Asbarez Newspaper
The Armenian Genocide as a Case for Preventing Self-Determination
On August 11 Asbarez.com, celebrating its 104th anniversary these days, published Ragip Zarakolu’s article “The Armenian Genocide as a Case for Preventing Self-Determination”. The article touches upon the recent statement by Vecdi Gonul, the former Turkish minister of national defense, who claimed that 1915 tragic events provided the present-day Republic of Turkey the chance to come into being. The article offers a “state-building” frame for studying the Genocide issue bringing a two-layer approach. First layer is that of the inevitability of 1915 Genocide resulting from the “state-building” logic, while the second layer points against using this argument as excuse for the events before and after 1915. The “state-building” layer views the events under the light of the “Armenian Question” not finding a solution, and Turkey being in a stage of transformation from the empire into a new state. On the other hand, Zarakolu notes “if you look into the UN Genocide Convention, you are bound to see that all the fundamental elements find their place in the Armenian case. The policies of the CUP, on the other hand, were reminiscent of those of a proto-fascist party. In other words, this was a case of fascism avant la lettre.”
Leading Muslim Cleric Issued Fatwa, Condemning Turks for Killing Armenians
Harut Sassounian published an article “Leading Muslim Cleric Issued Fatwa, Condemning Turks for Killing Armenians” sharing an old Islamic document he found recently criticizing Turks for covering their killings of Armenians by religion. The document Sassounian found is a Fatwa ( religious decree) issued by Grand Sheikh Salim al-Bishri of Egypt condemning the Adana massacres versus Turkish Mufti’s decree of the same year urging for the killings as a religious duty. Providing translations from the original text and responding to Turkish Prime Minister Erodgan’s words, Sassounian makes a statement that: “…good Muslims don’t commit genocide.” The leaders of the Young Turk Party who masterminded the Armenian Genocide in 1915 were not faithful Muslims, judging by the teachings of the Quran — the Holy Book of Islam.”
‘Hye Votes’ Voter Registration Drive Gains Momentum
Wednesday, August 15th Asbarez.com touched upon the issue of the new voter registration center called “Hye-votes” recently launched in Glendale / U.S. A/. The center is to organize registry of Armenian-American votes for the upcoming elections. The reason for this, goes the fact that as Asbarez notes “Many electoral races are expected to be decided by slim margins, and the collective voice of the large Armenian-American community will surely play a pivotal role in determining which candidates will ultimately best represent the community’s interests in every level of government: local, state, and federal.”
Armenian Mirror-Spectator
For Once, Aliyev May Be Right
Edmond Azadian published an opinion-essay on the need to make a clear distinction between rationality and alarmism in the Armenia-Azerbaijan context. Citing Aliev’s statement (“We can wait until Armenia’s population is reduced to one million and then we can take over its territory) Azadian states the need for Armenia to act rationally and, for instance, increase its population versus taking statements of this type with anger. Indicating several domestic problems (depopulation, lack of strategic policies) the article advocates for sound-mindedness. As a voice of rationality, Azadian makes the claim “There is a national emergency but we don’t seem to feel a sense of urgency.”
Let Us Extend a Hand As a Nation to the Syrian Armenians
“…we are aware that hopes and desires without real, practical steps remain solely wishes and dreams, especially in our case, if we Armenians do not help by all possible means and do not take tangible initial steps to extend financial, physical, spiritual and moral aid to our Syrian-Armenian brothers and sisters.”: states Panos Titizian in the August 16 opinion-essay published in the Mirror-Spectator. Advocating for not letting AGBU (Armenian General Benevolent Union) be the sole actor in Syrian-Armenian help projects, Titizian argues for a pan-Armenian help.
