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ARMENIAN QUESTION: DESPAIR AND HOPE
Today's Zaman
http://www.sundayszaman.com/sunday/columnistDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=278711
April 26 2012
Turkey
As a person who lives in Turkey day in and day out, sometimes I become
very hopeful, and sometimes I find myself in such a pessimistic mood.
And these two moods may follow each other one day after another.
The other day I attended a debate on one of the most popular TV
channels in Turkey. The topic was the "Armenian question." An
Armenian intellectual, Garo Paylan, and I were on one side of the
debate. The other "front" was a nationalist block, consisting of a
former Republican People's Party (CHP) politician and two academics,
one of whom was from the Turkish Historical Society (TTK).
The debate was extremely suffocating. All of a sudden many official
"arguments" were raining down on us. It was really annoying to
see that these people never change their arguments one bit. They
do not even try to be smarter or more sophisticated. But the most
annoying thing came at the end. The debate was very hot, sometimes
very intense and our "official historian" uttered some words,
which shocked us. He cautioned Garo by saying that "he may end up
in California" like his ancestors. This gentleman is a historian in
Turkey's official historical institution, and he is responsible for
the Armenian question.
Can Turkey move forward an inch with this kind of "historian"? I left
the TV channel having a serious headache and very seriously concerned
about the future of this country.
However, the other day I read an interview with one of the founders
of the ruling party who is the İstanbul deputy from the Justice and
Development Party (AKP) for the time being. I become very hopeful
once again. I underlined some of his remarks, which were published
in the Radikal daily. Let's read them together:
"In 1915, an 'abnormal thing' that had not occurred before in the
1000-year history and civilization codes of this nation happened.
Historians must bring to light all related documents. A single
repository of these documents must be created and politicians should
assess the resulting findings. Then, the international community
should make a decision to assess the situation. This is my personal
proposal. I believe that what our Armenian citizens, our Armenian
friends experienced was not 'genocide' but a 'genoxile'. If genocide
had been the true aim, then the methods of destruction used by
the Spanish and the Portuguese against South African natives or by
Americans against Native Americans or by Germans against Jews would
have been used. It was the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP)
that was responsible for the pain and sufferings of Turks, Armenians
and all citizens at that time. This is not acceptable in the least."
"If you try to create a nation-state, you will pit people against
each other. We [The Turkish Republic] are not responsible for those
incidents, but the CUP is. Yet we should be able to say, 'We apologize
for those incidents in our past.' I personally offer this apology for
the 'genoxile' [a portmanteau meaning 'sending a race to exile']. If
you confuse the fight against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) with
the 'struggle against a people', a very tragic situation will emerge.
It can not be explained. The massacre performed by Armenian gangs
in cooperation with some foreign countries is one thing and the
relocation of our Armenian citizens is another thing. The CUP
confused the Armenians gangs with innocent Armenian citizens. And
it made all Armenians pay the price. In history, there are other
examples of forced relocation. People being relocated must be sent
with extreme security. Is this what happened with the Armenian
relocation? No... No person should settle in the home or country of
other people. I don't do this. Today, the properties belonging to
the foundations established by some religious minorities are being
returned. This should not go unnoticed."
"If the Armenian nation and the Turkish nation work together, they
can solve this problem. God, the Qur'an and prophets allow themselves
to be questioned and discussed. God says, "If there had been multiple
gods, there would be chaos." But we cannot discuss certain taboos.
When you talk about them, they raise the hell. We must overcome this.
Everyone will believe and live as they believe. No one will impose
certain lifestyles or beliefs on other people. This is the main
point... I cannot hold the Armenian nation as separate from the
Turkish nation. Their sorrows are ours. No human is more 'human' than
others. No one is privileged. We should be open to criticism. At that
time, people took sides and acted with racist attitudes. This should
be open to discussion... Turkey should open the border crossing on
its common border with Armenia while the status of the Azerbaijani
lands occupied by Armenia is being discussed. These people who have
lived together with us and who have shared the same feelings with us
and who have used the same literary language should be relieved of
their sorrows. Such things should not be sacrificed to the political
tensions."
Whether I agree with every word or not, AKP deputy İsmet Ucma's words
give me hope again. I wish more people like him would come forward and
speak out openly. The key to any solution for the Armenian question
lies in the hands of these non-nationalist people amongst both Turks
and Armenians. God bless them!
From: Baghdasarian
Today's Zaman
http://www.sundayszaman.com/sunday/columnistDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=278711
April 26 2012
Turkey
As a person who lives in Turkey day in and day out, sometimes I become
very hopeful, and sometimes I find myself in such a pessimistic mood.
And these two moods may follow each other one day after another.
The other day I attended a debate on one of the most popular TV
channels in Turkey. The topic was the "Armenian question." An
Armenian intellectual, Garo Paylan, and I were on one side of the
debate. The other "front" was a nationalist block, consisting of a
former Republican People's Party (CHP) politician and two academics,
one of whom was from the Turkish Historical Society (TTK).
The debate was extremely suffocating. All of a sudden many official
"arguments" were raining down on us. It was really annoying to
see that these people never change their arguments one bit. They
do not even try to be smarter or more sophisticated. But the most
annoying thing came at the end. The debate was very hot, sometimes
very intense and our "official historian" uttered some words,
which shocked us. He cautioned Garo by saying that "he may end up
in California" like his ancestors. This gentleman is a historian in
Turkey's official historical institution, and he is responsible for
the Armenian question.
Can Turkey move forward an inch with this kind of "historian"? I left
the TV channel having a serious headache and very seriously concerned
about the future of this country.
However, the other day I read an interview with one of the founders
of the ruling party who is the İstanbul deputy from the Justice and
Development Party (AKP) for the time being. I become very hopeful
once again. I underlined some of his remarks, which were published
in the Radikal daily. Let's read them together:
"In 1915, an 'abnormal thing' that had not occurred before in the
1000-year history and civilization codes of this nation happened.
Historians must bring to light all related documents. A single
repository of these documents must be created and politicians should
assess the resulting findings. Then, the international community
should make a decision to assess the situation. This is my personal
proposal. I believe that what our Armenian citizens, our Armenian
friends experienced was not 'genocide' but a 'genoxile'. If genocide
had been the true aim, then the methods of destruction used by
the Spanish and the Portuguese against South African natives or by
Americans against Native Americans or by Germans against Jews would
have been used. It was the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP)
that was responsible for the pain and sufferings of Turks, Armenians
and all citizens at that time. This is not acceptable in the least."
"If you try to create a nation-state, you will pit people against
each other. We [The Turkish Republic] are not responsible for those
incidents, but the CUP is. Yet we should be able to say, 'We apologize
for those incidents in our past.' I personally offer this apology for
the 'genoxile' [a portmanteau meaning 'sending a race to exile']. If
you confuse the fight against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) with
the 'struggle against a people', a very tragic situation will emerge.
It can not be explained. The massacre performed by Armenian gangs
in cooperation with some foreign countries is one thing and the
relocation of our Armenian citizens is another thing. The CUP
confused the Armenians gangs with innocent Armenian citizens. And
it made all Armenians pay the price. In history, there are other
examples of forced relocation. People being relocated must be sent
with extreme security. Is this what happened with the Armenian
relocation? No... No person should settle in the home or country of
other people. I don't do this. Today, the properties belonging to
the foundations established by some religious minorities are being
returned. This should not go unnoticed."
"If the Armenian nation and the Turkish nation work together, they
can solve this problem. God, the Qur'an and prophets allow themselves
to be questioned and discussed. God says, "If there had been multiple
gods, there would be chaos." But we cannot discuss certain taboos.
When you talk about them, they raise the hell. We must overcome this.
Everyone will believe and live as they believe. No one will impose
certain lifestyles or beliefs on other people. This is the main
point... I cannot hold the Armenian nation as separate from the
Turkish nation. Their sorrows are ours. No human is more 'human' than
others. No one is privileged. We should be open to criticism. At that
time, people took sides and acted with racist attitudes. This should
be open to discussion... Turkey should open the border crossing on
its common border with Armenia while the status of the Azerbaijani
lands occupied by Armenia is being discussed. These people who have
lived together with us and who have shared the same feelings with us
and who have used the same literary language should be relieved of
their sorrows. Such things should not be sacrificed to the political
tensions."
Whether I agree with every word or not, AKP deputy İsmet Ucma's words
give me hope again. I wish more people like him would come forward and
speak out openly. The key to any solution for the Armenian question
lies in the hands of these non-nationalist people amongst both Turks
and Armenians. God bless them!
From: Baghdasarian