Dave

Since it is May Day, let's discuss the contributions that the USSR made to Armenia! For starters, the genocide-ravaged province of Erevan transformed into the organized and industrious Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia.

Զանազան սուտեր կը ստեղծեն (Hittites are Turks, Scythians are Turks, etc.), բայց միայն ինքզինքնին կը խաբեն այդ կերպով: Բոլորս ալ գիտենք Թուրքը ինչ է:

Կարեւորը ժողովուրդն է որ Լաւալի մէջ կ՛ապրի:

Shahan, take a closer look at Armenian history around the year 1000. Bagratid Armenia fell because of decades of exhausting wars against the Byzantine Empire, NOT because of its inaptness to build a strong military. The Byzantines and Armenians had strong armies, but they were pitted against each other instead of against the approaching Seljuks. Moreover, the Armenian ruler of Vaspurakan sold himself to the Byzantines and moved to Sivas with his people. Anyway this is far from the initial topic.

Պէտք է անդրադառնան որ իրենց պապենական հողը չէ՛ Մերձաւոր Արեւելքը (i.e. Asia Minor).

Լուալ

Վազելով պիտի երթամ հէհէ I won't be using it regularly yet.

Դեր սխալ կարծիքներ ունիս ՀՅԴին մասին: Այլեւս ՄԻԱՅՆ հողերու համար չէ իր պայքարը: Այդ մէկը իրաւ էր երբ դեր Հայաստան գոյութիւն չուներ տակաւին: Պարապ accusationներ մի ըներ ՀՅԴին: Don't say "it must be doing something right", because the same can be said for ARF which distinguished itself from the rest.

The metro has finally arrived in Laval, after decades of promises.

Սիրտդ կ՛այրի նաեւ երբ կը տեսնես որ Ախդամարի Ս Խաչ եկեղեցւոյ 4 կողմը Թուրքիոյ դրօշակը կախուեր է: Գիտեն որ մենք կը ցանկանք այդ հողերուն եւ դեր մեր աչքերուն կը խոթեն որ իրենցն է:

Մոնթէն ինչո՛ւ ահաբեկչութեան դէմ կը խօսի: Ինքն իսկ ահաբեկիչ է: Besides, one has to establish a distinction between ASALA, which committed those acts, and ARF.

The various revolutionary groups did try to organize the Armenian people militarily.

Ճիշդ ես: Հայերը պիտի ուտեն Թրքական պետութիւնը, որ արդեն Հայու արիւնին վրայ յիմնուած է: Նաեւ, Քիւրտերը, Արաբները, Յոյները, եւայլն:

You still didn't explain how you're going to deal with Turks and Azeris. Building a strong military isn't enough. You can't simply ignore them.

Turkey faces military crisis EU warns generals as army threatens to step in if Islamist minister wins presidential election Turkey came under mounting pressure from the European Union last night to rein in the influence of its generals, after the country's powerful pro-secular military threatened to intervene in the Islamic-oriented government amid growing turmoil over the election of a new President. Olli Rehn, the European Union enlargement commissioner, who has been a keen supporter of Ankara's eventual accession to the bloc, warned the military to stay out of politics, saying the election was a 'test case' for the Turkish military's respect for democracy. Rehn issued the salvo after Turkey's general staff weighed in on the dispute, saying they would not flinch at intervention if it meant upholding the Muslim state's cherished secular values. The country's secular elite has voiced grave concerns over the government's choice of Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul as a presidential candidate, given the politician's Islamist beliefs - his wife and daughter wear the headscarf. 'The Chief of the General Staff is answerable to the Prime Minister,' declared Cemil Cicek, justice Minister in the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is a former Islamist but has pledged his commitment to Turkey's secular political system. Military intervention would be 'inconceivable in a democratic state,' Cicek said. Within hours of Gul's failure to win enough votes in a first round of balloting on Friday, the military, which has staged four coups in the past 50 years, posted a statement on its website invoking its role as defender of the country's secular traditions as laid out by Turkey's modern soldier-statesman founder, Mustafa Ataturk. 'In recent days, the problem during the presidential election has focused on secularism discussions,' the statement said. 'This situation has been anxiously followed by the Turkish armed forces. The Turkish armed forces maintains its firm determination to carry out its clearly specified duties to protect these principles and has absolute loyalty and belief in this determination.' The statement then went on to list the ruling AK party's perceived violations of secularism, including the fact that some headmasters had been allowed to order the celebration of the Prophet Muhammad's birthday. The military made the announcement after the secular opposition appealed to the state's constitutional court to cancel the election. Many fear that if elected, Gul would be in a position to do away with the checks and balances built into system by eroding the secular nature of the courts and other autonomous bodies and appointing Islamic-oriented candidates to powerful civil service positions. Recently, hundreds of thousands demonstrated against the prospect of the Prime Minister running in the election, whose second round takes place this week. According to Professor Ahmet Evin, who teaches political science at Istanbul's Sabanci University: 'People fear that if someone who is suspected of having Islamist leanings takes control of the post, it will allow the AK party to move ahead on its Islamist agenda.' A former firebrand, Erdogan has fiercely denied that he has a hidden agenda, but critics say his actions often speak louder than words. Since assuming office nearly five years ago, he has publicly endorsed the lifting of restrictions on women wearing Islamic-style headscarves in government offices and schools, attempted to outlaw adultery and approved of alcohol bans by AK party-run municipalities. In the first round of the election last week, Gul failed to reach the two-thirds vote he needed to win. A second vote is scheduled for Wednesday, when he will need a simple majority. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story...2067955,00.html

You have it wrong. I don’t know where you’re fishing this distorted information. They were demanding more rights for the Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire, especially the ones living in the east, who were persecuted regularly. The Armenians in Europe (France) weren’t mistreated. They work in the interests of all Armenians. You’re just taking a wild guess. Don't you care about revenge? What are you calling excess baggage ? This has nothing to do with my comment, but yeah, our strength is in our unity. It is an obvious fact. You are entitled to your opinion. By the way, it has been argued by who? This is nothing special. Everybody realizes that the Armenians need jobs and a good economy. It is true that we are left with Armenia for now, i.e. 29,800, not 45,000. Before counting Karabagh and the surrounding lands in Armenia, tell me how it`d be recognized.

Unfortunately, you have completely distanced yourself from your great-grandparents and family. You should instead head towards the future while not forgetting about the past. You also have to accept the fact that Turks and Azeris are our troublesome neighbours and won’t disappear in the future. We need to deal with them one way or another, whether we like it or not. That’s true. But they’ve imposed a blockade and the Armenian people can’t ignore that. Creating a viable Armenian state is obviously important. The republic is in fact the only thing we have for now, and it is our duty as Armenians to strengthen it. In regards to the genocide issue, we can’t do much for the moment other than countering Turkish denial and stupidities. (I expect that you're not against this.) Anything else wouldn’t be realistic and would be a waste of time and energy. The ARF obviously realizes all of this today. It also realizes the fact that the lands issue is a distant one, but keeps it alive regardless. I think that it is doing the right thing in keeping it alive. But what do you consider “being trapped in the past”? In reality, the diaspora complains about the genocide because it is the only reason why the diaspora exists. Our Anatolian origins are even reflected in our family names. That’s right. We’re assisting the rebirth of Armenia, and we have to make sure that it matures well. The same can be said about the Armenian demands for land. By the way, our demands for land are even reflected in the emblem of the Armenian republic, with Ararat right in the center, and with the ancient dynasties of the Arshakounis, Artaxiads, Bagratunis, and Roupenids. What are you talking about? Of course, the republic exists today and has to be defended for future Armenians. I’m not against the development of the Armenian military. I’ve never said that!

What is more interesting is the routes that go through Turkey to reach Europe.

He's a fedayee, not an intellectual. Nobody would adhere to your ideas. That's totally false. Okay, then: Let's forget the genocide and the Turkish+Azeri enemies that are waiting to complete the job. Let's get on with our selfish careless occidental lifestyles. Let's forget all the losses and work with the Armenia we have. That's what you want.

Yeah, the event in front of the genocide memorial was on CTV on April 24th.

The protest was a success. Here's a video of a great speech that was delivered towards the end: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfTmOBqiHpc

And you are parroting Monte’s lines from his book! He’s not exactly what I would call a trustable source. Besides, he’s from the US so if anyone’s a spy and troublemaker, it’s him. We aren’t simply limited by the Sevres treaty in our demands. Sevres is merely a legal backing to our demands; the Turkish government of that time was forced to agree with it. This is why the Treaty of Sevres is overly cited in Tashnag circles. This is a lie often propagated by Turkish nationalists, who also say that the Hittites, Urartians, and even the Native Americans were Turkish. It is a fact that the Seljuk Turks came to Anatolia in the 11th century AD via Iran. They were heavily influenced by Iranian culture. Farsi and Arabic were official languages and were used by the educated people. That is why their self-consciousness as Turks is questionable. Besides, we Armenians continued to have an important presence in our historical lands until the massacres of 1896 and 1915. These are how the Turks made their way through Anatolia; through pillage, rape, murder, genocide, etc. The “Kurds” never had a collective identity. A Kurd would identify himself with his tribe rather than with his nation which, in fact, doesn’t really exist. Read books from Armenian authors of the late 19th century, and you’d see how it was. Glad you agree with this, at least… Continuing the struggle is important, but I forgot to tell you that Tashnagtsoutioun doesn’t only demand land. It also has had projects in Armenia, like building schools, restoring villages, etc. It is also a social organization that, along with its sister organizations, organizes popular events... The homeland is not complete. Besides, I'm not questioning the necessity of a homeland. As Armenak said, these are mere ideas. Go ahead and implement them. Oh please… Don’t you know that most of Armenia’s terrain is a semi-desert? I am obviously not against creating wealth and prosperity in Armenia – don’t make it look like I am - but that’s not the only thing that irritates the Armenian people. Our economic troubles are caused by the Turkish and Azerbaijani blockade of Armenia, as well as the earthquake in Northern Armenia and, most importantly, the separation of Armenia from the Soviet Union which had developed Armenia like never before. Where did you get these numbers? Who said that pan-turan is supported by over 35 million Turks? Besides, numbers don’t matter; Armenians have repeatedly proven this. As you told it to me, why don’t you think by yourself?

For the lands issue, do not forget that we generally base ourselves on the Sèvres Treaty (Wilsonian Armenia). http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c...dan2english.jpg

The patch of land in which we have lived for the past 2500 years has always been called Armenia, and has been populated with Armenian people which developed a unique national identity throughout the years. This is false... Living in a diaspora doesn’t make us united physically. We're not united ideologically either. Face it, Western Armenians don't have a very bright future outside of Armenia. Okay… All of the countries that you are talking about have access to sea, and can easily communicate with Europe. Armenia doesn’t enjoy this luxury because of Turkey. On top of that, Lebanon and Israel are located in what is called the “Fertile Crescent”. Our portion of the Fertile Crescent (i.e. Armenian Mesopotamia) has been taken from us. Unlike the aforementioned countries, the Republic of Armenia is mountainous and not easily exploitable. These are why you can’t compare them with Armenia. Besides, even Lebanon has territorial demands (i.e.: Shebaa farms issue), as well as Israel. For the rest: Money isn’t everything. Leave your exorbitant materialism to rest. But it is continuously used. EDIT: I should also add that they are to be taken together, not separately. It shouldn’t be a top priority for Armenia. Armenia has to be open to the rest of the world in order to be accessible for European markets that would import these things. Or else, nobody would take our stuff.

For thousands of years, the Armenian nation functioned politically and culturally, and prospered economically, because the people and the Highland were united. Today, the nation is mutilated because of the Armenian genocide. It is as if Armenia has kept its head (i.e. the people), but has lost its hands and legs (i.e. the land). This is why we do not know if modern Armenia will be able to “գոյատեւել” in the coming centuries. Its future is uncertain. We can’t function this way; tiny Armenia would either be dependent of regional powers (asking them to do what we can’t do by ourselves) or would die out. That is why uniting the people and land is necessary. A few decades ago people would have thought that you're nuts if you said that Armenia will separate from the Soviet Union and will form a republic. That is why I continue to have faith in "Azad angakh ou miatsyal Hayasdan". Armenia doesn’t have the money, the time, or the luxury to develop such things for the same reasons that I pointed out earlier.