Announcement

Collapse

Forum Rules (Everyone Must Read!!!)

1] What you CAN NOT post.

You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this forum to post any material which is:
- abusive
- vulgar
- hateful
- harassing
- personal attacks
- obscene

You also may not:
- post images that are too large (max is 500*500px)
- post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or cited properly.
- post in UPPER CASE, which is considered yelling
- post messages which insult the Armenians, Armenian culture, traditions, etc
- post racist or other intentionally insensitive material that insults or attacks another culture (including Turks)

The Ankap thread is excluded from the strict rules because that place is more relaxed and you can vent and engage in light insults and humor. Notice it's not a blank ticket, but just a place to vent. If you go into the Ankap thread, you enter at your own risk of being clowned on.
What you PROBABLY SHOULD NOT post...
Do not post information that you will regret putting out in public. This site comes up on Google, is cached, and all of that, so be aware of that as you post. Do not ask the staff to go through and delete things that you regret making available on the web for all to see because we will not do it. Think before you post!


2] Use descriptive subject lines & research your post. This means use the SEARCH.

This reduces the chances of double-posting and it also makes it easier for people to see what they do/don't want to read. Using the search function will identify existing threads on the topic so we do not have multiple threads on the same topic.

3] Keep the focus.

Each forum has a focus on a certain topic. Questions outside the scope of a certain forum will either be moved to the appropriate forum, closed, or simply be deleted. Please post your topic in the most appropriate forum. Users that keep doing this will be warned, then banned.

4] Behave as you would in a public location.

This forum is no different than a public place. Behave yourself and act like a decent human being (i.e. be respectful). If you're unable to do so, you're not welcome here and will be made to leave.

5] Respect the authority of moderators/admins.

Public discussions of moderator/admin actions are not allowed on the forum. It is also prohibited to protest moderator actions in titles, avatars, and signatures. If you don't like something that a moderator did, PM or email the moderator and try your best to resolve the problem or difference in private.

6] Promotion of sites or products is not permitted.

Advertisements are not allowed in this venue. No blatant advertising or solicitations of or for business is prohibited.
This includes, but not limited to, personal resumes and links to products or
services with which the poster is affiliated, whether or not a fee is charged
for the product or service. Spamming, in which a user posts the same message repeatedly, is also prohibited.

7] We retain the right to remove any posts and/or Members for any reason, without prior notice.


- PLEASE READ -

Members are welcome to read posts and though we encourage your active participation in the forum, it is not required. If you do participate by posting, however, we expect that on the whole you contribute something to the forum. This means that the bulk of your posts should not be in "fun" threads (e.g. Ankap, Keep & Kill, This or That, etc.). Further, while occasionally it is appropriate to simply voice your agreement or approval, not all of your posts should be of this variety: "LOL Member213!" "I agree."
If it is evident that a member is simply posting for the sake of posting, they will be removed.


8] These Rules & Guidelines may be amended at any time. (last update September 17, 2009)

If you believe an individual is repeatedly breaking the rules, please report to admin/moderator.
See more
See less

Ara Sarafian letter to Ertuğrul Günay

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Ara Sarafian letter to Ertuğrul Günay




    An open letter to Mr. Ertuğrul Günay, minister of tourism and culture

    Dear Mr. Minister,

    I wish to congratulate the Turkish Ministry of Tourism and Culture for its planned initiative to honor the American-Armenian writer, William Saroyan, with a museum dedicated to him in his ancestral town of Bitlis.



    Saroyan was born in Fresno, California, but his forefathers came from Bitlis. The proposed museum will be the first time a diaspora Armenian -- a much-maligned category in some quarters in Turkey -- will be recognized as a fellow "Anatolian" of Turkish citizens today. I hope your initiative will contribute to a more sympathetic discussion of the Armenian cultural heritage of Anatolia (and there are many beautiful examples of this) and the Anatolian roots of Armenians.

    You must be aware that your announcement of establishing a Saroyan museum in Bitlis will lead to some obvious questions: If there were Armenians in Bitlis, what were they like and what happened to them? If there are no Armenians left there, why are they not there today?

    Allow me to state that on the eve of World War I, the town of Bitlis had an Armenian population consisting of around 1,140 households, and there were over 70 Armenian inhabited villages around the city. Armenians made up over one-third of the population in this province and lived alongside Kurds and Turks. There were four monasteries in or immediately around Bitlis, plus four churches in the city itself. There was also an Armenian Protestant and an Assyrian church. These churches attested to the typical good relations between Muslims and Christians in the city.

    Unfortunately most of the Armenians churches that were left behind in 1915, and practically all cemeteries where Christians were buried (such as Saroyan's ancestors), have been desecrated or plowed under the soil. This is also the case outside of the city where grave robbers still dig around to search for "Armenian gold." While it is true that many Turks and Kurds have defended the dignity of such locations, they have not always been successful. I remember reading on a Turkish Internet site how peasants in the village of Düz, near Bitlis, were trying to save an Armenian church. Their muhtar's sentiment was simple and very moving: "In those days we lived like brothers and sisters with Armenians. We went to our mosques and they went to their church. We now do whatever we can to keep the church standing." ("O dönemlerde Ermeniler'le kardeş gibi yaşardık. Bizler camilerimize, onlar da kiliseye giderlerdi. Şu anda kilisenin ayakta durması için ne gerekiyorsa yapıyoruz.") I have personally heard such remarks from many ordinary people in Turkey.

    I think it is important for Armenians to come and see for themselves that, whatever the problems Armenians faced in 1915 (it makes no difference whether one calls it genocide, massacre or deportation), there is still a lot of good will among ordinary people in Turkey today.

    I am not sure if you will be able to find the Saroyan house in Bitlis today, but as far as I know, there is at least one Armenian church remaining in the city. It is abandoned and used to be used for storage purposes. It is now owned by the British-American Tobacco Company, hardly befitting a cultural treasure in Turkey. Perhaps as minister of culture you will be able to come to an agreement with the tobacco company and save this building from further deterioration and restore it as a cultural treasure in the name of William Saroyan. The projected Saroyan museum could thus become an offering for a happy future, when people love and respect each other and celebrate their differences as fellow human beings and Anatolians. Such a vision would be fitting to Saroyan's memory.

    Sincerely,

    Ara Sarafian




    20 November 2008, Thursday
    General Antranik (1865-1927): “I am not a nationalist. I recognize only one nation, the nation of the oppressed.”
Working...
X