1983_04 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper Spring 1983

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3 alternatives to violence
The following have been edited. In the case of Mr. Utuchian's essay, additional
paraphrasing has occured. All were students in a course entitled "Armenian Political
Violence" held during the Fall 1982 semester.
by Dickran Utuchian
The Fall 1982 semester's Armenian
Studies Program offerings were complemented with the introduction of a new
and rather interesting two-Saturday, one-
unit course taught by Dr. Dickran
Kouymjian, coordinator of the Armenian
Studies Program.
A subject of a nature such as this
course deals with political controversies
as well as emotional involvement, and one
would expect all sorts of people to be
present in the event, such as those whose
main purpose was to disrupt the class.
Others just attended the lecture as
"watch dogs" in case something inadequate was accidentally said. The rest of
the audience came very open-minded and
in one way or another accepted the ideas
proposed. As it is clearly noticeable, it is
quite difficult to keep such a diversified
group of students under control without
deviating from the planned topic of discussion to some extent. Nevertheless,
the professor managed to control the
situation.
This description belongs to a course
whose context attempted to analyze one
of today's most important Armenian-
related controversies combined with the
situation of a forgotten people: "Armenian Political Violence."
Why would a course of such a nature
be offered? The answer could not be
much simpler. First of all, acts of Armenian political violence are taking place
quite often during the last decade, therefore the opportunity of studying and discussing such prerogatives on part of
those Armenian militant operating groups
against representatives of the Turkish
government cannot be wasted. Since this
is in fact occurring, there must be some
type of rationalized explanation and we
shouldn't be unconcerned with it.
Secondly, the bibliography available is
intangible and irrelevant since these acts
have been subjected to manipulations
and "fear-involvement" of all types, thereby making all existing material unreliable.
The course was not intended to either
support or completely discredit such acts
but rather to criticize them in a constructive type of critique. The main objective of
the arranged lectures was to give a history
and analysis of the recent wave of Armenian political violence and the effects that
they have had on the Armenian community in general and the mass media, combined with its relationship to the Genocide committed to the Armenians by the
Turkish State from 1915 to 1918, where
more than 2,000,000 Armenians were
slaughtered. The relationship of political
violence to the Armenian Question, which
deals with the restitution of the historical
Armenian homeland to the Armenians,
was also considered.
Still we may freely ask: Was it worth
offering the course, or a waste of time?
According to many, this set of lectures
presented a good, valid, and reliable
source to bring about and expose students, Armenians, and others-since everybody was welcome to assist-to the ongoing problematic arena that Armenians
from all over are confronting nowadays.
In addition to this, we should also realize
and take into consideration how difficult it
is to get well informed on this type of
controversy through a qualified medium
that has the knowledge and capacity to
logically discuss and interpret the facts in
such a way that conclusions are neither
affected nor driven out of a particular or
personal belief, but based on a relevant
set of ideas derived from common sense.
by Sharon Toroian
I have one idea for a peaceful activity
that in conjunction with other activities
may aid in resolving the Armenian Question.
My idea is to put a proposition on the
ballot that would call on the governor to
contact the President to initiate a dialogue
to discuss the Armenian Question.
This activity could educate Armenians
and non-Armenians alike on the Armenian Question and give the many diverse
Armenian organizations throughout the
state a common project. It could also
involve Armenians that do not belong to
any organization. A separate commitee
could oversee the campaign.
Armenians could use many possible
ways to advertise and educate the public:
speakers, booths, programs, rallies,
marches, panel discussions, television,
radio, print media, etc.
Even if the proposition does not pass,
all Armenians, despite their political
beliefs could become involved in gathering signatures and becoming educated to
discuss the issue with the voters. The
activity would also educate Armenians
about political activity.
by Sam B. Pena
As an American of non-Armenian ancestry, I was recently made aware of the horrible and absolutely inhuman act of genocide that was committed by the Turkish
government on the Armenian people. I
can't help but feel sorrow and pity. However, what I feel most strongly is anger at
the realization that such an act occurred
and was condoned by the world powers
(including the United States)
which knew the massacres were taking
place and yet allowed them to continue.
No crime should ever be condoned or
allowed to go unpunished, especially this
one. The guilty party in this case, the
Turkish government, must be made to
pay for its crime. For humanity's sake, we
all have an obligation to see that justice is
done. This is an obligation that belongs to
every human being and not just the
Armenian people.
But how can we expect justice to be
done when even our own government
refuses to recognize the fact that the
crime was committed even in light of
insurmountable evidence?
We must demand that our government
and other governments recognize the fact
that the crime occurred and that it must
take immediate action to see that justice
is carried out. The Armenian Question
must be resolved and their demands must
be met.
While I can sympathize greatly with
those who have elected to take drastic
and violent action as a means of attaining
some form of justice, I feel that this course
of action may only serve to undermine the
cause. We must resort to non-violent
means of attracting attention to the
cause, because if we resort to violence,
we may only prove to be just as insane
and inhuman as the Turks who
committed the atrocities.
Education of the public does not
necessarily mean imparting knowledge at
an educational institution, although it is
undoubtedly the most effective and
productive means. Education of the public can also be imparted by the news
media. For example, annual commemorative ceremonies of the Armenian
genocide could be organized in more
communities throughout the country.
The nationwide commemorative services
would undoubtedly attract national
attention by the news media. College
and university courses in Armenian
studies (such as this course) are an
essential part of the non-violent
approach. Most college students end up
in influential positions such as education,
law, and politics after
graduation.
Another form of non-violent action and
perhaps the most important is obtained
through the political system. Governmental action can be influenced greatly if
more Armenian-Americans or others
who understand and support the cause
can be elected to public office.
The general public can write letters to
the State Department demanding action,
or can organize peaceful demonstrations
for the purpose of acquiring public
support and governmental action.
y/y/y//////y////yyy////////yM//M^^
ARMENIAN STU
* ARM S 010 INTRO TO ARMENIAN STUDIES
3 units, Malkasian, 0910-1000,
MWF, LS 175
The history, geography, literature, language and art of Armenia from ancient
times to the present with emphasis on
resources, bibliography and report
writing.
* ARM TO MONGOL INV
3 units, Malkasian, 1310-1400,
MWF, SG 131
History of Armenia and the Armenians
from prehistoric times to the 13th century Mongol invasions will be considered
from Armenia's point of view as well as
from that of its neighbors: Assyria, Iran,
Rome, Byzantium, the Arabs, and the Sel-
juk Turks.
* ARM S 001A ELEM ARMENIAN
4 units, Karamanlian, 1510-1600
MWF in IA115 and 1510-1600 Th in
SS109
Beginning course of graded lessons
acquainting the student with basic structure and pronunciation of Armenian
through practice, reading and writing.
Credit by examination is offered during
the first four weeks to advanced
speakers.
*For more information, call the
294-2669, or visit San Ramon 5, Ro
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