Asa President: There’s Humanity Before Politics

ASA PRESIDENT: THERE’S HUMANITY BEFORE POLITICS

April 24, 2013 – 17:38 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The UCSB Armenian Student Association led a march
through Isla Vista on April 23 evening, bringing the community’s
attention to the Armenian Genocide.

The ASA met at the eternal flame around 6 pm and proceeded to march
throughout campus and I.V. Participants remained silent as they walked
campus and then incorporated chants once they reached the end of
Pardall Tunnel. About 30 students took part in the event, waving
posters and Armenian flags to show their support, The Daily Nexus
reports.

ASA President Adam Jaratanian, fourth-year political science major,
said his family, as well as the families of most of the other students
who participated in the march, have been personally impacted by the
genocide.

According to Jaratanian, the experience of being exiled from one’s
home country can leave a dramatic effect on how they identify with
their native cultural identity.

The march mirrors a much larger set of events that happen every year
in Little Armenia in Hollywood and at the Turkish Embassy in Los
Angeles. Such events educate the public on not only this specific
genocide, but on the general issue of historical genocides that have
been either denied or overlooked by the masses, he said.

While Jaratanian said he understands the political complications
surrounding this governmental recognition, he said human rights should
trump politics.

“It’s awareness through education. It’s not just seeing that sign and
saying, ‘Oh the Armenian Genocide happened.’ Understand why it
happened. It’s ethnic cleansing,” Jaratanian said. “And [the genocide
is] not recognized for political reasons, strictly political. Just
because Turkey is an ally… the U.S. doesn’t recognize it. And I
understand the politics behind that, but, you know, there’s humanity
before politics.”

From: A. Papazian