GLENDALE–The Hunger Strikers on Friday delivered a letter to the Armenian Consulate, requesting it be forwarded to Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian. The letter called on Sarkisian “to heed the voice of the Armenian people and refrain from signing these dangerous protocols,” which are set to receive their first endorsement by the Armenian and Turkish Foreign Ministers Saturday in Zurich.
Below is the text of the letter:
Dear President Sargsyan,
We write to you as a group of over 35 Armenian youth who have gone without food and shelter for over 72 hours in front of the Armenian Consulate of Los Angeles. We have chosen to carry out this hunger strike in the name of all those Armenians who have sacrificed and struggled throughout the years for the Armenian Cause—a Cause which is being put under jeopardy through the proposed signing of the Armenia-Turkey Protocols.
As the descendents of Genocide survivors, we cannot allow the historical reality of the Armenian Genocide to be put into question through the creation of a so-called historical commission. We find such an initiative to be another tool for Turkey to use in its age-old campaign to distort and deny the veracity of the Armenian Genocide.
As Armenians, we cannot stay silent as your administration goes against the will of the majority of our people worldwide who have demonstrated their opposition to these flawed and one-sided documents. We will not stand idly by as the voice of our nation is silenced and made a mockery of through empty gestures and a facade of “consultation.”
As human beings, we stand for peace and friendly relations between all peoples. However, such relations—in order to be sustainable—must be based on truth and justice. Rather than developing normal ties without preconditions, these protocols are nothing more than the imposition of Turkey’s long-held demands against Armenia after 16 years of an illegal blockade. We find such an agreement to be detrimental for both Armenia’s statehood and true peace between the two nations.
As youth, we know the Armenian people have lasted throughout the years through sacrifice and struggle. The world’s eyes were opened up to the reality of the Armenian Genocide through years of relentless struggle; Artsakh was liberated through the sacrifice of thousands of our best men and women; and the dream of a free, independent, and united Armenia was kept alive through the perseverance of our people. We cannot let the fruits of this struggle be signed away at the stroke of a pen.
Today, the Armenian youth respectfully call on your government to heed the voice of the Armenian people and refrain from signing these dangerous protocols. We call on you to reject the harmful provisions imposed by Turkey in this agreement and halt this process until Ankara is prepared to lift its blockade and truly normalize relations without preconditions.
“Hunger for Justice” Campaign
Sirely President Serzh Sarkissian .
I am pretty sure you read the letter that was given to your representative in LA , today stating for you not to sign the protocol , and the Youth wrote very nicely about you and your Cabinet .
but if you sign the protocol you will not be addressed as President or Mr President Serzh Sarkisian , you will be called treater and even you will be in the books for ever the treater of the 21st Century .
but you still have a chance to called it off and save your ass Mr Serzh Sarkisoghlu !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If the Armenian Government chooses to insult the diaspora by normalizing relations with criminal Turkey and also accept all the promises which Obama and Javier Solana have given them, they must understand that they will lose a lot. So much of Armenia’s income comes from diaspora funds and assistance. Every year the U.S. President has proposed a tiny foreign aid amount to Armenia, but thanks to the diaspora, Congress increases the sum each time. The annual Thanksgiving Telethon has given so much to Armenia for almost two decades, not to mention the sums which not only the diaspora but many other international assistance bodies gave to Armenia for the 1988 earthquake, while the local Armenians only plundered and stole money, clothes and medicine coming in, as Russian journalist Yuri Rost described in his book “Armenian Tragedy.” Basically the Armenian Government is saying to the diaspora “we don’t care about you or your cause because our cause is a different one.” Not valuing the contribution of their diaspora, Eastern Armenians have been dreaming of doing business with Turkey ever since 1993. It’s almost as if they want to regain economic strength without the help of their huge human resource, the diaspora. I am totally sure any other small and poor Eastern European country would do anything to have a huge human resource like Armenia does, but life is very ironic and unfortunately Armenia doesn’t appreciate what it has. Armenia has totally failed to fully capitalize on its diaspora wealth. It has failed to manage and exploit the tremendous advantages the diaspora has to offer it. The only thing Armenia has done is build hotels and hope to attract foreign tourists. At best, tourism is a seasonal thing and even if the country is full of millions of tourists, that’s only one segment of the economy. Unfortunately, corrupt and even criminal circles with government contacts are in control of those hotels, and even if just their tourist industry is booming but all other industries aren’t, that’s all they care about. I simply understand now that those corrupt circles and oligarchs with government ties, who don’t care if their own fellow citizens are poor or not, also don’t care about the political concerns of the diaspora, especially since the diaspora are not citizens of Eastern Armenia, and that Government is ultimately supposed to serve the interests of Eastern Armenians. The people there think that the diaspora has it well off and lives carefree lives in rich western countries. They have said that the diaspora has its presidents and congresses and parliaments in those rich western countries representing them, therefore today’s Armenian Government is not accountable to the diaspora.
Hye, Arman, Sadly the Armenians of our homeland, led to date by three leaderships, all three lacking in the shnork and the patriotism which served us so well in 1918-1923… These three leaderships, all imbued with the dishonesty of the communistic mentality, fill their pockets, then leave behind a nation needing honesty in their government – a fledgling nation… Actually, our Armenian people shall know that in the Diaspora there exists a ground swell, ‘grassroots’ from many Armenians across USA – led by the ANCA – composed of the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the Survivors who fled the vile Turks. All these generations care more about the Armenians in our homeland – as evidenced in all their dedication/efforts for Haiastan – than these three ‘elected’ leaders whose pockets are full/filled with their ‘acquistions’…
For, with the Survivors, and now their decendants, there is not a difference between our brethern in Haiastan albeit from afar – we work to aid and aspire for a free Haiastan – more honestly than all the three leaderships ‘elected’ in Armenia. – These traitors who steal/take from our Haiastan… Traitors all, scum of the earth! Zghoom elements – deserve to be denied citizenship of Haiastan!… Manooshag