Cover Armenia 4/21/10 10:12 AM Page 1 je would like to thank the following for their generous support Charlie Mekhitarian $500 Virginia Rose Knekleian $250 John V. Manuelian $500 Bedros and Hripsime Dedeyan $250 Anahid Mardiros and Mr. And Mrs. Ara and Carolyn Aurelian Mardiros $500 Manoogian, Garen, Karineh, Keri $250 Anonymous $500 Mr. And Mrs. Megerdich and Avik Deirmenjian $300 Angele Manoogian $250 Harry Parsekian $250 lÉâThe Armenian Youth Federation $200 Antranigg{tÇ~ and Alice Karjian $250 Ara Suvajian $150 The Armenian Weekly APRIL 2010 NOTES PERSPECTIVES 4 Editor’s Desk 27 The Reparations Movement and the Meaningful Resolution of the Armenian Genocide—By Henry C. Theriault 5 Contributors 31 ‘Divide et Impera’: The Turkish-Armenian Protocols FOR THE RECORD —By Marc A. Mamigonian 34 Echoes of the Past: Some of the Underlying Nuances 7 A Quiet Place Along the Khabour: Rescue and Survival of Holocaust Trauma in Israel—By Cristina Andriani in ‘the Abattoir of Shaddadeh’—By Elyse Semerdjian 39 Representation, Headache, and the Square Wheel: An 14 Journey with a Skull—By Hamasdegh, Octuple Problem of Representation 147 Years After Translated from Armenian by Tatul Sonentz —By Ayda Erbal 16 The Armenian Genocide, Sheikh Said Revolt, and 43 Puzzle & Sincerity: Let’s give Armenians what we took Armenians in Syrian Jazira—By Seda Altug from them—By Gulisor Akkum 21 Young Turk Mass Violence: A Regime-Focused Approach —By Ugur Umit Ungor IMAGES 44 The Holy Cross Church in Akhtamar Island —By Ayse Gunaysu, Photography from Mujgan Arpat ON THE COVER: 46 Resistance through Identity in Nimi’ipuu Country Cover design by 3rd Eye Communications/Vanig Torikian —Photography from Mikal Brotnov The Armenian Weekly The Armenian Weekly ENGLISH SECTION THE ARMENIAN WEEKLY The opinions expressed in this April 2010 Editor: Khatchig Mouradian (ISSN 0004-2374) newspaper, other than in the edi- torial column, do not necessarily Copy-editor: Nayiri Arzoumanian is published weekly by the Hairenik Association, Inc., reflect the views of THE Art Director: Gina Poirier 80 Bigelow Ave, ARMENIAN WEEKLY. Watertown, MA 02472. ARMENIAN SECTION Manager: Armen Khachatourian Sales Manager: Lala Demirjian Editor: Zaven Torikian Periodical postage paid in TEL: 617-926-3974 Proofreaders: Nanore Barsoumian Boston, MA and additional FAX: 617-926-1750 USPS identification and Garbis Zerdelian mailing offices. E-MAIL: statement 546-180 Designer: Vanig Torikian, This special publication has a [email protected] 3rd Eye Communications print run of 10,000 copies. WEB: www.armenianweekly.com April 2010 | THE ARMENIAN WEEKLY | 3 Editor’s Desk From Democracy to Justice BY KHATCHIG MOURADIAN n April 24–25, I gave a commem- oration lecture in Istanbul and Othen spoke at a conference in Ankara on the Armenian Genocide and its consequences. Speaking to an audience of predominantly Turkish intellectuals and activists during both events, I emphasized the importance of the work they are doing—right in the heart of denial—to create awareness of the Armenian Genocide. In our critique of the discourse of pro- gressive intellectuals in Turkey, as we sit in the comfort of our offices and homes and community centers in the diaspora, we sometimes forget the circumstances in which they are saying what they are say- ing, and the kind of audience they are “trying to convert.” Which is why it was important for me to go Turkey and speak there. This was not a one-time event to make a point, how- ever. I will do it again and again. As I Scenes from comemmoration events in Istanbul on April 24, 2010. spoke in Istanbul and Ankara, I started by saying that even when I make my arguments in Turkey, I am These consequences do no make the issue of intellectual nowhere near as vulnerable to the pressures and threats as they are. responsibility any less important, however. Intellectual responsibil- After all, I am a tourist—I say what I want and leave the country. I ity is crucial when talking about the Armenian Genocide in Turkey do not need to live every day with the consequences of my words. not despite the pressures, but exactly because of them. Regardless of what tactics progressive intellectuals use to generate a healthy discussion in Turkey, care should be taken to not get carried away by the tactics (generally based on concessions) and forget the goal. One such issue is the framing of 1915 as a matter of democracy and freedom of speech in Turkey today. This is, of course, a good way of engaging otherwise uninterested people in the struggle of memory against amnesia and denial in Turkey. But the Armenian Genocide is first and foremost an issue of justice. An entire nation was not uprooted, murdered, and dispossessed so that 100 years later, those events are used to bring democracy and free- dom of speech to Turkey. The argument I repeatedly made in Turkey on April 24–25 was: Yes, we should be invested in defending democracy and free- dom of speech in Turkey. But not at the expense of justice. a 4 | THE ARMENIAN WEEKLY | April 2010 Contributors Seda Altug studied Economics at Neighborhood: Those who left and those who stayed) about the Bogazici University. She received her old Armenian quarter Hancepek in Diyarbakir was held both in Masters degree from the History depart- Istanbul and in Diyarbakir in 2008. ment of the same university. Her MA thesis is titled “Between Colonial and National Growing up on the Nez Perce Dominations: Antioch under the French Indian Reservation, Mikal Mandate (1920–1939).” She is currently a Brotnov is a first-generation doctoral candidate at Utrecht University in college graduate. Overcoming Oriental Studies department. Her dissertation is titled “Veiled sec- personal obstacles, including self- tarianism: Community, land and violence in the memories of the marginalization, inspired Brotnov genocide, border and the French mandate in Syrian Jazira to focus his academic work on two (1915–1939).” Her research interests include state-society and marginalized groups: Gentile victims of the Holocaust and Native intercommunal relations in French Syria, and border and politics Americans. He is currently a research assistant for Professor of memory in present-day Syria. Debórah Dwork at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., creating digital images of 3,000 original letters written by children and their Gulisor Akkum is a journalist based in parents separated during the Holocaust. Brotnov’s photographic Diyarbekir. She received her sociology degree work is anthropomorphic and reflects his own unique ethnograph- in 2003 from Dicle University in Diyarbekir. ical background. His work has been published in trade magazines She contributes regularly to the newspaper and most recently in Flight from the Reich, published by W.W. Gunluk. Norton & Co. in April 2009. His current exhibition “Resistance through Identity in Nimiipuu Country” is on view at Clark University until April 2011. Cristina Andriani is a Ph.D. student in the psychology of genocide at Clark Ayda Erbal is writing her dissertation in University in Worcester, Mass. Her research the department of politics at New York interests are in the mutual impact of University. She teaches two advanced under- Holocaust trauma and the Palestinian- graduate classes, “International Politics of Israeli conflict on Jewish-Israeli understand- the Middle East” and “Democracy and ing and experience of past and present. Two Dictatorship,” as adjunct professor of poli- key questions she seeks to answer are: How tics. Her work focuses on the politics of does past Holocaust trauma affect Jewish-Israelis’ current under- changing historiographies in Turkey and standing and experience of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict? And, Israel. She is interested in democratic theory, democratic delibera- how does the experience of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict affect tion, the politics of “post-nationalist” historiographies in transi- Jewish-Israeli Holocaust memory? Recent publications include tional settings, and the politics of apology. She is a published Chaitin, J., Awaad, S., and Andriani, C. (2009) “Belonging to the short-story writer and worked as a columnist for the Turkish- conflict: collective identities among Israeli and Palestinian emigres Armenian newspaper Agos from 2000-03. Erbal is also the lead to the U.S.” in Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, singer and second percussionist of the polyglot Middle-Eastern Nation and Culture; and Andriani, C. and Manning, J. (in press) band NOUR (www.myspace.com/nourmusic). “‘Negotiating With the Dead’: On the Past of Auschwitz and the Present of Oswiecim” in Psychology & Society. Ayse Gunaysu is a professional transla- tor, human rights advocate, and feminist. Mujgan Arpat is a photographer of She has been a member of the Committee German-Turkish parentage whose photo- Against Racism and Discrimination of the graphs have been published in various Human Rights Association of Turkey magazines and newspapers in Germany (Istanbul branch) since 1995, and was a and the web sites of a number of news columnist in a pro-Kurdish daily from 2005- agencies. An exhibition of her photo- 07. She writes a biweekly column, titled graphs was organized in Berlin under the title “Racism in “Letters from Istanbul,” for the Armenian Weekly. Germany.” Her photographs have also been published in various dailies and magazines in Turkey such as Gundem, Birgun, Hamasdegh (Hambardzoum Kelenian) was born in Postespress, Agos and Amargi. She is one of the photographers 1895 in Perjench village, in Western Armenia’s Kharpert region. whose work has been featured in the album “We are all Hrant He attended the local school and received his higher education at Dink,”published after the assassination of Dink. She currently the college in the city of Mezireh. In 1913, after spending a year works at a German TV channel as a reporter in Istanbul.