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Zaman, Turkey
April 18 2005
Genocide Claims and Mr. Oskanyan!
ERHAN BASYURT
04.18.2005 Monday - ISTANBUL 16:07
The so-called Armenian "genocide" allegations are on the agenda
again. Turkey has been slandered for 90 years through an unfair and
partial propaganda.
I say unfair because the Armenians do not use of any legal channels
they have but only try to pressure Turkey politically.
Unfortunately, Turkey ignored revealing the facts for many long
years. Statements made from time to time were not satisfactory. For
the first time, the government, the opposition and parliament, with
one voice, are challenging these baseless allegations. There were
similar attempts in the past; however, these were done by diplomats
or scientists, solely on their own.
Turkey invited a commission consisting Turkish and Armenian historians
to investigate the issue in detail by opening the Ottoman as well as
military archives. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter
to Armenian President Robert Kocharian calling for the establishment
of a "commission of historians." The Turkish Grand National Assembly
(TBMM) sent a letter to the British House of Commons asking it to
declare that the "Blue Book" written by Arnold Tonybee, which supports
Armenian allegations, is a product of propaganda.
Tonybee himself confesses that the book is a propaganda product.
Britain had prepared a similar book during World War I against the
Germans. The reason behind this was to make things difficult for Turkey
and Germany in the international arena, to get US support during the
war and to prepare the ground for the collapse of the Ottoman Empire,
and hence, establish two Armenian states in Anatolia.
Prof. Hikmet Ozdemir who is conducting researches on the Armenian
issue at the Turkish Institute of History (TTK) revealed in his
interview published in Aksiyon Weekly News Magazine that around 1914,
just before World War I, Britain prepared some maps that gave Izmir
to the Greeks, established the Armenian Kingdom of Celicia around
Cukurova and an Armenian Republic in Van. Ozdemir has proven these
with original documents written at that time. It is also a fact that
Russia incited the Armenians in eastern Anatolia.
It is also known that Armenians started to seek new ideals, incite
many rebellions, murder many Muslims and sabotage military deliveries
under the influence of nationalism and with external support. As a
result, the Ottoman Empire implemented forced emigration against the
Armenians. This implementation known as "Emigration" took place in 1915
and it was also applied by many countries in the world including the
US and Russia. It is a fact that many people lost their lives during
the emigration; there were serious tragic events due to attacks by
gangs and epidemics. But if it is taken into account that over 400,000
Ottoman soldiers also died from epidemics in the same period, and
those who were responsible for these deaths were tried and punished,
it will be better understood that these deaths and tragedies were not
intentional but resulted from the helplessness of the Ottoman Empire.
Erdogan and the calls he made in parliament are very important
because of this reason. The Armenians, who do not have any proof to
back their "genocide" claims, are not comfortable with this call.
Just as Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan said to the Mediamax
News Agency: "Turkey is not only trying to rewrite its own history
from the beginning in a disrespectful manner, but it also trying to
encourage other countries to do likewise."
Why does Armenia, which has been involved in ethnic cleansing acts
in Nagorno-Karabakh and has forced over 1,000,000 Azeris out of their
own lands, oppose the establishment of a commission of historians and
opening of the Armenian state archives and those of the Tasnak Party?
It is because they are afraid that their stabbing of the Ottomans in
the back, by cooperating with the Russians and the British, and also
the fact that the emigration implemented by Ottoman Empire was not
genocide, but a precautionary measure, will be revealed.
If it were the reverse, Oskanyan would not have wasted his breath but
would have used his unilateral right to apply to the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) with the documents that he has.
April 18 2005
Genocide Claims and Mr. Oskanyan!
ERHAN BASYURT
04.18.2005 Monday - ISTANBUL 16:07
The so-called Armenian "genocide" allegations are on the agenda
again. Turkey has been slandered for 90 years through an unfair and
partial propaganda.
I say unfair because the Armenians do not use of any legal channels
they have but only try to pressure Turkey politically.
Unfortunately, Turkey ignored revealing the facts for many long
years. Statements made from time to time were not satisfactory. For
the first time, the government, the opposition and parliament, with
one voice, are challenging these baseless allegations. There were
similar attempts in the past; however, these were done by diplomats
or scientists, solely on their own.
Turkey invited a commission consisting Turkish and Armenian historians
to investigate the issue in detail by opening the Ottoman as well as
military archives. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter
to Armenian President Robert Kocharian calling for the establishment
of a "commission of historians." The Turkish Grand National Assembly
(TBMM) sent a letter to the British House of Commons asking it to
declare that the "Blue Book" written by Arnold Tonybee, which supports
Armenian allegations, is a product of propaganda.
Tonybee himself confesses that the book is a propaganda product.
Britain had prepared a similar book during World War I against the
Germans. The reason behind this was to make things difficult for Turkey
and Germany in the international arena, to get US support during the
war and to prepare the ground for the collapse of the Ottoman Empire,
and hence, establish two Armenian states in Anatolia.
Prof. Hikmet Ozdemir who is conducting researches on the Armenian
issue at the Turkish Institute of History (TTK) revealed in his
interview published in Aksiyon Weekly News Magazine that around 1914,
just before World War I, Britain prepared some maps that gave Izmir
to the Greeks, established the Armenian Kingdom of Celicia around
Cukurova and an Armenian Republic in Van. Ozdemir has proven these
with original documents written at that time. It is also a fact that
Russia incited the Armenians in eastern Anatolia.
It is also known that Armenians started to seek new ideals, incite
many rebellions, murder many Muslims and sabotage military deliveries
under the influence of nationalism and with external support. As a
result, the Ottoman Empire implemented forced emigration against the
Armenians. This implementation known as "Emigration" took place in 1915
and it was also applied by many countries in the world including the
US and Russia. It is a fact that many people lost their lives during
the emigration; there were serious tragic events due to attacks by
gangs and epidemics. But if it is taken into account that over 400,000
Ottoman soldiers also died from epidemics in the same period, and
those who were responsible for these deaths were tried and punished,
it will be better understood that these deaths and tragedies were not
intentional but resulted from the helplessness of the Ottoman Empire.
Erdogan and the calls he made in parliament are very important
because of this reason. The Armenians, who do not have any proof to
back their "genocide" claims, are not comfortable with this call.
Just as Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan said to the Mediamax
News Agency: "Turkey is not only trying to rewrite its own history
from the beginning in a disrespectful manner, but it also trying to
encourage other countries to do likewise."
Why does Armenia, which has been involved in ethnic cleansing acts
in Nagorno-Karabakh and has forced over 1,000,000 Azeris out of their
own lands, oppose the establishment of a commission of historians and
opening of the Armenian state archives and those of the Tasnak Party?
It is because they are afraid that their stabbing of the Ottomans in
the back, by cooperating with the Russians and the British, and also
the fact that the emigration implemented by Ottoman Empire was not
genocide, but a precautionary measure, will be revealed.
If it were the reverse, Oskanyan would not have wasted his breath but
would have used his unilateral right to apply to the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) with the documents that he has.