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Press Review


The annual commemoration of the Armenian Genocide is the principal topic of Thursday’s Armenian press commentary.

“Hayastani Hanrapetutyun” writes that Armenians around the world should become more forward-looking in their campaign for international recognition of their tragedy. “While honoring the memory of the genocide victims, we must be able to finally forget regarding crying as a weapon and must cite our development when making our case,” the paper writes.

“Yerkir” editorializes that decades of hard work on the genocide issue are already bearing fruit. This, the paper says, shows that when Armenians display “political will, tenacity and readiness for sacrifice” they can achieve their objectives. There will always be those who will argue against fighting on for genocide recognition and advocate a softer line on Turkish denial of the tragedy. Their aim is to “remove the issue from the international agenda.”

“On the one hand, we are obliged to accept, in principle, the idea of dialogue and compromise, but on the other, insist on the need for an unconditional recognition of the Armenian Genocide,” writes “Hayots Ashkhar.” The paper says that any “diversity of opinion” on the need for the recognition is unacceptable. “Attempts to seek a mutual compromise with Turkey by ensuring internal pluralism on the genocide could not only render Armenia and Armenian society vulnerable but also create pre-requisites for covering up the crime with joint efforts.”

“Haykakan Zhamanak” complains that the annual remembrance of the genocide victims will not engender “new valuable ideas” about how Armenia should face up to its challenges. “Sometimes one gets the impression that our discourse is stuck in the beginning of the [20th] century. The sorrow of our lost homeland and grandparents has made us self-sufficient and seems to have occupied our mind forever. True, our loss is heavy and irreversible, but our discourse is sloppy, neglected, primitive and ostentatious…Of course, the fate of our ancestors is important, but not as much as the fate of our children. We have no right to bequeath our past to our children as a future.”

“Aravot” says no Armenian in the world will ever forget what was done to their people in 1915. “For the Armenians, the genocide is not an object of political debate. At least, it should not be one,” the paper says. “Attitudes toward [the genocide] have nothing to do with political views. A liberal and a nationalist, a Communist and a Socialist have the same attitude toward that issue. A person’s, a nation’s dignity is not a political category.” But some political groups use the issue to show that they are greater patriots than their opponents.

(Vache Sarkisian)
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