AATL Announces Discussion Groups
July 27, 2006 - More than three months have passed since the "Armenians and the Left" conference took place in New York City. As many of you know, the conference opened up numerous essential topics and critical perspectives, many of which rarely figure as priorities in the mainstream agenda of Armenian-American politics. This was done intentionally, as we seek to reach those progressive-minded Armenians who for some time have lacked a space or a voice in Armenian political discourse. We seek also to re-energize our veteran activists, in order to promote a thoughtful examination of the strengths, weaknesses, assumptions, and limitations of convention involvement in the Armenian Cause.

The hundreds who participated also had a chance to reflect on the comments of two prominent, hard-hitting critics of US foreign policy. By featuring Robert Fisk and Noam Chomsky, the conference certainly benefited from having such eloquent actors address Armenian-related issues, while also focusing concern on larger questions of exploitation, oppression, and popular resistance to these. Armenian issues were thus placed in a larger context and took on a comparative perspective. Indeed, various panels and speakers viewed the Armenians not as wholly unique, but as one of many small, struggling, dispossessed nations that are entitled to independence from domination and thus are behooved to align themselves with one another, and to confront international processes such as globalization, sexism, imperialism, and capitalist hegemony which may threaten Armenian freedom as much as the customary belligerence of Turkey or Azerbaijan. In essence, the objective of a free and independent Armenia was envisioned within the project of the struggle for universal justice.

Some observations:
- US militancy could mean the bombing of Iran, thus augmenting Azerbaijan's status as a strategic client of the West.
- The fertility of women in Armenia has fallen to a staggering 69%,
- The US Ambassador to Armenia is fired over merely affirming the Armenian Genocide.
- US aid to Armenia, viewed widely as an inherent good, is shown to lead to intensification of already confounding levels of poverty and emigration.
- The average cost of a US Senate race is an eight-digit figure.
- As we write this, Israel has unleashed a brutal campaign of collective punishment against Lebanon including its 80,000 strong Armenian community.

In light of these observations, Armenian political activists need to step back and reassess the constraining choice of pursuing our strategic interests solely within the corridors of established power. As much as we need to lobby the Kremlin, White House, Parliaments or Congress, we also need partners who equate security for themselves with the freedom of others, instead of the suppression of others. We need a program for building an Armenia which benefits the vast majority of its people. We need to join coalitions and movements that do not simply acquiesce in the established order of things, but instead oppose imperialism, seek environmental sustainability and struggle against unjust governance.

We offer this as an appeal for continued involvement of those who were inspired by the conference. We invite you to join one of two discussion groups convening in Boston and in New York starting this fall. These will serve as forums for better understanding how the changing state of world affairs impacts Armenia and Armenians. The discussion groups may also incubate projects which can organize people around advancing the cause of liberation. Those interested in participating should contact:

discussion@armeniansandtheleft.com

We hope to hear from you.

AATL Organizing Committee