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TURKEY'S INTERNAL DEBATE ON GENOCIDE
By Edmond Y. Azadian
AZG DAILY
25-10-2011
Early in October news services reported that a Turkish cab driver
had beaten an Armenian woman in Istanbul and had thrown her out of
his taxi upon learning that she is an ethnic Armenian. An Azerbaijani
soldier, Safar Abiev, had axed to death an Armenian soldier in Hungary
who was being trained in a military program. In 1955, Turkish mobs
ransacked Armenian and Greek homes and businesses, killing many, in
what is called the September 6 Incident. The riots were triggered by
a false news report that Ataturk's birthplace in Salonika had been
bombed. Later on it was discovered that the bombing was the work of
the Turkish government precisely to incite the mob.
Indeed, these incidents do not take place spontaneously. There is
an anti-Armenian propaganda in both countries, fueled by official
and unofficial forces to keep the hatred burning, to be used for
political ends at any given moment.
The late Turkish President Turgut Ozal had once threatened Armenians
"in case they had not learned their lesson in 1915." Turkey's former
Minister of Defense Vecdi Gonul had also bragged in a Brussels
conference that Turkey would not enjoy presently a unified vast
territory had it not expelled Armenians and Greeks during and after
World War I.
Still, on the official side, former and current Prime Ministers Tansu
Ciller and Tayyip Erdogan have threatened Armenian guest workers
with expulsion.
One would question why this continued campaign of hatred exists after
slaughtering 1.5 million Armenians and taking over their historic
homeland? The answer is clear and unequivocal: Turks live in constant
fear, because they are sitting on the bones of 1.5 million victims.
They are fearful also that the Sevres Treaty of 1920 may be revived and
thus the land can shift under their feet. The irony is in the fact that
very few Armenians believe that an unratified treaty may be brought
to force one day, but for the Turks, the threat and the fear are real.
We are sometimes relieved that the issue of Genocide recognition has
moved into Turkey after being verboten for more than 90 years. Yet,
there are powerful currents against the advocates of Genocide
recognition and against those who circulate petitions to make amends
to the Armenians. One expression of those powerful forces surfaced
recently in the Turkish newspaper, Taraf, quoted by a courageous
journalist Murat Belge. After criticizing the Turkish Foreign Ministry
for its lame response to President Nicolas Sarkozy's statement in
Yerevan about the recognition of the Genocide, he continues his attack
on knee-jerk deniers, who he claims, are controlled by the leading
political parties. Those who justify themselves by stating "We Turks
are good people, we have not committed any slaughters or genocide,"
let them read a book by the conservative writer Nihal Atsez, who
deals with that subject beginning with the Kurdish issue. Belge makes
extensive quotes from the said book, which are very revealing about
the Turkish psyche: "The Kurds will be uprooted and wiped out from
the face of the globe if they continue to be used by foreigners and
continue to pursue their dream of establishing a Kurdish homeland. By
destroying Armenians in 1915 and the Greeks in 1922, the Turkish race
has demonstrated what it can do to those who have claims on these
lands, which we have won by shedding rivers of blood."
Belge further continues quoting from the same book: "...Even if they
become a 100-percent majority in any region of Turkey, their dream
of establishing their own government will only remain a dream, like
the dream of Greeks to revive Byzantium and the dream of Armenians
to have Greater Armenia. For this reason they have to leave this
country, before causing trouble for Turkey. Where can they go? Let
them go wherever they like. They can go to Iran, India, Pakistan or
to Barzani [in Iraqi Kurdistan]. Or they can ask the UN to provide
them a territory in Africa. If they wish to learn anything [about our
temper] let them ask their Armenian friends, and learn from them how
patient is the Turk until it gets angry and becomes a lion."
"For people like Atsez these deeds are actions of Turkey's greatness
and power," Belge writes.
In concluding his article, Belge cautions the Turkish government to
demonstrate some flexibility on the issue.
Turkish arrogance is still a factor to be reckoned with. Denialism
is still state policy, because Turkish leaders are not naive as to
what comes after recognition. As the debate about the Genocide rages
in Turkish society, the consequences are also part of the debate.
Armenians and the international community will certainly go beyond
recognition, raising the issue of restitution. The use of the term
"genocide" has legal consequences, which have scared the Turkish
leaders thus far.
Any presidential candidate can make generous pledges, only to forget
them after the election. President Sarkozy can prove his sincerity
while holding office. Otherwise, his opponent, the Socialist candidate
Francois Holland, has already made the same pledge, while the Senate
majority has already slipped through Mr. Sarkozy's fingers to the
leftist parties.
France is only one step closer in recognizing the Genocide and
criminalizing its denial. It is not the finale in this long and arduous
process. The finale is in Turkey where the Grey Wolves and ultra-
nationalists like Mr. Atsez hold sway on Turkish public opinion. And
it is no small consolation that the debate has now moved to another
level; it is no longer only between Armenians and Turks, it is among
the Turks themselves, as people like Murat Belge emerge and stand up
in the process.
By Edmond Y. Azadian
AZG DAILY
25-10-2011
Early in October news services reported that a Turkish cab driver
had beaten an Armenian woman in Istanbul and had thrown her out of
his taxi upon learning that she is an ethnic Armenian. An Azerbaijani
soldier, Safar Abiev, had axed to death an Armenian soldier in Hungary
who was being trained in a military program. In 1955, Turkish mobs
ransacked Armenian and Greek homes and businesses, killing many, in
what is called the September 6 Incident. The riots were triggered by
a false news report that Ataturk's birthplace in Salonika had been
bombed. Later on it was discovered that the bombing was the work of
the Turkish government precisely to incite the mob.
Indeed, these incidents do not take place spontaneously. There is
an anti-Armenian propaganda in both countries, fueled by official
and unofficial forces to keep the hatred burning, to be used for
political ends at any given moment.
The late Turkish President Turgut Ozal had once threatened Armenians
"in case they had not learned their lesson in 1915." Turkey's former
Minister of Defense Vecdi Gonul had also bragged in a Brussels
conference that Turkey would not enjoy presently a unified vast
territory had it not expelled Armenians and Greeks during and after
World War I.
Still, on the official side, former and current Prime Ministers Tansu
Ciller and Tayyip Erdogan have threatened Armenian guest workers
with expulsion.
One would question why this continued campaign of hatred exists after
slaughtering 1.5 million Armenians and taking over their historic
homeland? The answer is clear and unequivocal: Turks live in constant
fear, because they are sitting on the bones of 1.5 million victims.
They are fearful also that the Sevres Treaty of 1920 may be revived and
thus the land can shift under their feet. The irony is in the fact that
very few Armenians believe that an unratified treaty may be brought
to force one day, but for the Turks, the threat and the fear are real.
We are sometimes relieved that the issue of Genocide recognition has
moved into Turkey after being verboten for more than 90 years. Yet,
there are powerful currents against the advocates of Genocide
recognition and against those who circulate petitions to make amends
to the Armenians. One expression of those powerful forces surfaced
recently in the Turkish newspaper, Taraf, quoted by a courageous
journalist Murat Belge. After criticizing the Turkish Foreign Ministry
for its lame response to President Nicolas Sarkozy's statement in
Yerevan about the recognition of the Genocide, he continues his attack
on knee-jerk deniers, who he claims, are controlled by the leading
political parties. Those who justify themselves by stating "We Turks
are good people, we have not committed any slaughters or genocide,"
let them read a book by the conservative writer Nihal Atsez, who
deals with that subject beginning with the Kurdish issue. Belge makes
extensive quotes from the said book, which are very revealing about
the Turkish psyche: "The Kurds will be uprooted and wiped out from
the face of the globe if they continue to be used by foreigners and
continue to pursue their dream of establishing a Kurdish homeland. By
destroying Armenians in 1915 and the Greeks in 1922, the Turkish race
has demonstrated what it can do to those who have claims on these
lands, which we have won by shedding rivers of blood."
Belge further continues quoting from the same book: "...Even if they
become a 100-percent majority in any region of Turkey, their dream
of establishing their own government will only remain a dream, like
the dream of Greeks to revive Byzantium and the dream of Armenians
to have Greater Armenia. For this reason they have to leave this
country, before causing trouble for Turkey. Where can they go? Let
them go wherever they like. They can go to Iran, India, Pakistan or
to Barzani [in Iraqi Kurdistan]. Or they can ask the UN to provide
them a territory in Africa. If they wish to learn anything [about our
temper] let them ask their Armenian friends, and learn from them how
patient is the Turk until it gets angry and becomes a lion."
"For people like Atsez these deeds are actions of Turkey's greatness
and power," Belge writes.
In concluding his article, Belge cautions the Turkish government to
demonstrate some flexibility on the issue.
Turkish arrogance is still a factor to be reckoned with. Denialism
is still state policy, because Turkish leaders are not naive as to
what comes after recognition. As the debate about the Genocide rages
in Turkish society, the consequences are also part of the debate.
Armenians and the international community will certainly go beyond
recognition, raising the issue of restitution. The use of the term
"genocide" has legal consequences, which have scared the Turkish
leaders thus far.
Any presidential candidate can make generous pledges, only to forget
them after the election. President Sarkozy can prove his sincerity
while holding office. Otherwise, his opponent, the Socialist candidate
Francois Holland, has already made the same pledge, while the Senate
majority has already slipped through Mr. Sarkozy's fingers to the
leftist parties.
France is only one step closer in recognizing the Genocide and
criminalizing its denial. It is not the finale in this long and arduous
process. The finale is in Turkey where the Grey Wolves and ultra-
nationalists like Mr. Atsez hold sway on Turkish public opinion. And
it is no small consolation that the debate has now moved to another
level; it is no longer only between Armenians and Turks, it is among
the Turks themselves, as people like Murat Belge emerge and stand up
in the process.