Jean-Claude Kebabdjian
Encyclopedia
Jean-Claude Kebabdjian is a French-Armenian editor and journalist. He is the president and cofounder of the Armenian Diaspora Research Center (ADRC - CRDA in French), created in 1976 in Paris, founder of the Astrid Editions and director of the review Ani, cahiers arméniens (5 issues – 1986, 1987, 1998, 1994).
Nine years later, Armenia
was an independent country, and a democratic movement was emerging in Turkey
, with freedom fighters such as Taner Akçam
or the Zarakolu teaching the history of the Armenian Genocide
and the Armenians to their society. In this new context, Jean-Claude Kebabdjian, with the help of Raffi Hermonn Araks, invited the Zarakolu to France and prepared meetings with the French Armenians.
He organised in Paris the first public conference with Turkish intellectuals on the Armenian subject : 1915-1998 : de la fracture au dialogue. As he was in 1999 the first Armenian from Diaspora to be invited by the civil society
of Turkey for a cultural event, he asked before the media for the opening of the Armenian-Turkish dialogue. In June 2000, his center directed in the French Senate
the first congress on the Armenian-Turkish dialogue. Some argue the March 2000 Chicago Armenian-Turkish meeting was the first one, yet not opened to the public, but it is proven that the June 2000 Paris Congress was the first public conference on the subject and one more step in a two decade-long serie of initiatives taken by Jean-Claude Kebabdjian.
In 2004, he proposed to a commission of the French Assembly
to choose the Western Armenian city of Ani
as a symbol of dialogue between Armenia and Turkey, 12 years after the call made by the CRDA for the safeguard of this medieval city, which gave birth to the French preservation
mission of Ani led by Jean-Pierre Mahé, a French armenologist and academician.
conflict resolution
should be linked to the human, national and territorial consequences of the Armenian Genocide. The western interests have boosted the nationalism
and conservatism
of the Turkish state during the Cold War
. But with the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey, the Azerbaijanese state and its western supporters would fail in their strategy of pressure upon the Armenians.
Pioneer in the Armenian-Turkish dialogue
Jean-Claude Kebabdjian is the author of Turquie-Europe : le dialogue des intellectuels est-il possible?, in which he asks, as early as in 1986, if an Armenian-Turkish dialogue is necessary.Nine years later, Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
was an independent country, and a democratic movement was emerging in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, with freedom fighters such as Taner Akçam
Taner Akçam
Altuğ Taner Akçam is a Turkish historian and sociologist. He is one of the first Turkish academics to acknowledge and openly discuss the Armenian Genocide, and is recognized as a "leading international authority" on the subject....
or the Zarakolu teaching the history of the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
and the Armenians to their society. In this new context, Jean-Claude Kebabdjian, with the help of Raffi Hermonn Araks, invited the Zarakolu to France and prepared meetings with the French Armenians.
He organised in Paris the first public conference with Turkish intellectuals on the Armenian subject : 1915-1998 : de la fracture au dialogue. As he was in 1999 the first Armenian from Diaspora to be invited by the civil society
Civil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
of Turkey for a cultural event, he asked before the media for the opening of the Armenian-Turkish dialogue. In June 2000, his center directed in the French Senate
French Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president.The Senate enjoys less prominence than the lower house, the directly elected National Assembly; debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally enjoy less media coverage.-History:France's first...
the first congress on the Armenian-Turkish dialogue. Some argue the March 2000 Chicago Armenian-Turkish meeting was the first one, yet not opened to the public, but it is proven that the June 2000 Paris Congress was the first public conference on the subject and one more step in a two decade-long serie of initiatives taken by Jean-Claude Kebabdjian.
In 2004, he proposed to a commission of the French Assembly
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
to choose the Western Armenian city of Ani
Ani
Ani is a ruined and uninhabited medieval Armenian city-site situated in the Turkish province of Kars, near the border with Armenia. It was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered much of present day Armenia and eastern Turkey...
as a symbol of dialogue between Armenia and Turkey, 12 years after the call made by the CRDA for the safeguard of this medieval city, which gave birth to the French preservation
Historic preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
mission of Ani led by Jean-Pierre Mahé, a French armenologist and academician.
Opposition to the Armenian-Turkish protocols
In an interview to Arminfo, he argued that the KarabakhKarabakh
The Karabakh horse , also known as Karabakh, is a mountain-steppe racing and riding horse. It is named after the geographic region where the horse was originally developed, Karabakh in the Southern Caucasus, an area that is de jure part of Azerbaijan but the highland part of which is currently...
conflict resolution
Conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...
should be linked to the human, national and territorial consequences of the Armenian Genocide. The western interests have boosted the nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
and conservatism
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
of the Turkish state during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. But with the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey, the Azerbaijanese state and its western supporters would fail in their strategy of pressure upon the Armenians.
Selected Writings
- Jean-Claude Kebabdjian, Yves Ternon, Arménie 1900, Éditions Astrid
- Jean-Claude Kebabdjian, Yves Ternon, L'Arménie d'antan, HC Éditions
Movies
- Jacques Kebadian, Jean-Claude Kebabdjian, Mémoire Arménienne, 1983