothing to do with my own political opinions. What I want to say about the rally was that it felt really organic and it was great to see local Armenians getting politically active and expressing their views freely.

In the past few weeks as the Armenian Genocide bill was being discussed in the US Congress and by the international media, I thought a lot about the different priorities that Armenians have in the diaspora versus the homeland. One writer, Fred Hiatt, wrote in the Washington Post that the Armenian Diaspora should focus their attention on democratization in Armenia instead of getting the Genocide recognized (as if the entire diaspora can only focus on one thing at one time). Anyway, in Hiatt's first paragraph was the following, "Imagine what the Armenian diaspora might have accomplished had it worked as hard for democracy in Armenia as it did for congressional recognition of the genocide Armenians suffered nearly a century ago. It's even possible that modern Armenia would be as democratic as modern Turkey" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/14/AR2007101400957.html).

I balked at the thought of someone using Turkey as a good example for democracy, but when I brought up the point to my coworkers at YSU, to my surprise they agreed that Turkey is more democratic than Armenia, at least when it comes to electoral processes. Then I thought back to all the conversations I've had with people here about who will be the next president, and nobody has expressed any doubt that Serge Sarkisyan will be the next president. Whether they like him or not, everyone seems to have already accepted the fact that he will become president next spring. But if they don't vote for him, then HOW can everyone be so sure that he'll win...? Because the voting process is marred by corruption so they are convinced their votes don't matter anyway. Well my friends, that is not democracy. (Not that President Bush's electoral victories in the US exhibit democracy either). I was bummed by the idea that Hiatt could have been even partially right in his charge that Turkey is more democratic than Armenia, although later my coworkers and I were able to agree that Turkey ONLY beats Armenia in the democracy game on the issue of voting-- not on freedom of speech, freedom of press, human rights, etc.

Anyway, since I've been pondering these issues quite a bit for the past week, I've been feeling pretty disappointed in the idea that Armenia is not democratizing as progressively as I may have assumed. Being a diasporan here who does not have mastery of the language yet, it's hard sometimes to gage what is really happening among the local population. However, what I do know is this: what happened on Friday was an exhibition of freedom of association and freedom of speech. Several days later, when I was walking down Tumanian, a girl handed me a flyer for a public meeting that was held last night at Cinema Moscow among the Tashnak party to determine who will be their candidate for the presidency. As I mentioned, I'm not expressing my own political views by bringing this up... I'm saying that having Ter-Petrossian and a Tashnak candidate (among others maybe) run for the presidency is good for political pluralism, competition and choice for the people. I will attend every rally and meeting I can just to learn more about how the electoral process is shaping up here in Armenia. And I felt proud at the rally on Friday just because the gathering of more than 20,000 people shows activism instead of apathy. Perhaps if viable candidates continue to emerge before the presidential election, and the local population continues to take an active interest in the voting process, we have a chance at a more transparent and more representative political outcome. Do I sound naive?? If so, that's okay, because I'm still learning. Frankly, I don't have enough knowledge to say who I think should be the next president of Armenia, but I can say that any movement towards a more representative democracy is good, and so my optimism has been at least partially revived for now.

Nice friends you have...

So let me get this straight... Turkey rejects our request to launch the Iraq war from their bases: good ally. Turkey harbors hatred towards the American people: good ally. Turkey kills an Armenian journalist and convicts his son months later: good ally. Turkey threatens the US efforts in Iraq again for passing a non-binding resolution condemning the Armenian Genocide: good ally. Turkey attacks Kurds in Iraq, thus complicating US efforts in the region: good ally.

What on earth does Turkey have to do to become a bad ally, or even not at all? Well, now it seems the anti-American sentiment is alive and well in Azerbaijan, their blood brothers... lucky for them they prevented it.

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/10/29/azerbaijan.embassy/index.html

Istanbul

I was in Istanbul last week, attending a 5-day seminar on "Young Women living in conflict areas". This was a meeting seminar organised by women's organizations from the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Abkhazia and Georgia). We were 5 women representing Armenia from different organisations. The initiative was sponsored by the Kvinna til kvinna Swedish organisation which is a feminist organisation who sponsors empowerment projects in different conflict regions (Balkans, middle-east and Caucasus...).

The meeting was interesting and challenging at the same time. We were 21 young women overall and we discussed different matters and issues that young women face in our region; violence, gender discrimination in education and work, lack of sexual rights and reproductive choices, etc. After 4 days of discussions, reflection and debates we finally agreed on conducting a regional survey to assess the concrete needs of young women living in the region as well as to start-up a network among our organisations.

Being once again in Istanbul was amazing! It is the only place that makes me experience all sort of emotions at the same time (love, hate, anger, fear, frustration, fulfillment...) Even though this time we were a little worried to go there in the first place, because of what was happening lately, it ended being a good experience. People advised us before going there, not to speak loudly in Armenian, not to mention that we were from Armenia or not to hang out near crowded areas.

For those who know Istanbul, it is almost impossible to pass by Taksim Square and Istiklal street without losing yourself in the big, gigantic crowd of people from all colors, ethnicity, style, religion and beliefs. After being discrete the first days, we couldn't help it anymore and we ended up one night in a very popular club (Istanbul has an amazing nightlife) with 21 young women dancing on the rhythms of Abkhazian and Armenian music...surrounded by Turks, Kurds, Abkhazians, Georgians, Greeks and Azeris who were having a blast on Lorke and Chalakho music.

On my way back home, while waiting at the Sheremetyevo (Moscow) airport for my transit flight, I was reflecting on my journey there and how good I felt being in a city that I learned to despise all my life and how familiar I felt everything was there.

It was sad for me that I was feeling at home more in Istanbul than in Yerevan sometimes (my father would not like this entry) and how each food I tasted or music I heard reminded me of my childhood, my home, and most of all my grand-mothers. And I felt how I belonged to that city despite myself and the city belonged to me in a way inherited from my grand-mothers...

I am now reading "The Bastard of Istanbul" of Elif Shafak, it is helping me understand alot...

Bad news

When I went to the headlines on Radio Free Europe today for Armenia, I couldn't decide which bit of news was the worst... so you can decide for yourself.

US Sponsors Postpone Push For Armenian Genocide Bill

Armenia Seeks Major Curbs On Western Vote Monitoring

Ter-Petrosian Declares Presidential Bid In Yerevan Rally

Hrant Dink's son convicted of same offense

Just like Hrant Dink got virtually no press for his trials and convictions before he was murdered, his son has now also been convicted the same year as this murder, and the world press is completely silent. Even among Armenians, it doesn't seem like big news. So much injustice in the world...

Here's an excellent article from the Oct 20 Armenian Weekly, written by a Pari Turk, Fatma Muge Gocek.

On the Recent Convictions of Serkis Seropyan and Arat Dink

By Fatma Muge Gocek

Sociologists look for patterns in social behavior. The pattern I observe in
the recent Turkish court decision convicting the owners of the Agos
newspaper Serkis Seropyan and Arat Dink, to a one-year imprisonment in
accordance with the infamous Penal Code 301-for publishing an interview with
Hrant Dink where he discussed the Armenian genocide-is one of blatant
discrimination based on prejudice, just as it had been in the previous
lawsuit against and subsequent sentencing of Hrant Dink. I think this
lawsuit has been brought against Seropyan and Arat Dink and they have been
subsequently sentenced because they are Armenians, that is, because they are
minorities in Turkey.

Why do I think so? Because the interview that Hrant Dink had given and Agos
printed, the one that formed the legal grounds of the decision against
Seropyan and Arat Dink, was also printed in all other Turkish media outlets.
Yet, those other outlets were not targeted by either Turkish public
prosecutors or by Turkish courts. As a consequence, those other Turkish
newspapers and journalists will not be targeted or gagged the way Seropyan
and Arat Dink now are and will be in the future.

Previously, while many of us had talked critically about the Turkish past,
in general, and about 1915, in particular, only Hrant Dink from among us was
singled out and targeted by the Turkish public prosecutor and then by the
Turkish court. Because he was an Armenian. He was a minority member in
Turkey. The rest of us did not go through that entire legal process
culminating in the delivery of a sentence. I think we did not because we
were ethnic Turks, and educated, white Turks to boot. While some of us stood
there watching, while some of us tried to help Hrant Dink by conducting
signature campaigns aimed at Turkish state officials and foolishly thinking
it would make a difference, he went through a grueling trial process, was
found guilty and sentenced.

Hrant Dink was sentenced on what I consider to be trumped-up charges, after
an intentional, willful misreading and misinterpretation of what he had
written. I would contend that not only had Hrant Dink not "insulted
Turkishness" in what he had written, but that anybody holding a college
degree ought to have had the knowledge, intelligence or capacity to have
recognized that. Hence, in my opinion, it was a travesty of justice that a
group that had the alacrity to call themselves "deliverers of justice"
reached what I view as a shameful, illegal decision based on untruth and
prejudice. In my mind's eye, I shall always continue to see that group as
"deliverers of death" because I think it was as a consequence of the process
they set in motion, the process they sanctified with their legal decision,
that Hrant Dink was assassinated.

Until that decision to sentence Dink was reached in Turkey, I had thought
legal systems were instituted to protect individuals. Yet, the Hrant Dink
decision taught me that the Turkish legal system can also set individuals,
especially minority members, up for destruction by placing them as offers
upon the altar of ethnic nationalism. It would then quietly withdraw and
watch some people gather "in the name of the majority." They would chant
ignorant songs of unity, thus feeling superior against the unprotected. And
they certainly did. Yes, some also stood against them and protested, but
they were so few in comparison...

Now, today, while there were many Turkish newspapers that had also published
or referred to the interview Hrant Dink had given, once again it was only
the Agos newspaper among them that was singled out and targeted by the
Turkish public prosecutor and then by the Turkish court in exactly the same
manner as Hrant Dink had once been-because, once again, the people involved
were Armenians. The rest were not because they were ethnic Turks. Seropyan
and Arat Dink are minority members in Turkey, and I think that is why they
alone were convicted.

What are we going to do now? Are we going to stand by and watch? Or are we
going to conduct media and signature campaigns that will lead us to who
knows where?

At this point, I am certain of only one thing: I am sickened at the
possibility of the pattern of death repeating itself. I am also sickened by
the timing of the Turkish court decision regarding Seropyan and Arat Dink,
given the Genocide bill that has just passed in the U.S. and given how the
Turkish media, society and state are now reacting to it-as always,
emotionally, and, due to lack of knowledge about the past, with vengeance. I
personally think this conviction date was chosen intentionally by the
Turkish court to intersect with the U.S. bill to further foster and justify
Turkish ethnic nationalism. That intentionality further sickens me.

What to do? I look back at those signature campaigns we had conducted for
Hrant Dink all the while thinking it would make a difference, thinking it
would protect him... After all, all of us who signed those pleas of
protection-at least I, personally-believed that there was a state in Turkey
that somehow, somewhat upheld the delivery of justice and the protection of
the rights of all of its citizens among its fundamental principles, that is,
it at least aspired toward such principles, even if it could not reach them.
What on earth was I thinking, given how the Hrant Dink trial was going at
the moment, given how all of his lawyers' attempts to investigate and
uncover the real instigators and culprits behind his assassination that
reach deep into the Turkish state and the military are being stonewalled!
How could I have been so delusional?

There is only one thing I can think of doing at this moment: If those
Turkish officials who once received our signatures and pleas about
protecting Hrant Dink did nothing back then, if they just put them aside,
did not act upon or investigate them, I now condemn each and every one of
those Turkish officials. For, in collecting those signatures, we might have
deluded ourselves in relation to what the Turkish state might have been
capable of, but at least our intentions were good. Yet, I condemn each and
every one of those Turkish officials who did not uphold the delivery of
justice and the protection of all of its citizens as the fundamental
principles of the Turkish state, and who still do not uphold them today by
enabling a full, open and transparent investigation. I do so because I find
their intentions foul, and their behavior complicit. I think those
particular officials uphold and foster an alternate vision of the Turkish
state that is no different, in my view, from the state that once condemned
hundreds of thousands of its subjects to death by deportation.

I also condemn the naturalized prejudice and the subsequent discrimination
that still perseveres in Turkish society today, as it has ultimately led to
the targeting of minorities in this manner. And I also condemn the falsified
Turkish Republican history taught in school textbooks that has erased all
the violence the Turkish state once committed in the past. Not only has that
violence created the category of minorities in our society to start with,
thereby fostering all this prejudice and discrimination against them, but it
has also been exploited by the same Turkish state and especially by segments
of the Turkish military to create an ethnic Turkish identity, an identity
which was then periodically mobilized against the minorities both to
replenish that hallowed ethnic unity and also to sustain the political
status quo.

As I see the same pattern that eventually led to Hrant Dink's assassination
unfolding right in front of my eyes in the case of Serkis Seropyan, who
happens to be a very dear friend of mine, and of Arat Dink, who I regard as
a very precious gift entrusted to us all for safekeeping by his slain
father, who we obviously were not able to protect, I end up with a final
condemnation: I condemn and curse myself for my own present state of
helplessness.

My Letter to Speaker Pelosi

This is what I wrote to her. Please send her your own thank you, comments and support for H.Res.106. She needs to hear from all of us. Three ways to reach her:

1. Call (202) 225-0100 and leave a voicemail
2. Fax a short hand-written note to her at (202) 225-4188
3. Type up a short thank you note at http://speaker.house.gov/contact/




Dear Speaker Pelosi,

I am an American citizen now living in Armenia and have been following the progress on H.Res.106 from Armenia. I want to thank you for pushing the issue forward and realize that you face harsh pressures from the administration, State Department and much more.

I truly hope that you will continue to see this through to the end and not only put the resolution to a vote, but urge Congress to maintain its moral ground by showing support. As an American I am distraught by the negative influence foreign powers have forced on our democratic process to denounce our morality as a nation while Turkey continues to evade their own. As an Armenian decendent, I fear this continued victimization will only steer the Armenian people towards deeper regression.

Please stand by your firm promises toward recognition of the Armenian Genocide and help us get a yes vote on H.Res.106 in Congress.

Thank you for your courageous efforts on this matter.

Sincerely,
Arsineh Khachikian

Speaker Pelosi

We are at an important crossroads for the Armenian Genocide Bill (HR 106). Please, take a moment to write to Speaker Pelosi and tell her how important it is to do the right thing. You can write to her at: http://speaker.house.gov/contact/

Here is my letter, but please do not use it - type your own telling her how important it is - and don't forget to include your address/phone number!

Hi Speaker Pelosi,

I was proud to see that you stood up to China and gave the Dalai Lama the honor and respect he and his people deserve. Please, don't forget the last survivors of the Armenian Genocide who are still alive in the US. Let them see their government give them their fair recognition. A blackmailing ally is no ally at all, and US supplies can be moved via the gulf and other countries if the Turks prove unreasonable.

We are the superpower, it is up to us to set a moral standard and not give in to blackmail.

Thank you,
Raffi Kojian
ADDRESS
PHONE

In other news...

I was just reading a New York Times article about real estate in San Diego. Condos in downtown start at $1,000 a square foot. That means $10,000 a square meter... so again, to those who think $1,500 a square meter in the heart of Yerevan is extremely expensive, I just want to point out that it doesn't seem crazy in any case, at 15% of the price they start at in San Diego.

The Northern Avenue will be opened next month. The buildings will not all be finished, but the street will be. It'll be a great shortcut through the center of town, especially in the winter when you'll want to avoid icy sidewalks.

President Kocharian fired a judge - which I think is unprecendented. It was supposedly for delinquency, but it is widely known that it was for ruling in favor of two businessmen who have accused customs of corruption, and been jailed for years since then, and now in jail again. So sad. To the defenders of Kocharian, I say, here's your man. Perhaps the others running (or I should say allowed to run) for office were worse, but don't fool yourselves into thinking that makes him good... only by comparison.

Ex-president Ter-Petrossian has announced he's running for president. Another dangalakh, as I've said before.

They say procedures for applying for actual Armenian dual citizenship will be in place by December. We'll see, but verchabes it appears to be getting close.

And in widely ignored news, Armenia and Georgia appear to be serious about closer ties and marketing their countries as one to investors. This would be great, and could easily be the start of a common market which would benefit both countries a great deal. It might also help with the situation of Armenians in Javakh.

Cartoon

Thanks to Vahan Bournazian for sending this one...

TIME artcile by Samantha Power

Brilliant words by a brilliant mind, this article appeared in today's TIME magazine...



The U.S. and Turkey: Honesty Is the Best Policy

BY SAMANTHA POWER

Ninety-two years ago, the "Young Turk" regime ordered the executions of Armenian civic leaders and intellectuals, and Turkish soldiers and militia forced the Armenian population to march into the desert, where more than a million died by bayonet or starvation. That horror helped galvanize Raphael Lemkin, a Polish Jew, to invent the word genocide, which was defined not as the extermination of an entire group but rather as a systematic effort to destroy a group. Lemkin wanted the term — and the international legal convention that grew out of it — to encompass ethnic cleansing and the murdering of a substantial part of a group. Otherwise, he feared, the world would wait until an entire group had been wiped out before taking any action.

But this month in Washington these historical truths — about events carried out on another continent, in another century — are igniting controversy among politicians as if the harms were unsubstantiated, local and recent. At stake, of course, is the question of whether the U.S. House of Representatives should offend Turkey by passing a resolution condemning the "Armenian genocide" of 1915.

All actors in the debate are playing the roles they have played for decades. Turkish General Yasar Buyukanit warned that if the House proceeds with a vote, "our military ties with the U.S. will never be the same again." Having recognized the genocide while campaigning for the White House, President George W. Bush nevertheless followed in the footsteps of his Oval Office predecessors, bemoaning the euphemistic "tragic suffering" of Armenians and wheeling out men and women of diplomatic and military rank to argue that the resolution would harm the indispensable U.S.-Turkish relationship. In Congress, Representatives in districts populated by Armenians generally support the measure, while those well cudgeled or coddled by the President or Pentagon don't. Official pressure has led many sponsors of the resolution to withdraw their support.

One feature of the decades-old script is new: the Turkish threats have greater credibility today than in the past. Mainly this is because the U.S. war in Iraq has dramatically increased Turkish leverage over Washington. Some 70% of U.S. air cargo en route to Iraq passes through Turkey, as does about one-third of the fuel used by the U.S. military there. While Turkey may react negatively in the short term, recognition of the genocide is warranted for four reasons. First, the House resolution tells the truth, and the U.S. would be the 24th country to officially acknowledge it. In arguing against the resolution, Bush hasn't dared dispute the facts. An Administration that has shown little regard for the truth is openly urging Congress to join it in avoiding honesty. It is inconceivable that even back in the days when the U.S. prized West Germany as a bulwark against the Soviet Union, Washington would have refrained from condemning the Holocaust at Germany's behest.

Second, the passage of time is only going to increase the size of the thorn in the side of what is indeed a valuable relationship with Turkey. Many a U.S. official (and even the occasional senior Turkish official) admits in private to wishing the U.S. had recognized the genocide years ago. Armenian survivors are passing away, but their descendants have vowed to continue the struggle. The vehemence of the Armenian diaspora is increasing, not diminishing. Third, America's leverage over Turkey is far greater than Turkey's over the U.S. The U.S. brought Turkey into NATO, built up its military and backed its membership in the European Union. Washington granted most-favored-nation trading status to Turkey, resulting in some $7 billion in annual trade between the two countries and $2 billion in U.S. investments there. Only Israel and Egypt outrank Turkey as recipients of U.S. foreign assistance. And fourth, for all the help Turkey has given the U.S. concerning Iraq, Ankara turned down Washington's request to use Turkish bases to launch the Iraq invasion, and it ignored Washington's protests by massing 60,000 troops at the Iraq border this month as a prelude to a widely expected attack in Iraqi Kurdistan. In other words, while Turkey may invoke the genocide resolution as grounds for ignoring U.S. wishes, it has a longer history of snubbing Washington when it wants to.

Back in 1915, when Henry Morgenthau, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, protested the atrocities to the Turkish Minister of the Interior, the Turk was puzzled. "Why are you so interested in the Armenians anyway?" Mehmed Talaat asked. "We treat the Americans all right." While it is essential to ensure that Turkey continues to "treat the Americans all right," a stable, fruitful, 21st century relationship cannot be built on a lie.

Back to the Diaspora

It's been about five years, four months and three weeks for me in Armenia, but I'm afraid things have worked out a certain way, and I am returning to the Diaspora, my intention being to harbour a temporary presence there.

This has been a good run. Armenia is a great place for all sorts of activities and adventures, and I believe I've managed to scrape more than my fair share. The wider world awaits, however, and I'll try to grow out there, so that I may someday return, and have even bigger adventures still.

Keep the Hayrenik going, everyone! Until we meet again...

Janapar at 85%

With 12 of the 14 days of the Janapar Trail marked and ready to go, we're on target to finish the trail before the end of the year. I just took a trip over to Karabakh to check out the progress, and do some scouting on the remaining section. The signs look great, with the exception of a few which have been vandalized already, and it was a lot of fun asking villagers where the footprints are and knowing this was the best way to show them the purpose of the signs, and let them know that they will bring tourists soon... which means you! :-) Start your planning and tell your friends who love the outdoors and roughing it a bit. Starting in the spring, you'll be set to see some amazing sights and meet some amazing (and some crazy) people. The trail is set up so that at the end of a day of hiking you can spend the night in a villagers house, which means you don't need to carry a tent and sleeping bag unless you prefer to camp.

Setting up the trail presented some challenges, since I live in Yerevan, and the trail is 5 or 6 hours drive away at the closest. Finding a good person to work on the marking, someone who gets it, took a while - but it just happened by luck that the perfect guy came along, a couple of other things fell into place, and ever since then progress has been almost hassle-free. As with anywhere, the right people make all the difference.

If you want to hike the last bit of the trail, through Nor Shahumyan/Karvajar/Kelbajar, then make sure you have your 10 year visa from your Armenian Embassy, or you might not get permission to go there, and the hot springs and scenery are well worth it. The scenery this last week was great, with the fall color in full swing, and great weather.

Coming back to see that the genocide resolution is still big news was impressive - though a number of anti-resolution commentaries are popping up now, no doubt thanks to Turkey's lobbyists. Check out some of them, and drop them a quick note to the editor. Five minutes here and there will make a big difference - we need to make sure the tone stays pro-resolution, that the facts, that justice is too important to sacrifice. We can easily get our supplies to Iraq via the gulf, a plan for which is being worked on as we speak, and there is never a better time than the present to acknowledge historic mistakes, while excuses for postponing the truth also never end. Let us get recognition now, while a few genocide survivors in the US can finally hear their government state the simple truth, even if the executive branch is crapping all over it...

Good Times...

What an incredible time we live in. Who ever thought the Democrats would use the morality card of passing the genocide resolution to fight the Republicans on the international stage. Who knew that Tom Lantos would be encouraging passage of the genocide resolution to restore morality to the US? Could the Armenian Genocide possibly become a turning point in history for America itself and it's position in the world? It was once before when it became America's first massive relief effort. I can't believe how much coverage its getting all around the world and continuously.

But most of all, I never thought I'd see the day where Jon Stewart (now among my heroes) slammed Bush for pandering to Turkish demands by condemning the condemnation of genocide. Jon, you are a genius. Sadly, they removed that segment from youtube already, but I believe you can view it on the Daily Show with John Stewart website under the "most recent videos" section. It's the one rated 5 stars.

And finally in the Boston Globe, there is mention of Senator Hillary Clinton's position on the matter, stating the following:

"Senator Hillary Clinton, a New York Democrat and presidential hopeful, said she now has qualms about supporting a similar measure she cosponsored in the Senate.

On Wednesday she told The Boston Globe editorial board that Turkey's opposition had been stronger than anticipated and that Congress should proceed with caution."

The ANCA is leading a campaign to reach out to her:

PLEASE CALL AND THANK SEN. CLINTON FOR HER SUPPORT OF S.RES 106

She needs to hear from us!

IF YOU RESIDE IN NY: 202-224-4451
OUTSIDE OF NY: CAMPAIGN OFFICE Phone: 703-469-2008

And of course the Turks are following through with a ruthless campaign to bombard Congress with calls urging them not to move forward in a shameless final attempt to stump the resolution in its path. If they do, all eyes will be watching in disgust.

Thoughts/Venting on the Genocide Resolution and Turkish Ignorance

After a lengthy hiatus, I am moved to write again for the blog. Not only by complaints/urging from friends (ahem Raffi, Sarmen) but by my emotional reaction to the passage of the Armenian Genocide resolution in the US Foreign Relations Committee. I know most of you readers are already familiar with what’s happening right now, but I wanted to share something that happened to me with regard to this bill. But first, a little background is required…

What I am currently working on in Armenia is finishing my masters in International Affairs. I’m doing it at the New School in New York City, but for my last semester I was able to conduct my studies in Armenia since I only need to complete two classes which are both outside-the-classroom. One is an internship (which I won’t be discussing here) and the other is an Independent Study project. I have been doing my project research at the Yerevan State University, at what is essentially their Oriental studies center. There are some really bright and informed people who are also studying there and have been helping me find sources for my project. The topic of the project is a sort of comparison of the situations in Kosovo and Karabakh, with smaller case studies on Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia. My purpose is to examine the tension between the right of self-determination for secessionist republics and the international norm of supporting territorial integrity for states. At present time, negotiations over Kosovo’s final status are being carried out, and it seems that Kosovo may be the first of the four aforementioned de facto republics to have its final status determined. However, with the US insisting that Kosovo will become independent (even if by unilateral declaration), and Russia simultaneously doing everything to prevent such a decision, who knows how this will turn out? I went to a lecture the other day at Common Ground here in Yerevan, where the speaker who discussed the possibility and implications of an independent Kurdistan, actually said that Kosovo will not be a precedent for Karabakh, but that Karabakh will set a precedent for Kosovo. Very interesting.

Anyway, as I conduct this project, I am still a student of the New School in New York, and as such I receive emails from my school’s listserv. In the wake of the Armenian Genocide resolution coming up for a vote, one of my classmates posted a link to an article about US resistance to the bill and urged students to contact their Congress members to pass the resolution. I was impressed. However, then another student replied to the email, saying that they are a citizen of Turkey and do not accept any responsibility for the Armenian Genocide. Essentially, in this email, the student admitted that Genocide took place but felt no sense of liability to help bring justice to the issue, and also said that US efforts to recognize the Armenian Genocide were not about justice for Armenians at all. This student also pointed out that American-Armenian efforts to legislate this point in history only increase tensions between Armenians and Turks and make life harder for Armenians in Turkey.

Sorry to vent here, but I am really in disbelief about how ignorant this position is. Let me get this straight… you know that your country’s former government is guilty of this crime against humanity, and throughout your life you have enjoyed the fruits of the lands that these Ottoman leaders took from others who had lived there in peace for centuries, but you and other current citizens have nothing to do with what happened in the past? Then you are indeed guilty of continuing the Turkish crime of Genocide. If even informed Turks cannot see the link, then how can the Turkish government ever move forwards towards a just resolution of this issue?

On a slightly different note, I cannot believe that this Armenian Genocide bill going to the House Foreign Relations Committee is being linked by US leaders to the further deterioration of the situation in Iraq. True, Turkey is crazy and is trying absolutely everything in its power to dissuade the passage of the bill, but Turkish-American relations have been strained since the start of the war. Furthermore, if Turkey wants to invade Iraq to combat the Kurdish forces, then they will do so despite their already unstable friendship with America. Let’s stop catering to Turkey’s blackmailing already. I’m kind of all over the place here but have become a little emotional about the Turkish and American response to this Bill…

I want to leave off with a quote from a subsequent classmate responding to the email correspondence, who quoted the late great Bob Marley:

“Don’t forget your history, know your destiny: in the abundance of water, the fool is thirsty”.

The Women's Resource Center

We finally moved the Women’s Center to the new location on Zaroubyan. The opening went well although I expected more people showing up, but I think most of the people I invited were busy with work.
For those who don’t know the Women’s Center, here is a brief info:
When I was living in Montreal, I was very much involved in women’s issues and volunteered most of my time at a local women’s center on St. Denis and at the University. Once we decided to move to Armenia, in 2003, I got in touch with Shushan, a friend that I met years ago while I was doing volunteer work in Karine Dag with Land and culture organization and I suggested to her my idea of starting a women’s center at the Yerevan State University. After discussing the idea and the project through multiple e-mails, we finally got in touch with Gohar, a young professor from the sociology department of YSU who was also very much involved in gender issues and was interested to start something for young women in Yerevan. Then I moved and the 3 of us got together in Yerevan, talked for months and found out how similar the young Armenian women’s situation almost everywhere including Armenia was. Our gatherings and discussions were becoming more and more regular, we use to meet a lot at the University and talk about everything in our life. Other female students started joining us and gradually the 3rd floor of the main building of the Library at YSU became our meeting point and there we launched after a year the Women’s Resource Center.
The first year, we concentrated mostly on conducting a series of seminars on women’s human rights and discussing how the situation was in Armenia, and then we implemented the career corner for women, because most of the young women graduating from the University were having trouble in finding a good job because of the lack of some basic skills (computer, languages…). The last year at the University we also started a discussion group called “my body, my right” which is a weekly meeting of young women discussing their own sexuality and the right to their body. And that was it!!! That was the year they kicked us out of the University because we were starting to disturb the very conservative atmosphere of the University with our ideas of change and liberation.
At that day, I was out of town attending a conference in Istanbul, and Gohar called me with a very concerned voice to keep me inform that the door to our room (we had a small room on the 3rd floor) was closed and on a big white poster it said “Closed for undetermined period”.
Now it has been 2 years we are working outside of the University and are open to all women living in Yerevan. Most of the volunteers followed us and helped us starting our activities in a small apartment that we rented on Toumanyan Street and now this year, since the Center is growing and more volunteers and members are joining we had to move again to a bigger location.
The center is run by 5 paid staff and 16 members/volunteers who are part of our collective and management. Our activities include; women’s rights trainings, round-tables on gender issues, career seminars, “my sexuality” closed group discussions, prenatal courses, mother and child mornings, peer-to-peer help, film and book club, sexual assault crisis drop-in center. We also have an interesting library on feminist literature and theory, gender, LGBT resources and books, violence…and other gender awareness activities in the regions.
Last year we implemented the new Women’s center in Shushi NKR working mostly on women and peace building in the Caucasus. So now we travel once a month to the region.
That is all for now, I will give more updates eventually!

H.Res.106 Passes US Foreign Relations Committee

I'm quite confident that they put 106 to a vote as a result of my presence in Washington. Some say they heard murmurs that I was coming and said they better act before I unleash my wrath on Congress. Okay, I'm seriously kidding, but I'm kicking myself for not staying just another week to be in Washington for this historic event. I just arrived back in Yerevan as the Committee began to debate. They spoke for hoooouuuuuuurrrrrssss before I could even get any info. I only had CNN to rely on with their disgustingly slanted coverage of the story. It seemed they cared more about Turkey's reaction than the vote itself. They even went as far as to paint a victimized picture of the Turks after the PKK killed a few of their soldiers, showing weeping mothers of the soldiers for the loss of their children. My God!

Anyway, yes it's ALL over the news, and so far the only headline I see that sheds a slightly positive light on the situation is the LA Times. Where most are focusing on Bush's and Turkey's anger at the measure, they managed to portray the Turks, Bush and friends as the massive lobbying effort through which the resolution survived.

For updates and the next step, visit www.anca.org

Song and Dance

Everywhere I went yesterday, it seemed that everyone and everything was in musical motion.

We are now in the middle of buying property. The song and dance was between the buyer (me), seller (she) and the NOTARY!!!! (SHE deserves a log of her own)

At night, we were invited to a dance performance by Armenia's BEST. It was an American jazz night with Billie Holliday and Louis Armstrong - EXCELLENT show at the Stanislavski Theatre on Abovyan str.

on our walk back home from the theatre, a group of young girls were rehearsing their act for Friday's event celebrating Yerevan-Erebouni anniversary. Behind them, the infamous fountains were dancing on Chares Aznavour's music.

On my way up the steps to our apartment, a friend called asking if we would like to go dancing at a club for another friend's birthday. I reluctantly had to turn him down.

Finally, in front of the TV, I witnessed the song and dance the American Government Leaders were doing regarding the Genocide Resolution. I was shocked that Rice, Gates and even the big guy, Bush were TWISTING the reality of the issue (not once did they mention that this is not a historic fact or that the issue is not based on Justice - it was clear that the main song revolved around political gain) held Press Conferences, one by one to officially give in to Turkish threats and dance under their tunes. Did the American public (audience in this case) not notice how weak the USA is portraying itself in front of the world and dancing on its toes? I mean who really has the upper hand here? The Turkish government should be reminded of the amount of US dollars spent on Turkey in the name of "development" or "Trade". If anyone should be sending out warnings, it should be the USA on Turkey's childish behavior.

So, stop Twisting and let the Swing begin!

Genocide Bill passes major hurdle

As Lori reported, the the Genocide Bill (House Res. 106) has passed on the House International Relations Committee! This was a big hurdle after the massive pressure brought down on them not to introduce/pass the bill on to Speaker Pelosi.

What was very interesting for me this morning, was reading all the news articles, and there was definitely no shortage of them. I opened Google News to search for "Armenian Genocide" to see if it passed, but instead was greeted with "Armenian Genocide Resolution Passes Committee" as the top headline, with 650 stories already on the topic. That's big news! The coverage and points being raised were quite varied, from the sickening editorial in the Washington Post to widespread calls for doing the right thing. Lantos, head of the committee, summarized the vote beforehand as choosing between acknowledging a genocide, and appeasing Turkey for military reasons. Basically, do the right thing, or give in to the questionable arm-twisting of a supposed ally - though he did not put it in those undiplomatic terms.

Turkey's huge blackmail threat - not allowing transport through Turkey to Iraq simply doesn't impress me. Most of it seems already to go through the Persian Gulf... why can't all of it?

So, we are closer than ever to the big day... I have a hard time believing it can be so close, but... it really might happen. Then the only one left to come around is the big Turk himself!

Vis-a-Vis Visas

So, I'm off soon to a country, for which I have to apply for a visa. This country will go unnamed, but I'm sure you can guess which one it is. Hint: it's the only one where you have to pay a hundred bucks whether they allow you in or not...

Anyway, the process has been going quite well for me, thankfully, but today was the day when I had to actually go to the embassy. There was a lot of form-filling, online and off, and fee-paying... Boy, was there a lot of fee paying! Application fee here, issuance fee there, an extra amount for something or other and one they forgot to tell me about... But the part that got to me was the waiting process, and, of course, I had to write about it.

Now, it's a nice building, cool and clean, and there's security you have to go through, which is fine (although why they seize cellphones is a bit beyond me). Then you get to another room, rather reminiscent of a bank, and there are chairs for people to sit on and wait, and, let me tell you, there were plenty of people. Really a lot, which somehow surprised me.

So, you wait and wait, until you get called to one window, where they take your paperwork, and then you wait some more, until they call you to another window, where they take your fingerprints (not kidding; it was a little transparent cube giving off an eery green glow), and then you wait some more, until they do the actual interview, which is, as I mentioned, like at a bank, when you approach a teller.

Now, all this is very, very understandable, the bureaucracy is completely acceptable in my opinion and the waiting conditions were just fine. There was a TV on a local news channel there and a bathroom, too. I had brought along something to read (I think I was the only one there with that much foresight; all the other tens of people were just scowling and staring at one another, or at nothing), there were some magazines strewn about as well (old copies of, strangely, the British weekly Economist), and even a little corner with a horsey and building blocks, in case of kids.

The ones being interviewed, however, were in complete sight of and absolute earshot of the rest, and that was the part that really bothered me. Whether in English, Armenian or Russian, everyone's story was made apparent: someone was visiting grandkids, someone's mom was having an operation, some girl had a boyfriend there... And people often got rejected, right before our eyes! They would plead, they would explain, but, to no avail; the people on the other side would simply repeat "Goodbye" or "Do svidania", and, if that didn't work, they would pull down a blinds curtain from their side, beyond the glass...! (The middle-aged guy with the rustic appearance sitting next to me was running a commentary, "Ay, chantsav... Uhu, sran karmir etiketkan tvets, antsav es meke...")

Gosh, I felt really upset for them, honestly speaking... I actually felt like writing a play based on that situation. It looked pretty cool in my head; it would be in three languages, with a bunch of people, each one has his or her story, and some would get their visas in the end, some would not, a real tearjerker (yes, this was at the point when my mind was wandering as I had stopped reading the thing I had brought with me because I couldn't concentrate what with all the interviewing going on...).

Now, I absolutely understand these strict policies for a number of reason which don't need to be mentioned here, but I wish I weren't a part of it. Surely they could have had separate rooms for waiting and interviewing... ?Anyway, my bit went through smoothly, for which I am very glad, but there are a couple of would-be fiancées and perhaps-fake grandmas around Yerevan today, who won't be on board that flight...

Dilijan jan!

I just came back from a one day trip to Dilijan. What a charming city!

Raffi was doing some work on the local museum, so I decided to accompany him. We were greeted at the small new museum inside the Tufenkyan Heritage compound/old Dilijan, by 2 middle-aged women full of humor. While Raffi was busy with the constructors, I drank coffee with them and they told me a little about the town and the people living there. Tamara the funniest one had worked almost all her life in the old museum and was so excited with all the renovations and new projects happening in her town. I visited the guest house and the restaurant as well, I just love it. Full of nostalgia and so romantic! On the old street, different local craftsmen will have their small shop, open for tourists and all visitors.

Hi everyone!
I finally decided to join this Blog and share with all of you some of the interesting aspects of life here.
I moved to Armenia in 2003 with Raffi N. and the kids, from Montreal. I am one of the founders of the Women's Resource Center in Yerevan and just recently the new one in Shushi.

Transport and my neighbor

As driving around in Yerevan gets even tougher (much of it due to the construction of pedestrian underpasses, the existing ones of which are unused by pedestrians, but found rather useful by folks who can't find a better place to pee) I came across an article, or more like a blurb, about continuing construction of the metro (subway). Something I've been a proponent of for years now. The article is a bit hard to understand due to the really bad English, but the jist of it is clear, there is talk about extending the metro.

"The resumption of the construction works of the Yerevan City’s Underground will eliminate the transporatation problems and settle certain ecology issues. RA MP Vladimir Badalian Believes. Hovik Abrahamian, RA Territorial Management Minister, said that the Yerevan underground construction plans will be elaborated and studied soon after the adoption of the new law "On Yerevan."

Perhaps this will eliminate scenes such as the one I took a picture of yesterday, as cars decided to drive through a park to get around the blocked roads caused by the construction of pedestrian underpasses.

Totally unrelated to transport, a neighbor finally handed over a storage space next to my apartment (which is on my deed, but not his) he had occupied shortly after I bought my place. After years of conflict, and asking for a key, and even offering to share it, I finally convinced (coerced?) him to hand it back. In the end, after all his attitude over the years and trying to use crazy-man logic on me (the people who sold him his apartment had promised him that space, not that it was theirs to give, so I should basically let him have it), and even hostility, he finally listened to my arguments and was very conciliatory in the end, which is nice.

Resolution to a Committee Vote

I was hoping for a House vote on the Genocide Resolution during my brief visit to Washington, but it looks like I was a bit early. There were rumors of Pelosi wanting to bring it to a full House vote in September, but it looks like the dems are cowering a little bit in fear of appearing weak on security (slapping Turkey in the face at a key moment). But regardless, the resolution is coming up in the Foreign Relations committee on October 10 and we have 10 (now 9) days to solidify passage of the vote... start calling your congressmen. For info on how to do so, go to www.anca.org.

Otherwise, I've been in DC, New Jersey and New York in the last week retracing steps, catching up with friends, and absorbing. After 9 straight months without leaving Armenia, I appreciate the value of seeing the world to gain perspective on the one your in, especially in my industry. Next stop: Paris. I have a full week in Paris to prance around and be Parisian. I'm considering lots of bookstore loitering and café lounging. Now that I picked up a nice new lens for the new camera, I'll probably make use of it too.

Oh, and I didn't have a chance to post about it at the time, but I went to a very interesting event at the Library of Congress last week with all 5 former US Ambassadors to Armenia, each who spoke on their experience. It was fascinating to hear their personal experiences and basically review the story of Armenia since independence. It was like a bizarre history class. Got some photos, will post when my computer decides to cooperate with me.