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AZG Armenian Daily #144, 17/08/2005
Neighbors
TRIAL OVER EKTAN TURKYILMAZ - SUBJECT OF SPECULATIONS IN TURKEY
On June 17, the National Security Service of Armenia detained Turkish
citizen Ektan Turkyilmaz while the latter was trying to transport a
pile of books dated 17-20 centuries at the Zvartnots airport. Turkish
public TV responded the very day of the arrest, and Milliyet newspaper
informed June 21 that Turkey takes measures to release the Turkish
scientist.
Turkyilmaz, being the first Turkish scientist to study the state
archives of Armenia, is very impartial in his evaluation of events
of 1915, contrary to his fellow scholars from Turkey. He is working
at his dissertation at the Duke University of the US and has good
command of Kurdish, Ottoman, English, French and Armenian.
Neglecting Turkey's demand, Armenian authorities brought Turkyilmaz
to trial. The first and second sessions took place in Yerevan August
12 and 15. Covering the event on August 13, Turkish Hurriyet wrote
that the court will reach a verdict to release Turkyilmaz on August
15. It did not happen.
On August 13, Turkey's intellectual community wrote a letter to
RA President Robert Kocharian demanding to set Ektan Turkyilmaz
free. Among the signatories of this demand were opponents of the
state thesis of Turkish authorities on the Armenian Genocide.
Not to satisfy the demand to release Turkyilmaz will mean to justify
assaults those scholars face at the hands of the Turkish government,
moreover, it will create the illusion in the Turkish society that
the latter are rejected by the Armenian authorities as well. This
blocks their attempts to oppose the state approach to the Armenian
Genocide in Turkey and opens a second front to confront the Armenian
authorities as regards Turkyilmaz case.
It is obvious that this confrontation will limit the possibilities of
those scholars in the issue of the Armenian Genocide and speculations
in the trial over Turkyilmaz will inevitably politicize the issue.
The August 10 issue of Hurriyet draws conclusions about the trial
that well smells politics. The Turkish paper calls Ektan Turkyilmaz
one of those unique Turkish scientists who are impartial in their
approach to the events of 1915; then it goes on describing his arrest
as very worrisome, saying that he was arrested after entering the
Armenian archives, which casts doubts on tolerance towards independent
researchers in Armenia.
By Hakob Chakrian
Neighbors
TRIAL OVER EKTAN TURKYILMAZ - SUBJECT OF SPECULATIONS IN TURKEY
On June 17, the National Security Service of Armenia detained Turkish
citizen Ektan Turkyilmaz while the latter was trying to transport a
pile of books dated 17-20 centuries at the Zvartnots airport. Turkish
public TV responded the very day of the arrest, and Milliyet newspaper
informed June 21 that Turkey takes measures to release the Turkish
scientist.
Turkyilmaz, being the first Turkish scientist to study the state
archives of Armenia, is very impartial in his evaluation of events
of 1915, contrary to his fellow scholars from Turkey. He is working
at his dissertation at the Duke University of the US and has good
command of Kurdish, Ottoman, English, French and Armenian.
Neglecting Turkey's demand, Armenian authorities brought Turkyilmaz
to trial. The first and second sessions took place in Yerevan August
12 and 15. Covering the event on August 13, Turkish Hurriyet wrote
that the court will reach a verdict to release Turkyilmaz on August
15. It did not happen.
On August 13, Turkey's intellectual community wrote a letter to
RA President Robert Kocharian demanding to set Ektan Turkyilmaz
free. Among the signatories of this demand were opponents of the
state thesis of Turkish authorities on the Armenian Genocide.
Not to satisfy the demand to release Turkyilmaz will mean to justify
assaults those scholars face at the hands of the Turkish government,
moreover, it will create the illusion in the Turkish society that
the latter are rejected by the Armenian authorities as well. This
blocks their attempts to oppose the state approach to the Armenian
Genocide in Turkey and opens a second front to confront the Armenian
authorities as regards Turkyilmaz case.
It is obvious that this confrontation will limit the possibilities of
those scholars in the issue of the Armenian Genocide and speculations
in the trial over Turkyilmaz will inevitably politicize the issue.
The August 10 issue of Hurriyet draws conclusions about the trial
that well smells politics. The Turkish paper calls Ektan Turkyilmaz
one of those unique Turkish scientists who are impartial in their
approach to the events of 1915; then it goes on describing his arrest
as very worrisome, saying that he was arrested after entering the
Armenian archives, which casts doubts on tolerance towards independent
researchers in Armenia.
By Hakob Chakrian