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Tajik Scholar Shavkat Kasymov: “We again must raise the issue of guilt and responsibility for the 1915 Genocide”

By Maneh Hakobyan

A much discussed topic of late is the need to place genocide studies on a firm scientific footing.

Parallels are made with the Jewish holocaust, an event that was recognized as a genocide soon after WW II. Germany has still not been able to wrest itself from the moral and material responsibility it has been forced to assume as a result of the correct policies followed by the Jewish people.

Concurrently, as we approach the 100th anniversary of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, we are still attempting to present that event to the world and convince the international community that it indeed took place, for the most part without scientific substantiation.

There are hundreds of Holocaust studies centers while we Armenians have a mere two or three such centers that are indexing and disseminating three international journals ((Journal of Genocide ResearchHolocaust and Genocide Studies and Genocide Studies and Prevention) Presently, , there are no academics from Armenia with any published articles in any of them.

Naturally, we have certain excuses from this lack. The first is that in 1915 we didn’t possess the science and thus we couldn’t follow a scientific approach to the issue. Then there was the Soviet state policy that created obstacles in this field. But what excuses can we point to during the past twenty years of Armenian independence?

Certain individual benefactors have appeared who are trying to spur the development of Genocide studies in Armenia.

There are the recent joint efforts of the Tashir Foundatin and the “We Demand Greter Financing of the Science” Facebook page. They have organized an awards ceremony to promote the publication of academic articles by RA and foreign citizens in international journals on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the 1915 Genocide.

In addition to Vahram Ayvazyan (a 2012 graduate of the university program of the Zoryan Institute’s Genocide & Human Rights University Program) and Tigran Sarukhanyan (a senior researcher at the RA Academy of Sciences Archeology and Ethnography Institute) , another person who applied to participate in the competition is Shavkat Kasymov from Kyrgyzstan and now a graduate student at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA, who submitted the essay, “The example of the Armenian genocide and the role of the millet system in its execution”.

I recently spoke with Shavkat Kasymov.

The journal Social Identities recently published your essay “The example of the Armenian genocide and the role of the millet system in its execution”. Why did you write this article on the Armenian Genocide?

I wrote it because I felt there was a need to pay respect to the victims of that unfortunate event, especially given the upcoming 100th anniversary. The Genocide caused the death of 1.5 million people. I believe we must again raise the issue of guilt and responsibility given that on the basis of numerous analyses, including mine, the Armenian Genocide was the targeted and premeditated work of the Ottoman Empire. The goal, among others, was to wipe out all Christian peoples, especially Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians.

Can you briefly explain the main arguments of your essay?

The article discusses the two main theoretical approaches to genocide and why one supersedes the other, using the example of the Armenian Genocide.

I wanted to illustrate the validity of the strategic killing model proposed by Benjamin Valentino, which underscores the primary significance of elite group interests in the initiation and implementation of genocidal policies against certain ethnic or political groups.

I argue that the Armenian genocide was primarily driven by the policies of the Young Turks' regime whose main objective was to rid the Ottoman Empire of the Armenian population and to consolidate a power base. I substantiate the superiority of the strategic killing model over the national upheaval thesis brought forward by Barbara Harff in her study on genocide, and support the main argument that genocide is a well-organized political strategy of power elites which is aimed at transforming a society through the deportation or extermination of a certain ethnic or political group that is seen as a threat to them.

The Young Turk regime regarded the Armenian minority as an obstacle to its goal of pan-Turkism, which resulted in the creation of modern Turkey. To substantiate my claims I used empirical facts and secondary sources and theories.

Are you planning to write more on this topic?

Yes, I would like to write additional articles on te Armenian Genocide, especially when I locate leading sources and empirical evidence.

I feel that we should not only approach the issue of genocide from a historical perspective, but rather from a genocide studies point of view. The long-term objective of this approach must be to craft and implement such policies that will avert similar brutalities in the future.

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Թլկատինցի
«Զուգահեռաբար՝ մոտենում ենք Հայաց ցեղասպանության 100 ամյակին, բայց Հայոց ցեղասպանությունը մենք դեռ աշխարհին փորձում ենք ներկայացնել ու համոզել՝ համարյա առանց գիտական փաստարկների։» Որոշ չափով ոչ հստակ պնդում: Հեղինակը ի՞նչ նկատի ունի՝ Հայաստան, կամ Սփիւռք կամ միջազգային գետնի վրայ: Ինձ թւում է որ մի գուցէ այդքան ել «ծանոթ» չի տարած գիտական աշխատանքի ծաւալներին:

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