460) Armenians Whose Views Run Contrary to the Diaspora

If there are around seven million Armenians worldwide, how could it be that hardly a one dares to speak publicly for the history the TAT site presents? Even if the claims of this site are untrue, you'd think there would be a few "rebellious" Armenians wo would still go against the grain, out of that enormous pool of seven million-plus. . . .

The reasons have to do with the Dashnak inspired "Curtain of Fear." (As Prof. Heath Lowry termed it, the idea boiling down to: "Armenians know full well what their fate will be if they are labeled as 'informers' by the terrorists." His excellent article may be consulted here.) If an Armenian deviates a tad from the claims of Hai Tahd ("The Armenian Cause"), Armenian extremists will be down his or her throat at least smearingly, and at most fatally. So when the Armenian Forum co-editors dared to reveal even a little bit that went against the propagandistic line, Armenian nationalists were all over them, ironically victimizing fellow nationalists Ara Sarafian and Vincent Lima. Another nationalist, Editor James Tashjian of the Armenian Weekly, reportedly lost his job after daring to expose an Armenian falsification.

It is this atmosphere of fear which has caused many Armenians to clam up and not dare to discuss the genuine facts publicly. It is this reason why you will come across the claim, within this site, that Armenians are as monolithic a people as possible. Curiously supportive of the fact that non-Armenians (Muslims and Jews, chiefly) have been driven out of what was their own "ancient homeland" of Armenia, and Armenia today is some 95% "pure." Some rights are denied those few remaining of different ethnic stock.

An article, "The Burden of Memory," is very revealing. In what young scholar Lisa Siraganian has called "the fetish-culture of diasporan Armenians," we are told that "many diaspora Armenians are reared to hate Turkey with a fervor that seems completely at odds with their daily lives."

"After Armenia gained independence, the leading party, the Armenian National Movement (ANM), under then-President Levon Ter-Petrossian, decided that genocide recognition could not be a condition for Armenia's relationship with Turkey.... Thus began what Libaridian calls 'the battle for the soul of the new republic.' Ter-Petrossian was vilified by critics in the diaspora for his refusal to give priority to genocide recognition, and for banning the ARF party, a militant political group with strong diaspora ties.

The article's author, Meline Toumani, continues: "My own memories of the Ter-Petrossian years include stories of Armenian-American children chanting 'Death to LTP!' at ARF gatherings in suburban New England — LTP being the preferred moniker of disrespect for the president among diaspora malcontents."

The result? The voice of moderation and reason couldn't stand a chance; the extremist and terroristic Dashnak A.R.F. barreled its way in, and is currently in power within Armenia. Just what John Roy Carlson/Arthur Derounian was afraid of, the dominance of this immoral organization that has brought so much death and misery upon Armenians and others, eventually taking over the diasporan mentality.)

An individual Armenian has to be very brave to go against such a fanatical mindset.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1) Edward Tashji
2) Armenian-Turks
3) Armenian Grandmother, Yegisabeth Kasebian
4) "The Turks Were Good"; Armenians from Armenia
5) An Armenian Oral Historian
6) The "Rashomon" of Rafael Hambartsumyan (historian)


Edward Tashji, at a Rutgers University conference in the last year of his life; his wife, Mary, is at left.

The only Armenian who has deviated from this mold in a major way has been Edward Tashji, who died in 2005. Born in America, his influence was his own parents, who went through the same hell as the rest of their brethren, in the last tumultuous days of the Ottoman Empire. The only difference is these parents decided to tell the truth, and chose not to poison their children with hatred. Tashji paid a price, having his name smeared as an Armenian in the employ of the Turkish government (if the Turkish government was in the business of "hiring" Armenians to be pro-Turk, how could Tashji have been the only one?), and never knowing if a bullet would be far behind. Edward Tashji's writings have been featured at TAT; see under "Comment" in the navigation bar above. ADDENDUM, 5-07:

See link, page bottom, for a brave new contender.

Armenian-Turks


Armenian-Turks are in a category of their own. They have been naturally accused of being cajoled by the "totalitarian" Turkish government.

Now that the propagandistic genocide forces is making an inroad into Turkey itself, with the aid of Turks who have opportunistically joined the genocide bandwagon, nationalist feelings appear to be stirring among some Armenian-Turks. For example, the editor of AGOS, Hrant Dink, appears to be singing a different tune, of late.

In TAT, the story of Artin Penik, the brave Armenian-Turk who committed suicide in 1982 to protest the murderous actions of his brethren at that time, may be read here.

Dikran Kevorkian, Pastor of Kandilli Armenian Church, as quoted in an October 7, 2000 TV program called “In a Nutshell”:

The genocide and relocation denote two different concepts. The imperialist schemes and the Armenian apolitical dream leaders (media, churches and clergy) are the causes of this situation. The Patriarch is a spiritual leader and a blunder is committed when his opinions are sought in the political matters. What could ASALA and PKK do if there were no political support behind them?

There was a German pressure on the Sublime Port for the relocation in an attempt to shake the existing order and to secure itself an economic benefit through the Berlin-Baghdad railroad.

With regard to assimilation, I am prepared to say this: Today, it is only in Turkey among all countries of the world that the Armenians manage to maintain their own identity. The Armenians in the diaspora abroad continue their struggle for existence by changing their names because there are efforts there to melt the Armenians in the cultural pot.

The diaspora knows very well that the Sunday rites in all major American churches are in English and the Armenians are gradually losing their own language. Those who declare these things are branded to be black sheep of the herd. It is for these reasons that we as the Armenians living in Turkey, declare our regrets against these efforts, because an injustice is committed to the spirit of national forces entrusted to us by Atatürk. All this is a stratagem concocted abroad, including the ASALA, PKK and Kocharian’s declaration. We, as the citizens of Turkey, believe that an injustice is perpetrated here. The Armenians should know better than being scapegoats if they are intelligent enough.

(Thanks to ermenisorunu.gen.tr, for the Kevorkian account.)


ADDENDUM, 5-07:

"Comments From Turkish Citizens of Armenian Origin"

An Armenian by the name of Misak Torlakyan killed an Azeri minister in Istanbul on July 18, 1921. He was apprehended by the British occupying forces. Mr. Torlakyan was represented by his lawyer Hasruyan efendi. In court, the lawyer was trying to justify his client’s crime by focusing on Armenian sufferings during the 1915 relocation process. When asked to be specific, Hasruyan efendi said, “It is impossible to confirm or deny what happened during the relocation. Some were killed, some died after reaching their destinations. Sixty thousand Armenians were killed, six hundred thousand settled in various parts of the Middle East.”

Source: Cumhuriyet Newspaper, Istanbul, Turkey-December 28, 2005.


Patriarch Snork Kaloustian, spiritual leader of the Turkish Armenians made the following remarks to a group of Turkish and foreign journalists in 1983: “We call on nations of the world to cooperate in taking strict measures to combat terrorism…We, as sons and daughters of the Republic of Turkey are preserving our culture better than those of our race in many other countries, along with our traditions, customs, language and religion both as individuals and as institutions under the guarantee of the Turkish state.”


During a symposium held in Istanbul, Turkey, titled “Armenian Question with All its Dimensions” (September 21, 2005) Levon Panos Dabagciyan, historian, said, “Let us not fool ourselves. We are Turks. Foreigners and agitators among us should understand how we bitterly feel about the invention of ‘Armenian genocide’. “


“I am approaching the end of my life. I have always lived in comfort and peace with the Turks. Allegations of ‘ Armenian genocide’ are lies.” Tahuki Desteoglu — Age 82 — Mersin, Turkey — October 4, 2005, Turkish Press.


“In 1915, it was forced migration, not genocide… My two uncles died while fighting as soldiers in the Ottoman army…When I pray, I pray for both sides…It was a terrible tragedy…Resolutions issued by parliaments are decided under pressure from Armenian lobbyists.” Dikran Kevorkyan, President of Kandilli Armenian Church Foundation, Istanbul, Turkey — Nov 23, 2005.


“In view of repetitive claims by the Armenian diaspora, I want to emphasize that every nation makes decisions in war…The relocation of Armenians had flaws. There was inefficient control, tribal involvement and activities of opportunists. It can not be labeled genocide. I am a Turkish lawyer of Armenian origin. I practice my profession freely in this country…We do not want to be used as tools of vengeance or decoys by the Armenian diaspora. We are determined to live in peace and harmony in Turkey.” Kegam Karabetyan — Interview at Turkish Radio and Television International Channel on November 30th, 2005.

"Turks did nothing wrong to Armenians."


The testimony of a grandmother carries special weight, since Armenian grandmothers have been most instrumental in passing on the genocide myth.

Yegisabeth Kasebian was 105 at the time of her 2005 account. She was 15 years old when she came to Lebanon from Hatay via Syria in 1915. Her words appeared in a Lebanese magazine, which reportedly and unsurprisingly got Dashnak flack afterwards, as indicated by the magazine's editor, Nataly Restokian.

During the journey, Yegisabeth Kasebian stated the Armenians went through great hardship: "We walked for days. Turkish cavalry were always next to us. They were protecting us against the attacks, but they sometimes were beating us when we were not able to walk fast enough to catch up with the others." She goes on to conclude that "Turks did nothing wrong to Armenians." Here is the rest.


"The Turks were good."


The following accounts are from the documentary, "Sari Gelin."


Hatchadurian Hatchik AbediI


Hatchadurian Hatchik Abedi, from Yerevan, Armenia, stated: "Sometimes, when the subject opened, when we had guests, or the conversation got deeper, my father's eyes would fill with tears, and he would say, the Turks were good. Turkish villagers always had good intentions towards Armenians. The Turkish villages, even the whole Turkish nation, was so good to Armenians and Armenians were close to them. But the Kurds... they took advantage of this. They did very bad things. They raided us. They would even steal the things we carried. They were plunderers."

Sarkis Garabetin

Another Armenian, Sarkis Garabetin, gave an account about the movement of his family:

"My parents are from Adana, from Dortyol. They immigrated to Damascus; from Damascus, we went to Beirut. We lived for five or six years in Beirut. We came to Yerevan in 1946."

The idea here, of course, is that if the idea was extermination, this family's movement could not have been as possible.


From an Armenian Oral Historian

"We Armenians have to admit our guilt. We wanted to have our independence. The Armenian political committees did a lot of political uprising. Of course, Turks would not allow these. We have to admit it. If we today did something like they did, here in the United States, the United States Government would shove us into the Pacific Ocean."

Donald E. Miller, Lorna Tourya Miller: Armenian Survivors:A Typological Analysis of Victim Response. Oral History Review 10 '1982': pp. 63-64. (The authors have gone on to put out a book on "Armenian Oral History," the paperback edition of which came out in 1999. Did the above passage make it into this book? Furthermore, did the authors — one of whom is an Armenian — stop to think about the weight of these words?)


Thanks to Fatma S. for the above
The "Rashomon" of Rafael Hambartsumyan


Two conflicting reports:

An Armenian site (mediaforum.am) reported that "The Armenian Genocide was organized by Russia and Turkey equally," as declared by historian Rafael Hambartsumian via an April 21, 2005 press conference in Yerevan. He stated that certain facts ought not be forgotten, some of which have been "prohibited up to this day." Russian "vice-prince of Caucasus Golitsinn," for example, stated "30 years before the Armenian Genocide the slogan 'Armenia without Armenians.'"

According to R. Hambartsumian, the article continued, "Russia has always used the innocent blood of Armenians for its aggressive purposes." He blamed Russia for "sending more than 200 thousand Armenian soldiers to the Russian-German front," freeing "Turkey to commit the Genocide." The main goal of the Russian-Turkish treaty of March 16 1921 was "full annihilation of the Republic of Armenia." The historian was further quoted as stating, "Finally, you will find no Eastern Armenian great writer or art figure whom the Russian state had not tortured or liquidated."


(A variation of the above was published on PanARMENIAN.Net, spelling the historian's name as Hambartsumyan, and wording one of the claims with the following: "During the World War II Russia indirectly abetted Turkey in perpetrating the Genocide by sending over 200 thousand soldiers to the Russian-German front." World War II"??)


A report from Azerbaijan ("Express," a paper from Baku, in an article dated 4-26-2006, authored by Hasan Agacan) reported the news this way:

"The famous Armenian Historian Rafael Hambarsumyan shocked Erivan and Moscow: The ones who killed the Armenians was Russia."

"We Armenians accuse the Turks of having committed a genocide against the Armenians during the reign of the Ottoman Empire. On the contrary, the state that tried to erase and eliminate the Armenians was not Turkey but Russia."

This statement, unexpected for Armenians, was made by the accomplished Armenian Historian Rafael Hambursumyan, a member of The Armenian Academy of Science.

In Erivan, the historian related that it is the time to tell the truths and realities that have been 'forbidden' for Armenians until now, and added. " In the time of the Ottoman Empire, 30 years ago, the Russians began to kill and exile the Armenians. The slogans like 'Armenia without Armenians,' 'The Armenian nation must be done away with' came not from Turks but in the name of Tsarist Russia by Golitsin, a representative of the Caucasus at the time. Golitsin said: 'If a wonderful history museum is established in Tiflis, and if they put an Armenian scarecrow within to show that a creature like the Armenian had lived in the Caucasus, then I would be able to relax .' The minister of Foreign Affairs in Russia, Lobanov-Rostotski *, wrote a letter to the Ottoman Sultan in 1895 and requested that: 'If you want to improve our relationship, then... one of the conditions is the doing away with Armenians. Kill them, kill them, kill them to the last person.' History demonstrates this."

According to Hambarsumyan's explanation, Russia has always shed the blood of Armenians, in the pursuit of goals for conquest. for her occupying goals. The historian added that the main objective of the agreement made by Russia with Turkey in 1921 was the destruction of all Armenians from earth.

A group scholars from The National Academy of Russia, the University of History, said that they were shocked by the statements of Hambarsumyan.

After his presentation it was discovered Hambarsumyan had not returned home, and no one knows where he is.


Thanks to the translation of Dr. Sahin Filiz

(* Prince Aleksey Borisovich Lobanov-Rostovsky — he was "famous" in genocide lore for having stated, ""Yes, Russia wants Armenia, but without the Armenians.")


And just what is the Azeri newspaper implying... that the historian was knocked off by the Dashnaks, unable to bear with genocide deviation?


So whom do we trust here? Both ends have reasons to exaggerate. The Armenian report doesn't let the Turks off the hook, only adding Russian blame. The Azeri report pins the blame entirely on the Russians.

Yet the Azeri report has added details that lend credence. It doesn't sound like they made things up just to give their "propaganda" added weight. Things like the "scarecrow" reference, I believe, genuinely must have originated from the historian himself.

And let's keep in mind, it would be the rare Armenian news medium that would honestly relate an Armenian historian's sacrilege of fully shifting genocide blame away from the Turks.

One reason why I'm edging toward the Azeri piece is that another Armenian source (a search reveals this news has not been widely reported) presented the story as follows:

Historian Rafael Hambartsumyan condemns Russia of supporting the Armenian Genocide
21.04.2006 15:55

The anniversary of the Armenian Genocide makes us once again look at the past to understand how the Armenian Genocide was executed. Historian Rafael Hambartsumyan considers Russia is guilty of the Genocide. The historian confirms that with its policy Russia supported the annihilation of Armenians. In 1918-1948 Russia exiled thousands of Armenian intellectuals to Siberia, thus continuing the extinction of Armenians.

“By the way, April 24 is not only the day of commemoration of the Genocide. It is the day of the 40th anniversary of establishment of the United National Party – National Self-Determination Union, and a number of arrangements are foreseen o this occasion,” Paruyr Hayrikyan said.


The above is from Public Radio of Armenia. Even though the headline uses the word "supports," implying Russia was only one of the culprits, the text makes it sound as though Russia gets the full blame. ("...Considers Russia is guilty of the Genocide.")

However you spell his name, Historian Hambartsumyan deserves much credit for at least a degree of honesty. If he's letting the Turks off the hook, then bless him. Let's hope the last ominous line from the Azeri version isn't true, and that he is doing well.

Who were these Russians?

I was curious about the cast of Russian characters mentioned above, and looked into the background of Prince Golitsyn. The information was sparse. Yet the search led to a very interesting excerpt, as researched by Fuad R. Akhundov:


A.S.Griboyedov, Ambassador of Russian Empire to Persia, wrote in 1828 (“Notes on migration of Armenians from Persia to our regions”, 1828, in 2 volumes. Vol. II - Moscow, “Pravda” Publishing House, 1971, pp. 339-341):

“Armenians have mainly been settled on lands of Moslem landowners ... Migrants live cooped themselves and created problems for Moslems, whose resentment is obvious.

... We also talked about how to convince Moslems that their current burden will not be for long, that they should not worry that Armenians would seize their lands where they had been allowed to live for the present”.

N. I. Shavrov: “New threat to Russian activities in Trans-Caucasus: forthcoming sale of Mugan to aliens”, Sankt-Peterburg, 1911, pp. 59-61.

“During the period from 1828 to 1830 we brought to Trans-Caucasus over 40,000 Armenians from Persia and 84,600 Armenians from Turkey and settled them on the best public lands of Yelizavetpol and Erivan provinces where there were practically no Armenians...

Successfully completed war with Turkey in 1877-79 brought the flow of migrants from Asia Minor: about 50 thousand Armenians came to the Kars region and about 40 thousand Greeks ... When in 1897 newly appointed Governor Prince G.S. Golitsyn arrived, there were already about 900 thousand Armenian migrants rather than 100 thousand as in 1894.

... Most of migrants are Armenians: of 1 million 300 thousand people living now in Trans-Caucasus 1 million are Armenians who are not indigenous here and were settled by us.

... Widely using false evidences, newly arrived Armenians seized vast territories of public lands.”


There is surely a wealth of information from Russian sources busting so many myths of the Armenians. Too bad more of these Russian sources have not been investigated, and translated into English.

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© Holdwater
http://www.tallarmeniantale.com/Contra-Armenians.htm

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