Dikran Abrahamian, Ontario, 12 January 2015

The second anthology (covering 2012-2014) of Keghart.com was launched in mid-March. The "Publisher's Message" and David Boyajian's "An Exception to Western Media" introduce the book to the reader. Of 500 printed copies most have already been distributed to readers who have requested or are on Keghart.com's contributor/supporter list. It won't take long for the remaining copies to be distributed. We request readers who are interested in the compendium to contact [email protected] for their copies of the book.–Editor.

Keghart.com, since its inception seven years ago, has been at the forefront of the fight to disseminate the truth about the GREAT  CRIME  COMMITTED AGAINST  THE  ARMENIAN  NATION  BY  TURKEY. History tells that land lost cannot be recovered without bloodshed even in the best possible international circumstances. The Armenian Question and the related Genocide of the Armenians are ostensibly matters of repossessing lost lands that were violently snatched away from their rightful owners. Do Armenians desire to shed blood to recover these lands at all cost? Should they? Does reclaiming those lands necessarily translate into the creation of a new state or the annexation to another? What should be the fate of people who inhabited that land following its loss? These and many other questions cross our minds even if they are not spelled out, let alone adequately explored.

 Dikran Abrahamian, Ontario, 12 January 2015

The second anthology (covering 2012-2014) of Keghart.com was launched in mid-March. The "Publisher's Message" and David Boyajian's "An Exception to Western Media" introduce the book to the reader. Of 500 printed copies most have already been distributed to readers who have requested or are on Keghart.com's contributor/supporter list. It won't take long for the remaining copies to be distributed. We request readers who are interested in the compendium to contact [email protected] for their copies of the book.–Editor.

Keghart.com, since its inception seven years ago, has been at the forefront of the fight to disseminate the truth about the GREAT  CRIME  COMMITTED AGAINST  THE  ARMENIAN  NATION  BY  TURKEY. History tells that land lost cannot be recovered without bloodshed even in the best possible international circumstances. The Armenian Question and the related Genocide of the Armenians are ostensibly matters of repossessing lost lands that were violently snatched away from their rightful owners. Do Armenians desire to shed blood to recover these lands at all cost? Should they? Does reclaiming those lands necessarily translate into the creation of a new state or the annexation to another? What should be the fate of people who inhabited that land following its loss? These and many other questions cross our minds even if they are not spelled out, let alone adequately explored.

Irrespective of what our individual answers are, we are instinctively forced by our collective memory to ponder about them at this juncture, one hundred years after the experience of the cruelest of crimes, the Genocide organized by the Ottoman Young Turks and perpetrated by their contemporary descendants of Turkey through denial and the nefarious rewriting of history. Yet, a hundred years in the history of a nation with unfulfilled dreams is not a criterion of either success or failure. It’s a construct to simplify timelines. A nation with a rich heritage of four millennia cannot and should not despair because of frustrated aspirations, and on every occasion should enunciate the land claim. The usurper knows well that any other stipulation–no matter how well diplomatically formulated is a prelude to the ultimate demand of land.

Bearing the above thoughts in mind, and particularly at this crossroad, Keghart.com will continue to keep informed its odar (non-Armenian) readers about Armenian life in Armenia and in the Diaspora and the challenges that the nation faces. This does not emanate from an ideological position nor is related to the delusional belief that third parties can or will deal with the Gordian knot that we face. We believe that people–as individuals and members of collectives–share common values, principles and aspirations no matter how dissimilar their circumstances. This kinship is not abstract, and it plays an imperceptible positive role over time. Within these parameters Keghart.com will continue to keep in touch with academics in Canada and elsewhere. We believe that the Kurds, the Alevis, the Yezidis, the Hamshens, the Kizilbash and Zaza people have a stake in what might shape up in our expropriated lands, and hence should be part of ongoing exchanges. After all, they are the people who inhabit the lands that we rightfully claim to be ours.

The Armenian Genocide and all other genocides, whether racially or politically motivated, commenced with violations of human rights and democratic practices. As such, exercise of utmost vigilance is paramount in detecting, resisting and combating breaches of such human values whether in our own backyard–in the Diaspora and the Republic of Armenia–and across the globe. Having said that, we believe non-homegrown democracy is a hoax. Such a construct merely serves select economic, political and expansionist interests and ushers in untold misery. Keghart.com will continue exposing such aberrations and uphold the fundamentals of freedom of speech. With that belief in mind, it already has become a standard tradition of Keghart.com’s board to air opposing views of contributors and commentators, provided they are expressed in a constructive spirit, are non-derogatory and are respectful of others’ opinions.

Whether we are patriots or not, believers or non-believers, the well-being of the Republic of Armenia, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and the Armenian Church are matters of great concern to us. Objectively, these entities have a direct bearing on our identities wherever we are. They are vital organs, without which the nation cannot exist, or at best faces a prolonged agony. Keghart.com will continue to applaud positive achievement, but will condemn acrimonious, compromising and criminal activities that impede a healthy societal growth. The depopulation of Armenia, environmental degradation, the oligarchic regime, the institutional near-lawlessness of the RoA, the autocratic tendencies of the Church hierarchy suffering from megalomania will continue to be featured prominently on Keghart’s radar screen.

Keghart.com takes pride in providing a non-partisan forum for our global community. Many contributors have made their debut on its pages or cultivated/advanced their skills, had lively feedback and were engaged in constructive dialogues.

This past year Keghart.com reached out to the Alevi community of Canada to abort the efforts of Turkey’s consul to erect a Turkish monument in Brantford, Ontario. Keghart.com also held a panel discussion about Kurdish-Armenian relations, a one-of-a-kind event in the contemporary annals of the Canadian-Armenian community. Cognizant of the necessity for young people to participate in public life, a panel discussion was devoted to the subject of youth and politics. Keghart.com also sponsored lectures by leading Armenian intellectuals such as Dr. Minas Kojayan of Los Angeles, Viken Attarian of Montreal and Katia Peltekian of Beirut.

Keghart.com has soared in popularity to become a prominent Diaspora forum since its inception. Like many public institutions, we believe that rejuvenation of staff is a prerequisite to forestall fossilization. Thus we welcomed with open arms Jirair Tutunjian, an accomplished journalist and editor of several award-winning Canadian magazines. His presence has immensely improved the site’s quality. The vast majority of the English editorials, published between September 2012 and December 2014, belong to his pen, although the content of each and every editorial was reviewed by the Keghart.com board prior to publication. We acknowledge with gratitude the contribution of guest writers who wrote Keghart editorials occasionally, and anonymously–per our policy.

Dr. Minas Kojayan, our Armenian-language editor, not only keeps a watchful eye on Armenian articles to avoid spelling and grammatical mistakes but also writes well-honed and articulate articles. As well, long-time contributor Dr. Barouyr Aghbashian recently joined our editorial board. Aghbashian, a well-known community leader in Lebanon, a political commentator, is the author of several books. A lecturer at the Haigazian University in Beirut, he also brings extensive editorial experience.

Michael Nahabet, with his wide-ranging managerial and editorial experience in AIM (Armenian International Magazine–1990-2004) was the publisher of Keghart.com this past year, a period of transition. He will continue as consultant. Nayiri Abrahamian will remain as circulation manager. Under her guidance distribution has improved through the consolidation of the mailing list. We also welcome two new members to the Keghart.com family: Thomas Yeterian and Razmig Mardigian, respectively as treasurer and quality assurance assistant. Vako Nicolian, although not formally mentioned as board member, was instrumental in initiating Keghart.com and his expertise has kept the technical integrity of the website.

On the occasion of publishing this second volume of Keghart.com editorials, articles, interviews and reports in book form, we extend our thanks and gratitude to our far-flung contributors. Our special thanks to Hamo Moskofian who has been assigned to report from uncharted territories. We also thank the families of board members who offered constructive advice and broad assistance.

We’ve just entered 2015—a year that promises to be a challenging one. We intend to meet reader expectations with the support of the new editorial board.

We dedicate this volume to the one-and-one-half million martyrs who perished during and after the Genocide of Armenians (1915-1923).

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Keghart.com has operated since 2007 with no advertisement, and will continue to do so. Hosting, archiving, web design, maintenance, backups, distribution, editing, translating, infrequent compensation for commissioned reports, etc. expenses have increased in the past few years. We solicit your support to enable us to deliver the rich editorial content as well as keep the site running with almost eight years of articles on tap for you. Please forward your message to [email protected] for personal communications and further details regarding support.

Keghart.com has recruited a team of young people in the past year as the first step in handing the publication and updates in the near future to a younger generation. Donations will be set aside as seed money to facilitate the transition.