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BENEFITS OF WAITING
Gunduz Aktan
Turkish Daily News
Oct 26 2006
Some time has passed since the French parliament passed the bill that
criminalizes denial of the Armenian "genocide." Now that it has lost
its newsworthiness, we can better analyze the matter.
Passing such a law caused some problems for France, but we should not
exaggerate them too much. The criticisms directed against France were
all for needlessly limiting freedom of expression. Most EU citizens,
especially the French, believe the Armenian incidents in 1915
constitute genocide. All those who have anything to say first voice
their belief that the genocide actually occurred before criticizing
the bill. Maybe they get the right to raise such criticism only after
they present their credentials.
Most of the criticisms in Turkey are also for France limiting freedom
of expression. That's why some argue that annulling Article 301 of the
Turkish Penal Code (TCK) would prove we respect freedom of expression
more than France and would provide a very wise response.
However, the problem goes beyond freedom of expression or academic
freedoms.
Genocide is the worst of crimes. Just like every other crime, law
defines it and the courts decide on it. Without a verdict, a person,
a group or a country cannot be accused of having committed genocide.
Moreover, it is impossible to refute a crime that has not been
proven first.
That's exactly why a law passed by the French parliament in 2001 that
recognizes the Armenian "genocide" cannot be enforced. On the other
hand, the Gaysot Law (1990), which criminalizes denial of the Jewish
Holocaust, is enforceable because it is based on the Nuremberg court
sentences. Professor O. Duhamel, fervently praised former minister
Jack Lang as the only person who had the courage to voice this. How
unfortunate for France.
If the bill becomes law in its present form, the right of Turkey
and the families of Enver Pasha and Talat Pasha to defend themselves
against the charges are rescinded. This is a more severe human rights
violation than limiting freedom of speech.
After this injustice, the gestures of French President Jacques
Chirac and the French government, as if they share our concerns,
are sickening. The Armenian government has also resorted to similar
deception as if it has nothing to do with such initiatives. They place
the blame with the Armenian diaspora. Actually, while one tries to
protect its commercial interests, the other is working to ensure that
the Armenians who illegally work here are not repatriated. They are
after both material and moral benefits.
Armenians used Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia
(ASALA) terrorism to promote their genocide claims and largely
succeeded. Westerners saw the courage to resort to terrorism as proof
of Armenians having been victims of genocide. They ignored the carnage
of terrorism until it also harmed them.
This incited Armenians to threaten academics in the United States
who said there was no genocide. They pressured universities to
dismiss such academics. They prevented publishers from printing
anything that went against their thesis. Those that were published
were collected. Dissident voices were not permitted in the meeting
they held.
They walked through the corridors of the European Parliament,
brandishing guns in 1987 in order to ensure the resolution the European
Parliament was debating would support their thesis. They prevented
deputies from entering the meeting hall.
The threats by some Armenians made against one Armenian member of
the Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Council (TARC) resulted in him
hiding his family at a secret location and blood clots that caused
him to undergo two surgeries.
Armenian lobbies that spend exorbitant amounts of money influenced
administrations and parliaments. The Armenian diaspora used their
votes for political blackmail. They bought hundreds of people and
made them write books full of lies. It was proven that the Talat Pasha
telegraph was false. What Henry Morgenthau wrote about Talat Pasha and
Enver Pasha is full of falsehoods, too. Lepsius, who never set foot in
Anatolia, talked about the incidents as if he were an eyewitness. The
Blue Book is only war propaganda. They have now started to bribe Turks.
There is no United Nations resolution on the matter, but they look us
in the eye and say there is. Our archives are open, but they say they
aren't. They say the Teþkilatý Mahsusa (Ottoman intelligence services)
organized genocide. Professors Lewy and Ericson smash this theory. Yet
they still look the other way. The figures they quote are sheer lies
and the documents they cite are a sham.
What does this disgrace have to do with freedom of expression?
--Boundary_(ID_JzutrHi5StTR7PLqAm/TvQ )--
Gunduz Aktan
Turkish Daily News
Oct 26 2006
Some time has passed since the French parliament passed the bill that
criminalizes denial of the Armenian "genocide." Now that it has lost
its newsworthiness, we can better analyze the matter.
Passing such a law caused some problems for France, but we should not
exaggerate them too much. The criticisms directed against France were
all for needlessly limiting freedom of expression. Most EU citizens,
especially the French, believe the Armenian incidents in 1915
constitute genocide. All those who have anything to say first voice
their belief that the genocide actually occurred before criticizing
the bill. Maybe they get the right to raise such criticism only after
they present their credentials.
Most of the criticisms in Turkey are also for France limiting freedom
of expression. That's why some argue that annulling Article 301 of the
Turkish Penal Code (TCK) would prove we respect freedom of expression
more than France and would provide a very wise response.
However, the problem goes beyond freedom of expression or academic
freedoms.
Genocide is the worst of crimes. Just like every other crime, law
defines it and the courts decide on it. Without a verdict, a person,
a group or a country cannot be accused of having committed genocide.
Moreover, it is impossible to refute a crime that has not been
proven first.
That's exactly why a law passed by the French parliament in 2001 that
recognizes the Armenian "genocide" cannot be enforced. On the other
hand, the Gaysot Law (1990), which criminalizes denial of the Jewish
Holocaust, is enforceable because it is based on the Nuremberg court
sentences. Professor O. Duhamel, fervently praised former minister
Jack Lang as the only person who had the courage to voice this. How
unfortunate for France.
If the bill becomes law in its present form, the right of Turkey
and the families of Enver Pasha and Talat Pasha to defend themselves
against the charges are rescinded. This is a more severe human rights
violation than limiting freedom of speech.
After this injustice, the gestures of French President Jacques
Chirac and the French government, as if they share our concerns,
are sickening. The Armenian government has also resorted to similar
deception as if it has nothing to do with such initiatives. They place
the blame with the Armenian diaspora. Actually, while one tries to
protect its commercial interests, the other is working to ensure that
the Armenians who illegally work here are not repatriated. They are
after both material and moral benefits.
Armenians used Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia
(ASALA) terrorism to promote their genocide claims and largely
succeeded. Westerners saw the courage to resort to terrorism as proof
of Armenians having been victims of genocide. They ignored the carnage
of terrorism until it also harmed them.
This incited Armenians to threaten academics in the United States
who said there was no genocide. They pressured universities to
dismiss such academics. They prevented publishers from printing
anything that went against their thesis. Those that were published
were collected. Dissident voices were not permitted in the meeting
they held.
They walked through the corridors of the European Parliament,
brandishing guns in 1987 in order to ensure the resolution the European
Parliament was debating would support their thesis. They prevented
deputies from entering the meeting hall.
The threats by some Armenians made against one Armenian member of
the Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Council (TARC) resulted in him
hiding his family at a secret location and blood clots that caused
him to undergo two surgeries.
Armenian lobbies that spend exorbitant amounts of money influenced
administrations and parliaments. The Armenian diaspora used their
votes for political blackmail. They bought hundreds of people and
made them write books full of lies. It was proven that the Talat Pasha
telegraph was false. What Henry Morgenthau wrote about Talat Pasha and
Enver Pasha is full of falsehoods, too. Lepsius, who never set foot in
Anatolia, talked about the incidents as if he were an eyewitness. The
Blue Book is only war propaganda. They have now started to bribe Turks.
There is no United Nations resolution on the matter, but they look us
in the eye and say there is. Our archives are open, but they say they
aren't. They say the Teþkilatý Mahsusa (Ottoman intelligence services)
organized genocide. Professors Lewy and Ericson smash this theory. Yet
they still look the other way. The figures they quote are sheer lies
and the documents they cite are a sham.
What does this disgrace have to do with freedom of expression?
--Boundary_(ID_JzutrHi5StTR7PLqAm/TvQ )--