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AZG Armenian Daily #087, 13/05/2006
Armenian Genocide
BRITISH-ARMENIAN HISTORIAN ARA SARAFIAN CENSURES FRENCH BILL
Following the May 10 rejection of the Armenian Genocide bill by the
Legislative Commission of the French Parliament, Turkey's president
Ahmed Necet Sezer sent a letter to president Jacques Chirac of
France. The Turkish president expressed satisfaction with Chirac's
contribution to Turkish-French relations, emphasized that historic
issues should be left for the historians to deal with and pointed out
that the draft penalizing Armenian Genocide denial goes against
freedom of thought - a basic principle in France.
President Sezer reminded his French counterpart of Turkey's proposal
to Armenia on "setting a joint group to study genocide allegations."
Regardless the context, the Turkish president uses the word
"genocide". Unlike him, Turkish intellectuals including Hrant Dink and
Etien Mahchipian prefer "atrocities" to "genocide" in an open letter
in French daily Le Liberacion.
British-Armenian historian and director of the Gomidas Institute in
London, Ara Sarafian, has joined his compatriots from Turkey censuring
the French draft on the pages of Turkish daily Zaman.
Sarafian thinks the draft law may halt the blossoming debate in Turkey
on what happened in 1915 and once adopted will deal a blow to
Turkey-EU relations thus hindering democratic processes in the
country.
The following is the full text of his remarks in response to Zaman's
questions about the proposed draft law:
The Armenian issue has become a political issue between two contending
camps, Turkish nationalists (and successive Turkish governments) on
the one hand, and Armenian nationalists on the other. Because Turkish
governments have until recently denied that there was an Armenian
issue to be addressed, or explained that the issue was the product of
"Armenian terrorism" (1970s and 80s), or unfortunate events of mutual
communal carnage, they also set the ground rules of how this issue
would be addressed i.e. in terms of power politics. They thus nurtured
and empowered the radical Armenian nationalist camps we see today.
Armenian nationalists are now playing the game by the same rules, and
they have recently found themselves in a powerful position because of
Turkey's accession talks for EU membership. They have aligned the
Armenian issue in two somewhat contradictory camps, where the Armenian
issue is used as a yardstick to measure Turkey's ability to come to
terms with its past, and in doing so, its ability to adopt a new
political trajectory that reflects core values adopted by the European
Union; and at the same time, the Armenian issue is used to give
substance to racists, xenophobes and anti-Islamicists who do not want
Turkey to enter the European Union.
The prospective French law is part of an unfortunate power dynamic,
and whether it passes or not, the final outcome will be the result of
power politics. It is ironic that the French legislature, with its own
past in Algeria and Rwanda, is willing to go down this path.
Perhaps the real tragedy is that the current Turkish government has
taken important steps to resolve the Armenian issue. After all, it has
"uncensored" the Armenian debate in Turkey by allowing it to be
discussed openly, letting Turkish nationalist institutions, such as
the Turkish Historical Society, to fend for themselves in the open
arena. It is true that the debate is unequal. There are still
draconian laws that are invoked against dissidents, and most TV
stations still espouse the anti-Armenian line, but there is still a
significant shift towards open debate. Not all TV stations programmes
espouse the state perspective, many newspapers and publications
discuss the Armenian issue more openly, and many court cases against
dissenters are quashed within Turkish legal system.
There are already many Turks and Kurds who have entered this debate in
a critical manner, and they have critical audiences who want to know
the truth. All of this is to Turkey's credit and there is every
prospect that the Armenian issue will be resolved in a peaceful manner
in the near future.
It is unfortunate that, if the prospective French law is passed, it
could lead to a souring of relations between Turkey and the EU, as
well as a right-wing backlash within Turkey and its own
democratization process. Such a scenario will suit the interest of the
two nationalist camps, which will remain part of the problem and not
the solution.
I hope, irrespective of what happens in Paris in the next few weeks,
we do not lose the perspective of what is important. Today we have the
opportunity of resolving the Armenian issue in a peaceful and
meaningful fashion, based on the truth, and the dignity of the
descendants of the people concerned. Europeans should help and judge
Turkey and Armenians on how they progress down this road. The current
proposed legislation in Paris is a detraction at best, and a hindrance
at worse.
These views of London-based Armenian historian are pleasing to Turkish
official circles as Ara Sarafian identifies neo-fascistic xenophobia
of the Grey Wolves with the Armenian nationalism and equates the
Armenian Diaspora fighting for the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide with Turkey that insistently denies it. He views the
initiatives of Genocide recognition as a hindrance for settling the
Armenian issue in Turkey as well as for democratization of
Turkey. Meanwhile he condemns the authors of the initiative perhaps
sending a positive signal to Ankara and interested international
powers.
By Hakob Chakrian
Armenian Genocide
BRITISH-ARMENIAN HISTORIAN ARA SARAFIAN CENSURES FRENCH BILL
Following the May 10 rejection of the Armenian Genocide bill by the
Legislative Commission of the French Parliament, Turkey's president
Ahmed Necet Sezer sent a letter to president Jacques Chirac of
France. The Turkish president expressed satisfaction with Chirac's
contribution to Turkish-French relations, emphasized that historic
issues should be left for the historians to deal with and pointed out
that the draft penalizing Armenian Genocide denial goes against
freedom of thought - a basic principle in France.
President Sezer reminded his French counterpart of Turkey's proposal
to Armenia on "setting a joint group to study genocide allegations."
Regardless the context, the Turkish president uses the word
"genocide". Unlike him, Turkish intellectuals including Hrant Dink and
Etien Mahchipian prefer "atrocities" to "genocide" in an open letter
in French daily Le Liberacion.
British-Armenian historian and director of the Gomidas Institute in
London, Ara Sarafian, has joined his compatriots from Turkey censuring
the French draft on the pages of Turkish daily Zaman.
Sarafian thinks the draft law may halt the blossoming debate in Turkey
on what happened in 1915 and once adopted will deal a blow to
Turkey-EU relations thus hindering democratic processes in the
country.
The following is the full text of his remarks in response to Zaman's
questions about the proposed draft law:
The Armenian issue has become a political issue between two contending
camps, Turkish nationalists (and successive Turkish governments) on
the one hand, and Armenian nationalists on the other. Because Turkish
governments have until recently denied that there was an Armenian
issue to be addressed, or explained that the issue was the product of
"Armenian terrorism" (1970s and 80s), or unfortunate events of mutual
communal carnage, they also set the ground rules of how this issue
would be addressed i.e. in terms of power politics. They thus nurtured
and empowered the radical Armenian nationalist camps we see today.
Armenian nationalists are now playing the game by the same rules, and
they have recently found themselves in a powerful position because of
Turkey's accession talks for EU membership. They have aligned the
Armenian issue in two somewhat contradictory camps, where the Armenian
issue is used as a yardstick to measure Turkey's ability to come to
terms with its past, and in doing so, its ability to adopt a new
political trajectory that reflects core values adopted by the European
Union; and at the same time, the Armenian issue is used to give
substance to racists, xenophobes and anti-Islamicists who do not want
Turkey to enter the European Union.
The prospective French law is part of an unfortunate power dynamic,
and whether it passes or not, the final outcome will be the result of
power politics. It is ironic that the French legislature, with its own
past in Algeria and Rwanda, is willing to go down this path.
Perhaps the real tragedy is that the current Turkish government has
taken important steps to resolve the Armenian issue. After all, it has
"uncensored" the Armenian debate in Turkey by allowing it to be
discussed openly, letting Turkish nationalist institutions, such as
the Turkish Historical Society, to fend for themselves in the open
arena. It is true that the debate is unequal. There are still
draconian laws that are invoked against dissidents, and most TV
stations still espouse the anti-Armenian line, but there is still a
significant shift towards open debate. Not all TV stations programmes
espouse the state perspective, many newspapers and publications
discuss the Armenian issue more openly, and many court cases against
dissenters are quashed within Turkish legal system.
There are already many Turks and Kurds who have entered this debate in
a critical manner, and they have critical audiences who want to know
the truth. All of this is to Turkey's credit and there is every
prospect that the Armenian issue will be resolved in a peaceful manner
in the near future.
It is unfortunate that, if the prospective French law is passed, it
could lead to a souring of relations between Turkey and the EU, as
well as a right-wing backlash within Turkey and its own
democratization process. Such a scenario will suit the interest of the
two nationalist camps, which will remain part of the problem and not
the solution.
I hope, irrespective of what happens in Paris in the next few weeks,
we do not lose the perspective of what is important. Today we have the
opportunity of resolving the Armenian issue in a peaceful and
meaningful fashion, based on the truth, and the dignity of the
descendants of the people concerned. Europeans should help and judge
Turkey and Armenians on how they progress down this road. The current
proposed legislation in Paris is a detraction at best, and a hindrance
at worse.
These views of London-based Armenian historian are pleasing to Turkish
official circles as Ara Sarafian identifies neo-fascistic xenophobia
of the Grey Wolves with the Armenian nationalism and equates the
Armenian Diaspora fighting for the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide with Turkey that insistently denies it. He views the
initiatives of Genocide recognition as a hindrance for settling the
Armenian issue in Turkey as well as for democratization of
Turkey. Meanwhile he condemns the authors of the initiative perhaps
sending a positive signal to Ankara and interested international
powers.
By Hakob Chakrian