Do Not Ratify!

By Dikran Abrahamian BA, MD, Ontario, 1 September 2009

Here we are, almost a year following the start of the “football diplomacy” and we are reaping the “gifts”. Finally, the wrapping of the package is opened and we have a glimpse of what are in it.

As highlighted elsewhere by others, a “Commission of historians” and de jure recognition of the present borders between Turkey and Armenia are in the works. They are no more secrets. The spinners and the critics will have a field day. Alas!

Are we supposed to be shocked or surprised? Not at all!

Granted, Keghart had no means of being cognizant of the details of the negotiations.

However, following the trend established since the infamous February 2008 elections, the subsequent March tragedy, the unrelenting stubbornness of the present authorities, it was clear that the government did not represent the will of the majority of its people.

To save its neck, eventually it had to succumb to foreign pressures to establish some form of legitimacy. Unfortunately, that is what we witness today.

It is hard to imagine how the authorities will be able to manage to convince the people in Armenia and the Diaspora of the wisdom of this action. The only way will be to ram it down the throat of the parliament. Will they take the risk with all its future ramifications of further alienation?

So far, at every step of the way, they have demonstrated an extraordinary but pathological audacity. They are incorrigible. Hence, with regret and sadness, along with frustration and indignation, we state that they, in all likelihood, will not change course. They cannot, anyway. They are signatories. There is no room to backtrack and make an about face.

Now the ball is in the parliament.

We ask, like a demand, from all the parliamentarians in Armenia not to ratify this unjust agreement.

Forget about your personal gains. Leave aside what you have amassed by way of bribes and promises. Dismiss your pockets.

Think for a moment what a calamitous event for Armenians worldwide you will be facing by ratifying the agreement.

Consult with all those martyrs who throughout our tortured history sacrificed their lives to keep a piece of land and our dignity.

Ask their advice!