ASA President: there’s humanity before politics

PanARMENIAN.Net - The UCSB Armenian Student Association led a march through Isla Vista on April 23 evening, bringing the community’s attention to the Armenian Genocide.

The ASA met at the eternal flame around 6 pm and proceeded to march throughout campus and I.V. Participants remained silent as they walked campus and then incorporated chants once they reached the end of Pardall Tunnel. About 30 students took part in the event, waving posters and Armenian flags to show their support, The Daily Nexus reports.

ASA President Adam Jaratanian, fourth-year political science major, said his family, as well as the families of most of the other students who participated in the march, have been personally impacted by the genocide.

According to Jaratanian, the experience of being exiled from one’s home country can leave a dramatic effect on how they identify with their native cultural identity.

The march mirrors a much larger set of events that happen every year in Little Armenia in Hollywood and at the Turkish Embassy in Los Angeles. Such events educate the public on not only this specific genocide, but on the general issue of historical genocides that have been either denied or overlooked by the masses, he said.

While Jaratanian said he understands the political complications surrounding this governmental recognition, he said human rights should trump politics.

“It’s awareness through education. It’s not just seeing that sign and saying, ‘Oh the Armenian Genocide happened.’ Understand why it happened. It’s ethnic cleansing,” Jaratanian said. “And [the genocide is] not recognized for political reasons, strictly political. Just because Turkey is an ally… the U.S. doesn’t recognize it. And I understand the politics behind that, but, you know, there’s humanity before politics.”