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1915 AND ALL THAT
Hurriyet Daily News
Dec 27 2011
Turkey
It is a pity the French National Assembly has decided to criminalize
denial of the Armenian genocide, because once again Turkey has formed
a united front. This makes it more difficult to conduct a reasoned
debate about this controversial topic.
In a landmark speech in Diyarbakır in 2005 Prime Minister Erdogan
acknowledged there was a Kurdish question, and his recent apology
for the massacre in Dersim was another step forward in the process
of Turkey coming to terms with its past.
Former editor-in-chief of Hurriyet Ertugrul Ozkök has already asked
the question which arose when CHP's Onur Oymen opened the debate
over the Dersim revolt two years ago. "If the Dersim incident was a
massacre, then what was the Armenian incident? Is it called a big
massacre, a huge one or a tremendous mass killing?" Unfortunately
the French vote has stifled what could be a fruitful debate.
Throughout history the powers that be have had the habit of blocking
the search for scientific and historical truth. Galileo was sentenced
as a heretic by the Roman Inquisition for claiming the earth moved
around the sun, and Darwin certainly put the cat among the pigeons
with his theory of evolution.
This topic is still hotly debated today. Witness the Scopes trial in
Tennessee in 1925 or the fact that in 2009 TUBITAK, Turkey's Scientific
and Technological Research Council, removed a picture of Darwin from
the cover of "Bilim ve Teknik" (Science and Technology) as well as a
16-page article commemorating the 200th anniversary of his birth. For
good measure, TUBITAK also fired the editor-in-chief responsible.
Holocaust denial has been criminalized in a number of countries,
including Germany and Austria. However, the most effective response
was in the libel case brought by the British Holocaust denier and
revisionist, David Irving, in 1996 against American author Deborah
Lipstadt and Penguin Books. The British High Court found Irving had
"for his own ideological reasons persistently and deliberately
misrepresented and manipulated historical evidence" and awarded
Penguin costs amounting to 2 million pounds.
In addition to Holocaust denial, many countries also penalize
genocide denial. For this reason the Turkish leader of the Workers'
Party (İP), Dogru Perincek, was four years ago convicted by a Swiss
court for calling the Armenian genocide "an imperialist lie." So
far, 20 countries have recognized the events of 1915 as genocide,
but no matter how hard politicians huff and puff, this is not going
to change public opinion where it matters most - in Turkey.
As far as I am concerned, the jury was out for a number of years,
but what finally convinced me was a map in Der Spiegel in 2005 that
showed that the death marches took place all over Turkey, in the west
as well as the east. All the evidence I have seen put forward from
scholarly sources indicates the CUP (Committee of Union and Progress)
under the leadership of Talat, Enver and Cemal in April 1915 embarked
on a systematic and organized campaign of racial extermination.
Here I should point out "exterminate" is a British term coming from
the Latin "exterminare," to drive beyond the boundaries. It was used
in South Africa in the 1820s when the original Xhosa people were
driven eastwards in Cape Colony and "exterminated" to make room for
British settlers. This is reflected in the Turkish deportation law
(Tehcir Kanunu) of May 27, 1915.
I am also well aware there is a Turkish side to the story, dealing
with the massacres perpetrated by Armenians against the Turks. What
also complicates the issue is a number of those who were involved
in the events of 1915 later came to play a prominent role in the
nationalist movement which succeeded the CUP.
As I have pointed out, the French resolution only muddies the waters
and constitutes an impediment to a long-due examination of Turkey's
past.
Robert Ellis is a regular commentator on Turkish affairs in the Danish
and international press.
From: Baghdasarian
Hurriyet Daily News
Dec 27 2011
Turkey
It is a pity the French National Assembly has decided to criminalize
denial of the Armenian genocide, because once again Turkey has formed
a united front. This makes it more difficult to conduct a reasoned
debate about this controversial topic.
In a landmark speech in Diyarbakır in 2005 Prime Minister Erdogan
acknowledged there was a Kurdish question, and his recent apology
for the massacre in Dersim was another step forward in the process
of Turkey coming to terms with its past.
Former editor-in-chief of Hurriyet Ertugrul Ozkök has already asked
the question which arose when CHP's Onur Oymen opened the debate
over the Dersim revolt two years ago. "If the Dersim incident was a
massacre, then what was the Armenian incident? Is it called a big
massacre, a huge one or a tremendous mass killing?" Unfortunately
the French vote has stifled what could be a fruitful debate.
Throughout history the powers that be have had the habit of blocking
the search for scientific and historical truth. Galileo was sentenced
as a heretic by the Roman Inquisition for claiming the earth moved
around the sun, and Darwin certainly put the cat among the pigeons
with his theory of evolution.
This topic is still hotly debated today. Witness the Scopes trial in
Tennessee in 1925 or the fact that in 2009 TUBITAK, Turkey's Scientific
and Technological Research Council, removed a picture of Darwin from
the cover of "Bilim ve Teknik" (Science and Technology) as well as a
16-page article commemorating the 200th anniversary of his birth. For
good measure, TUBITAK also fired the editor-in-chief responsible.
Holocaust denial has been criminalized in a number of countries,
including Germany and Austria. However, the most effective response
was in the libel case brought by the British Holocaust denier and
revisionist, David Irving, in 1996 against American author Deborah
Lipstadt and Penguin Books. The British High Court found Irving had
"for his own ideological reasons persistently and deliberately
misrepresented and manipulated historical evidence" and awarded
Penguin costs amounting to 2 million pounds.
In addition to Holocaust denial, many countries also penalize
genocide denial. For this reason the Turkish leader of the Workers'
Party (İP), Dogru Perincek, was four years ago convicted by a Swiss
court for calling the Armenian genocide "an imperialist lie." So
far, 20 countries have recognized the events of 1915 as genocide,
but no matter how hard politicians huff and puff, this is not going
to change public opinion where it matters most - in Turkey.
As far as I am concerned, the jury was out for a number of years,
but what finally convinced me was a map in Der Spiegel in 2005 that
showed that the death marches took place all over Turkey, in the west
as well as the east. All the evidence I have seen put forward from
scholarly sources indicates the CUP (Committee of Union and Progress)
under the leadership of Talat, Enver and Cemal in April 1915 embarked
on a systematic and organized campaign of racial extermination.
Here I should point out "exterminate" is a British term coming from
the Latin "exterminare," to drive beyond the boundaries. It was used
in South Africa in the 1820s when the original Xhosa people were
driven eastwards in Cape Colony and "exterminated" to make room for
British settlers. This is reflected in the Turkish deportation law
(Tehcir Kanunu) of May 27, 1915.
I am also well aware there is a Turkish side to the story, dealing
with the massacres perpetrated by Armenians against the Turks. What
also complicates the issue is a number of those who were involved
in the events of 1915 later came to play a prominent role in the
nationalist movement which succeeded the CUP.
As I have pointed out, the French resolution only muddies the waters
and constitutes an impediment to a long-due examination of Turkey's
past.
Robert Ellis is a regular commentator on Turkish affairs in the Danish
and international press.
From: Baghdasarian