Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Jordan: Burden of memory

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Jordan: Burden of memory

    Jordan Times, Jordan
    April 25 2005

    Burden of memory
    By Charles Tannock


    All wars end, eventually. But memories of atrocity never seem to
    fade, as the government-fanned anti-Japanese riots now taking place
    in China remind us. The 90th anniversary of the Armenian massacres of
    1915, ordered by the ruling Young Turks of the Ottoman Empire and
    carried out by the Kurds, is another wound that will not heal, but
    one that must be treated if Turkey's progress towards European Union
    membership is to proceed smoothly.
    It is believed that the Armenian genocide inspired the Nazis in their
    plans for the extermination of Jews. However, in comparison with the
    Holocaust, most people still know little about this dark episode.

    Indeed, it is hard for most of us to imagine the scale of suffering
    and devastation inflicted on the Armenian people and their ancestral
    homelands. But many members of today's thriving global Armenian
    diaspora have direct ancestors who perished, and carry an oral
    historical tradition that keeps the memories burning.

    It is particularly ironic that many Kurds from Turkey's southeastern
    provinces, having been promised Armenian property and a guaranteed
    place in heaven for killing infidels, were willingly complicit in the
    genocide. They later found themselves on the losing end of a long
    history of violence between their own separatist forces and the
    Turkish army, as well as being subjected to an ongoing policy of
    discrimination and forced assimilation.

    Historically, the ancient Christian Armenians were amongst the most
    progressive people in the East, but in the 19th century Armenia was
    divided between the Ottoman Empire and Russia. Sultan Abdulhamit II
    organised the massacres of 1895-97 but it was not until the spring of
    1915, under the cover of World War I, that the Young Turks'
    nationalistic government found the political will to execute a true
    genocide.

    Initially, Armenian intellectuals were arrested and executed in
    public hangings in groups of 50 to 100. Ordinary Armenians were thus
    deprived of their leaders, and soon after were massacred, with many
    burned alive. Approximately 500,000 were killed in the last seven
    months of 1915, with the majority of the survivors deported to desert
    areas in Syria, where they died from either starvation or disease. It
    is estimated that 1.5 million people perished.

    Recently, the Armenian diaspora has been calling on Turkey to face up
    to its past and recognise its historic crime. Turkey's official line
    remains that the allegation is based on unfounded or exaggerated
    claims, and that the deaths that occurred resulted from combat
    against Armenians collaborating with invading Russian forces during
    World War I, or as a result of disease and hunger during the forced
    deportations. Moreover, the local Turkish population allegedly
    suffered similar casualties.

    Turkey thus argues that the charge of genocide is designed to
    besmirch Turkey's honour and impede its progress towards EU
    accession. There are also understandable fears that diverging from
    the official line would trigger a flood of compensation claims, as
    occurred against Germany.

    For many politicians, particularly in America, there is an
    unwillingness to upset Turkey without strong justification, given its
    record as a loyal NATO ally and putative EU candidate country. But,
    despite almost half a century of membership in the Council of Europe
    - ostensibly a guardian of human rights, including freedom of speech
    and conscience - Turkey still punishes as a crime against national
    honour any suggestion that the Armenian genocide is an historic
    truth. Fortunately, this article of Turkey's penal code is now due
    for review and possible repeal.

    Indeed, broader changes are afoot in Turkey. The press and
    government, mindful of the requirements of EU membership, are finally
    opening the sensitive Armenian issue to debate. Even Prime Minister
    Recep Tayyip Erdogan, under increasing EU pressure as accession
    negotiations are due to begin this October, has agreed to an
    impartial study by academic historians, although he has reiterated
    his belief that the genocide never occurred.

    In France, the historical occurrence of the Armenian genocide is
    enshrined in law, and denial of its occurrence is regarded in the
    same way as Holocaust denial.

    The European Parliament is pressing for Turkish recognition of the
    Armenian genocide. It is also calling for an end to the trade embargo
    by Turkey and its close ally Azerbaijan against the Republic of
    Armenia, a reopening of frontiers, and a land-for-peace deal to
    resolve the territorial dispute over Nagorno Karabakh in Azerbaijan
    and safeguard its Armenian identity.

    Armenia, an independent country since 1991, remains dependent on
    continued Russian protection, as was the case in 1920 when it joined
    the Soviet Union rather than suffer further Turkish invasion. This is
    not healthy for the development of Armenia's democracy and weak
    economy. Nor does Armenia's continued dependence on Russia bode well
    for regional cooperation, given deep resentment of Russian meddling
    in neighbouring Georgia and Azerbaijan.

    There is only one way forward for Turkey, Armenia and the region. The
    future will begin only when Turkey - like Germany in the past and
    Serbia and Croatia now - repudiates its policy of denial and faces up
    to its terrible crimes of 1915. Only then can the past truly be past.


    The writer is chairman of the European Parliament's Human Rights
    Committee. ©Project Syndicate, 2005. www.project-syndicate.org

    http://www.jordantimes.com/Mon/opinion/opinion4.htm
Working...
X