“То be lightning and lightning rod…”
Paruyr Sevak, “To live”
Since this year the one who would have enthusiastically declared at the “commissioned concert,” “I condemn the terrorist actions of ASALA…” is late, we shall hasten and first repeat: “ASALA is not terrorism, but a liberation struggle,” while allowing ourselves to continue the discussion.
ASALA is not only not a terrorist organization; moreover, it is anti-terrorist. It is a rightful counteraction to over a century of crimes committed by Turkish state terrorism against the Armenian homeland and people.
Western Armenia (including Cilicia) and its Armenian population became targets nearly a hundred years ago, first for the theorists and founders of Pan-Turkism, and then for the criminal actions of successive Turkish governments. These governments first deprived the Armenians of Western Armenia of basic living and subsistence conditions, and then organized inhumane and criminal acts of annihilation and forced deportation. Today, by denying the genocide, they continue to obstruct the Armenian population of Western Armenia from having a future and the right to develop.
The theory of Pan-Turkism emerged and took shape in the early 1870s. One of its first ideologues, Arminius Vambery, published in London in 1873–1874 the books Bukhara and Central Asia, glorifying the superiority and “ancient glory” of the Turkish people. (1) Subsequently, chronologically, other notable figures and their publications include: Franz von Werner (1877), Konstantin Borhetsky (1889), Leon Kahoun (1896), Albert Cohen (1915), Halide Edip (1916), Ziya Gökalp (1923), and others… (2)
It is noteworthy that just twenty years later, Sultan Abdul Hamid II, adopting the programmatic provisions of Pan-Turkism, in 1894–1896 initiated a state terrorist campaign against Armenian citizens of the Ottoman Empire, involving mass killings, ethnic cleansing, forced deportation, and genocide. The Young Turks, immediately after coming to power in 1909, and then in 1915–1917, continued implementing the Pan-Turkist program, resulting in the comprehensive genocide and deportation of the Armenians of Western Armenia. By 1918–1923, this plan was in the hands of the Kemalists. Thus, three successive Turkish governments over approximately 30 years (1894–1923) annihilated over 1.5 million Armenians and forcibly displaced 1 million, seizing much of the Armenian homeland.
Humanity had never before witnessed crimes of such magnitude rooted in xenophobia and racism. Only twenty years later would it become witness, participant, and victim of crimes at a new level-fascist xenophobia and racism during World War II.
After all this, who still talks about terrorism?
We know that morality should not be discussed with those who have neither understanding nor personal sense of it.
But we can speak of rights: the Armenian people, like a scattered nation, have the right to development and a future. To achieve this, the homeland must be restored to them by legal means, and damages must be compensated. Yet, successive Turkish governments in modern times continue the work of their predecessors: destroying monuments, changing place names, falsifying history, supporting Middle Eastern regimes and forces that attempt to subject Armenians to repeated forced displacement, farther and farther from their native land-into Europe and America… In the Middle East, playing the role of a sidekick to democracy promoters, they threaten Armenians in Syria (3). And when they receive a deserved counteraction to their crimes, they panic and start shouting about “Armenian terrorism”…
Spring will come again; humanity and nature will awaken once more, and Turkish state and non-state media will again be flooded with invective and lies about ASALA and “Armenian terrorism.”
But ASALA, as Paruyr Sevak would say, became “lightning and lightning rod” (4) for the Armenian people, a resistance and protective barrier against over a century of Turkish state terrorism.
Official statements of ASALA typically end with: “Victory will be ours.” We believe that victory, as the affirmation of divine and human rights and justice, will belong to ASALA and our people.
This article by Tigran Pashabezyan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Western Armenia (State of Armenia), was first published in Armenian on April 12, 2012 in the “The Covenant of Ararat” («Ուխտ Արարատի») magazine, under the signature of the “The Covenant of Ararat” («Ուխտ Արարատի») Public initiative of freedom fighters and former political prisoners of the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia.
April 12, 2012
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Notes:
- See Arminius Vámbéry, “Bukhara”, “Central Asia”, London, 1873-1874. https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B1%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B8,_%D0%90%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B
- See Gaspar Terteryan, Relations of Zionism and Pan-Turkism and Their Threat to Armenia’s Existence, Bisan Publishing, Beirut, 2002.
- See Ahmet Davutoğlu, “Turkey must play a more active role in the Middle East and the Balkans, but its relations with the West will remain a priority,” PanARMENIAN.Net, 02.05.2009.
- See Paruyr Sevak, “To Live”, Collection of poems, No. 1, Armenia Publishing, Yerevan, 1972, pp. 365–366. http://sevak.am/poem/%D5%84%D4%B1%D5%90%D4%B4%D4%B8-%D4%B1%D5%93%D4%BB-%D5%84%D4%B5%D5%8B/%D4%B1%D5%8A%D5%90%D4%B5%D4%BC
