Wall Street Journal
April 25 2009
In Armenian Enclave, Turkish Deal Arouses Suspicion
Ethnic Leaders in Glendale, Calif., See Detente Announcement as a Ploy
on Day Commemorating 1915 Killings
By NICHOLAS CASEY
GLENDALE, Calif. — Turkey and Armenia may be about to embark on a
historic diplomatic thaw, but in the large community of Armenian
expatriates here, distrust remains high.
"There’s been a lot of disappointment," said Andrew Kzirian, executive
director of the Armenian National Committee’s Western region, speaking
from his office here.
The two nations’ announcement Thursday that they agreed on a framework
for restoring relations came just ahead of the annual April 24
commemoration of the 1915 killing of Armenians at the hand of the
Ottoman Turks, an event many refer to as a genocide. On Friday,
hundreds gathered for a religious gathering at a park in nearby
Montebello, a prelude to larger protests planned for the evening in
Los Angeles.
Mr. Kzirian sees the latest development not so much as a detente
between the countries, but as another public-relations effort by the
Turks to deflect attention from the killings. "Any politico would see
that [the statement] was directly designed to push back recognition of
the Armenian genocide," he said.
This Los Angeles suburb is home to one of America’s most robust
Armenian diaspora communities, with 80,000 to 100,000 ethnic Armenians
making up about a third of the population. Community leaders estimate
500,000 ethnic Armenians dwell in California, many of them and their
forbears drawn here by the dry landscape’s likeness to the Middle
East.
Many residents are descendants of expatriates who fled the Ottoman
Empire after the 1915 killing and deportation of some 1.5 million
ethnic Armenians. The massacre — and Turkey’s insistence that it was
a consequence of World War I rather than a deliberate policy — offer
a common reference point for a heterogeneous community of Armenians
who trace their roots from Lebanon to the former Soviet Union. On
Friday, some stores closed here for the annual memorial of the
killings.
Many residents of the area — including Rep. Adam Schiff, their voice
in Congress — are pushing in Washington for the adoption a nonbinding
resolution, introduced in 2007, that characterizes the event as
genocide. Glendale is also watching Yerevan, the Armenian capital, as
it negotiates with Turkey to reopen its borders with the country. That
could bring added wealth to Armenia, where many send remittances to
family members.
At the Armenian cafe Urartu off Broadway, Appo Jabarian scans his
email inbox for news of what he dubs the recent "secret agreement."
The 51-year-old managing editor of U.S.A. Armenian Life Magazine said
he has been placing calls to journalists abroad to learn more about
developments between Turkey and Armenia.
For Mr. Jabarian, who said more than 84 members of his family were
lost in the slaughter, "Turkey is always trying to shortchange the
Armenians." He is currently mulling the angle of an editorial for next
week’s magazine that will address the agreement.
For Vache Thomassian, 24, the timing of Turkey’s announcement, falling
a day before the commemoration, is "some sort of ploy." The chairman
of the Armenian Youth Federation’s Western region said the Turkish
government has no sincere intention of reconciling with his people,
and is simply "trying to take our attention from the April 24
commemoration."
On Friday, Mr. Thomassian prepared for a protest at the Turkish
consulate in Los Angeles that day, an event he said was attended by
some 10,000 people last year. Mr. Thomassian, who believes two of his
great-grandparents were killed by the Turks, said the Ankara
government is involved in an effort to "reverse history" by denying
the crimes ever occurred. Still, he said, he counts many Turkish
people among his friends and spent a recent summer at the Armenian
town of Gyumri, near the Turkish border.
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