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TURKEY'S ARMENIANS UNEASY ABOUT FRANCE'S GENOCIDE BILL
Today's Zaman
Dec 20 2011
Turkey
As the French parliament is set to vote soon on a piece of legislation
which would make denial that events occurring in Turkey in 1915
constituted genocide punishable by up to one year in prison and a
fine of 45,000 euros, Turkey's Armenian community is uneasy about
the development.
One prominent figure who voiced opposition to the bill is Orhan Dink,
brother of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was assassinated
outside his office by an ultranationalist teenager.
"Similar legislation was debated in the French parliament in 2001 and
2006. My brother Hrant Dink strongly opposed it. This legislation
completely violates human rights," he said in a live television
program on Monday evening.
Dink pointed out that Hrant Dink was convicted of violating Article
301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), an article that has been
criticized for stifling freedom of speech as it forbids insulting
"Turkishness." "That's why he was murdered. It is natural for us to
oppose that legislation in France. My brother was against it when he
was alive. Even though he was murdered because of such a racist law,
we have never felt hatred, and we are still against the [French]
legislation because it violates human rights," he said.
Dink also called on diaspora Armenians, saying they should object to
the French legislation because it is an "insult" to them. "This pain
should not be left in the hands of people who are in politics.
I call on my brothers, relatives, friends and people who share my
pain; they should be against this legislation, be against this human
rights violation. Don't make our pain a tool to be used in politics,"
he said referring to the events of 1915.
Armenians say 1.5 million Anatolian Armenians were killed in a
systematic genocide campaign during the World War I. Turkey says
the figures are inflated and insists that the killings occurred as
the Ottoman Empire was trying to quell an uprising of Armenians,
who revolted against Ottoman rule for independence, in collaboration
with the Russian army, which was then invading eastern Anatolia.
In an apparent reference to Turkish accusations against France
for ignoring its bloody past, Dink also said: "I want to send this
message to politicians of both countries: Everybody should look at
themselves in the mirror. A debate over who is worse than who will
bring no result."
According to academic Ohannes Kılıcdagı, it is obvious that the
French legislation restricts freedom of speech because it requires
punishment for people who deny that the events that occurred in 1915
in Turkey were genocide.
"Neither those who say that it was genocide nor those who say that
it was not should be punished," he said answering Today's Zaman's
questions. "Penal codes should be differentiated from a mere expression
of facts in order to share the pain of people who suffered as a result
of what happened in 1915."
Kılıcdagı also believes initiatives such as the one in France could
negatively influence efforts to find solutions to problems between
Turks and Armenians. "The 'Armenian' has a negative connotation in
Turkey. Such initiatives would make it even more negative and increase
tension. However, it is up to the decision makers to control those
negative effects," said Kılıcdagı who is the co-author of the report
"Hearing Out Turkey's Armenians: Problems, Demands, and Suggestions
for a Solution."
The study had stated: "The Armenian community, which has avoided
visibility in Turkish society and which has isolated itself throughout
republican history due to discriminatory policies and attitudes,
started to raise its voice since the mid 1990s, and its demands for
equal citizenship and respect for the Armenian identity reverberated
in the democratization process starting in the 2000s."As the emerging
Armenian civil society started to make its voice heard in Turkey,
they have also established connections with Turkish and Kurdish
civil society.
Garo Paylan, a long-time leader in Armenian institutions in Turkey,
said because of that interaction it was possible to organize an event
in Turkey two years ago on April 24 to commemorate the 1915 tragedy.
"It was the biggest news because Armenians, Turks and Kurds were
there. If we are able to remember what happened, then there is no
need for Sarkozy to use the issue in his dirty political games. As
long as Parliament in Turkey is silent over the issue, others will
use the issue for their own benefit, not to share our pain," he said.
In the same line of thought, journalist and writer Markar Esayan
indicated in his Monday column in the Taraf daily, that French
President Nicolas Sarkozy is obviously after political gains
considering that France is heading into a presidential election
next year. "If a person who was massacred in a place in Anatolia in
1915 was able to be reincarnated and reach Sarkozy, s/he would spit
in Sarkozy's face and say, 'You are making political gains out of
my pain.' But his or her grandchildren could not have such a clear
stance because this is now a blood feud, and anything goes when it
comes to striking out against the 'other side'."
Meanwhile, Turkey has threatened to withdraw its ambassador to France
if the bill is passed, while Ankara has lashed out at Paris, saying the
country should investigate alleged French abuses in Algeria and Rwanda
instead. France had troops in Rwanda, and Rwandan President Paul Kagame
has accused the country of doing little to stop the country's genocide.
From: A. Papazian
Today's Zaman
Dec 20 2011
Turkey
As the French parliament is set to vote soon on a piece of legislation
which would make denial that events occurring in Turkey in 1915
constituted genocide punishable by up to one year in prison and a
fine of 45,000 euros, Turkey's Armenian community is uneasy about
the development.
One prominent figure who voiced opposition to the bill is Orhan Dink,
brother of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was assassinated
outside his office by an ultranationalist teenager.
"Similar legislation was debated in the French parliament in 2001 and
2006. My brother Hrant Dink strongly opposed it. This legislation
completely violates human rights," he said in a live television
program on Monday evening.
Dink pointed out that Hrant Dink was convicted of violating Article
301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), an article that has been
criticized for stifling freedom of speech as it forbids insulting
"Turkishness." "That's why he was murdered. It is natural for us to
oppose that legislation in France. My brother was against it when he
was alive. Even though he was murdered because of such a racist law,
we have never felt hatred, and we are still against the [French]
legislation because it violates human rights," he said.
Dink also called on diaspora Armenians, saying they should object to
the French legislation because it is an "insult" to them. "This pain
should not be left in the hands of people who are in politics.
I call on my brothers, relatives, friends and people who share my
pain; they should be against this legislation, be against this human
rights violation. Don't make our pain a tool to be used in politics,"
he said referring to the events of 1915.
Armenians say 1.5 million Anatolian Armenians were killed in a
systematic genocide campaign during the World War I. Turkey says
the figures are inflated and insists that the killings occurred as
the Ottoman Empire was trying to quell an uprising of Armenians,
who revolted against Ottoman rule for independence, in collaboration
with the Russian army, which was then invading eastern Anatolia.
In an apparent reference to Turkish accusations against France
for ignoring its bloody past, Dink also said: "I want to send this
message to politicians of both countries: Everybody should look at
themselves in the mirror. A debate over who is worse than who will
bring no result."
According to academic Ohannes Kılıcdagı, it is obvious that the
French legislation restricts freedom of speech because it requires
punishment for people who deny that the events that occurred in 1915
in Turkey were genocide.
"Neither those who say that it was genocide nor those who say that
it was not should be punished," he said answering Today's Zaman's
questions. "Penal codes should be differentiated from a mere expression
of facts in order to share the pain of people who suffered as a result
of what happened in 1915."
Kılıcdagı also believes initiatives such as the one in France could
negatively influence efforts to find solutions to problems between
Turks and Armenians. "The 'Armenian' has a negative connotation in
Turkey. Such initiatives would make it even more negative and increase
tension. However, it is up to the decision makers to control those
negative effects," said Kılıcdagı who is the co-author of the report
"Hearing Out Turkey's Armenians: Problems, Demands, and Suggestions
for a Solution."
The study had stated: "The Armenian community, which has avoided
visibility in Turkish society and which has isolated itself throughout
republican history due to discriminatory policies and attitudes,
started to raise its voice since the mid 1990s, and its demands for
equal citizenship and respect for the Armenian identity reverberated
in the democratization process starting in the 2000s."As the emerging
Armenian civil society started to make its voice heard in Turkey,
they have also established connections with Turkish and Kurdish
civil society.
Garo Paylan, a long-time leader in Armenian institutions in Turkey,
said because of that interaction it was possible to organize an event
in Turkey two years ago on April 24 to commemorate the 1915 tragedy.
"It was the biggest news because Armenians, Turks and Kurds were
there. If we are able to remember what happened, then there is no
need for Sarkozy to use the issue in his dirty political games. As
long as Parliament in Turkey is silent over the issue, others will
use the issue for their own benefit, not to share our pain," he said.
In the same line of thought, journalist and writer Markar Esayan
indicated in his Monday column in the Taraf daily, that French
President Nicolas Sarkozy is obviously after political gains
considering that France is heading into a presidential election
next year. "If a person who was massacred in a place in Anatolia in
1915 was able to be reincarnated and reach Sarkozy, s/he would spit
in Sarkozy's face and say, 'You are making political gains out of
my pain.' But his or her grandchildren could not have such a clear
stance because this is now a blood feud, and anything goes when it
comes to striking out against the 'other side'."
Meanwhile, Turkey has threatened to withdraw its ambassador to France
if the bill is passed, while Ankara has lashed out at Paris, saying the
country should investigate alleged French abuses in Algeria and Rwanda
instead. France had troops in Rwanda, and Rwandan President Paul Kagame
has accused the country of doing little to stop the country's genocide.
From: A. Papazian