Information for the participants of the Third Global forum “Against the crime of genocide” (Yerevan, December 10-11, 2018).
In Russian – https://aga-tribunal.info/10-12-2018_rus/
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My name is Vahan Babakhanyan. I represent the independent public organization “Crossroad”. I live in the cultural capital of Russia – St. Petersburg. This is also the museum capital – in a city with 5 million citizens there are more than 200 museums. But among them there is only one on the topic of genocide (Holocaust Museum). I draw attention to three topics that are not affected for various reasons.
About Russia, where I live
There are no speeches from 150 million Russia in our forum, and so far this country has not even been mentioned. It is strange that with so many speeches about the Holocaust there was no mention of the country that saved the Jews.
A strange attitude to the subject of genocide is in Russia itself. On the one hand, unfortunately, people in Russia know little and almost don’t write about the Genocide in Cambodia, about the Genocide in Rwanda, Sudan, Bangladesh.
On the other hand, Russia plays a crucial role in Syria, where, according to the Russian Orthodox Church, the Genocide of Christians took place.
On the third hand, it is somehow not customary to talk about the topic of genocides. Thus, the burning by the German fascists of thousands of alive civilians in 186 Belarusian villages is rarely called genocide in Russia. The website of the village Khatyn Memorial Complex reports on the genocide policy, but the site itself has not been updated for 13 years since 2005. Online Guest book is only in Russian, there are only 8 feedback comments in it , only 15 lines of text. Although 40 years before 2005, about 36 million people from more than 100 countries visited the memorial complex.
Together with the colleagues we’re engaged in informing on the topic of the genocide, and in particular, the Armenian Genocide. Despite the fact that Russia recognized the Armenian Genocide by Turkey, this information is not in museums, in textbooks, there are no memorable days in any city, the information about the Armenian Genocide is dosed in the media, etc.
Recently, in St. Petersburg, our Armenian community, for the first time in Russia, installed a large monument (not a khachkar and not near the Armenian church, but in an open public place) in the Memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide. The city’s parliament also was addressed the issue of a memorial day, but was rejected due to the demands of the Turkish lobbyists.
About Western Armenia, where my family roots are from
It should be noted that in our case, in the case of the Armenian Genocide, a recognition from Turkey is completely insufficient. On the agenda is the issue of restoring the legal rights of the Armenian people to 80% of their Homeland, to their land temporarily occupied by Turkey. Last month, we celebrated the 98th anniversary of the Arbitration Award by US President Woodrow Wilson.
Several solid Appeals were sent to the UN from the structures of Western Armenia on dozens of pages, including:
– on the demilitarization of Western Armenia and Cilicia and the withdrawal of the occupation forces of Turkey from these territories,
– on the implementation of the Woodrow Wilson Arbitration Award with a view to establishing the Republic of Western Armenia.
Appeals were sent on behalf of the democratically elected parliament of the Republic of Western Armenia, expressing the interests of its citizens, the descendants of victims of the Armenian Genocide, living in 47 countries, the absolute majority of which recognized the Armenian Genocide.
About Azerbaijan, which continues the genocidal policy against my people
103 years after the peak of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey and 70 years after the adoption of the UN Convention, many things require rethinking and critical auditing. So, unfortunately, the Armenian Genocide is interpreted in a narrow interpretation. The crimes of Azerbaijan are ignored and incorrectly qualified – see Annex below. Neither Azerbaijan nor Artsakh (Karabakh) was mentioned at this forum, although at the First Forum in 2015, Baroness Caroline Cox spoke about the genocidal policy of Azerbaijan and threats against the Republic of Artsakh.
The Armenian Genocide was carried out in both Turkish states. The genocidal policy and criminal genocidal acts of the pan-Turkic tandem of Turkey and Azerbaijan are a single process. The genocidal policy of this tandem continues, not only against the Armenians, but also against other indigenous peoples of the region.
“Crossroad”, an independent public organization of sociological and political science initiatives, is ready to promptly provide any information upon request and share its developments, since studying the Armenian Genocide in its entirety reveals important dependencies and interpretations that may be useful for early detection of threats and timely prevention of genocide crimes. So, one of the conclusions is this: an artificially created state on blood with an artificially created nation is doomed to appropriation of a foreign culture, to distort history, to generate total lies and falsifications, to discriminate against indigenous peoples, it is doomed to a genocidal policy that will regularly lead to crimes of genocide. Otherwise such a state cannot exist and develop. This applies to both countries of the genocidal Pan-Turkic tandem. Countries that committed genocide, that did not recognize, did not repent, did not repay, that are continuing genocidal policy, threats and crimes should be excluded from the United Nations.
Annex
Can you imagine this: in 1918, Turkey along with the Bolsheviks created a new artificial entity on the blood, the second Turkish state by stolen from Iran province name Azerbaijan. Three months after the declaration, Turkish regular troops and the new authorities of this country are destroying tens of Armenian-populated villages, killing tens of thousands of peaceful Armenians. In September 1918, more than 30,000 peaceful Armenians are being killed in Baku.
The policy of annihilating the peaceful Armenians continues every month throughout the region. So, in 1920 more than 20 thousand Armenians are killed in the city of Shushi. The historical territory of the Armenians from ancient times – Artsakh – is illegally annexed. During the World War II, the Azerbaijani authorities sent a record percentage of Armenians to the front — almost 100% of the male population of Artsakh, although only a few percent sent their own. Armenians are sent for slaughter.
The crime of genocide has dozens of forms. There is also such a form – sending the hated nation to the front by the authorities for slaughter. Half of the men died in the war. In 1988, the next atrocities in the city of Sumgait, then throughout Azerbaijan, from where more than half a million Armenians are forced to expell. Even entire cemeteries are destroyed.
More recently, in 2016, was another vile and treacherous military aggression of Azerbaijan. The Ombudsman publishes an official and detailed report entitled “The atrocities of Azerbaijan”. How many more animal crimes should commit this artificially created state, younger than Coca Cola, how many tens of thousands of Armenians should kill the neo-fascist authorities of Azerbaijan, so that scientists, genocide scholars, professors, lawyers, human rights experts, advisers to the UN Secretary-General turn their attention and call crimes against humanity by its own name? But so far, in three global forums, we are talking about everything except the key issue in our region, where the Genocide has been going on for more than 120 years.
What is interesting is that this is probably the first time in history when the object of genocidal politics and genocidal acts – Artsakh – stopped hundreds of times more powerful aggressor and won the imposed war. However, the neo-fascist authorities of Baku, taking advantage of the silence of the international community, using absolutely unacceptable “principles of settlement” on the basis of a distortion of reality, plan revenge and new genocidal threats. How to call the long-term arms supplies by Israel to the genocidal aggressor Azerbaijan and the help of military advisers? Why are the Holocaust experts silent? Which museum has exhibits or information about the Armenian Genocide in Azerbaijan, which lasted 10 times longer than the Holocaust?
In February of this year the Parliament of the Republic of Artsakh unanimously qualified the crimes of the second Turkish state Azerbaijan as a Genocide. Three months ago in September we held the First International Conference “Baku 1918. Continuation of the Armenian Genocide”. On the 100th anniversary of the massacre of Armenians in Baku in September 1918. Organizers: Institute of history of the National Academy of sciences of Armenia, Artsakh Scientific center, Regional Armenian national-cultural autonomy of St. Petersburg. More than 100 participants, 25 reports. Collected and consolidated a huge amount of information, evidences and documents.
Vahan Babakhanyan
Public non-profit organization of sociological and political science initiatives “Crossroad”
Chairman of the standing committee on the recognition, condemnation of the Armenian Genocide and reimbursement for damages of the National Assembly (Parliament) of the Republic of Western Armenia
Deputy chairman of the Regional Armenian national-cultural autonomy of Saint Petersburg on information issues
mob. +7 (911) 022-9633 viber, whatsapp
email bvagan@mail.ru
skype bvahan
www.citizenship-western-armenia.info/en
www.facebook.com/groups/armpeterburg in Russian
www.facebook.com/groups/Armenian.community.in.Russia.English/ in English
Yerevan, Armenia
December 10, 2018
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