Memorial do Genocídio Tsitsernakaberd, Yerevan, República da Armênia © Onnik Krikorian 2008
Depois da resolução não-vinculativa da semana passada ser aprovada por pouco em uma Comissão de Assuntos Exteriores do Congresso instando o governo dos EUA a reconhecer o massacre e deportação de Armênios em 1915 no Império Otomano como Genocídio, as reações na blogosfera parecem ter silenciado, incluindo mesmo aqueles sites armênios que cobrem o assunto ha anos.
No entanto, o que existe é basicamente negativo ou neutro – embora não necessariamente reflexo de comentários ou posts, e até mesmo nenhuma reação, em sites de redes fechadas como o Facebook. Como a maioria dos comentários feitos lá, Life in the Armenian Diaspora [Vida na Diáspora Armênia] resume a reação.
Armenians around the world are celebrating again…. […]
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Again, the White House wasn't able to stop this. Turkey wasn't able to stop it with their threats about relations, borders, protocols etc. I said it two years ago and I'll say it again now. EMPTY THREATS – CALL THEIR BLUFF! Turkey can not afford to lose the U.S. as an ally. They recalled their ambassador then and they recalled him now. BIG DEAL!
Ativista da Federação Revolucionária Armena (ARF) queima bandeira turca, Yerevan, República da Armênia © Onnik Krikorian 2008
No entanto, e em contraste com anos anteriores, quando foram aprovadas resoluções semelhantes, outras vozes alternativas estão fazendo ouvir as suas vozes. Ianyan, por exemplo, não tem certeza do que isto tratá no futuro para ela como uma armênia étnica que vive no exterior.
Right after the vote, Turkey recalled its Ambassador, Namik Tan, back for consultations, Armenian publications swiftly posted the news, status updates and tweets exploded with joy and disappointment on both sides and the Obama administration, who had urged the committee to vote against the resolution, said it will seek to block the bill from coming into fruition.
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As for me, for a moment, I was shocked and surprised, although I probably shouldn’t have been. A similar resolution passed through the same committee in 2007 and was later successfully blocked from ever amounting to anything.
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While we sit in free countries, in our warm houses and flashy cars in our garages, many in Armenia are still suffering from economic turmoil and poverty . There is corruption and discrimination and much more that we, thousands of miles away, have the good fortune to not see. Most diaspora Armenians have never even met a Turk, nor do they want to.
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Do I need the U.S. government to recognize the genocide? Maybe, but I don’t feel any less Armenian, I don’t feel like something is missing if they don’t. My feelings could very well be the result of it not being recognized for so long, who knows.
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The answer still is, for me, “I don’t know.”
Fronteira Turco-Armena, Khor Virap, região do Ararat, República da Armênia © Onnik Krikorian 2005
Outro blog armênio, Global Chaos [Caos Global], por outro lado, é mais crítico, especialmente à luz de um assunto mais urgente à Armênia – a ameaça de um novo conflito com o vizinho Azerbaijão sobre o território disputado de Nagorno Karabakh.
Yes, they made a full circle and we are seeing the whole Armenian Genocide Resolution circus played out all over again. No, I'm not happy with what happened yesterday. I'm very concerned, and I don't think it's going to have ANY positive outcome for Armenia. On the contrary, it might, and I'm afraid, it will only make things worse.
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American-Armenians are all upbeat about it. They learned well how to play this game called “American politics” and they want to stay politically relevant, especially this year, when the mid-term elections might turn out to be unusually interesting. […] But where's Armenia in this equation?
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There is evidently a disconnect between the Diaspora, which, quite understandably, clings to the Genocide problem as a basis for its identity, and the Armenian state, which is striving to survive, attain stability, and establish itself as a significant player on the international arena. […]
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Perhaps it's high time the Armenian government stops relying on the Armenian-American lobby to do both advocacy and public diplomacy in the US on its behalf? […] Yes, it is very commendable. But, it is also detrimental for Armenia, since the foreign policy of one of the most influential countries in the world toward it is being dominated by an issue the significance of which many, on both sides, don't even understand anymore.
Again, I am not saying that the Genocide should be neglected or forgotten. What I'm saying is that the focus should switch, since with the resolution of the Karabakh problem might just open a leeway for more constructive and reconciliatory dialogue on the Genocide as well. If the Diaspora lets Armenia be, that is…
O blog também levanta a preocupação de que essa resolução irá aumentar o nível de nacionalismo na Turquia, algo que parece ser corroborado por um blog turco, Talk Turkey.
Do the Armenians really think that some soiling-their-pants Congressmen care about the Armenians’ plight? Was this part of a ploy, a plan of pushing Turkey off-track and into radicalism, alienating the ‘model’ integration of secularism and Muslim-ness, and thereby prove to the ‘world’ that a moderate Islam doesn't exist?
[…] I am now definitely not in a reconciliatory mood any longer. In fact, I say ‘let the games begin!’
Memorial do Genocídio Tsitsernakaberd, Yerevan, República da Armênia © Onnik Krikorian 2008