Pills of OUR History (25)
If, in the face of the control over the lives of hundreds of thousands of people by an oppressor who not only claims to govern them politically and economically but effectively reduces them to slavery to the extent of deciding their ability to identify themselves not only as a people but as individuals, going so far as to massacre them both officially and unofficially when it suits them best, the only solution left for the oppressed is violence. Those who today stand for Peace in Palestine are with Israel, and there is no discussion regarding Hamas that can hold. The provocations and violence perpetrated in Jerusalem this spring and the massacre in Jenin, which went unnoticed, are just the tip of the iceberg of the murderous arrogance of the Israelis in this terrible year that has seen complete silence and indifference even towards another oppressed people, the Armenians. In 1988, a sincere Armenian internationalist and socialist, who died fighting for the annexation of Artsakh to Armenia, wrote disillusioned by the silence of the Soviet Union (now at its end) and the entire international community regarding what was happening (Artsakh has effectively ceased to exist these days):
"I believe that well-meaning Armenians will maintain friendly relations with their Azerbaijani neighbors. We are aware that in the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan, there are true internationalists, genuine communists, friends, and we will not forget that these Azerbaijani compatriots risked their lives to defend Armenians against the fierce nationalists in Sumgait (see the pogrom of 1988). It is a true disgrace, however, that recent events, coupled with the opposition to the will of the people of Artsakh by Azerbaijani officials, indicate how to this day the nationalists continue to control the republic. For over 60 years these nationalists have ignored the will of the people of Artsakh. Their criminal passivity (when not tacit complicity) in the face of the massacre in Sumgait indicates that the true Azerbaijani communists are powerless against the racists."
(Monte Melkonian, 1957-1993)
What he wrote then (and today) about the Armenian situation holds as much for Israel and the Israelis as it ever has.
If, in the face of the control over the lives of hundreds of thousands of people by an oppressor who not only claims to govern them politically and economically but effectively reduces them to slavery to the extent of deciding their ability to identify themselves not only as a people but as individuals, going so far as to massacre them both officially and unofficially when it suits them best, the only solution left for the oppressed is violence. Those who today stand for Peace in Palestine are with Israel, and there is no discussion regarding Hamas that can hold. The provocations and violence perpetrated in Jerusalem this spring and the massacre in Jenin, which went unnoticed, are just the tip of the iceberg of the murderous arrogance of the Israelis in this terrible year that has seen complete silence and indifference even towards another oppressed people, the Armenians. In 1988, a sincere Armenian internationalist and socialist, who died fighting for the annexation of Artsakh to Armenia, wrote disillusioned by the silence of the Soviet Union (now at its end) and the entire international community regarding what was happening (Artsakh has effectively ceased to exist these days):
"I believe that well-meaning Armenians will maintain friendly relations with their Azerbaijani neighbors. We are aware that in the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan, there are true internationalists, genuine communists, friends, and we will not forget that these Azerbaijani compatriots risked their lives to defend Armenians against the fierce nationalists in Sumgait (see the pogrom of 1988). It is a true disgrace, however, that recent events, coupled with the opposition to the will of the people of Artsakh by Azerbaijani officials, indicate how to this day the nationalists continue to control the republic. For over 60 years these nationalists have ignored the will of the people of Artsakh. Their criminal passivity (when not tacit complicity) in the face of the massacre in Sumgait indicates that the true Azerbaijani communists are powerless against the racists."
(Monte Melkonian, 1957-1993)
What he wrote then (and today) about the Armenian situation holds as much for Israel and the Israelis as it ever has.
DeBaser says
right now