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The Armenian Mirror-Spectator
755 Mount Auburn St.
Watertown, MA 02472
Tel: (617) 924-4420
Fax: (617) 924-2887
Web: http://www.mirrorspectator.com
E-mail: [email protected]
September 19, 2010
1. Heritage Park Ceremonial Groundbreaking, Blessing, amid Nostalgia, Hope
for Future
2. An Explosive Book
******************************
1. Heritage Park Ceremonial Groundbreaking, Blessing, amid Nostalgia, Hope
for Future
By Alin Gregorian
Mirror-Spectator Staff
BOSTON - About 1,000 members of the Greater Boston Armenian community came
together as one on Thursday, September 9, for the ceremonial groundbreaking
and blessing of the Armenian Heritage Park along the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy
Greenway.
The audience, comprising everyone from infants to seniors, and from every
church and Armenian organization in the state, witnessed as Catholicos of
All Armenians Karekin II, in only his third trip to the United States, took
the stage to bless the site and recite a prayer for the souls of Armenian
Genocide martyrs as well as the generations to come.
Karekin II performed a service of blessing of the site and prayer for the
soul of the martyrs, as well as a prayer for peace and prosperity in the
Commonwealth.
Speaking in English, Karekin II thanked the community for extending an
invitation to him `to be in Boston and to share in this happy occasion. Your
city has played an important role in America,' he said, where the
`undefeatable spirit of my people' has found a home.
The Armenians who fled the Ottoman Empire, he said, `were received with care
and kindness. They became worthy citizens of this great country. [Later] our
boys fought alongside their Irish, Italian and African-American neighbors'
in World War II.
This monument, he said, is in memory of all victims of genocide, including
the Holocaust, Rwanda, Cambodia and Darfur.
`It is a symbol of survival, rebirth, renewal and service.'
He thanked the city of Boston and the Commonwealth for `their friendship,
support and steadfast adherence to the values of tolerance, equality and
love.'
And to the Armenians in the audience, he said, `We bring thanks from the
Homeland for keeping your Armenian values and culture. May God bless you now
and forever.'
Joining Karekin II on stage were Gov. Deval Patrick, US Rep. Michael Capuano
(D- 8th District), state Rep. Peter Koutoujian (D-Waltham), Boston Mayor
Thomas Menino and Heritage Park Foundation President James Kalustian.
Karekin II was flanked by the Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern) Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Prelate of the Prelacy of
the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) Oshagan Choloyan and Diocesan
Legate Archbishop Vicken Aykazian.
Similarly, members of the clergy from the Diocese and the Prelacy stood
together.
Among other dignitaries present and pointed out by Koutoujian, who served as
emcee, were former Massachusetts governor, Michael Dukakis, and his wife,
Kitty, as well as former state Representatives Rachel Kaprielian and Warren
Tolman, state Representatives Jonathan Hecht (D-Watertown) and Aaron
Michlewitz (D-North End), and state Senators Steven Tolman (D-2nd Suffolk
and Middlesex Districts) and Anthony Petruccelli (D-East Boston).
Koutoujian said that the realization of the park was touching for him and
the people of his generation, as he grew up with grandparents who tried to
erase the memories of what they had seen during the Genocide in their new
country.
The location of the park, Koutoujian said, was especially appropriate, as it
is flanked by Faneuil Hall, where `some of the first debates on human
rights' took place, and a park honoring Christopher Columbus, at the edge of
Boston's North End.
Menino said Boston is made up of neighborhoods and that diversity is what
makes the city such a popular destination.
He also pointed out and thanked Peter Meade, chairman of the Rose Kennedy
Greenway Conservancy, for his efforts; the crowd was tepid at best in
clapping for him, as he was a long-time opponent of the project.
The residents of the mostly Italian-American North End neighborhood were
universally praised for their cooperation during the protracted process.
Menino spoke about the residents' solidarity with their Armenian
compatriots. `They got the job done the right way,' said Menino. `Yes we had
a few bumps in the road, but =85 not only does this pay tribute to our
diversity, it pays tribute to our heritage - without taxpayer dollars.'
Capuano, who represents the North End in the House and who is a member of
the House Caucus on Armenian Affairs, said the celebration of ethnic
heritage by various communities `doesn't make us different; it makes us
respectful.'
He added, `The North End welcomed the Armenian people.'
He both acknowledged the Genocide and praised Turkey as a vital US ally.
`People try to rewrite history. The Armenian Genocide is one of [those
cases], he said.
`I regard the Turkish government as an ally, but that doesn't give them the
right to deny history.' He concluded his remarks by saying,
`Congratulations. It's been a long time coming.'
Patrick, who received thunderous applause, thanked his `brothers and
sisters,' adding, `I am so proud to stand with you today and to pay tribute
to human perseverance. It is an acknowledgement of a historical event that
cannot be denied; it must be acknowledged, but it has value beyond that
tragedy.'
`Every ethnic group wants to do better than previous generations. This is a
remarkable country unlike any other in human history. We are organized
around a handful of civic ideas,' rather than an ethnic background, common
religion or point of origin, he said.
*Knights, Kalustian Praised*
Koutoujian praised Charlie Guleserian and Haig Deranian of the Knights of
Vartan, as well as `the third guardian,' James Kalustian, for making the
park a reality.
He said of Kalustian, `No one else could have brought us to this point.' The
38 board members of the foundation, he said, voted unanimously on every
decision, no mean feat, thanks to Kalustian's team-building efforts, he
said.
Kalustian, visibly touched, thanked the Armenian community for giving `a
gift of $6 million' to the City of Boston, as not only the park will be
constructed with funds raised privately, but it will be maintained with this
fund. In addition, a related lecture series will be launched on human rights
at Faneuil Hall, again funded privately, in that case, by George and Dr.
Carolann Najarian.
The park, Kalustian said, is a tribute to Armenians who escaped `tragedy
and
misfortune and found safety in the harbor of Boston. =85 We have not and will
not forget the tragedy of the Armenian Genocide and we have to make sure'
that similar catastrophes do not occur again.
He stressed that Armenians in the state do not define themselves solely by
the Genocide; indeed, he said, the community has produced many notables in
the world of art, including Arshile Gorky, Yusuf Karsh and Alan Hovhaness,
as well as people like Moses Gulesian, whose efforts saved Old Ironsides
from being turned into scrap metal.
Speaking in Armenian, he said the community is `one spirit and one body,
in
order to help realize the dream of our people.' Kalustian thanked Patrick as
`a man of integrity and character. He did it because [he felt] it was the
right thing to do. Governor Patrick, thank you does not seem enough.'
He also thanked committee member Barbara Tellalian, and her husband,
architect Donald Tellalian, who designed the site and the monument that will
go on it. He also thanked `all our friends in the North End and the
Waterfront District.'
Donald Tellalian, speaking after the event, agreed, `our friends in the
North End thought it was terrific.'
He noted that he has been involved with the project for seven years. `I was
really very impressed by the pomp and circumstance of it all and very
pleased to see that so many of our community came out to celebrate this
event. I am very, very, pleased that Mayor Menino and Governor Patrick again
showed their support. It speaks to the friendships that Jim Kalustian has
made and the relationships that Peter Koutoujian has.'
Victoria Avetisyan and Yeghishe Manucharian sang the Armenian and American
national anthems, while a chorus comprising members of the Holy Trinity, St.
James and St. Stephen's Armenian Churches' choruses, sang hymns.
Also present were students from St. Stephen's Armenian Elementary School, as
well as the Armenian Sisters' Academy.
The park is expected to be completed within one year.
********************************************************************
2. An Explosive Book
*By Edmond Y. Azadian*
Turkey was the `sick man' of Europe throughout the 19th century. That
sickness transformed over time and changed character with succeeding regime
changes in Turkey: Ottoman, Ittihadist, Republican and today Islamist. But
Turkish society remained sick and that is the main reason that the country
is agonizing at the gates of Europe, its destiny hanging in the air.
It is one thing when the victims of the `sick man' identify the nature
of
that sickness but it is completely something else when the Turks themselves
realize the source of the sickness as they try to seek remedies for the
ailment.
It is this kind of realization - actually a revelation - that is brought to
light by a prominent Turkish author and activist Erol Özkoray in a book in
French titled *Turquie: Le Putsh Permanent*, published recently by the
Chobanian Institute, soon to be translated into English by the Armenian
Rights Council of America.
The Chobanian Institute was founded in Paris, by Jean Varoujan Sirapian, the
former chairman of the ADL Chapter in Paris, on the 50th anniversary of
Arshag Chobanian's death and on the eve of European Union/Turkey
negotiations. Ever since, the institute has published several scholarly
volumes; it has developed contacts with senators and parliament members and
above all, it has supplied scholarly documents to the French
Parliamentarians working towards the passage of the Armenian Genocide
resolution in that body.
Ashag Chobanian was a one-man committee for the Armenian cause in France. He
single-handedly exposed to the European leaders the plight of the Armenian
people in the Ottoman Empire before the Genocide and its rights afterwards.
He enlisted prominent French thinkers in favor of the Armenian cause, such
as Anatole France, Jean Jaures and others.
Chobanian also understood that before pleading - or along with pleading
-
for the plight of the Armenians, he had to extol the cultural achievements
of his people, in order to underline the fact that murder in Ottoman Empire
was not being committed against a primitive race, but a nation of remarkable
cultural achievements. For many Westerners, Armenians, Kurds and Jews in the
Ottoman Empire were inferior races, therefore their extermination did not
diminish the human civilization. Figures subscribing to this view included
the French orientalist writer Pierre Lothy and the American Admiral Mark
Bristol; the latter portrayed all Armenians, Kurds, Cherkezes and others as
snakes in a bag poisoning each other.
Chobanian went against that tide. He countered that trend, writing essays in
French publications about Armenian history. He translated medieval Armenian
poetry into French to win the admiration of the French literary elite.
Today, Sirapian emulates Chobanian's mission, almost singlehandedly, mostly
receiving support from French, Kurdish, Turkish human rights activists and
statesmen.
Among the many scholarly books and magazines, the Chobanian Institute has
released Erol Özkoray's book in which the author is delving into
self-analysis as a Turk to define, diagnose and, if possible, heal the ills
of his nation, the Turkish society. To state that Özkoray is paying lip
service to the Armenians would be far from the truth. Living a
politically-active life in France, contributing to prestigious French
publications such as *Le Monde*, he delves into an introspection of the
political psyche of Turkey to realize that the country has been on the wrong
path and that the European Union has gradually realized how deeply
antidemocracy is rooted in Turkey's political system.
Turkey became a candidate for membership of the European Union in 1999, but
in those last 11 years, its human rights record remains abominable, believes
Özkoray, because there is a duality in the Executive Branch. People elect
their representatives to legislative and executive branches, but the actual
rulers are the military and as the recent Ergenekon investigations have
revealed, there is a `deep state' in action, which defines and executes the
country's policies.
Since 1980, the country has been under military control, after Gen. Kenan
Evren otherthrew the elected government and in 1982 drafted and promulgated
a constitution, basically transferring power into the hands of the military,
never mind popular elections, which amount to a political charade. The
National Security Council remains the ruling junta in the country, deposing
any elected official at will, should that official overstep the `red line,'
like it happened to Necmettin Erbakan in recent years.
Özkoray even goes back in history, to the very founding of the Turkish
Republic in 1923 by Ataturk, who supposedly established a lay governing
system, eliminating the role of the clergy, reforming the language and even
setting dress codes. Özkoray finds that when the present Republic of Turkey
was being founded, democracy, as we know it, was not popular. There were
dictators all around: Horthy in Hungary, Pilsudski in Poland, Metaxas in
Greece, Franco in Spain and Salazar in Portugal. There were also three
totalitarian regimes devising the law in Europe: Musolini in Italy, Stalin
in the USSR and Hitler in Germany. Therefore, Ataturk founded Turkey in the
spirit of fascism, which by an expert Pierre Milza is called a `fascism of
the left' and which another specialist, Maurice Duverger, calls a
`benevolent despotism.'
The author also takes issue with Ataturk's population engineering, which
portrayed the population of Turkey as 99 percent Turk and Sunni, regardless
of the 15 million Kurds and 22 million Alevis. Greeks, Armenians and Jews
were pushed to the margins, their destinies to be defined whimsically by the
Treaty of Lausanne of 1923. A process of forced homogenation of population
was executed. [Gen. Kenan Evren is compared to the bloody ruler of Chile,
General Pinochet. Indeed, as recently as a year ago, the Turkish general
came out of retirement to announce that `his hands did not tremble in
signing the death warrants of politicians, and that he would do the same
today, if he had to.']
Now that Erdogan's new constitution won the right to bring the Putschists to
justice, we have to wait and see - the proof of the pudding will be in its
eating.
Özkoray enumerates seven attempted coup d'etats between 2002 and 2009
against the Kurds, Alevis, Armenians, Islamists, Socialists, liberals and
the partisans of the European Union. All these groups are considered
`internal enemies' by the military and they constitute 50 million people out
of 72 million total population, meaning 70 percent are on the watch list of
`enemies.'
To justify its grip on power, the military triggers artificial crises; the
occupation of Cyprus, the sovereignty over the Aegean islands, the Turkish
minority in Greece, the status of the ecumenical Greek Patriarch in
Istanbul, etc.
>From time to time, the civilian government makes some overtures on different
issues, but the problems are never solved because the National Security
Council has set guidelines establishing taboos on the following issues: to
contain the Kurdish population, to avoid fragmentation of the country; never
compromise on the Cyprus problem; preserve the government's lay status
untouchable; fight against the Orthodox Church in the country and never
accept the use of the term `genocide.'
These are the political parameters within which any civilian government has
to operate, hiding the `deep state' in the background.
The system set up by the military is such that the individual is crushed
under the perceived interest of the state. This perception is promoted
systematically by the Dogan group, which own several influential newspapers
and TV stations.
Since the establishment of the military rule, 2,330,000 people have been
arrested and tortured.
Under the systematic brain washing, people are programmed to think in a
pattern, which will never lead to democracy.
Thus, Özkoray gives certain amazing statistics, which are very indicative
insights, into the system which can never correct itself and adhere to
democratic rule: only 11 percent of Turks believe that freedom of expression
is important; 73 percent don't trust strangers, they are xenophobic; 74
percent believe in the rule of the military; 55 percent refuse to have Jews
as their neighbors and 90 percent are happy that they are Turks.
This last statistic justifies Ataturk's racist motto, which is posted
everywhere in Turkey: `Happy is he who says he is a Turk.'
With the recent Erdogan victory approving the new constitution, the Islamist
government believes that a new dawn is breaking in Turkey and that democracy
is on the March.
But those who read Özkoray's book are convinced that in its present set-up,
its restless minorities, internal contradictions between Islamists and
Kemalists, the country is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode at any
moment.
From: A. Papazian
755 Mount Auburn St.
Watertown, MA 02472
Tel: (617) 924-4420
Fax: (617) 924-2887
Web: http://www.mirrorspectator.com
E-mail: [email protected]
September 19, 2010
1. Heritage Park Ceremonial Groundbreaking, Blessing, amid Nostalgia, Hope
for Future
2. An Explosive Book
******************************
1. Heritage Park Ceremonial Groundbreaking, Blessing, amid Nostalgia, Hope
for Future
By Alin Gregorian
Mirror-Spectator Staff
BOSTON - About 1,000 members of the Greater Boston Armenian community came
together as one on Thursday, September 9, for the ceremonial groundbreaking
and blessing of the Armenian Heritage Park along the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy
Greenway.
The audience, comprising everyone from infants to seniors, and from every
church and Armenian organization in the state, witnessed as Catholicos of
All Armenians Karekin II, in only his third trip to the United States, took
the stage to bless the site and recite a prayer for the souls of Armenian
Genocide martyrs as well as the generations to come.
Karekin II performed a service of blessing of the site and prayer for the
soul of the martyrs, as well as a prayer for peace and prosperity in the
Commonwealth.
Speaking in English, Karekin II thanked the community for extending an
invitation to him `to be in Boston and to share in this happy occasion. Your
city has played an important role in America,' he said, where the
`undefeatable spirit of my people' has found a home.
The Armenians who fled the Ottoman Empire, he said, `were received with care
and kindness. They became worthy citizens of this great country. [Later] our
boys fought alongside their Irish, Italian and African-American neighbors'
in World War II.
This monument, he said, is in memory of all victims of genocide, including
the Holocaust, Rwanda, Cambodia and Darfur.
`It is a symbol of survival, rebirth, renewal and service.'
He thanked the city of Boston and the Commonwealth for `their friendship,
support and steadfast adherence to the values of tolerance, equality and
love.'
And to the Armenians in the audience, he said, `We bring thanks from the
Homeland for keeping your Armenian values and culture. May God bless you now
and forever.'
Joining Karekin II on stage were Gov. Deval Patrick, US Rep. Michael Capuano
(D- 8th District), state Rep. Peter Koutoujian (D-Waltham), Boston Mayor
Thomas Menino and Heritage Park Foundation President James Kalustian.
Karekin II was flanked by the Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church
of America (Eastern) Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Prelate of the Prelacy of
the Armenian Church of America (Eastern) Oshagan Choloyan and Diocesan
Legate Archbishop Vicken Aykazian.
Similarly, members of the clergy from the Diocese and the Prelacy stood
together.
Among other dignitaries present and pointed out by Koutoujian, who served as
emcee, were former Massachusetts governor, Michael Dukakis, and his wife,
Kitty, as well as former state Representatives Rachel Kaprielian and Warren
Tolman, state Representatives Jonathan Hecht (D-Watertown) and Aaron
Michlewitz (D-North End), and state Senators Steven Tolman (D-2nd Suffolk
and Middlesex Districts) and Anthony Petruccelli (D-East Boston).
Koutoujian said that the realization of the park was touching for him and
the people of his generation, as he grew up with grandparents who tried to
erase the memories of what they had seen during the Genocide in their new
country.
The location of the park, Koutoujian said, was especially appropriate, as it
is flanked by Faneuil Hall, where `some of the first debates on human
rights' took place, and a park honoring Christopher Columbus, at the edge of
Boston's North End.
Menino said Boston is made up of neighborhoods and that diversity is what
makes the city such a popular destination.
He also pointed out and thanked Peter Meade, chairman of the Rose Kennedy
Greenway Conservancy, for his efforts; the crowd was tepid at best in
clapping for him, as he was a long-time opponent of the project.
The residents of the mostly Italian-American North End neighborhood were
universally praised for their cooperation during the protracted process.
Menino spoke about the residents' solidarity with their Armenian
compatriots. `They got the job done the right way,' said Menino. `Yes we had
a few bumps in the road, but =85 not only does this pay tribute to our
diversity, it pays tribute to our heritage - without taxpayer dollars.'
Capuano, who represents the North End in the House and who is a member of
the House Caucus on Armenian Affairs, said the celebration of ethnic
heritage by various communities `doesn't make us different; it makes us
respectful.'
He added, `The North End welcomed the Armenian people.'
He both acknowledged the Genocide and praised Turkey as a vital US ally.
`People try to rewrite history. The Armenian Genocide is one of [those
cases], he said.
`I regard the Turkish government as an ally, but that doesn't give them the
right to deny history.' He concluded his remarks by saying,
`Congratulations. It's been a long time coming.'
Patrick, who received thunderous applause, thanked his `brothers and
sisters,' adding, `I am so proud to stand with you today and to pay tribute
to human perseverance. It is an acknowledgement of a historical event that
cannot be denied; it must be acknowledged, but it has value beyond that
tragedy.'
`Every ethnic group wants to do better than previous generations. This is a
remarkable country unlike any other in human history. We are organized
around a handful of civic ideas,' rather than an ethnic background, common
religion or point of origin, he said.
*Knights, Kalustian Praised*
Koutoujian praised Charlie Guleserian and Haig Deranian of the Knights of
Vartan, as well as `the third guardian,' James Kalustian, for making the
park a reality.
He said of Kalustian, `No one else could have brought us to this point.' The
38 board members of the foundation, he said, voted unanimously on every
decision, no mean feat, thanks to Kalustian's team-building efforts, he
said.
Kalustian, visibly touched, thanked the Armenian community for giving `a
gift of $6 million' to the City of Boston, as not only the park will be
constructed with funds raised privately, but it will be maintained with this
fund. In addition, a related lecture series will be launched on human rights
at Faneuil Hall, again funded privately, in that case, by George and Dr.
Carolann Najarian.
The park, Kalustian said, is a tribute to Armenians who escaped `tragedy
and
misfortune and found safety in the harbor of Boston. =85 We have not and will
not forget the tragedy of the Armenian Genocide and we have to make sure'
that similar catastrophes do not occur again.
He stressed that Armenians in the state do not define themselves solely by
the Genocide; indeed, he said, the community has produced many notables in
the world of art, including Arshile Gorky, Yusuf Karsh and Alan Hovhaness,
as well as people like Moses Gulesian, whose efforts saved Old Ironsides
from being turned into scrap metal.
Speaking in Armenian, he said the community is `one spirit and one body,
in
order to help realize the dream of our people.' Kalustian thanked Patrick as
`a man of integrity and character. He did it because [he felt] it was the
right thing to do. Governor Patrick, thank you does not seem enough.'
He also thanked committee member Barbara Tellalian, and her husband,
architect Donald Tellalian, who designed the site and the monument that will
go on it. He also thanked `all our friends in the North End and the
Waterfront District.'
Donald Tellalian, speaking after the event, agreed, `our friends in the
North End thought it was terrific.'
He noted that he has been involved with the project for seven years. `I was
really very impressed by the pomp and circumstance of it all and very
pleased to see that so many of our community came out to celebrate this
event. I am very, very, pleased that Mayor Menino and Governor Patrick again
showed their support. It speaks to the friendships that Jim Kalustian has
made and the relationships that Peter Koutoujian has.'
Victoria Avetisyan and Yeghishe Manucharian sang the Armenian and American
national anthems, while a chorus comprising members of the Holy Trinity, St.
James and St. Stephen's Armenian Churches' choruses, sang hymns.
Also present were students from St. Stephen's Armenian Elementary School, as
well as the Armenian Sisters' Academy.
The park is expected to be completed within one year.
********************************************************************
2. An Explosive Book
*By Edmond Y. Azadian*
Turkey was the `sick man' of Europe throughout the 19th century. That
sickness transformed over time and changed character with succeeding regime
changes in Turkey: Ottoman, Ittihadist, Republican and today Islamist. But
Turkish society remained sick and that is the main reason that the country
is agonizing at the gates of Europe, its destiny hanging in the air.
It is one thing when the victims of the `sick man' identify the nature
of
that sickness but it is completely something else when the Turks themselves
realize the source of the sickness as they try to seek remedies for the
ailment.
It is this kind of realization - actually a revelation - that is brought to
light by a prominent Turkish author and activist Erol Özkoray in a book in
French titled *Turquie: Le Putsh Permanent*, published recently by the
Chobanian Institute, soon to be translated into English by the Armenian
Rights Council of America.
The Chobanian Institute was founded in Paris, by Jean Varoujan Sirapian, the
former chairman of the ADL Chapter in Paris, on the 50th anniversary of
Arshag Chobanian's death and on the eve of European Union/Turkey
negotiations. Ever since, the institute has published several scholarly
volumes; it has developed contacts with senators and parliament members and
above all, it has supplied scholarly documents to the French
Parliamentarians working towards the passage of the Armenian Genocide
resolution in that body.
Ashag Chobanian was a one-man committee for the Armenian cause in France. He
single-handedly exposed to the European leaders the plight of the Armenian
people in the Ottoman Empire before the Genocide and its rights afterwards.
He enlisted prominent French thinkers in favor of the Armenian cause, such
as Anatole France, Jean Jaures and others.
Chobanian also understood that before pleading - or along with pleading
-
for the plight of the Armenians, he had to extol the cultural achievements
of his people, in order to underline the fact that murder in Ottoman Empire
was not being committed against a primitive race, but a nation of remarkable
cultural achievements. For many Westerners, Armenians, Kurds and Jews in the
Ottoman Empire were inferior races, therefore their extermination did not
diminish the human civilization. Figures subscribing to this view included
the French orientalist writer Pierre Lothy and the American Admiral Mark
Bristol; the latter portrayed all Armenians, Kurds, Cherkezes and others as
snakes in a bag poisoning each other.
Chobanian went against that tide. He countered that trend, writing essays in
French publications about Armenian history. He translated medieval Armenian
poetry into French to win the admiration of the French literary elite.
Today, Sirapian emulates Chobanian's mission, almost singlehandedly, mostly
receiving support from French, Kurdish, Turkish human rights activists and
statesmen.
Among the many scholarly books and magazines, the Chobanian Institute has
released Erol Özkoray's book in which the author is delving into
self-analysis as a Turk to define, diagnose and, if possible, heal the ills
of his nation, the Turkish society. To state that Özkoray is paying lip
service to the Armenians would be far from the truth. Living a
politically-active life in France, contributing to prestigious French
publications such as *Le Monde*, he delves into an introspection of the
political psyche of Turkey to realize that the country has been on the wrong
path and that the European Union has gradually realized how deeply
antidemocracy is rooted in Turkey's political system.
Turkey became a candidate for membership of the European Union in 1999, but
in those last 11 years, its human rights record remains abominable, believes
Özkoray, because there is a duality in the Executive Branch. People elect
their representatives to legislative and executive branches, but the actual
rulers are the military and as the recent Ergenekon investigations have
revealed, there is a `deep state' in action, which defines and executes the
country's policies.
Since 1980, the country has been under military control, after Gen. Kenan
Evren otherthrew the elected government and in 1982 drafted and promulgated
a constitution, basically transferring power into the hands of the military,
never mind popular elections, which amount to a political charade. The
National Security Council remains the ruling junta in the country, deposing
any elected official at will, should that official overstep the `red line,'
like it happened to Necmettin Erbakan in recent years.
Özkoray even goes back in history, to the very founding of the Turkish
Republic in 1923 by Ataturk, who supposedly established a lay governing
system, eliminating the role of the clergy, reforming the language and even
setting dress codes. Özkoray finds that when the present Republic of Turkey
was being founded, democracy, as we know it, was not popular. There were
dictators all around: Horthy in Hungary, Pilsudski in Poland, Metaxas in
Greece, Franco in Spain and Salazar in Portugal. There were also three
totalitarian regimes devising the law in Europe: Musolini in Italy, Stalin
in the USSR and Hitler in Germany. Therefore, Ataturk founded Turkey in the
spirit of fascism, which by an expert Pierre Milza is called a `fascism of
the left' and which another specialist, Maurice Duverger, calls a
`benevolent despotism.'
The author also takes issue with Ataturk's population engineering, which
portrayed the population of Turkey as 99 percent Turk and Sunni, regardless
of the 15 million Kurds and 22 million Alevis. Greeks, Armenians and Jews
were pushed to the margins, their destinies to be defined whimsically by the
Treaty of Lausanne of 1923. A process of forced homogenation of population
was executed. [Gen. Kenan Evren is compared to the bloody ruler of Chile,
General Pinochet. Indeed, as recently as a year ago, the Turkish general
came out of retirement to announce that `his hands did not tremble in
signing the death warrants of politicians, and that he would do the same
today, if he had to.']
Now that Erdogan's new constitution won the right to bring the Putschists to
justice, we have to wait and see - the proof of the pudding will be in its
eating.
Özkoray enumerates seven attempted coup d'etats between 2002 and 2009
against the Kurds, Alevis, Armenians, Islamists, Socialists, liberals and
the partisans of the European Union. All these groups are considered
`internal enemies' by the military and they constitute 50 million people out
of 72 million total population, meaning 70 percent are on the watch list of
`enemies.'
To justify its grip on power, the military triggers artificial crises; the
occupation of Cyprus, the sovereignty over the Aegean islands, the Turkish
minority in Greece, the status of the ecumenical Greek Patriarch in
Istanbul, etc.
>From time to time, the civilian government makes some overtures on different
issues, but the problems are never solved because the National Security
Council has set guidelines establishing taboos on the following issues: to
contain the Kurdish population, to avoid fragmentation of the country; never
compromise on the Cyprus problem; preserve the government's lay status
untouchable; fight against the Orthodox Church in the country and never
accept the use of the term `genocide.'
These are the political parameters within which any civilian government has
to operate, hiding the `deep state' in the background.
The system set up by the military is such that the individual is crushed
under the perceived interest of the state. This perception is promoted
systematically by the Dogan group, which own several influential newspapers
and TV stations.
Since the establishment of the military rule, 2,330,000 people have been
arrested and tortured.
Under the systematic brain washing, people are programmed to think in a
pattern, which will never lead to democracy.
Thus, Özkoray gives certain amazing statistics, which are very indicative
insights, into the system which can never correct itself and adhere to
democratic rule: only 11 percent of Turks believe that freedom of expression
is important; 73 percent don't trust strangers, they are xenophobic; 74
percent believe in the rule of the military; 55 percent refuse to have Jews
as their neighbors and 90 percent are happy that they are Turks.
This last statistic justifies Ataturk's racist motto, which is posted
everywhere in Turkey: `Happy is he who says he is a Turk.'
With the recent Erdogan victory approving the new constitution, the Islamist
government believes that a new dawn is breaking in Turkey and that democracy
is on the March.
But those who read Özkoray's book are convinced that in its present set-up,
its restless minorities, internal contradictions between Islamists and
Kemalists, the country is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode at any
moment.
From: A. Papazian