AYF says Genocide no 'old conflict'
Dear The Age Editor,
Your editorial dated 17th May 2006 "This is not the place to revive old conflicts", is in a sense contradictory to the foundations of journalism; contradictory because it empowers the campaigns of lies, deceit and denial against the Armenian Genocide.
Efforts to seek condemnation for a crime against humanity as heinous as genocide should by no way be classified as an attempt to revive old conflicts. Reducing an issue as serious and sensitive as genocide to a mere conflict is not only demeaning to the groups of people directly affected by the tragedy, but desensitises the wider public to all genocide - such as the situation in present day Darfur - by linking genocide with the term conflict. Genocide is not a conflict, it is the systematic extermination of a race, a minority or a group of people and the victims have little or no chance to save themselves let alone retaliate.
In a civilized society, the open condemnation of human rights issues which would otherwise be considered politically sensitive is not a taboo subject. People who have little or no knowledge of the Armenian Genocide and similar atrocities committed against the Pontian Greeks and Assyrians in Ottoman Turkey should not be influenced into playing down such a serious issue based on a highly questionable standpoint which your publication has decided to take. Newspapers are influential and powerful, but that only comes with decades of reputable and respectable journalism, earned through exercising good judgment in the delivery of issues ever-present in the world we live in.
Your editorial has unwillingly empowered the genocidal rhetoric of the hateful, detestable leaders of the past and present who have embarked on campaigns of oppression, massacre, exile and finally Genocide. The campaign of the Armenian Genocide, initiated by the Young Turk Government during the late stages of the Ottoman Empire, still continues in the civilized world that we live in today. The denial of genocide - namely the Armenian Genocide is what encourages the repetition of such a tragedy, such as the Jewish Holocaust and as indicated earlier the crisis in Darfur, Sudan.
It is morally reprehensible to actively hinder efforts - such as the efforts of Labor MP Jenny Mikakos - which attempt gain global condemnation of human rights issues. We are living in a civilized society where acts of crimes against humanity in the past and present are intolerable. The Armenian Genocide, and that of the Pontian Greeks and Assyrians are historical facts, proven by numerous reputable educational research institutions and condemned by many national, state/provincial and municipal legislatures all over the world.
The Age should not compromise its moral and ethical integrity by blindly and ignorantly arguing a case which is detrimental to the values of civilized society. The cornerstone of the highly refined society we have now is based on good moral and ethical judgment. We now ask you to reconsider your standpoint and exercise moral clarity on the issue of the Armenian Genocide and address it accordingly in your future publications.
Yours faithfully,
Kevork Sarhad Tufenkjian
Chairperson
Armenian Youth Federation of Australia
