GENOCIDE RECOGNITION CAMPAIGN POINTLESS WITHOUT DEMAND FOR FAIR CAUSE – EXPERT
15:23 * 30.03.15
The main purpose of Genocide was to seize the property and lands
belonging to the Armenians, hence the country cannot build welfare
today without restoring all that, says an orientalist.
“We are more focused on the question’s external aspect, thinking of
who will come to Armenia to lay flowers [on the Genocide memorial],
but instead, the authorities should have three important questions to
answer: what do we want? Secondly, on what bases do we lay claims? And
thirdly, why do we want that? Can the realities today be taken for
granted to allow us to continue [the campaign] the same way?” Ara
Papyan, Director of the Yerevan-based analytical center Modus
Vivendi. asked at a news conference.
The expert noted that only two thirds of Armenia’s population is
concentrated on the Ararat valley which he said is quite close to
the Turkish border.
“The [Genocide] centennial, in my understanding, offered a good chance
to respond to those questions. With the world’s attention focused
on the centennial, we must by all means profit by that occasion to
raise the questions we want,” Papyan said.
He added that Armenia fails to use its potential, continuing the
Soviet-style tradition of just observing the ceremony.
“Continuing the recognition campaign without adding to it the demand
for fair cause is absolutely pointless. On April 24 [which marks the
Genocide anniversary], we must put on table the package outlining
the mechanisms of resolution. And for that, we need a commission of
lawyers,” said the expert.