Kasbarian: Letter to the Editor
Letter to the Editor
OPINION THE RECORD Your Views Wednesday, May 4, 2005
As the grandchild of Armenian genocide survivors and an advocate who speaks against genocide no matter who the victims may be, I felt a great sense of validation upon reading "Armenian among those marking sad anniversary" (Page L-1, April 15). Vindication and validation, to be precise.
It is revolting to hear a rapist justify his actions by saying that the woman he assaulted was "asking for it." And this is just the sort of defilement and defamation that genocide survivors and I feel. Our personal integrity is compromised not just once when an unthinkable act is committed, but twice in the denial of, or shifting of blame for, the reprehensible act.
I feel that you correctly reported what Turkish authorities (and the scholars they bankroll) say about the genocide issue when you said, "The deportations are thought, by some scholars, to have been spurred by an Armenian movement for an independent state." This aptly represents the Turkish government rationale that if people practice self-defense upon being assaulted or seek to secure basic human rights and civil liberties (or even independence) then their struggles and aspirations justify genocide as a way of coping with the resistance. This is a popular rationale shared by many other superpowers and the puppet regimes they support. I hope that those who read your profile realize that the rationale provided by the Turkish government is a morally repugnant one.
Lucine Kasbarian
Teaneck, NJ, April 19
Bergen Record, Hackensack, NJ
May 4, 2005