As part of the GI (UK)’s System of Down project, it was felt appropriate to try to gain an interview with lead singer of SOAD, Serj Tankian, perhaps the most vocal proponent of the band’s wish for recognition of the Armenian Genocide. The management and Serj himself were very amenable to this, and so it was that we made our way to the Download Festival at Donnington Park on 12th June 2005.

Gregory Topalian of the GI (UK) with lead singer of SOAD, Serj Tankian.

I began by asking Serj if he could briefly outline the backgrounds of the various members of the band, and if their geographical backgrounds and movements were as a direct result of the Armenian Genocide.

“Daron was born in Los Angeles , in Hollywood , I was born in Lebanon , John was born in Lebanon and grew up in Toronto and Los Angeles , I grew up in Los Angeles , and Shavo was born in Armenia and grew up in Los Angeles . More Armenians live in the Diaspora than live in Armenia and the big reason for that is the Armenian Genocide and the dispersal of and expulsion of the people from their homeland”.

It is very rare to find an Armenian today whose family tree and native homeland was not somehow blighted by the Genocide. Serj is no exception to this. He seemed visibly moved as he discussed his ancestral background.

“My grandfather, my grandmother…I mean I have only one living grandfather but all my grandparents were survivors. My grandfather’s story has been documented by an organization called genocideproject.org in Los Angeles and I had them come and do a video documentary of his whole life story, which was really interesting. It is important to get the survivor’s stories down because we have very few survivors left”.

This is definitely the case in Britain , where the last survivors of the Armenian genocide died a couple of years ago. Fortunately, there had been belated moves towards collecting testimony, as Serj alluded to, and this is a vital aspect in keeping the memory of the genocide alive. Serj spoke passionately of his and his grandfather’s views on the levels of denial that exist, and that are a State sponsored attempt to bury the memories of both victims and survivors.

“It’s already an injustice that it occurred, the genocide itself, the massacres of one and a half million people, the displacement, the loss of homes and all of that. But the fact is that an injustice is still occurring, in the form of denial by the Turkish government and governments that align themselves with Turkey in terms of their NATO importance and geo-political and economic importance. That injustice still continues, so I don’t think any survivor will truly be able to rest, dead or alive, without the Armenian Genocide issue being truly resolved.”

We went on to discuss the most positive ways to combat this denial, something Elie Wiesel, the Nobel Peace Laureate, has described as the last act of genocide and an attempt to murder the victims twice.

Once more, Serj was forthright and insightful on this issue and was keen to highlight that genocide has been an ongoing feature of the modern age, and importantly is happening today, see [www.savedarfur.org]. But he was also keen to add the rejoinder that it is up-to the individual to find out about these things.

“I think the best way is to educate people about it because most people don’t know about what happened, and it’s important to know that the Armenians…we’re not the only victims of this. It’s a crime against humanity that has happened to the Jews, it’s happened to the Rwandans, to the Cambodians, it’s happening in Darfur. It’s important to connect with all of that and call it a crime against humanity and to be able to show that it’s an injustice against all people, against all human rights. I don’t like preaching to be honest with you. I mean I’m talking about it now because it’s a documentary (the interview was being filmed for BBC’s ‘Storyville’), but I like it when people learn it on their own, because it makes them interested in it rather than someone pushing it down their throats”.

Given that System Of A Down are incredibly busy at the moment, and had other interviews to conduct before their stunning headline performance at the Festival, I decided to ask one final question. It was related to the warm reception that I had received from fans before their second night show at Brixton. I explained how before the show I was handing out flyers about the Armenian Genocide in a bid to raise awareness of this piece of hidden history and also to explain how the Gomidas Institute (UK) was involved in this in Britain . I told Serj he had some remarkably aware fans, and that they had been fantastic, really wanting to know about the Armenian Genocide and very interested in it, to which he replied “Really? That’s cool!”

I asked what System fans could do to help raise awareness of the issue of the Armenian Genocide and genocide in general, and Serj’s response was powerful and well founded.

“Well the U.K. doesn't’t recognize it, which is why I just signed that document (points to petition) and I think more people know about it… I just figure, I am really tired of…you know I’ve signed that document and we are doing the same in the U.S. Congress…I’m tired of waiting for the U.S. Congress, or a President, or a Prime Minister to make a decision about it. I think as long as the people know about it, and the people in power continue to deny it and to lie about it, they’ll look stupid. It’ll risk their chances whether it’s re-election or dealing with certain issues. Once the truth is widely known they are going to look like hypocrites continuing with the denial. So my thing is to go to the people, not to the government; that’s secondary”.

Serj’s belief in the people and their willingness towards self-education and protest is unwavering, something that comes across most readily on his and Tom Morello’s Axis of Justice project, which is a must visit web-site [www.axisofjustice.org].

Serj was also keen to discuss the current furore over Time Magazine. For those who do not know, a tourist advertisement appeared in Time magazine on June 6th 2005 , promoting Turkish holidays. It was a four-page spread that was accompanied by a promotional DVD. However, the DVD spent only twelve minutes discussing Turkey as a holiday destination, and a full 75 minutes attempting to deny the Armenian Genocide. This included painting Armenians as anti-Semitic, supporters of the murder of innocents via terrorism, and ‘historians’ manipulating and massaging historical facts and ignoring pertinent truths about the Armenian Genocide.

Due to SOAD’s busy schedule, Serj had not yet seen it but stressed that,

“ I have it in my bag. I haven’t watched it yet because I don’t have a decent DVD player at the moment. I’m going to check it out on the bus ride back.”

Having seen it myself I explained that anyone with a vague knowledge would know, that due to the underhand nature of its distribution and the actual content therein, the DVD is pure state sponsored distortion and denial. Serj was trying to get to grips with the idea that a reputable publication such as Time magazine had allowed the distribution of half a million copies of a version of history that is akin to denying that the Nazi Holocaust did not take place.

“I don’t understand how they could sell it off as an advertisement and talk about the denial of a genocide. They’re paying for it as an advertisement. I don’t understand how that works. Do you think there are legal implications?”

I think there may well be, Time Magazine have yet to respond to the deluge of letters that have flooded their inbox. Serj asked if there were any campaigns going on world-wide to try and rectify that and I explained that Armenians from all over the globe are pressing Time Magazine to do something about it. An apology at the very least, but maybe put something in that’s ‘proper’ history.

As the interview was winding up, Serj once more showed just what a nice guy he is, and how appreciative he is of efforts aimed at recognition.

“Well thanks for the books. Good luck with your work. It feels like you guys are doing things like the Zoryan Institute does in the U.S”.

I suggested that one of the problems we faced had to do with the size of the UK Armenian community over here, which numbers only15,000 people.

“It’s a lot harder for you guys then, with less support. How do you get financial support; from the local community?”

I explained that our financial support comes from limited resources in the community, but mainly from selling books and the wristbands; everything goes back in. The Gomidas Institute is made up of historians, some of whom also have other full time jobs which has enabled us thus far to produce work, but is naturally far from ideal.

Serj replied

“Amazing! Good for you brother! Thanks again man” and then bade me farewell with a “Good seeing you again. Bye Gregory”.

And off he went to conduct more interviews before thrilling an 82,000 crowd with the stunning dynamics and songs that makes up your average System of A Down show. Serj Tankian is a thoughtful and articulate man whose heart is committed to raising awareness of the Armenian Genocide and in doing so making the world a much better place than it currently is. His off stage persona is hard to equate with the raging dynamics he puts into his shows. It was an absolute pleasure to have interviewed him.

So many thanks to Serj for his time and illuminating thoughts, and also to Braden who was instrumental in making the interview possible and has been incredibly supportive of our work also!

Gregory Topalian
Gomidas Institute ( UK ), Education.

If you are interested in any of the books to which Serj referred, visit [Garod Books]