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TURKEY: FOCUS - ARMENIAN 'GENOCIDE' NOW DEBATED THOUGH STILL DENIED
AKI, Italy
April 22 2005
Istanbul, 22 April (AKI) - Commemorations this Sunday marking the
90th anniversary of the Armenian 'genocide' will remind Turks of yet
another hurdle on their country's tortuous path to European Union
membership. But while the "Armenian problem" has been a taboo topic
~V mere mention of it in public would often result in legal sanctions
~V there are signs that Turkish society is slowly coming to terms
with a part of its history it long chose to banish from memory.
Soon after EU leaders agreed last December to open accession talks
with Turkey, the European Parliament urged Ankara to recognise the
1915-1923 killings of Armenians as genocide. In particular France,
a leading EU member and the home for a large number of the "Armenian
Diaspora", continues to press Turkey on the issue.
~SWe will raise all the matters, including the Armenian genocide,
to hear Turkey~Rs response in the course of accession negotiations,
which will be very long and very difficult,~T French Foreign Minister
Michel Barnier has said recently.
Most historians contend that the death of an estimated 1.5 million
Armenians, the destruction of their villages, and confiscation of their
land under Ottoman Empire and Turkish rule during the period 1915 ~V
1923 amounts to genocide, a plan to exterminate the ethnic Christian
minority - considered a threat by Istanbul's Islamic masters ~V and
empty out its traditional lands for occupation by Turks.
The official Turkish version of the story runs something like
this: During World War I the Armenians living under Ottoman rule
collaborated with the Empire's Russian enemies and formed military
groups who attacked and killed thousands of Turkish civilians in
the Empire's eastern provinces. For security reasons, the Armenian
population was moved from Turkey's Anatolia to Syria and the region
of Mesopotamia. Many Armenians died during this trek, but this was
due to diseases and natural factors not a mass extermination campaign.
Turkish politicians, academics and military officials still defend
this stance and also argue that recognising the genocide claims would
encourage Armenians, backed by the EU and the United States, to achieve
their "hidden" aims ~V state compensation for the "so-called" victims
including handing over to Armenia land now part of modern-day Turkey.
Still, it is now difficult for Turkey to ignore Armenian Genocide
Memorial Day on 24 April. In 1915, on this day, 300 Armenian leaders
and intellectuals in Istanbul were rounded up, deported and killed,
while a further 5,000 Armenians were butchered in the city' streets and
in their homes. Over the coming days Armenia's capital, Yerevan, will
host a series of international conferences, meetings and exhibitions
to mark the occasion.
Unlike previous governments, that never made mention of the Armenian
genocide claims, the current government of Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan
appears to be less sensitive to media and politicians discussing the
topic, even if most of the public utterances made have been to deny
the genocide ever took place.
Last month, American historian and Louisville University professor
Justin McCarthy was invited by the opposition Republican People~Rs
Party (CHP) to hold a series of conferences. McCarthy who denies the
genocide took place, argued that Armenian claims for its recognition,
are politically motivated and false.
Earlier this month, for the first time in its history, the Turkish
parliament - the General Assembly - debated the issue, first within
the EU Harmonisation and Foreign Relations Committee and then in a
general session.
On April 5, Turkish MPs and a group of prominent Turkish Armenians
discussed the claims made by both both sides. Then in a speech to
parliament, Etyen Mahcupyan, a well-known columnist of the daily Zaman,
went as far as questioning the credibility of US historian McCarthy,
enlisted to endorse the Turkish version of events.
~STurkey does not have to take into account the [Armenian] Diaspora.
It has to take into account the Armenians living in Turkey and Armenia
as a neighbour~T Mahcupyan said.
Erdogan himself has called for the opening of the Ottoman archives
and for historians to study the evidence, a statement described as
"historic" by Hrant Dinkm the editor of Agos, an Armenian daily
published in Turkey.
In what is perhaps the most significant development, on 13 April a
proposal by the government and the opposition was presented to the
Parliament calling for the appointment of a commission of Turkish
and Armenian historians to examine the national archives "without
limitations" and to make public the results of their research.
Parliamentarians said that the success of this proposal would depend
on the "co-operation" of the Armenian government.
~SUnless Turkey and Armenia look at the history from the same
perspective, they will only leave prejudices, enmity and revenge to
their children and forthcoming generations,~T the proposal, said.
However, MPs also signed a letter to the British parliament demanding
that it declare a book entitled ~QThe Treatment of Armenians in
Ottoman Empire 1915-1916~R , also known as the ~QBlue Book~R, as
"not credible~R. Many of the documented facts regarding the genocide
are contained in the book whose author, Arnold Toynbee, wrote for
the British War Propaganda Office, Turks say.
So far, what some regard as overtures by Ankara, have failed to make
much of an impression in Yerevan. "Turkey not only tries to reconsider
its history without any shame but also wants to force other countries
do the same," Armenian foreign minister Vartan Oskanian said at a 13
April news conference..
As for what ordinary citizens of the neighbouring countries think
of each other, studies suggest that there is still a long way to go
before a reconciliation can take place.
A recent survey conducted in the two countries jointly by two
non-governmental organisations, the Turkish Economic and Social Studies
Foundation, TESEV from Turkey, and the Social Sciences Centre, HASA,
in Armenia revealed large amounts of prejudice based on ignorance.
The 1,200 respondents in Turkey and the 1,000 respondents in Armenia
were polled over a two-year period. Some 17 percent of the respondents
from Turkey believe that Armenians are Jewish and 13.5 percent believe
Armenia is under Communist rule. While 68.7 percent of Armenians
describe Turks with derogatory adjectives, only 34 percent of Turks
think the same way about Armenians, the study showed.
Some 94.1 percent of Armenian respondents and 68 percent of the
Turkish respondents would not allow their daughters to marry a man
from the other group. The most dominant view shared by 37.4 percent of
Armenian respondents and 30.8 percent of Turkish respondents is that
"relations will remain as they are now in the near future".
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Trends&loid=8.0.155667632 &par=0
AKI, Italy
April 22 2005
Istanbul, 22 April (AKI) - Commemorations this Sunday marking the
90th anniversary of the Armenian 'genocide' will remind Turks of yet
another hurdle on their country's tortuous path to European Union
membership. But while the "Armenian problem" has been a taboo topic
~V mere mention of it in public would often result in legal sanctions
~V there are signs that Turkish society is slowly coming to terms
with a part of its history it long chose to banish from memory.
Soon after EU leaders agreed last December to open accession talks
with Turkey, the European Parliament urged Ankara to recognise the
1915-1923 killings of Armenians as genocide. In particular France,
a leading EU member and the home for a large number of the "Armenian
Diaspora", continues to press Turkey on the issue.
~SWe will raise all the matters, including the Armenian genocide,
to hear Turkey~Rs response in the course of accession negotiations,
which will be very long and very difficult,~T French Foreign Minister
Michel Barnier has said recently.
Most historians contend that the death of an estimated 1.5 million
Armenians, the destruction of their villages, and confiscation of their
land under Ottoman Empire and Turkish rule during the period 1915 ~V
1923 amounts to genocide, a plan to exterminate the ethnic Christian
minority - considered a threat by Istanbul's Islamic masters ~V and
empty out its traditional lands for occupation by Turks.
The official Turkish version of the story runs something like
this: During World War I the Armenians living under Ottoman rule
collaborated with the Empire's Russian enemies and formed military
groups who attacked and killed thousands of Turkish civilians in
the Empire's eastern provinces. For security reasons, the Armenian
population was moved from Turkey's Anatolia to Syria and the region
of Mesopotamia. Many Armenians died during this trek, but this was
due to diseases and natural factors not a mass extermination campaign.
Turkish politicians, academics and military officials still defend
this stance and also argue that recognising the genocide claims would
encourage Armenians, backed by the EU and the United States, to achieve
their "hidden" aims ~V state compensation for the "so-called" victims
including handing over to Armenia land now part of modern-day Turkey.
Still, it is now difficult for Turkey to ignore Armenian Genocide
Memorial Day on 24 April. In 1915, on this day, 300 Armenian leaders
and intellectuals in Istanbul were rounded up, deported and killed,
while a further 5,000 Armenians were butchered in the city' streets and
in their homes. Over the coming days Armenia's capital, Yerevan, will
host a series of international conferences, meetings and exhibitions
to mark the occasion.
Unlike previous governments, that never made mention of the Armenian
genocide claims, the current government of Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan
appears to be less sensitive to media and politicians discussing the
topic, even if most of the public utterances made have been to deny
the genocide ever took place.
Last month, American historian and Louisville University professor
Justin McCarthy was invited by the opposition Republican People~Rs
Party (CHP) to hold a series of conferences. McCarthy who denies the
genocide took place, argued that Armenian claims for its recognition,
are politically motivated and false.
Earlier this month, for the first time in its history, the Turkish
parliament - the General Assembly - debated the issue, first within
the EU Harmonisation and Foreign Relations Committee and then in a
general session.
On April 5, Turkish MPs and a group of prominent Turkish Armenians
discussed the claims made by both both sides. Then in a speech to
parliament, Etyen Mahcupyan, a well-known columnist of the daily Zaman,
went as far as questioning the credibility of US historian McCarthy,
enlisted to endorse the Turkish version of events.
~STurkey does not have to take into account the [Armenian] Diaspora.
It has to take into account the Armenians living in Turkey and Armenia
as a neighbour~T Mahcupyan said.
Erdogan himself has called for the opening of the Ottoman archives
and for historians to study the evidence, a statement described as
"historic" by Hrant Dinkm the editor of Agos, an Armenian daily
published in Turkey.
In what is perhaps the most significant development, on 13 April a
proposal by the government and the opposition was presented to the
Parliament calling for the appointment of a commission of Turkish
and Armenian historians to examine the national archives "without
limitations" and to make public the results of their research.
Parliamentarians said that the success of this proposal would depend
on the "co-operation" of the Armenian government.
~SUnless Turkey and Armenia look at the history from the same
perspective, they will only leave prejudices, enmity and revenge to
their children and forthcoming generations,~T the proposal, said.
However, MPs also signed a letter to the British parliament demanding
that it declare a book entitled ~QThe Treatment of Armenians in
Ottoman Empire 1915-1916~R , also known as the ~QBlue Book~R, as
"not credible~R. Many of the documented facts regarding the genocide
are contained in the book whose author, Arnold Toynbee, wrote for
the British War Propaganda Office, Turks say.
So far, what some regard as overtures by Ankara, have failed to make
much of an impression in Yerevan. "Turkey not only tries to reconsider
its history without any shame but also wants to force other countries
do the same," Armenian foreign minister Vartan Oskanian said at a 13
April news conference..
As for what ordinary citizens of the neighbouring countries think
of each other, studies suggest that there is still a long way to go
before a reconciliation can take place.
A recent survey conducted in the two countries jointly by two
non-governmental organisations, the Turkish Economic and Social Studies
Foundation, TESEV from Turkey, and the Social Sciences Centre, HASA,
in Armenia revealed large amounts of prejudice based on ignorance.
The 1,200 respondents in Turkey and the 1,000 respondents in Armenia
were polled over a two-year period. Some 17 percent of the respondents
from Turkey believe that Armenians are Jewish and 13.5 percent believe
Armenia is under Communist rule. While 68.7 percent of Armenians
describe Turks with derogatory adjectives, only 34 percent of Turks
think the same way about Armenians, the study showed.
Some 94.1 percent of Armenian respondents and 68 percent of the
Turkish respondents would not allow their daughters to marry a man
from the other group. The most dominant view shared by 37.4 percent of
Armenian respondents and 30.8 percent of Turkish respondents is that
"relations will remain as they are now in the near future".
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Trends&loid=8.0.155667632 &par=0