Watertown Commemorates Genocide with Call to Go Forward

"The Armenian Weekly", Volume 74, No. 18, May 3, 2007

WATERTOWN, Mass. (A.W.)—On April 24, the Greater Boston Committee to Commemorate the Armenian Genocide presented its 93rd anniversary ceremonies in the St. James Armenian Church Sanctuary and St. James Keljik Hall.

Presiding clergy read Ezekiel 37 as the thematic gospel tone for the evening.

The Sayat Nova Dance Company of Boston presented a solo dance performance in memoriam, followed by remarks by Dr. Dikran Kaligian, chairperson of the ANCA-Eastern Region and a professor of history at Westfield State College.

Kaligian spoke of the recent high-profile controversy surrounding Congress’s support for the Armenian Genocide recognition bill. “This fall with House Resolution 106, we saw unprecedented examples of extreme behavior on behalf of the Turkish lobby. … The President of the United States went out on the White House lawn to persuade Congress not to pass this resolution.”

Yet, despite the resolution’s tabling, he said, Armenians must not lose steam and must know how far they have come and how truly close to victory they as a community are.

“Let’s remember, Turkey can’t do this all the time. They had to pull out all the stops this year. They had to come up with new and desperate strategies. We are winning the war, even if this battle was a setback,” he said.

“How much did it cost Turkey to do all this?” Kaligian asked, noting that having U.S. troops in Iraq allowed for some leverage on the side of those blocking the resolution. “Hopefully we will not be in Iraq forever and that weapon will disappear.”

Turning to speak about the controversy surrounding the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and its position on the Armenian Genocide, Kaligian said, “It began here in Watertown. Let’s remember what our efforts here started. From the front page of the Boston Globe to the front pages of Europe, Israel, and South America, articles were written educating people about the Armenian Genocide.”

He continued, “That united solidarity is why the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) this month voted to stop its sponsorship of the No Place for Hate program. But we have to show ourselves as one because there are people in the Turkish government, and yes in the U.S. government, looking for divisions and fissures among us.”

“Turkey is looking for ‘the Good Armenians,’” he said, “who won’t force them to do any more. We cannot allow such Armenians to tell them, ‘Say the words and we’ll leave you alone.’”

He contrasted Turkey’s geo-political power today to the Cold War, and warned against making any concessions. “Do we really think Turkey is more powerful than the Soviet Union was? I think not. We cannot limit ourselves to what we only think possible today.”

Kaligian furthered, “We cannot betray those who marched through the desert by giving up too cheaply. It is also vital for Haiastan. Why is Armenia so weak? Because it is so small. Were Karabagh and the Ararat plain to be reunited with Armenia, Haiastan could free itself.”

“Remember, Armenia is only one-sixteenth of its original size. Let us remember all these things on April 24. We need to rededicate ourselves. Whatever we have to do, we must do. We owe it to future generations.”

Pulitzer-prize winning investigative journalist Steve Kurkjian spoke next, saying of the Armenian Genocide, “The event still defines us as a people. We are a small tribe, but to every shore we were cast, we thrived and survived.”

He continued, “It is up to us now to make sure that the past is honored. Each of us must look into ourselves and put our own price on forgiveness. For myself, I would only ask the Turkish government to allow us to restore our ancient churches that desperately need restoration.”

Kurkjian ended, “We don’t shy away from our past, we work with it. Until the funeral masses take place for us there, there can be no certainty in saying, ‘Never Again.’”

A musical performance by renowned cellist Ani Kalayjian followed the speakers, along with served mezze.