Posted on 07/01/2018 2:51:52 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
As a girl, my grandmother saw many members of her family killed when Turkey tried to destroy its population of Christian Armenians around the time of WWI.
She emigrated to the US soon after, thinking she’d never see a free and independent Armenia.
So it has always seemed like a miracle to me that, despite a genocide that wiped out 1.5 million Armenians — 80 percent of the population — they still managed to carve out their own turf in 1918, a small country bordering Turkey and Iran. Although the republic fell to Soviet invasion in 1920, it sprang back after the USSR crumbled in 1991.
I experienced this little oasis for the first time when I stumbled into a summer internship at the Armenian church’s headquarters while I was in college in 2007. The priests took me in, even though I was an agnostic who spoke terrible Armenian. Between enjoying delicious meals like stuffed grape leaves and visiting the country’s sublime ancient monasteries, I also saw how much of a struggle daily life was for Armenians.
As in many former Soviet countries, a clique of oligarchs had taken over the nation’s wealth and worked with corrupt politicians to control almost every aspect of daily life. Police shamelessly demanded bribes. Entrepreneurs were subjected to extortion. Political dissidents were thrown in jail.
I could see the country was technically independent. But free? Not really.
Head of state Serzh Sargsyan perpetuated this system from the time he took office in 2008. Taking a page from Vladimir Putin’s playbook, he hopped from president to prime minister by dint of a sketchy referendum, positioning himself to extend his decade-long rule.
But this year, in April, Armenians finally decided enough was enough...
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
bkmrk
Great Awakening! I am hopeful for them. Their new prime minister should talk to Trump.
Secretary Pompeo has met with someone just yesterday or the day before. I don’t think the Prime Minister yet but second in command. :)
And I agree. I know a few Armenians here who flew out for the protests. And they are Trump supporters. Some of the footage is quite remarkable: Christian priests linking arms with soldiers and police who had laid down their weapons...and walking behind them: crowds of people young and old. All smiles and singing.
It’s too Bad that so many folk’s knowledge of Armenia does not go beyond the Kardashians. It was nice that 3 Kardashians did go over to Armenia to help bring attention to the genocide on the 100th anniversary.
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