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Interview with Amarik
Sardarian
OK: Thank you for your finding the time to conduct this interview. Could you please introduce yourself. AS: Firstly, may I thank you for conducting research into the situation of national minorities within the Republic of Armenia. My name is Amarik Sardarian, and I am the chief editor of the newspaper, "Riya Taza", and at the same time the Chairman of the Board of the Kurdish Intelligentsia Council. I am also a member of the Union of Journalists and Writers, and I have a degree of Laureate and am a honourable member of the Union of Writers. I have been in journalism for 40 years, and started my career in radio in the Department of Kurdish Programmes. Since 1952 I have been working at "Riya Taza". I started my work here as a translator, then became a journalist, vice-chairman, chairman, vice-editor, and now I am chief editor.
OK: Can you tell me a little about "Riya Taza"? It has been said that it was one of the first Kurdish newspapers, and I would also be interested in hearing what its circulation is, and whether that circulation has changed over time. AS: "Riya Taza" has been published since 1930, and it has been the longest surviving of all Kurdish newspapers. It was the third or the fourth Kurdish newspaper to come into existence in the world, but not the first. The first Kurdish newspaper was called "Kurdistan" and published in Cairo in 1898. After that some other newspapers and journals were published abroad, but "Riya Taza" was the first Kurdish newspaper to be published in the Soviet Union, and perhaps the only one. As for the circulation, before the collapse of the Soviet Union the circulation was more than 5,000, with readers in other Republics. After the collapse of the Soviet Union former ties with other Republics also collapsed, and circulation has now fallen to around 700. The newspaper used to be published twice a week during Soviet times, but now it is twice a month. It consists of four pages, so the size has decreased too. The newspaper is now only read within Armenia, and I would like to say why the number of readers within Armenia has also decreased. Firstly, the educational level in the community is not very high, and secondly, the community is mainly scattered in mountainous regions far from roads, and delivering the newspaper to those regions is very difficult. We do not sell the newspaper at newspaper stands. We only deliver the newspaper by subscription. This is a completely de-politicised newspaper that does not favour any political party, and the issues we address are mainly in the areas of culture, science, and language. At present the newspaper survives because of financial assistance from the Government of Armenia. This financial assistance is hardly enough for our survival. We have three members of staff, but nevertheless we are grateful to the Government for its financial assistance otherwise we would be closed. We are very much concerned by the attitude of rich Kurds - millionaires - living abroad, and we would like to know that our voice reaches them so that they know what a miserable situation our newspaper is in. This newspaper is a chronicle for this community so it is worth preserving it and taking care of it. Rich Kurds in the diaspora should be concerned for its survival. It is worth pointing out that we do not have a single computer, and that we are using an old method of publication - Linotype. We have no fax machine, and our correspondents have no way to hand in their articles but to visit the office. In order not to finish on this sad note I am certain that in the future we will prosper. We know that there are international organisations that try to promote the development of free media and I will be happy if they take us into consideration.
OK: The first thing that I notice about "Riya Taza" is that it looks as though it is published in Russian. I presume it is Kurmanji written in cyrillic script, and that this was because Riya Taza was distributed outside of Armenia in other Soviet Republics. AS: Yes, and one of the misfortunes of our nation is that we are using three different scripts. Latin, Cyrillic and Arabic. In 1929, when an alphabet was chosen for the Kurds in Armenia, the Latin alphabet was chosen. From 1929-1937 everything was published in Latin. In 1937 Stalin issued a decree that all those nationalities that before the revolution did not have their own alphabet should transfer to the Russian alphabet. Armenians and Georgians had their own alphabets, but the Kurds transferred to Russian [Cyrillic]. In 1937 the newspaper was closed and was only re-opened in 1954 because of the persecution in the period of Stalin. After that, the newspaper was published in Russian. Changing the alphabet now from Russian [Cyrillic] to Latin creates great problems - financially and educationally.
OK: Are you Yezidi or Kurd? AS: I am a Yezidi, but unlike those people that confuse the question of nationality with religion, I recognise the distinction. By religion I am Yezidi, but I consider myself to be Kurdish by nationality. the majority of Kurds in Armenia - perhaps 98% - are Yezidi Kurds, and the percentage of Moslem Kurds is very insignificant. During 1989-1990 the Moslem Kurds left Armenia. This issue very often becomes politicised and a foundation for political debate. Some people claim that Moslem Kurds were persecuted, and because of that they left Armenia. The reality is that Moslem Kurds lived in the villages with Azerbaijanis. Their children attended the same schools as the Azerbaini children, and they were linked to the Azerbaijanis through mixed marriages. When the Azerbaijanis left Armenia as a result of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabagh, Moslem Kurds left too. There was no persecution of the Moslem Kurds by Armenians. There are still Moslem Kurds in Armenia, but their numbers are very insignificant. They live in the regions of Sevan and Dilijan and they live very well. Not in terms of economy, a problem facing Armenians as well, but in terms of human relations. There is no discrimination, but there are some interest groups - our enemies - that play on this issue.
OK: The debate between Yezidi and Yezidi-Kurd is very interesting, and it has been suggested that more money has been made available to those groups that encourage a separate Yezidi national identity. I think that "Riya Taza" was closed for six months in recent years whilst separate Yezidi newspapers seemed to flourish. I want to apologise for repeating what I have already said. the money that comes to "Riya Taza" comes only from the Government. As for the "Voice of Yezidi" it is only published once or twice a year, and this money too comes from the Government. I am on very bad terms with Aziz Tamoyan, the National Chairman of the Union of Yezidi, I do not have a very high opinion of him as a human being, but I can not go against my conscience. They are in a very bad financial situation as well. I do however, want to express my gratitude towards the Soros Foundation for the publication of a book, "Kurdistan: In the Shadow of History" by Susan Meiselas.
OK: In that book, the map of Kurdistan goes into Armenia and up to Etchmiadzin. AS: Unfortunately, I know those maps, but in the book the map just illustrates the distribution of the Kurds - where the Kurds live. Many regions were also included, including Aragatz, and Western Armenia [Eastern Turkey]. We do not mean to say that Western Armenia and these other regions are Kurdistan, but that they are the areas where the Kurds live. Recently a lecture was held in the American University of Armenia by an Armenian academic from the United States, Astarjian, who is the head of the Centre of Armenian and Kurdish Friendship. The topic was "Kurdish Revolution and the Armenian Cause". In his lecture he mentioned that he had meetings with Kurdish Parliament members and leaders of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and that certain agreements were be taken into consideration. Armenia was to be a separate country, and Kurdistan was to be a separate country. According to these agreements the boundaries of Armenia were set, and there was no overlap. Kurdistan started from Lake Van. So, I do not exclude that there are people who have big dreams, and that may even claim that Kurdistan even extends up until the Urals. However, it is not real.
OK: Can you give me more detailed overview of the content of "Riya Taza"? For example, does it just deal with issues indigenous to Armenia, or does it deal with Kurdish issues in Turkey, Iran and Iraq? Because "Riya Taza" is a newspaper sponsored by the Armenian Government, we feel responsible for illustrating life in Armenia in general, and not specifically the life of the Kurdish community here. In the history of our culture, folklore plays a key role, and we always deal with such issues in our newspaper. How it is of great importance to Kurdish culture, and also because the main bearers of Kurdish folklore are elderly people whose time on this earth is very limited we hope to preserve that folklore through our newspaper for future generations. At the same time we pay great attention to the development of our literature, and developing a tradition of Kurdish literary language. We also illustrate the life of the Kurds in Armenia in our newspaper. It would be illogical if the newspaper stayed neutral to what is happening in Turkey but unfortunately we have no correspondents abroad. We mainly use the news that appears in the Armenian and Russian media. The interest of the Kurdish community in Armenia is very strong with regards to the [global Kurdish] movement, and articles on the situation in Turkey are demanded even. The ideology of the movement is not vital, we are more interested in the national trends of this movement in terms of the fact that it is directed against Turkey and against the violation of human rights. And also in terms of the fact that the Kurds have taken up arms to defend their families, and their wives and children. According to some sources the total Kurdish population within Turkey is 20 million. However, the Turkish Government does not even want to accept the existence of Kurds in Turkey. According to the last census in Armenia in 1989 the number of Yezidi and Moslem Kurds was sixty thousand, and in Armenia the Government has created the best environment for the development of our culture, our schools, our culture and our language. However, we only see persecution and massacre in Turkey.
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