(Հայերեն տարբերակը՝ «Ազգային ինքնասպանությունը՝ ընթացքի մեջ»)

Charles Aznavour vs. Serj Tankian

I asked a provocative question at the Armenian National Committee (ANC)  Grassroots conference, on November 25, 2011, regarding the catastrophic proportions of emigration from Armenia, calling it “the white genocide of 2011”. I made sure to emphasize the controversy of the wording, over which the members of the Diaspora community appear to be divided. I wanted to get more opinions.

“White genocide”, as defined in Wikipedia, is the term Western Armenians use to describe assimilation in the West. Until the first years of Armenia’s independence, it has been referred exclusively to the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923. However, the mass emigration that followed Armenia’s independence was often associated with ‘white genocide’ by the public at large. What Eastern Armenians are going to face in the future outside their homeland is most probably gradual assimilation. The reality is that today about half of the Armenian citizens prefer the prospect of non-violent assimilation over a life doomed to poverty, humiliation, and injustice in their homeland at the hands of their own government.

Of all panelists, I directed my question first and foremost to Serj Tankian, who has been outspoken about the Genocide of 1915. Below is Tankian’s answer: Continue reading »