{"id":16666,"date":"2015-05-10T09:55:42","date_gmt":"2015-05-10T09:55:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/?p=16666"},"modified":"2015-05-10T09:55:42","modified_gmt":"2015-05-10T09:55:42","slug":"the-spokesman-think-globally-act-locally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/?p=16666","title":{"rendered":"The Spokesman .Think Globally, Act Locally"},"content":{"rendered":"

KhatchaturPilikianRev128<\/a><\/p>\n

For<\/span> more information,<\/span> click<\/span> the PDF<\/span> file<\/span><\/h6>\n

Absent Genocide?<\/h3>\n

Ian Barnes with Malise Ruthven, <\/span>Crossroads of War \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009c a Historical<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Atlas of the Middle East<\/i><\/span>, The Belknap Press of Harvard University<\/span><\/p>\n

Press, 224 pages, hardback ISBN 9780674598492, \u0569\u0082\u0539\u058925.95<\/p>\n

A flamboyant volume indeed, with some hundred pages of brilliant maps<\/p>\n

and another hundred of history of wars, instruments of war, devastated<\/p>\n

countries and cultures, incessant assassinations of power holders and their<\/p>\n

families, mass exterminations, religious intolerance and murderous<\/p>\n

conflicts, destruction of temples, villages, towns and cities. In a nutshell,<\/p>\n

war tales of the Middle East, all through the last five thousand years \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009c an<\/p>\n

impressive scholarly achievement for sure. And all because, as one of the<\/p>\n

authors explains in the Introduction:<\/p>\n

\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056d\u009cThroughout recorded history the Levantine Corridor has seen the movement of<\/p>\n

armed forces, as those who controlled this vital strip commanded the whole<\/p>\n

Near Eastern region.\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7 (p.6)<\/p>\n

After reaching the end of the war narratives, and having endured the<\/p>\n

macabre tales, I somehow felt the need of an Epilogue, to better understand<\/p>\n

the real and moral <\/span><\/span>raison d\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7etre <\/span><\/span><\/i>of such an awesome endeavour, having in<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

mind the turbulent world in which we live. I sincerely wanted to know if<\/p>\n

the authors, having accomplished their task, do somehow believe or not<\/p>\n

that another world is possible. And if positively so, I would have felt<\/p>\n

enriched to know how they envisaged the transformation of that possibility<\/p>\n

into a probability. In case of a negative stance, then, alas, \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056d\u009cvanity, all is<\/p>\n

vanity\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7. The distinguished authors of this unique historical atlas left my<\/p>\n

queries unanswered.<\/p>\n

But then, I remembered a reassuring thought I read in another atlasbook,<\/p>\n

which had filled my heart with a distilled joy, and a feeling to share<\/p>\n

it with everyone:<\/p>\n

\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056d\u009cHomo sapiens has been around for at least 250,000 years. Yet war and military<\/p>\n

might have been known only in the last 5,000 \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009c 2% at most of our history. War<\/p>\n

is neither a part of human nature nor, necessarily, of civilised life.\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7<\/p>\n

The Gaia Peace Atlas, <\/i><\/span><\/span>Editor, Dr Frank Barnaby<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Quoted in <\/span><\/span>Alternative World, <\/span><\/span><\/i>by Nares Craig. (p. 160)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In one of his impressive volumes, Bertrand Russell diagnosed the malaise<\/p>\n

of power, saying:<\/p>\n

\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056d\u009cThroughout history, great nations have been led to disaster by unwillingness to<\/p>\n

admit that their power had limits.\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7<\/p>\n

Has Man a Future? <\/i><\/span><\/span>(p.45)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Crossroads of War <\/i><\/span><\/span>totally reaffirms Russell\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s diagnosis. Regarding both<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

the tragedy of the Jewish people in the aftermath of World War Two, and<\/p>\n

the diaspora of Palestinian refugees, the authors admit that:<\/p>\n

\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056d\u009cThe movement of many people to Palestine, and later the State of Israel,<\/p>\n

solved some problems for the Jews but, in turn, displaced Palestinian Arabs<\/p>\n

became refugees, forced to live in camps in other countries where they were not<\/p>\n

assimilated.\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7 (p. 178)<\/p>\n

An apt juxtaposition, for sure, but I remain shocked not to find mention of<\/p>\n

the word \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056d\u009c<\/span><\/span>Genocide\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7, <\/span><\/span><\/i>when most of the mass and cultural annihilations<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

mentioned by the authors do cry out to be acknowledged as such. It is<\/p>\n

worth remembering the <\/span><\/span>raison d\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7\u0569\u0083\u0539\u055dtre <\/span><\/span><\/i>of Raphael Lemkin\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s coinage of the<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

word <\/span><\/span>Genocide <\/span><\/span><\/i>(see <\/span><\/span>Spokesman 93<\/span><\/span><\/i>)<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/i>Lemkin was adamant in saying that<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Genocide <\/i><\/span><\/span>\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056d\u009chappened so many times\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7. Curiously enough, \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056d\u009c<\/span><\/span>Holocaust\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7 <\/span><\/span><\/i>is<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

mentioned once, only to label the Jewish survivors, those who dared<\/p>\n

survive the magnum crime.<\/p>\n

102 <\/span><\/span>Think Globally, Act Locally<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s worth pointing out that the word <\/span><\/span>Holocaust <\/span><\/span><\/i>was used during the<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

massacres of the Armenians in the 1890s to underline the religious aspect<\/p>\n

of the tragedy \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009c Christian Armenians massacred by Moslem Turks and<\/p>\n

Kurds \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009c as a large mass of Armenians were burnt alive in the Urfa<\/p>\n

Cathedral in 1895. Hence the word \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056d\u009cHolocaust\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7 was used by the noted<\/p>\n

missionary, Corin Shattuck, to visualise and characterise this horrible<\/p>\n

event.<\/p>\n

Etymologically, <\/span><\/span>Holocaust <\/span><\/span><\/i>= <\/span><\/span>\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056d\u009cWhole-Burnt\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7<\/span><\/span><\/i>, and is intrinsically linked<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

with the act of sacrifice \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009c a sacrificial offering which is completely<\/p>\n

consumed by fire, whereby cleansing from sins and, ultimately,<\/p>\n

purification is expected to be attained, functioning as an atonement, or<\/p>\n

indeed: \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056d\u009c<\/span><\/span>an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7. <\/span><\/span><\/i>(<\/span><\/span>The<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Holy Bible, authorised King James Version, Leviticus<\/i><\/span><\/span>, 1:17)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Does genocide \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056d\u009ctaketh away the sins\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7 of the murdered community,<\/p>\n

whether massacred, gassed or burnt? Or does it, perhaps, cleanse the sins<\/p>\n

of the murderers for the bliss of purification? God forbid. With all respect<\/p>\n

to all concerned, it must be said that <\/span><\/span>Holocaust <\/span><\/span><\/i>is an erroneous and<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

misleading coinage of the reality it is hoped to illustrate and define.<\/p>\n

Nazis committed the ultimate crime against humanity, rightly expressed<\/p>\n

with Lemkin\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s more precise, politically pristine and religiously unbiased<\/p>\n

word \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009c <\/span><\/span>Genocide.<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Perhaps the neglect of the term <\/span><\/span>Genocide <\/span><\/span><\/i>in Barnes & Ruthven\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s book<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

is a subtle way of refuting Lemkin\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s superb trove, especially when the<\/p>\n

distinguished linguist was adamant to remind us all that in the 20<\/span><\/span>th <\/span><\/span>century<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Genocide <\/i><\/span><\/span>happened \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056d\u009cFirst to the Armenians, then after the Armenians, took<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

action\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/b>(<\/span><\/span>History of the Genocide, <\/span><\/span><\/i>by V. Dadrian, p. 350)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Glossary on p.218 of the <\/span><\/span>Crossroads of War <\/span><\/span><\/i>defines \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056d\u009cHolocaust\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7 as:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056d\u009cSystematic mass murder or genocide of some 6 million Jews by Nazi Germany<\/p>\n

and its allies.\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7<\/p>\n

Obviously, the authors have cleansed the word <\/span><\/span>Holocaust <\/span><\/span><\/i>of all its original,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

religious attributes. When referring to the mass movements of refugees of<\/p>\n

the Middle East, it is negligent of historical data not to mention the<\/p>\n

survivors of the Genocide of the Armenians, who were uprooted from their<\/p>\n

ancestral homelands in Anatolia, as a result of the meticulously planned<\/p>\n

magnum crime executed by the proto-Nazi government of the Young<\/p>\n

Turks. Hence, starting in 1915, hundreds of thousands of Genocide<\/p>\n

survivors became the first Diaspora of Armenians in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

This year, 2015, is the 100<\/span><\/span>th <\/span><\/span>commemorative year of that Genocide of<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

the Armenians. Let us hope the authors of this formidable atlas will not be<\/p>\n

Reviews <\/i><\/span><\/span>103<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

charmed by the zealots of the camp who blindly refuse to acknowledge the<\/p>\n

veracity of that historical truth.<\/p>\n

In the last paragraph of the Introduction to <\/span><\/span>Crossroads of War<\/span><\/span><\/i>, Malise<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ruthven draws a parallel between the Frankish Crusaders, also named as<\/p>\n

Outremer (from the French \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056d\u009c<\/span><\/span>outre mer\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7<\/span><\/span><\/i>), and the \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056d\u009cnew group of settlers\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7 \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009c<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

meaning the Jewish ones \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009c \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056d\u009cwhose project for an occidental state in the<\/p>\n

Levant carries numerous echoes of <\/span><\/span>Outremer<\/span><\/span><\/i>\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7 (p. 13). She concludes<\/span><\/span>:<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056d\u009cToday a new <\/span><\/span>Outremer <\/span><\/span><\/i>remains, all-powerful, like its medieval predecessors.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But there is no guarantee that in an increasingly hostile environment it can<\/p>\n

maintain this pre-eminence indefinitely.\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7 (p. 13)<\/p>\n

Today\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s <\/span><\/span>Outremer <\/span><\/span><\/i>resides not in the Levant, but beyond the oceans \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009c an<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Outre-mer <\/i><\/span><\/span>indeed.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Khatchatur I. Pilikian<\/p>\n

104 <\/span><\/span>Think Globally, Act Locally<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KhatchaturPilikianRev128 For more information, click the PDF file Absent Genocide? Ian Barnes with Malise Ruthven, Crossroads of War \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009c a Historical Atlas of the Middle East, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 224 pages, […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16666"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16666\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}