June 29, 2006


Candlelight Vigil in Yerevan

Republic Square, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online 2006

Via Cilicia.com’s Life in Armenia Blog I heard that a candlight light vigil in support of the current U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans was due to be staged in Yerevan’s Republic Square at 10pm on Wednesday night.

Tonight there’s going to be a protest in Republic Square - simultaneous with the Senate confirmation hearings in Washington DC for Ambassador Evans’ replacement. It will be a candlelight vigil, hopefully with a good turnout, and the Senate will be informed of the event. So if you’re in Yerevan and want to do a bit of activism for a great cause, show up at (I think) 10pm tonight and be a part of this.

Evans apparently irritated his superiors by publicly acknowledging the 1915-18 massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as Genocide, and many believe that his tenure in Armenia was cut short for this reason.

President George W. Bush has officially confirmed the impending dismissal of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans which Armenian circles in the United States attribute to the diplomat’s public recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide.

[…]

Evans has been tipped to lose his current job for the last three months. Armenian-American groups and activists have suggested that he is paying the price for his controversial reference to the mass killings and deportations of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey as “genocide.”

[…]

Evans openly contradicted the long-running policy of successive U.S. administrations when he declared in a February 2005 speech in California that “the Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the 20th century.”

Anyway, the protest was timed to coincide with Senate hearings on Evans’ replacement as well as to raise concerns with recent remarks made by a senior U.S. official on democratization in Armenia and Azerbaijan.

There weren’t many people in attendance, although that’s unfortunately pretty much run-of-the-mill these days, but what was interesting is that although the crowd was a mix, Armenian-Americans are slowly starting to involve themselves in organizing and attending demonstrations in Armenia.

About 30 percent of those attending the anti-racist protest outside the Russian Embassy at the beginning of the month were also Diasporan Armenians. I posted some pics from that demo here and here.

Republic Square, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online 2006

Posted by Onnik @ 12:37 am. Filed under: Armenia, Armenian Diaspora, Turkey, Armenian Genocide, Caucasus, United States, History




7 Comments »

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  1. Very impressive and wonderful event! John Evans is a fair judging, and a very brave person. Bravo John Evans!!! The Armenian Genocide has happened! My father was a survivor of the Armenian Genocide, fromYozgad, Turkey, and he had been given an interview by Zoryan Institut, five months before his death, in Sept. 1988, and I have my copy of that interview. The truth may not be hidden. In everything, one way or another, the truth will prevail. Turkey better admit its big mistake, and let apologize to the Armenian nation.

    Comment by Maro Badiguian-Shirvanian — June 29, 2006 @ 2:32 am

  2. I’d like to know what happens if both Turkey and the US recognize the Genocide? What do Armenians do then? I’ve been posing this question to individuals and to readers on my blog but haven’t received a straight answer. I’m convinced that no one wants to think about it. When Armenia became free and independent, people began making excuses not to take part in building democracy there–they continue to do so. What will happen to the Armenian cause after Genocide recognition–would there cease to be a cause, or will the Armenian lobbying groups focus their attention on other issues? I would say that efforts will wain, since the Genocide topic has been a way to unite Armenians in a common cause, and in a way has been guaranteing the preservation of their “Armenianess.” I can’t imagine what people will obsess about after recognition.

    Comment by Christian — June 29, 2006 @ 2:07 pm

  3. Respect…

    Comment by Angry Root — June 29, 2006 @ 9:32 pm

  4. Glad you covered this…

    Comment by Anonymous — June 30, 2006 @ 7:20 am

  5. RFE/RL has more on the U.S. Senate hearing and Evans’ replacement.

    U.S. senators failed to persuade the nominee for U.S. ambassador to Armenia to describe the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians last century as “genocide.”

    “I have not received any kind of written instruction about this,” Ambassador-designate Richard E. Hoagland said Wednesday. “I simply have studied the president’s policy. I’ve studied the background papers on the policy. And my responsibility is to support the president.”

    The Bush administration does not question that Turkish troops in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire killed or drove from their homes 1.5 million Armenians starting in 1915. In a presidential message on the 91st anniversary April 24, President George W. Bush called it “a terrible chapter of history” that “remains a source of pain for people in Armenia and for all those who believe in freedom, tolerance and the dignity and value of every human life.” As in previous such messages, he omitted using the word “genocide” to describe what happened.

    […]

    Bush is ordering home the current ambassador in Yerevan, John Evans, two years into the normal three-year diplomatic term. In announcing his recall last month, the White House gave no reason and praised Evans for his service. Last Sunday was his second anniversary in the Armenian capital. In February 2005, Evans told Armenian-Americans, “The Armenian genocide was the first genocide of the 20th century.”

    Sixty members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice protesting that Evans was being punished for his reference to “genocide.” In a separate letter, Democratic Senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry of Massachusetts demanded an explanation from Rice for Evans’ recall.

    […]

    “I fully agree that the events that occurred in 1915 and following were of historic proportions, as I said, well-documented, horrific, horrifying,” said Hoagland, who is currently the ambassador to Tajikistan. He quoted Senator Paul Sarbanes, a Maryland Democrat, who read a statement about the situation, that “hundreds of valleys (were) devastated, no family untouched. It was historic. It was a tragedy, everyone fully agrees with that, sir.”

    The full report is here.

    Comment by Onnik — June 30, 2006 @ 11:21 am

  6. Garo, this issue was touched upon in an interview with Asbed Kotchikian some time back.

    OK: Do you think that integration in international structures is more important for the Armenian government than appeasing the Diaspora? Also, if there was recognition of the Genocide, what would the Diaspora do afterwards?

    AK: Regarding the first question, no, they’re as important. International organizations have more structured ways of integrating Armenia into larger processes be that good or bad, that’s beside the point. In the case of the Diaspora, you have money coming in, even though it’s channeled through the government. They’re equal and they achieve different things. I don’t think it’s a matter or prioritizing between the two.

    As for the role of the Diaspora after Genocide recognition, it would most probably transform into what the Jewish and other lobbying groups in the United States do. It would be aimed at supporting the government in terms of policy and aid. That transformation is already happening so it wouldn’t have so much of an impact on the lobbying groups.

    Identity wise, there would be a kind of sense of relief. People in Armenia are able to transcend the victim mentality whereas in the Diaspora you don’t have that yet. They’re still under that [psychological] pressure. Would identity change? Perhaps but I think that might even strengthen a connection with Armenia and Armenians. Of course, don’t forget that if the Genocide were recognized then the next step would be lobbying for reparations.

    There would always be something to lobby for — either land or financial reparations. In any case, it would be a turning point for the Diaspora in terms of identity.

    The full interview is here.

    Comment by Onnik — June 30, 2006 @ 2:46 pm

  7. There’s more coverage of the vigil on the blog of the Armenian Volunteer Corps here.

    Comment by Onnik — July 1, 2006 @ 12:37 am

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