By Stanley Tiger
SAN DIEGO — Armenia. Who cares? I do.
When I read about the skirmishes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, I casually and typically said to myself, like most people, what a shame. But when I had a chance to speak about this with some American-born friends of mine, members of the Armenian Orthodox Christian church here in the U.S., I said to myself, this is much more than a shame, it’s an historic tragedy.
Just as I and most Jews have family members who were annihilated during the genocide of the Jews during WWII, Armenians have family members who were annihilated during the genocide by the Turks in 1915. Last year, the full House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill recognizing the Armenian genocide, which Turkey refuses to acknowledge even to this day. An estimated 1.5 million Armenians died in massacres, deportations and forced marches as the Ottoman Turks took action against the Christian Armenians, worried they would side with Russia, Turkey’s enemy in World War I.
To backtrack for a moment; who are the Armenians? Like the Jews, who with small populations, have had significant impact on the world, so have they. For example, the father of Kim Kardashian is Armenian. Also of Armenian descent are Steve Jobs, Cher, Andre Agassi, the children’s musician Rafi and Steven Zaillian, Oscar-winning screenwriter for Schindler’s List, but that shouldn’t matter. What matters is Deuteronomy 16:20: “Justice, justice shalt thou follow.”
When military powers attempt to decimate weaker populations to capture territory, that is classic injustice. Reports in the news media give the general impression that country A attacked country B who retaliated, so B attacked A and so it escalates. Where the imbalance here lies in the fact that Azerbaijan is being supplied with powerful armaments purchased byTurkey. The religious motivation is no doubt a motivation for Turkey and Azerbaijan, but it appears that Turkey is also financing mercenaries to go and fight. There are reports of bombing from the air by drones, randomly killing innocents, destroying ancient churches and targeting schools and traumatizing children.
“Armenia should cease its attacks immediately and send back the mercenaries and terrorists it brought from abroad,” said Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar recently. Can this be a fact or a fiction of war?
If common sense is any guide to a better understanding of the situation, it would make no sense for Armenia to exercise aggressive behavior towards their neighbor, Azerbaijan, knowing they are religiously and politically aligned with the vastly more powerful Turkey. There are two sides to every story, but what if one side is consistently tarnished?
What can anybody do? First an awareness of the situation is a start. Also, there have been reports from England of groups demonstrating to take Turkey out of NATO. Letters and emails to American politicians is another option.
*
Stanley Tiger is a freelance writer. He is currently writing a book on the interaction of religious traditions and modern physics.
Thank you for your support Mr. Tiger. I have many close friends who are Jewish – our shared story of persecution creates a strong bond and deep understanding.
I pray history does not repeat itself with people choosing to speak up rather than stay silent.
Yours is a uniquely insightful perspective, Mr. Tiger. Thank you for shedding light on why the atrocities against Armenia are important for everyone to be aware of — and to expose, so that they do not continue, and so that this genocide can stop once and for all. Thank you so much.
Thank you for your eloquently written article and your support! I’m a proud Armenian-American, so most of us (over a certain age) have grown up with the horrific stories of our relatives who were Genocide survivors. It’s important to call attention to why the current events in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey demand world leaders’ intervention since there are far greater ramifications than just who has the right to Nagorno-Karabakh!