A group of Armenian youth in Toronto held a rally at the Armenian Community Center in protest to the Turkish-Armenian Protocols on Friday, October 2, 2009. The youth rally was organized by the Armenian Students’ Associations of York, McMaster, Waterloo, University of Toronto Scarborough Campus, and Ryerson Universities, A.R.F.Y.O.C Simon Zavarian Toronto Chapter, Armen Karo Students’ Organization, Armenian Association of Toronto Youth Group, Armenian Catholic Youth Association, St Mary Armenian Apostolic Church Christian Education Committee.
The master of ceremonies was Daniel Ohanian, an executive member of the Armenian Students’ Association at York University who protested the protocols on behalf of the youth of Toronto. A short video was screened featuring an interview with the A.R.F. Bureau representative in Canada, Hagop Der Khatchadurian. Following the video, Raffi Sarkissian, an executive member of the A.R.F. Armen Karo Students’ Organization, delivered the keynote speech. The event was concluded with the a poem written by Hovhannes Shiraz, which was recited by two students from the A.R.S. Armenian Private School in Toronto, Nareh Ghalustian and Shant Najarian. The event was attended by more than 300 concerned youth and community members.
Below is a speech by Raffi Sarkissian, an executive member of the A.R.F. Armen Karo Students’ Organization at the youth rally in the Armenian Community Centre in Toronto, Canada.
Turkey-Armenia Protocols: Denial, Treachery and Disgrace
Speech presented by Raffi Sarkissian at youth rally in Toronto on Friday, October 2, 2009
Over the centuries the Armenian people have experienced many challenges and have displayed a relentless ambition to survive. Throughout history, our people have enjoyed only a few years of peace, and even in the darkness of war, still managed to make positive contributions to this world.
Our country has been governed by brave Armenian kings and bold leaders, but on many occasions, also by traitorous pseudo-Armenians, and oppressive foreign powers, the will of whom was the demise of the Armenian people. The crushing grip of those oppressive fists were too familiar to our souls, but were never successful in defeating the Armenian spirit, which always rose from the ashes and entered the bodies of those living, a process almost as predictable as dawn.
Looking back at our immediate history, we have either seen or heard first hand, the accounts of some of the most impactful events which have left their indelible mark on our psyche and individuality.
The suffering and near annihilation of our people in 1915, which left behind a generation of orphans (our grandparents) became one of the most significant historical events, the repercussions of which, we continue to endure to this day. This was a generation of Armenians left homeless, the last occupants of historical Armenia. They were the survivors of the Armenian Genocide to whom the world had promised rights they never had, the rights they were never afforded. The Treaty of Sevres, signed on August 10, 1920, was the very embodiment of the rights promised to our people, which were best displayed by the Wilsonian map of Armenia.
On December 1, 1920 Armenia was annexed by the Bolsheviks, as the Treaty of Sevres was not adhered to. On March 16, 1921, the Turkish-Armenian border was redrawn and arbitrarily replaced by the Treaty of Gars, signed not by Armenia but by the Soviet Union, which established the current borders between the two countries.
It was during Soviet rule, under Stalin on July 7, 1923, when Nagorno-Karabakh and Nakhitchevan were handed to the Azerbaijanis as gifts to appease the Turks, who, the Soviets hoped, would develop along communist lines. Armenia, a Soviet Republic, was silenced behind the iron curtain and incapable of pursuing its own foreign policy including any agenda that involved the genocide.
The onset of the infamous Cold War set the groundwork for much of today’s geostrategic playground in the Caucasus. In 1952, Turkey joined NATO which formed the foundations of U.S foreign policy in the region with adversarial effects on Armenians.
In 1965 silence surrounding the Armenian Genocide was broken as thousands of Armenians in Soviet Armenia, joined by Armenians around the world in their respective countries, staged unprecedented protests in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, demanding “Our lands, our lands!” This marked the first public awakening of the Armenian consciousness in Soviet Armenia.
The protests of 1965 were followed two decades later with the programs against the Armenians in Azerbaijan’s cities of Sumgait and Baku. The massacres were reminiscent of the horrors of 1915 which were not to be tolerated by the courageous Armenians, native to Nagorno-Karabakh who at that point saw their very existence threatened. After greater signs of forced “Azerification”, and the threat of further programs, massive protests were staged across the region and into Armenia, demanding the reunification of the ethnic enclave with Armenia proper. After a referendum in 1991, Nagorno-Karabakh declared itself an independent state which was followed by the invasion of the region. Thousands of Armenians gave their lives to defend their homes, their families, and their right to determine their own fate and live free from the fear of assimilation, massacre and oppression.
Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh both declared their independence in September of 1991. 70 years of Soviet rule finally came to an end lifting the iron curtain once and for all. This iron curtain, however, was replaced with Turkey’s illegal blockade which ultimately sealed the border in support of Azerbaijan. A ceasefire was signed between the countries in 1993 which continues to be in place to this day.
Today we face another turning point in our history. These protocols drafted by the Turkish and Armenian governments, under the unfair pressure applied by Western nations, who view them as means of serving their ambitions to exploit regional resources, place our people and our collective rights under threat. These protocols are a disgrace to the memory of the millions of Armenians who gave their lives during the course of the century of struggles I had outlined earlier.
Why did the Armenian mother choose the burning deserts over forced “Islamitization” and a home? Why did the Armenian volunteers risk their lives to ward off the invading Turkish Army from its borders in 1918 and again in 1988? Why did the Armenian Diaspora spend all its resources to build and maintain community centers, churches, schools all around the world? All this was to ensure we retain our place in this world and create a home for our people and our culture. All this was a part of our continued efforts to defend the rights and dignity of our people and insure we receive the reparations owed to our country.
The establishment of neighborly and diplomatic relations between the two countries is something that is of utmost importance but cannot come at the expense of our present day rights and our obligations to the unborn future generation.
The protocols were masterfully crafted to serve Turkish interests giving Armenia the short end of the stick. They call for Armenia’s recognition of the Treaty of Gars, the recognition of the territorial integrity of the countries in the region, and the establishment of a historical commission to examine the facts of the Armenian Genocide- a historical reality affirmed and reaffirmed by every credible genocide scholar across the globe.
The protocols call for good neighborly relations between the two countries.How can this exists when the Turkish government continues to have laws in place restricting the freedom of speech, of its people, aggressively disallowing any discussion on the Armenian Genocide? How can we establish neighborly relations with a government who continues to deny the pinnacle role played by Armenians in the establishment of Turkey’s cultural, historical, economic, political wealth? The very wealth the Turkish government today enjoys through its music, language, exports, architecture, tourist attractions and sites which were once the places where our ancestors plowed, lived, worshiped and gave thanks to God. How can we establish neighborly relations with a government who continues to allow racist neo-fascist political parties to operate together with their militant factions in their borders? How can we establish neighborly relations with a government, who for a century has carried out cultural genocide and continues to do so in attempts to destroy ancient Armenian churches, monasteries and monuments? These are remnants of the millennia of Armenian presence on the territories now occupied by Turkey.
Moreover, the protocols call on the countries to respect the territorial integrity and inviolability of frontiers but disregard Nagorno-Karabakh’s right to self-determination, contradicting international rights outlined under the United Nations Charter and the Helsinki Final Act. This provision attempts to undermine the international efforts already in place to mediate the conflict, and disregard the safety and concerns of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. This is outright unacceptable.
The protocols call for the mutual recognition of the existing borders between the two countries, in attempts to end Armenian demands for reparations of land and properties, seized illegally and forcefully by the Turkish government. This is an outright attempt by the Turkish government to close the books on the Treaty of Sevres, which outlines the legal rights of all Armenians across the globe. Serge Sarkissian cannot ignore the demands of the Armenian Diaspora who along with Armenians in Armenia represent the victims of the Armenian Genocide and their indisputable rights.
Finally, the protocols request the formation of a historical commission to investigate the facts of the Armenian Genocide. The international community and its academics have already conducted unbiased research by examining the archives of multiple countries and institutions, and have given their verdict on the topic. The reality of the Armenian Genocide has been common knowledge for decades and a request for legitimate academics to sit at the table with a group of illegitimate pseudo-historians is only an attempt to trivialize the reality of the Armenian genocide, and in essence is considered genocide denial, the last stage of genocide.
Who gives Serge Sarkissian the right to use our ancestors’ lands as a bargaining chip in his cowardly efforts to sign an agreement with a hostile government? Through its reckless behavior, the Armenian administration had long forfeited its right to speak on behalf of the millions of victims to the Armenian Genocide, those that had been denied the human right to a grave. The Armenian Diaspora has stood by our country since our exodus. We have selflessly spent our resources to benefit our homeland and our people, our voice can not be ignored and must be taken seriously.
Serge Sarkissian’s party, the Republican Party of Armenia, in its provisions, claim to follow the teachings of General Karekin Njteh, an Armenian national hero. I quote “The main guarantee for the everlasting existence of our people on our land is the Armenian national ideology in which, according to the RPA’s convictions, the theory of Garegin Nzhdeh has its substantial place.”
If one was to visit the Republican Party of Armenia’s webpage they would find a picture of Njteh’s statue in the above banner and a series of his quotes, such as; “The strengthening of the state with conscious dignity of the nation” and “Patriotism-this is the crown and the wreath of human virtue”. Serge Sarkissian’s actions do not by any means dignify our nation and its people, nor do they resemble any virtuous behavior fitting of an Armenian president, and most importantly are a disgrace to the views held by Karekin Njteh.
If Njteh was to be alive what would he say? I cannot speak for this great man but I am confident he would have been one of the first voices criticizing the actions of the Armenian Administration. What I can quote, however, is his views presented in one of his articles written in the 1920’s.-
“Open the map of the region and turn your eyes to the small territory we call Armenia. Observe the line surrounding our country carefully, the line that forms our arbitrary borders. You will see an iron ring formed around our country, but not even this can disrupt the granite faith of our people. Today, nothing can render our people hopeless because we as a whole deeply comprehend that our homeland can not belong to anyone else. We know that lands acquired through cowardly and illegitimate means sooner or later are returned to their historic owners, on one condition; that time does not weaken the love and yearning in the latter towards their homeland. Armenian youth, Greater Armenia exists and it will be yours tomorrow.”
Dear friends I question the integrity of the current Armenian administration. I question their supposed commitment to serve the country of Armenia and its people. Whether the concerns we raise tonight are present in the protocols explicitly or implicitly, vaguely or specifically does not make a difference: call a spade a spade these protocols set us back decades from what we have achieved collectively.
Dear Armenian youth, events such as this one tonight, raise the much needed awareness about Armenian issues. This is knowledge required to become a constructive contributor to the community. From awareness comes action from action comes change. The youth of a people represent its ability to be in a constant state of progression. The moment we cease to defend what we believe in and stand for, the moment we falsely convince ourselves we have accomplished all that is needed for our communities and country, the moment we let down our guard and allow incompetent leaders to do as they please, we ultimately allow the very demise of our people.
