The Post-Centennial ‘What’s Next’: Where Music Videos Will Not Help

Anahit Sargsyan

While we all understand that one hundred is only a number, given the iconic roundup of the century, the Centennial provided the perfect opportunity to stop, reevaluate and re-plan. The worldwide commemoration ceremonies, coupled with unprecedented media attention, made it clear that raising awareness has ceased being the main issue in the Armenian Genocide recognition process. Certainly, raising genocide awareness is a strong foundation, yet it is still only a foundation, a platform, on which we should continue to build. It is also essential that we take a step back to explore the ways that we can practically use the recognition that we have achieved so far. This is a simple concept that most Armenians realized during the Centennial. However, what is not so simple is the attempt to understand what exactly the next step should be. Although it is compelling to consider that reparations should be the new focus of our attention, in reality, the question of “what’s next” requires a far more comprehensive approach. In fact, “what’s next” is not a single goal, but rather a chain of interconnected objectives that we should consider equally. Inevitably, this chain must start with a strong and reliable Republic of Armenia. It requires modifications in the way genocide is studied in the Armenian educational system. In addition, it demands an unprecedented focus on international law within Armenia. Working together, these will lead to increased credibility for Armenia in the international sphere as a qualified candidate to take the lead in the pursuit of remedies for the Armenian and other unrecognized genocides.

William Schabas: "There is no doubt that the term ‘genocide’ may be applied to events that occurred long before the word was actually invented"

Nvard Chalikyan

On the usage of the legal term ‘genocide’ and on other legal issues related to the Armenian Genocide, Panorama.am has asked the opinion of William Schabas, renowned expert on international law and the law of genocide. Schabas is a professor of international law at Middlesex University in London and the author of Genocide in International Law.  

The Father of Genocide

Outraged by the Ottomans' massacres of Armenians,

a young Polish lawyer pushed to have

the crime of genocide enshrined in law

 

 

Yascha Mounk

 

During World War I, Soghomon Tehlirian, an Armenian civilian, looked on helplessly as Ottoman troops shot his mother, raped his sisters and hacked his brother to death. Six years later, on a Berlin street, Tehlirian approached Talaat Pasha, a grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire who had coordinated the killing of Armenians. "This is for my mother," he told Pasha as he shot him dead.