Following a vote at the Nov. 21, 2009, meeting of the Society for Armenian Studies (SAS), which called on the SAS Executive Council to prepare a statement concerning the “historical sub-commission” in the Armenian-Turkish protocols, and following a vote of the SAS membership in support of the statement, the SAS Executive Council, on behalf of the entire SAS membership, hereby issues the following statement regarding the proposed historical sub-commission:
The recently signed protocols between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Turkey call for a sub-commission with the vaguely defined task of looking into existing historical problems for an impartial examination of historical records and archives. The stated purpose is to restore mutual confidence between the two nations. Although no express reference is made in the protocols, there is an almost universal agreement that the Turkish side would use the sub-commission as a vehicle for perpetuating its denial of the Armenian Genocide and casting doubt on the validity of the massive body of evidence establishing it as genocide.
While the Turkish government, in keeping with a long-standing state policy, continues to make every effort to question and deny the veracity of the Armenian Genocide, President Serge Sarkisian has on a number of occasions asserted that the genocide and loss of Armenian patrimony cannot be questioned; that the genocide is a known truth and must be recognized and condemned; and that the reality of the genocide can in no way become a subject of discussion as part of the agenda of the sub-commission.
The Society for Armenian Studies hereby firmly states that the Armenian Genocide is an undeniable fact, established through dispassionate, meticulous, and multilingual archival research by a great number of experts, most of whom belong to respectable scholarly bodies of renowned authorities such as the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) and our own Society for Armenian Studies. The veracity of the Armenian Genocide cannot and must not be subject to discussion or to political give and take.
The Society for Armenian Studies was founded in 1974 by a group of scholars from the universities of California, Columbia, and Harvard on the initiative of Richard G. Hovannisian, Dickran Kouymjian, Nina Garsoian, Avedis Sanjian, and Robert Thomson. It is dedicated to the development of Armenian studies as an academic discipline.
The SAS Secretariat is located at the Armenian Studies Program of California State University, Fresno. For more information, visit http://armenianstudies.csufresno.edu/sas/index.htm, email barlowd@csufresno.edu, or write to Armenian Studies Program, California State University, Fresno, 5245 N Backer Ave. PB4, Fresno, CA 93740-8001.
Good. It’s about time that Armenian academicians in the US spoke out against the disgraceful Turkish -Armenian “protocols.”
This SAS statement is not as strong as one might like, but it is still good. However, why did it take months for the SAS to say something about these protocols? It should not have taken so long.
The SAS was very upset and reacted quickly when a young Turkish scholar was arrested in Armenia a few years ago. The SAS was very upset and reacted quickly when some scholars in Armenia said that Armenian American academicians were ignoring evidence that Armenian civilization began much earlier than some Western scholars were claiming. So why, when the protocols cast doubt on the
veracity of the genocide with a “historical commission,” did the SAS have nothing to say? There is a clear double standard there.
Agreed, PaulTor, the statement isn’t as strong as it could be, and comes late in the game. But still, it’s something for which defenders of the truth should be grateful. It’s coming from those who have studied the subject meticulously. I do wonder why this communique isn’t addressed to anyone in particular. Why not to the (albeit undemocratically un-elected) President of Armenia, Serge Sarkissian? Instead, the SAS statement speaks of Sarkissian’s formally stated position on Armenian Genocide recognition — recognition that neither Sarkissian, Nalbandian, the Parliament nor ROA ambassadors abroad have promoted on domestic, regional or international fronts. (Forget restitution, reparations and right of return — they are nowhere to be seen.) Incredible as it sounds, could the weak statement be because some SAS academics worry about keeping their university jobs, where their supervisors may one day call upon them to engage in a “scholarly debate” about the Armenian Genocide?
I had posted something here several months ago but oddly, it was only actually ‘cleared’ by the administrator two weeks later… when practically no one was reading the said article anymore. The thing was, it was a painfully truthful article regarding the opening of the borders and the potential gains to the everyday Armenian business and persons. It was meant to be from a friendly Turk. In any case, let me get to my point here….. I often find that these types of sites breed a certain ‘herd’ mentality and contrasting points of views are often repressed. We are neighbors and have been for many centuries. It will be on the shoulders of those who consistently (and blindly) resist the signing of the protocols (on both sides) that our children will continue to be taught hatred and ignorance. Keeping the borders closed will only play to the hands of those who want the people to continue to be ignorant and filled with hatred. It’s time to ‘RE-LEARN’ from each other through open borders. That is the ONLY way to really come to terms with our mutual violent history.
/A friendly Turk.
There are other major problems with this statement: The group that Prof. Richard Hovannisian chairs or has chaired for years officially recognizes Serge Sarkisian as “President” of Armenia and does not explicitly condemn the disastrous protocols!
What does this say about his son Raffi Hovannisian and the opposition credentials of Raffi’s Heritage party?
What does this say about SAS’s commitment to democracy and human rights in Armenia following the significantly flawed presidential elections and the government-sponsored slaughter of innocent citizens on March 1-2, 2008?
What does this say about SAS’s commitment to advancing the Armenian Cause (to liberating occupied Armenian lands and properties)?
The bottom-line is that SAS policies are increasingly in line with U.S. government policies, and that’s quite troubling!