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Samvel Karapetyan - Armenians Loosing Touch With Historical Roots

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  • Samvel Karapetyan - Armenians Loosing Touch With Historical Roots

    SAMVEL KARAPETYAN - ARMENIANS LOOSING TOUCH WITH HISTORICAL ROOTS
    Kristine Aghalaryan

    http://hetq.am/en/society/april-24-3/# more-6768
    2009/03/31 | 15:39

    Society

    At a press conference held today Rouben Babayan, Artistic Director
    of the Yerevan Puppet Theater, and Samvel Karapetyan, who heads the
    Armenian Architectural Research NGO, argued that Armenians have lost
    practically all connection to their historical and cultural roots
    and warned of the dire consequences such a "process of alienation"
    would have in the near future.

    Mr. Karapetyan angrily commented on the fact that when he walks up
    the hill to the Tzitzernakaberd Genocide Memorial Complex he witnesses
    the worst kind of behavior on the part of many Armenians who wind up
    laying flowers at the eternal flame. He stated that such behavior
    proved that many are merely engaged in a sham display of respect
    towards their ancestors and that such "shows" are to be seen at many
    commemorative events like the April 24th remembrance.

    According to Mr. Karapetyan, "We have become alienated and that
    which is alien has become second-nature for us." He pointed to the
    profusion of foreign words on Yerevan billboards and stores. "He
    will no longer use the Armenian language; we just write in Armenian
    letters," he argued. He added that while foreign names are to be
    seen on taxi fleets in Armenia, on Turkish taxis in western Armenia
    you will see the geographical names of our fatherland - Msho Taxi,
    Lake Van, etc. In his view this means that we have severed the ties to
    our origins and that we have strayed from our national underpinnings.

    "If we lay flowers it means that we respect the memory of our
    forbearers. We must care for the remnants of our culture on a state
    level. You don't love your country by shouting slogans. You must come
    to know it and such recognition leads to a desire to protect it,"
    Mr. Karapetyan argued.

    Rouben Babayan stated that it will take decades for us to comprehend
    the significance of 1915. "We only talk about the victims and the
    lost lands. But we forget about what the 1915 Genocide has left in
    its wake. It has left a mentality of victimization and a victim is
    bereft of feeling national honor," he concluded.

    Mr. Karapetyan lashed out at the ARF, noting that in practice this
    party which claims to reflect the pain and torment of the "Erkir"
    has done nothing to justify such claims. He went on to say that the
    burning of the Turkish flag on April 24th by ARF youth is just another
    part of this "theater of show".

    "While it is acceptable for me to burn the raised flag of the enemy
    when it is captured on the battlefield, one has to make sacrifices to
    capture that flag. Thus, I find it laughable and my heart goes out to
    those kids who are being brought up in such a way in the name of the
    party's philosophy," Mr. Karapetyan noted. "By building a restaurant
    with the name 'Erkir' they are satisfied that they have solved the
    issues of western Armenia and have adopted an attitude of neglect
    for decades on end."

    "There are Hay Dat (Armenian National Committee) offices around
    the world. You would expect that they'd initiate real 'dats'
    (court case) in the name of our rights. But have they ever taken
    Azerbaijan to court for the destruction of the stone-cross cemetery in
    Jugha?" Mr. Karapetyan rhetorically asked. "Cyprus has 1,600 claims
    against Turkey in the European Court for destroying Greek monuments
    on the island. Recently, Turkey has been forced to pay $1million in
    compensation for its actions."

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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