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The Armenian Weekly; Feb. 2, 2008; Commentary and Analysis

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  • The Armenian Weekly; Feb. 2, 2008; Commentary and Analysis

    The Armenian Weekly On-Line
    80 Bigelow Avenue
    Watertown MA 02472 USA
    (617) 926-3974
    [email protected]
    http://www.ar menianweekly.com

    The Armenian Weekly; Volume 74, No. 4; Feb. 2, 2008

    Commentary and Analysis:

    1. America Deserves
    By Khatchig Mouradian

    2. Armenia's 2008 Presidential Elections: Does Anyone Care?
    By Christian Garbis

    3. Letter to the Editor

    ***

    1. America Deserves
    By Khatchig Mouradian

    "I know I haven't spent a long time to learn the ways of Washington, but I've
    been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change."
    -Barack Obama


    The ANCA this week decided to endorse Barack Obama as the Democratic
    Presidential candidate who can change "the ways of Washington" when it comes
    to issues of concern for Armenian-Americans and the anti-genocide community
    in the U.S.

    The decision was made because the ANCA, and the Armenian-American community
    on the whole, are sick and tired of the ways of Washington-the way
    continuous administrations have insulted the memory of the victims of the
    genocide and the ever-dwindling numbers of genocide survivors by
    trivializing their suffering. These survivors have since become citizens of
    this country, have fought and struggled for this nation, while their
    presidents-leaders of the free world-have yet to validate their history.

    The Armenian-American community-and, we believe, every informed and
    concerned citizen of this country-cannot help but be sick and tired of how
    the ways of Washington and the ways of Ankara merge when it comes to denial,
    the falsification and complete disregard to the suffering of an entire
    people.

    The Armenian-American community is also sick and tired of the way the Bush
    Administration has treated Armenia and the Karabakh question, succumbing
    more often than not to policies dictated by a country considered to be
    America's ally-Turkey.

    For all these, and many other reasons, America deserves a leader.

    America deserves a leader who will not say, "It is not the right time" when
    it comes to recognizing genocide.

    America deserves a leader who will not say that there's "more important work
    to do" for Congress than setting the historical record straight.

    America deserves a leader who will stand up against human rights violations,
    atrocities and genocide, whether past or present, whether committed by
    allies on enemies.

    America deserves a leader who says, "I'm asking you to believe. Not just in
    my ability to bring about real change in Washington. I'm asking you to
    believe in yours."

    And, finally, America deserves a leader who says, "America deserves a leader
    who speaks truthfully about the Armenian Genocide and responds forcefully to
    all genocides. I intend to be that President."

    And stands by what s/he says.

    We look to Barack Obama to be that leader.
    ------------------------------------------ -----------------------------------------------

    2 . Armenia's 2008 Presidential Elections: Does Anyone Care?
    By Christian Garbis

    With the Armenian presidential elections fast approaching-scheduled to be
    held on Feb. 19-life for most Armenians seems to be moving forward without
    very much anticipation over who may become their nation's next leader. It is
    business as usual in Yerevan with yet-to-be-seen active public interest
    being exhibited on the streets. Campaigning formally began on Jan. 22 with
    several candidates putting forward a summary of their programs, if not the
    entirety, and forecasting their agenda during their own five-year term as
    president. Yet, just how much faith citizens have in the candidates is not
    entirely clear.

    Placards are already available from rival candidate and former Armenian
    president Levon Ter-Petrossian's camp, which is running the slogan "We'll
    Win!," while billboards attempting to flaunt the sex appeal of Prime
    Minister Serge Sargsyan can be found throughout the city bearing the phrase
    "Forward, Armenia." His Republican party has also been opening campaign
    offices in strategic locations throughout the city since the official start
    of the presidential election campaign.

    Public service announcements are being broadcast on flat panel televisions
    in metro stations sponsored in part by the Organization for Security and
    Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). One shows a grandfather speaking to his
    grandson about the importance of casting a ballot, especially for voting
    against the "princes" seeking a return to power having already been toppled.
    Another encourages peaceful demonstrations if necessary, so long as people
    refrain from rallying around a central figure. And on the walls facing
    would-be passengers just above the tracks, Serge Sargsyan campaign posters
    are affixed in plain sight. The Yerevan metropolitan transit system is
    state-controlled.

    Several polls have been taken in recent weeks attempting to gauge public
    support. In a U.S.-sponsored Gallup poll taken by the Armenian Sociological
    Association, Prime Minister Sargsyan enjoyed 35 percent of public support in
    December, with former speaker of parliament and "Orinats Yerkir" party
    leader Artur Baghdasarian earning around 13 percent. Yet, Levon
    Ter-Petrossian, widely believed to be the only opposition candidate with a
    decent chance of winning, was estimated to have gartered not even 3 percent
    support. Rival presidential candidates claimed that the poll was biased and
    were quick to brush aside the official results.

    In stark contrast, the newspaper "Aravot" conducted its own poll in
    mid-December, claiming that Prime Minister Sargsyan would earn 19.2 percent
    of the vote and Ter-Petrossian only 9.2 percent if the elections had been
    held on Dec. 14. Other candidates, namely former defense minister under
    Ter-Petrossian's tenure Vazgen Manukian, Artur Baghdasarian, Armenian
    Revolutionary Federation (ARF-D) leader Vahan Hovannisian, and National
    Unity Party head Artashes Geghamian would all earn less than 5 percent of
    the vote, with 30 percent of those polled unable to decide.

    One key strategy that Ter-Petrossian is using is apologizing for the errors
    of his ways as president from 1991-97. This approach is perhaps the only way
    he can earn the support from countless numbers of Armenian citizens who
    cannot forget his blunders during the region's war-torn era, also known as
    the "dark and cold" years. Still fresh on many people's minds are the
    record-setting frigid winters in the early 1990s and the lack of available
    electricity, most of which was revealed to have been sold to Georgia. Many
    also blame the former leader for the governmental corruption that is so
    widespread today.

    Prime Minister Sargsyan on the other hand is riding to his own predicted
    victory, much to people's chagrin. He often cites the nation's economic boom
    and gradual increase in the quality of life for Armenians under the current
    government's policies, which would undoubtedly change very little should he
    be elected. There is a popular consensus that things took a turn for the
    worst in the country when former leaders of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic,
    namely current President Robert Kocharian and the prime minister, took power
    in Armenia. People who hold this view-even those who dislike Ter-Petrossian
    but would consider supporting him if he were the only other real catalyst
    for change-feel that the regime being controlled by "those from Karabakh"
    should be toppled.

    "Why don't these guys go back and run their own country?" 59-year-old
    Yerevan resident Sergey Ghazaryan complains. "I hate Levon but I also don't
    want Serge to win. Things will be bad if he's elected."

    In an attempt to rally both political parties and their supporters around a
    central opposing presidential candidate, Aram Sargsyan's Republic party and
    Stepan Demirchian's People's Party have joined forces with Ter-Petrossian's
    Pan-Armenian National Movement (HHsh). Both of those parties' leaders,
    forecasting a sure defeat in the presidential race, decided to lend their
    full support to the former Armenian president anticipating Ter-Petrossian's
    inevitable return to power, as he is the only one able to topple the current
    regime, which would only flourish under Serge Sargsyan as president.

    At Ter-Petrossian's first few public rallies, supporters purportedly from
    across Armenia attended, with estimates of attendees varying. Although
    conservative figures were estimated at 12,000-15,000 people attending the
    initial rally held last October, other sources cited that tens of thousands
    more attended. The daily newspaper "Haykakan Zhamanak" put the number at
    60,000, while the Noyan Tapan news agency reported 30,000-50,000 people in
    attendance. Similar discrepancies held true for subsequent rallies sponsored
    by his supporters.

    The press is largely biased in their support for the candidates. Newspapers
    are speculated to be in the hands of specific politicians. For instance,
    "Haykakan Zhamanak" was long thought to be partially financed by HHSh
    supporters, while "Hayots Ashkhar" was rumored to have been backed by Prime
    Minister Sargsyan. Nevertheless, the opinions that various papers express
    are riddled with sarcasm, pessimism and strange speculation. A Jan. 10 issue
    of "Zhamanak Yerevan," for instance, printed an article claiming that
    Baghdasarian had met in seclusion with Prime Minister Sargysan demanding
    that he be appointed prime minister after Sargsyan won the presidency. Such
    opinions are hardly ever substantiated, yet go largely unchallenged.

    On Jan. 24, the "Aravot" daily newspaper printed an opinion piece suggesting
    that Armenians were largely apathetic to the upcoming elections and were
    more concerned about thawing frozen water pipes than with politics.
    Pro-Sargsyan outlets insist that the prime minister will overwhelmingly win
    in the first round of ballot casting.

    Some papers such as "Hayk" claim that Sargsyan will resort to vote rigging
    and bribery in order win. The paper had already concluded on Jan. 17 that a
    senior member of the Republican party, Ashot Aghababian, was offering
    monetary compensation to rural citizens of the country's northern regions in
    exchange for ballots cast in Sargsyan's favor.

    Speculation is already circulating that if a second round of voting were
    held, resulting in Sargsyan possibly repeating his win, the people would
    take to the streets in revolution led by Ter-Petrossian's forces. The HHSh
    party remains unwavering in their struggle to overthrow the powers that be.

    In an interview held on Jan. 22 with "A1 plus," HHSh press secretary Karen
    Karapetian was quoted as saying, "Power overthrow is inevitable in the
    Republic of Armenia in 2008. The acting authorities are constantly breaking
    the country's laws. In case they provoke clashes they will be "backfired" by
    the force of the law."

    Yet, to what extent Armenian citizens will be prepared to push forward in
    turning the political tide remains to be seen.
    -------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------

    3 . Letter to the editor

    Dear Editor,

    To be born before World War I and live 100 years is amazing in itself. To
    have to run for your life as a seven-year-old while most of your world has
    crumbled at your feet is a completely different story. Esther Melikian
    Kaloustian was born in Kharpet, once a thriving commerce and educational
    center in what is now Turkish-occupied Armenia. She married at 33 years of
    age and was with her husband for 60 years. They were founding members of the
    First Armenian Protestant Church in Montreal.

    For those of us who take the time to go to the Armenian Martyrs Memorial
    Monument at the North Burial Grounds every April, you would have seen her
    there year after year in her place with the survivors.

    >From what little we knew about Esther it seems like even an entire section
    wouldn't tell her life's story. The same goes for all those that went before
    her: our parents, and their parents, and even their parents. Priests were
    nailed to the churches where they once held services. Men were hung on
    "display" in the center of town. Children were tossed into the Tigris and
    Euphrates like toys. The rivers flowed red with blood. What was done to the
    girls and women was unimaginable even by today's ugly standards.

    Just about one year ago Hrant Dink, a modern-day martyr, was brutally
    murdered in that same place that can't seem to bury its dirty and very ugly
    past.

    When you hit your pillows tonight, send up a few kind words for Esther and
    her comrades. I'm pretty sure she will smile just as she always seemed to do
    whenever you saw her face.

    Rest in peace, Esther.

    Steve Elmasian
    ANC-Rhode Island, co-chairman
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