In the next few weeks we will see/hear a great deal of positive coverage about the life and work of the late Elie Wiesel who died over the weekend at the age of 87. Despite his much balihooed reputation, Wiesel was far from being a saint as evidenced by the politics he played, among other issues, with the Armenian Genocide. Below are two articles published in 2007.- Editor
No, Mr. Wiesel, You Don’t Speak on My Behalf!
Dikran Abrahamian BA, MD October 31, 2007
A Lebanese identity card written in Arabic states as follows:
Name & Surname: Joseph Abrahamian
Date and Place of Birth: 1916, Adana
Religion: Armenian Orthodox
That’s my late father’s identification in my hand. He passed away at the age of 69 back in 1985 in one of the prairie cities out west up north. There isn’t much joy in telling about his childhood. Misery and deprivation were his constant companions on the way of escaping from the Genocide in a boat. He landed in a Greek port with my grandfather and uncle. He was initially brought up without a mother; later his step-mother took over the upbringing of the two little boys. The whereabouts of my biological grandmother and her fate are not known. Like so many other grandmothers who were either raped, abducted, perished or lost, she ultimately “vanished”…Rumor has it that she was a beautiful woman and prior to the atrocities a certain Turkish Pasha was “attracted” to her.
I’ll stop there. The subsequent Odyssey of my grandfather and his two sons are not relevant to what I’d like to tell the distinguished Nobel Laureate Mr. Elie Wiesel. It is prompted by his recent bizarre statements that he made in an interview with
The Philadelphia Jewish Voice.>> Read more....
By
Harut Sassounian, Publisher, The California Courier, 1 November 2007
The Philadelphia Jewish Voice published on October 28 an important interview with Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. Reporter Charles Smolover asked him to comment on the fact that "some in the Jewish community are reluctant to touch this issue [congressional resolution on the Armenian Genocide] for fear of damaging Turkey’s relationship with Israel."
Mr. Wiesel’s response: "I have been fighting for the right of the Armenian people to remember for years and years. How could I, who has fought all my life for Jewish remembrance, tell the Armenians they have no right to remember? But I understand the [Bush] administration's view. Fortunately, as a private citizen I don’t have to worry about Turkey’s response. But I do feel that had there been the word ‘genocide’ in those days, what happened to the Armenians would have been called genocide. Everyone agrees there was mass murder, but the word came later. I believe the Armenians are the victims and, as a Jew, I should be on their side."
....Read more >>
To Eastern Europe in the 10th Century
The earliest traces of Armenians in what is now Romania and Moldova date from 967. The early Armenian Diaspora stemmed in the fall of the Pakraduni rule and other disasters, including the Mongol invasions. The Armenian settlers were awarded tax exemption at different times in the Danubian Principalities’ history. Encouraged to settle as early as the 14th century, Armenians became a familiar presence in towns as the main entrepreneurs of the community. Armenian guilds were awarded political representation and degrees of self rule. Full citizenship was bestowed on them only the decision taken by the international protectorate over the two countries, instituted after the Crimean War and the ensuing of Treaty of Paris to extend civil rights to all religious minorities.
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