Brussels, 03/05/04 – On the initiative of the Assembly of Armenians of Europe and the Committee of Armenians of Belgium the first screening of the film ARAM took place in Brussels on April 26, 2004, to which members of the European Parliament, European Commission, International organizations, Diplomatic corps, Ambassadors and representatives of the Belgian local authorities were invited. Robert Keshishian, ARAM’s film director and psychoanalyst Helene Piralian were also present at the screening of the film.

The film begins with the documentary pictures, filmed by French journalists in Nagorno Kharabagh in 1991: capital of Nagorno Kharabagh under bombardment, chaotic evacuation of northern regions. Then, the events take place in France: Levon, Aram’s brother prepares an attack against the Turkish general responsible for the Turkish extreme right organization well known as the “Grey Wolves”. He has particularly been the main persecutor of Kurdish activists and defenders of human rights. Aram vainly tries to dissuade his brother from committing the attack, as he believes that the time for attacks has passed. After the attack Levon stays paralyzed due to a spinal injury sustained during the attack. Aram’s family considers him responsible for the attack. Aram, without having the opportunity to explain anything to his family flees from France. 10 years later he is obliged to return to France to assist in the shipment of weapons to Nagorno Kharabagh, where Armenians have been fighting for independence. During the delivery of weapons by Kurds to Armenians some unknown people open fire on Armenians. 5 friends of Aram are killed. Obviously the Turkish secret services have infiltrated the Kurdish organization. Consequently, and against his will, Aram must deal with the “Grey Wolves”.

During the debate that followed the film Robert Keshishian related to the audience: “It is a modern film about the generation which did not directly suffer the genocide. It is the story of a family that could be Armenian, Cambodian, Rwandan, Israeli, Palestinian, German or Belgian; a family which still has accounts to settle. This settlement of accounts takes place against the backdrop of political events.”

Helene Pirlaian, the French psychoanalyst who is particularly concerned with the question of genocide and transmission, referred to the statements of survivors of the Rwandan genocide in order to show how important the recognition of genocide is, both by perpetrators of genocide and by third parties. “Only after the recognition they (the people of Rwanda) could feel protected. This film proves that Armenians do not feel protected… There is no law, no justice. Everything happens in an enclave out any society. Even the representative of the French Secret Services, who represents French society in the film, takes position at the end of the film since, he says, he does not want anyone to harm his relatives. So, he also becomes outlawed. This means, that in order to escape the state of victim, this REPETITION, two things are required: recognition by perpetrators and by third parties, who were not perpetrators or victims. The voice of this third party is necessary. This third party must stop the violence, it must interpose. If not, the violence will rotate in a vicious circle”.

For Keshishian what happened 90 years ago is still alive for both the descendants of victims and the descendants of perpetrators. Nothing has changed since 1915: neither ideology nor methods. “Who remembers that in 1993 the Turkish Army destroyed more than 1000 Kurdish villages? The Turkish State which claims to be democratic allowed her army to eradicate thousands of Kurdish villages. Recently, during the North American aggression in Iraq which is the state that said “if there is a free and independent Kurdistan, we will fight against it”? Of course, the Turkish State. This film is not against Turkish people, who are not responsible for what happened under the Ottoman Empire. This film is dedicated to my family and to Mrs. Aiché Nur Zarakolou and all Turk Democrats my friends. Mrs. Zarakolou was called by Armenians as «courageous mother», as she had the courage to face her history and publish the book by Yves Ternon on the Armenian Genocide in Turkey. I do not think that there is such an absolute curse between two people which will continue for ever… »

Many problems and important issues are raised by this film, such as the Kurdish Question, the role of secret services, the deadlock where even the State agent is powerless. Mr. Keshishian believes that there are no religious borders, since in the film Aram’s best friends are Muslims. « There are frontiers only of justice ».

Robert Keshishian is the first to bring together two sensible issues in one film – the struggle of Armenians for Nagorno Kharabagh and Armenian terrorism.

« Nowadays there is such confusion in connection with the word “terrorism”. Yes, I bring to your attention Fedays that operated in the years 1975 – 1985, whether they were right or wrong. They inspired me to make the film. My viewpoint on terrorism is as follows: everything depends on the way how treat this question. I defend the terrorism of Misak Manoushian, who, with his comrades from different countries carried out acts of resistance against the Nazi invasion in France. They were Jews, Spanish Republicans, Armenians and anti fascist Italians. They were the first ones to execute Nazi German officers. Alas, in all cities of France their profiles were put on a poster and they were called “terrorists, foreigners! “. Those are the same persons that had the courage not to yield to the oppression; they were young persons struggling against the Nazi barbarity. They were then qualified as terrorists, but after the liberation and the establishment of democracy they were called heroes».

“ARAM” is the first film of Robert Keshishian. The film won the prize “Grands espoirs” in the festival of Munich in 2001.