The Opposition continues... Fight On! Lebanon, You're Up!
I'm finding it a bit hard to believe that the repat and diaspora blogs are so dead. I'm very interested in hearing from the repats about what is going on in Armenia in regards to the protocols. My father who lives in Armenia claims he has been at Republic Square for the past 18 days taking part in the protests. He says there is a news blockade and they are not hearing or seeing reports of all the protests in the diaspora. Can it be that the media in Armenia is being repressed and censored? There are reports here of a hunger strike in Republic Square.
Things aren't too different here in the diaspora. In Los Angeles we heard about the protests in Argentina, France and New York. It was difficult to watch the images of police brutality towards our brothers and sisters in France. It's been hard to swallow President Serz Sargsyan's audacity to propose these protocols which are a slap in the face for every diasporan! The Genocide hits home with so many of us because it is because of the Genocide that our families ended up in the Diaspora. If it weren't for the Genocide my grandparents would have not lost their families and been forced out of their village in Dikranagerd and into Syria!
If you have not read these disgusting protocols you can educate yourself here;
http://www.anca.org/assets/pdf/misc/protocols_explained.pdf
Yesterday over 10,000 Armenians in Los Angeles protested outside the Beverly Hills Hilton where President Sargsyan met with community organizations. It was a great feeling to see young and old gathered, people from every political group, different churches all united shouting in unison. It was inspiring to see both recent immigrants from Armenia and people who were born in the diaspora all protesting side by side for the same issues. For years I remember feeling like the Diaspora was fighting for Hai Tad by itself, but hearing about the protests in Armenia and seeing so many recent immigrants from Armenia out at the protest felt great! For once we were one united voice. One people. It's so very sad that the one time we have come together like this is against our own nation's President. The man who in fact should be the one bringing us all together to fight for our Country not bringing us all together to protest his actions.
There was such a great energy at the protest. The most popular chant was by far "Tavajan" every time the monitors would start that chant our voices seemed to get louder. I think the most chilling moment for me was late into the afternoon when I could tell people were running out of gas. The monitors voices were horse from yelling for hours. The microphone was passed to a young boy who was probably 10 years old and he lead the crowd in the "Baykar,Baykar Minchev Verch" We may have only had 10,000 people shouting their hearts out but it felt like 50,000 because at that moment our voices were reverberating off the building and filling the air. I can only hope that our voices were heard in Sargsyan's ears.
The support for these protocols is so minimal it's almost non-existent. As I write this blog hundreds from the Los Angeles area are in Montebello. They have created a barricade by forming a human chain and surrounding the monument. President Sargsyan was scheduled to visit the monument to pay his FAKE respects to the memory of the victims of the Genocide. However, our community is there to stop him and get the message across that he is not welcome at our monument. We don't want a hypocrite like him anywhere near it. We do not support him or his protocols. We do not support the formation of a historical committee to debate the Genoice. We reject the idea and we reject him. The Genocide is not up for debate. No historian in their right mind would join such a commission. Is the Holocaust debatable? NO! Are the massacres in Darfur debatable? NO! It blows my mind that the President of Armenia would even consider the fact that the Genocide is debatable!
We do not recognize the current border! Ararat is ours! Moosh and Van are ours! Kharapagh is not for sale or up for trade! The decision to illegally close the common border was a unilateral decision made by Turkey! The decision to deport and murder over 1.5 million Armenians was that of Turkey. You tell me... who is the hostile neighbor?
Unless Sargsyan is a secret genius who is staging this entire thing to show the world that he tried to normalize relations with Turkey their way and his nation is not behind it I feel he should be impeached. The chances of him never having intended to sign these protocols is very slim, but regardless of the outcome I feel he needs to be impeached! Any Armenian who would even entertain these protocols is not fit to be the President of our country.
Sargsyan will be leaving Los Angeles today and heading to Lebanon and then Russia. I'm sure Lebanon will greet him with open arms...but I don't know what those arms have up their sleeves but news is that the Lebanese-Armenian community has started their protests already!
Something tells me when all this is over Sargsyan is going to need to seek political asylum somewhere. Maybe Turkey or Azerbaijan will take his Tavajan ass!
STOP THE PROTOCOLS!
http://stoptheprotocols.com/
posted by LORI at 2:10 AM
3 Comments:
While the protocols may not be perfect, I think they are a unique way of passing an age old deadlock as a way finally forward. While I can't guarantee things will work out as the most optimistic people say, I also am pretty positive that the doom-and-gloomers would also be proven very wrong if they do come to pass.
Historian, how are making concessions to Turkey a "unique way of passing an age old deadlock as a way finally forward"?? It's been 1,000 years we've been making concessions, there is nothing new about this.
Also, what exactly is it that the "doom and gloomers" are predicting that you don't think will come to pass?
Please spell things out more clearly so we can understand what you actually thinking and saying.
The age old deadlock is exactly what we have now that the protocols have been signed.
Sargsyan is saying Armenia's Parliment won't disguss anything until Turkey's Parliment has moved on this and Turkey doesn't want to act until Armenia agrees that Kharapagh will be on the table.
It's a stalemate. Doesn't look like either side is going to budge. What did being bullied by the United States, Russia, France and Switzerland accomoplish? Nothing! We're right back to square one where we started.
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