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THE TURKISH-MADE 'GREAT CALAMITY': HOW 'MEDZ YEGHERN' BECAME 'BUYUK FELAKET'
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/11/07/the-turkish-made-great-calamity-how-medz-yeghern-became-buyuk-felaket/
Posted by Vartan Matiossian on November 7, 2012
The "Metz Yeghern," which means "Great Evil" in Armenian, is the name
we Armenians use for the genocide.
-Robert Attarian (2006)1
The quote comes from a lecture in Italian by the spokesperson for
the Consiglio per la comunita armena di Roma (Council of the Armenian
Community of Rome) on April 28, 2006. The use of "Medz Yeghern" and
"genocide" in the same sentence shows it to be part of a conscious
goal pursued by Italian Armenians as a way to encourage the adoption
of the phrase Medz Yeghern to identify the genocide in languages
other than Armenian.
obama yine buyuk felaket dedi 2404121200 m 300x203 The Turkish Made
'Great Calamity': How 'Medz Yeghern' Became 'Buyuk Felâket'
Obama said "Buyuk Felaket" again. (Source: Odatv)
As one example among many, young Italian writer Paolo Cossi in
2007 published a graphic novel titled Medz Yeghern, il grande male
(Medz Yeghern: The Great Evil). It was clear that, in his mind, Medz
Yeghern was not a euphemism. "I made my first book Medz Yeghern to
explain and introduce the Armenian Genocide to the Italian people,"
said Cossi recently. "My motivation was a very human motivation in
the first place, and it was very important because it is the first
genocide of the 20th century. I wanted to create something that can
educate the Italian public about genocide because they know very
little about it."2 So far, this graphic novel has been translated
into French, Spanish, Dutch, Greek, and Korean.
Medz Yeghern = Buyuk Felâket = Great Calamity
The gradual promotion of Medz Yeghern as "Great Evil" in Italy
occurred concurrently with the emergence of "Great Calamity" in the
United States, which also began to be used in Turkey under the form
of the recently developed equation Medz Yeghern =Buyuk Felâket
=Great Calamity.
The translation "Great Calamity" appears to have been facilitated by
the misplaced assumption that "yeghern" belongs to two semantic fields,
"crime" and "calamity." In an essay on the 60th anniversary of the
genocide, a European Armenian author, Aram Terzian, wrote:
"Those mournful experiences have left a deep mark on the survivors,
amongst whom there were 300,000 orphans, and the special term of
medz yegherne is now part of their language as a consecrated word for
recalling the inhumanity of the period. Heavy sorrow has marked the
lives of the descendants of the martyrs. To the new generations, medz
yegherne carries the concept of 'great crime' or 'great calamity,'
and they meditate on this subject of survival with almost mystical
sanctity."3
The other misplaced assumption is that yeghern belongs to one semantic
field, "calamity/catastrophe," as German Armenian sociologist Mihran
Dabag put forth in an article published in 1999: "Yegherne aradsch,
yegherne verdsch, before and after the Catastrophe; thus begins today
every Armenian storytelling and remembering."4
In a study of the terminology on the genocide used in Armenian media,
published in 2006, scholar Khatchig Mouradian concluded that yeghern
had a double meaning, "Crime" and "Catastrophe," whereas he translated
Medz Yeghern just as "Great Crime" and Abrilian Yeghern just as "the
April Crime."5 In an expanded version published in 2009, he seemed to
slightly correct himself: he repeated the two meanings of yeghern and
wrote that Medz Yeghern meant "Great Crime/Catastrophe" and Abrilian
Yeghern, "the April Crime/Catastrophe."6 In 2009, German historian
Annette Schaefgen hinted at the supposed dichotomy between yeghern
"Calamity" and Medz Yeghern "Great Crime," but left unexplained how
"calamity" could have turned into "crime" overnight:
"The word "yeghern" has many meanings: 'misfortune, disaster, mishap,
catastrophe.' 'Meds Yeghern,' 'great crime,' indeed designated
the events of 1915-1916 in Armenian parlance, because the term
'Tzeghaspanutium' [sic], 'race murder,' however, was used for the
linguistic discussion of 'genocide.'"7
A regular contributor to The Armenian Weekly, C. K. Garabed,
confessed in 2010 that he was "not familiar with the term Medz
Yeghern, and subsequently consulted various dictionaries to ascertain
its meaning." He discovered that the definitions found in these
Armenian-English dictionaries revolved around the semantic field
of "crime": "The older ones define it as Great Crime, misdemeanor,
offense, rascality; the more modern ones as Great Crime, atrocity,
murder." But, nevertheless, he seemed inclined towards the "literary
translation" suggested by historian Dennis Papazian in a personal
communication: "Great Armenian Cataclysm."8
Meanwhile, in 2009, Armenian-Turkish journalist Rober KoptaÅ~_,
citing Mouradian's 2006 study, had written that Medz Yeghern meant
both Buyuk Felâket (Great Calamity) and Buyuk Suc (Great Crime).9 The
Turkish translation of President Barack Obama's April 2012 message,
published by the Armenian Turkish weekly Agos, of which KoptaÅ~_ is the
current editor, followed this assumption: Medz Yeghern was awkwardly
translated as Buyuk Felâket in the first sentence and as Buyuk Kıyım
[Great Slaughter] in the last one,10 as if both words were synonyms.
Buyuk Felâket, the literal Turkish translation of "Great Calamity,"
has currently been shaped as the "permissible" term used to discuss
the genocide. Its use can be traced back to the New Year message
delivered by the Armenian patriarch of Turkey, Mesrob Mutafian,
in Armenian, English, and Turkish on the eve of 2005, in which he
referred to the genocide as "Medz Yeghern" in Armenian, "the Great
Disaster" in English, and "Buyuk Felâket" in Turkish. The first
paragraph of the English version read: "One of the painful historical
events...has become known in Armenian literature as Medz Yeghern (The
Great Disaster)." This paragraph was quoted and endorsed by Armenian
American columnist Harut Sassounian, who wrote: "For the benefit of
non-Armenian speaking readers, we should point out that Medz Yeghern
was used by Armenians to describe the Armenian Genocide before the word
genocide existed. Medz Yeghern could be translated alternatively as
'Great Disaster,' 'Great Calamity,' or 'Great Cataclysm.' Armenians
sometimes still refer to the Armenian Genocide as 'Medz Yeghern,'
just as the Jews use the Hebrew word Shoah for the Holocaust." He
also praised the patriarch's "bold statement" on the "repressive
conditions" of Turkey: "We should point out that the patriarch, in
his statement, uses the term 'annihilation,' meaning extermination
or total destruction, which is another way of saying genocide."11
The Italians have an expression: Si non è vero, è bel trovato
(Even if it is not true, it was beautifully researched). Turkish
writers had a variety of sources at their disposal (the BBC, the
New York Times, Mesrob Patriarch, and Harut Sassounian, for example)
to find the translation of Medz Yeghern as "Great Calamity" and use
their own Buyuk Felâket with some justification. Whatever its origin,
the translation appeared in the well-known online statement of apology
for the denial of the genocide issued by four Turkish intellectuals
in December 2008. Its first sentence in the English version read: "My
conscience does not accept the insensitivity showed to and the denial
of the Great Catastrophe [Buyuk Felâket, in the Turkish version]
that the Ottoman-Armenians were subjected to in 1915." On Dec. 12,
2008, one of the four signatories, Baskın Oran, gave the following
exegesis to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: "You see, 'Great
Catastrophe,' in Armenian 'Medz Yeghern,' was the only definition,
the only expression, used until the Armenian Diaspora discovered the PR
value of 'Armenian Genocide.' Therefore, we use 'Great Catastrophe.'"12
Another signatory, Cengiz Aktan, on Dec. 19 declared in a debate on
the Turkish TV channel Kanal D that "Metz Yeghern is a word from the
time of 1915. The term genocide and its basis in international law is
[sic] from 1948. From 1915 until 1948, the Armenian people who were
subjected to this were of course going to give a name to it. We used
the name that they themselves used."13 The assumption was that Medz
Yeghern, with the purported translation "Great Catastrophe," was a
"neutral" term used before genocide and thus more palatable to those
"moderates" on both sides who were willing to engage in a process of
"reconciliation."
In a lecture in October 2009, Oran justified the use of Medz Yeghern
by arguing that the term was used in the Republic of Armenia; that it
was used in the name of the martyrs monument in Yerevan; that it was
used by Pope John Paul II in 2001 and there were no protests; that it
was used by Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II in his address in
Armenian (translated as "genocide" in the English version) in 2001;
and that it was the main term used by Armenians before (and after)
"genocide."14
Sassounian commented on the inaccuracies of the text: "Armenian critics
pointed out several shortcomings in the Turkish statement: First,
the apology avoided the term 'Armenian Genocide' by referring to it
as the 'Great Catastrophe.' Second, it alluded to the year 1915 only,
rather than 1915-23. Third, the apology was issued by individual Turks
rather than the Turkish state."15 Scholar Marc Mamigonian remarked that
"the expression Medz Yeghern/Great Catastrophe has been appropriated
and superimposed onto the discussion as if those doing so--those
who have themselves only lately discovered the term--possess either
the moral or the scholarly authority to assert what terms should or
should not be used."16
The Turkish press was flooded with the newly found Armenian phrase and
its "translations," both in Turkish and in English (variously "Great
Calamity," "Great Catastrophe," or "Great Tragedy"). Even Archbishop
Aram Ateshyan, the current general vicar of the Patriarchate of
Constantinople, used "Great Catastrophe" as the translation of Medz
Yeghern in an interview to the German magazine Der Spiegel in April
2009.17 It appears that Buyuk Felaket was already available and just
needed to be equalized to Medz Yeghern to become an item of mass
consumption in the ongoing war of words. According to Yavuz Baydar,
his great-grandfather had described the Bulgarian invasion in Western
Thrace (during the Balkan War of 1912) as Buyuk Felaket. The take of
this Turkish columnist of Today's Zaman was that Medz Yeghern was the
Armenian equivalent, "a popular term used in many similar contexts in
the storm of tragedies that, to a great extent, wiped out the soul
of Asia Minor; Greek deportations, Gallipoli, the Russian Front,
the Balkans and, of course, Armenians."18
The Armenian press seems to have just gone along with the "translation"
without any background check. For instance, an unsigned commentary
in the Asbarez newspaper (probably written by the editor) quoted the
text of the apology and added: "Then we have this 'Great Catastrophe'
stuff. Maybe they're just using a translation of our own, older,
usage of Medz Yeghern. Regardless, it's not 'genocide.' So, it's at
best sub-standard, more likely intentionally evasive for political and
personal safety reasons, or possibly intentionally duplicitous."19
Three days later, the English translation of the above-mentioned
debate in Kanal D was posted on the internet. It featured several
retired ambassadors, including veteran denialist M. Å~\ukru Elekdag,
a former ambassador to the United States and a parliament member
at the time, who made a harsh criticism of the apology that went
unnoticed by Armenian commentators: "Firstly, they are referring
to Great Catastrophe; this is Metz Yeghern in Armenian. This word
is a synonym for genocide. The difference between the two words is
as little as the difference between mass slaughter and mass killing
(kitle katliamı and kitlesel öldurme). There is no difference between
them. When Metz Yeghern is used, Armenians understand genocide. When
some official person goes to Armenia, visits the Monument, and wishes
to condemn genocide as well as not to offend the Turkish Republic
they use Metz Yeghern; and Armenians accept this. This statement
is tantamount to supporting the genocide campaign of the Armenian
Diaspora. It would have been alright to use terms like great tragedy
or pain. The concept of Great Catastrophe is an established term;
it has a loaded meaning which is very difficult to change. Therefore,
it naturally causes reactions. ... Today, Metz Yeghern is a totally
established term. And it is synonymous with genocide. It is not
possible to understand this statement any differently."20
Indeed, Elekdag ignored, intentionally or not, that there is a literal
Armenian translation of "genocide" and that Medz Yeghern does not mean
"Great Catastrophe." But, otherwise, he seemed to have learned his
lessons remarkably well. He knew that whenever Medz Yeghern is used,
Armenians understand genocide.
Medz Yeghern = Buyuk Felâket?
If not a non-Turkish source, it might be assumed that the source of
the Turkish translation as "Great Calamity" or "Great Catastrophe"
could have been an Armenian-Turkish dictionary or wordlist. Our
investigation into an array of available bibliography yielded the
following results:21
yeghern11 584x1024 The Turkish Made 'Great Calamity': How 'Medz
Yeghern' Became 'Buyuk Felâket'
The evidence from the dictionaries yields the conclusions that before
and after 1915:
1) Yeghern meant cinayet, suÄ~M or kabahat;
2) Aghed meant felâket or bela
Therefore, the translation of Medz Yeghern as Buyuk Felâket, which
would imply the meaning Great Calamity/Great Catastrophe/Great
Disaster, is unwarranted.
Notes
1 See www.gliscritti.it/approf/2006/conferenze/attarian01.htm.
2 The Armenian Weekly, May 17, 2012 (emphasis added).
3 Aram Terzian, "1915: The Darkest Year," Armenian Review, Summer 1975,
p. 158.
4 Mihran Dabag, "Feien des Gedenkens," in Bernhard Scheneider and
Richard Jochum (eds.), Erinnerungen an das Töten: Genozid reflexiv,
Vienna, Cologne and Weimar: Böhlau, 1999, p. 49.
5 The Armenian Weekly, Sept. 23, 2006.
6 Khatchig Mouradian, "From Yeghern to Genocide: Armenian Newspapers,
Raphael Lemkin, and the Road to the UN Genocide Convention," Haigazian
Armenological Review, vol. 29, 2009, p.
128.
7 Annette Schaefgen, "Von der treuen millet zum Sundenbock oder
Die Legende vom armenische DolschtoÃ~_," in Wolfgang Benz (ed.),
Vorurteil und Genozid: Ideologische Prämische der Völkermords,
Vienna, Cologne and Weimar: Böhlau, 2010, p. 59.
8 The Armenian Weekly, June 3, 2010.
9 Radikal, May 3, 2009.
10 Agos, April 25, 2012.
11 California Courier, Jan. 5, 2005.
12 Quoted in Marc Mamigonian, "Commentary on the Turkish Apology
Campaign," Armenian Weekly/Hairenik Weekly magazine, April 2009,
p. 19, 21.
13
Seehttp://armenians-1915.blogspot.com/2008/12/2680-tv-debate-transcript-32nd-da
y-on.html
14 Baskın Oran, "Denialism and Civil Society in Turkey," Clark
University, Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
(baskinoran.com/konferans/ClarkUniversity.pdf).
15 The Huffington Post, Dec. 18, 2008.
16 Mamigonian, "Commentary," p. 22.
17 The Armenian Weekly, May 7, 2009.
18 Today's Zaman, April 27, 2009.
19 Asbarez, Dec. 24, 2008 (emphasis added).
20http://armenians-1915.blogspot.com/2008/12/2680-tv-debate-transcript-32nd-da
y-on.html (emphasis added).
21 Bargirk haykazian lezvi (Dictionary of the Classical Armenian
Language), vol. 2, Venice: Antoni Bortoli, 1769, p. 9, 113; Rev.
Emmanuele Ciakciak, Nuovo dizionario italiano-armeno-turco, Venecia:
Tipografia Armena di San Lazzaro, 1829, p. 83, 174, 436; Nor bargirk
Haykazian lezvi (New Dictionary of the Classical Armenian Language),
vol. 1, Venice: S. Lazarus Press, 1836, p. 654; [Rev. Sukias Somalian],
A Pocket Dictionary of the Armenian, English and Turkish languages,
Venice: Press of the Armenian College of St. Lazarus, 1843, p. 20,
127, 316; [Idem], A Pocket Dictionary of the English, Armenian
and Turkish languages, Venice: Press of the Armenian College of
St. Lazarus, 1843, p. 76, 145; Krikor Peshdimaldjian, Bargirk
haykazian lezvi (Dictionary of the Classical Armenian Language),
Constantinople: Boghos Arabian, 1844, p. 17, 325; [Rev. Pilibbos
Chamchian], Nuovo dizionario Italiano-Francese-Armeno-Turco, Vienna:
PP. Mechitaristi, 1856, p. 143, 166, 581; Djanig Aram, Dictionnaire
abrégé Arménien-Turc-Francais, Paris: Typographie Arménienne, 1860,
p. 2, 17; Rev. Srabion Eminian, Baragirk gagghieren-hayeren-tajkeren
(Dictionary French-Armenian-Turkish), Vienna: Mekhitarist Press,
1871, p. 155, 254, 743 (first edition, 1851); M. K. Minassian, A
Dictionary, English, Armenian and Armeno-Turkish, Constantinople:
V. and H. Der Nersessian, 1908, p.
155, 246; Bedros Zeki Garabedian, Metz bararan osmanerene hayeren
(Great Dictionary Ottoman-Armenian), Constantinople: Arshag Garoyan,
1912, p. 270, 594; Rev. Aristakes Bohjalian, Trkerene hayeren ardzern
bararan (Turkish-Armenian Practical Dictionary), Istanbul: Armenian
Turkish Teachers' Organization, 1981, p. (first edition, 1974), p. 60,
138, 432; R. H. Baghramyan and I. H. Khalilov, Hay-adrbejaneren
bararan (Armenian-Azerbaijani Dictionary), Yerevan: Luys, 1978,
p. 16, 124; Rev. Aristakes Bohjalian, Hayerene hayeren batsadrakan
ardzern bararan (Armenian-Armenian Practical Explanatory Dictionary),
Istanbul: Armenian Turkish Teachers' Organization, 1991, p. 12, 142
(first edition, 1974); Katarine Kondakjian, Turkeren-hayeren bararan
(Turkish-Armenian Dictionary), Yerevan: Antares, 2003, p. 109, 137,
292; R. S. Ghazaryan, Turkeren-hayeren bararan, Yerevan: Mitk, 2003,
p. 82, 164, 432; Birsen Karaca, Dogu Ermenice-Turkce sözluk, second
edition, Ankara: Ankara University, 2007, p. 76.
From: Baghdasarian
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/11/07/the-turkish-made-great-calamity-how-medz-yeghern-became-buyuk-felaket/
Posted by Vartan Matiossian on November 7, 2012
The "Metz Yeghern," which means "Great Evil" in Armenian, is the name
we Armenians use for the genocide.
-Robert Attarian (2006)1
The quote comes from a lecture in Italian by the spokesperson for
the Consiglio per la comunita armena di Roma (Council of the Armenian
Community of Rome) on April 28, 2006. The use of "Medz Yeghern" and
"genocide" in the same sentence shows it to be part of a conscious
goal pursued by Italian Armenians as a way to encourage the adoption
of the phrase Medz Yeghern to identify the genocide in languages
other than Armenian.
obama yine buyuk felaket dedi 2404121200 m 300x203 The Turkish Made
'Great Calamity': How 'Medz Yeghern' Became 'Buyuk Felâket'
Obama said "Buyuk Felaket" again. (Source: Odatv)
As one example among many, young Italian writer Paolo Cossi in
2007 published a graphic novel titled Medz Yeghern, il grande male
(Medz Yeghern: The Great Evil). It was clear that, in his mind, Medz
Yeghern was not a euphemism. "I made my first book Medz Yeghern to
explain and introduce the Armenian Genocide to the Italian people,"
said Cossi recently. "My motivation was a very human motivation in
the first place, and it was very important because it is the first
genocide of the 20th century. I wanted to create something that can
educate the Italian public about genocide because they know very
little about it."2 So far, this graphic novel has been translated
into French, Spanish, Dutch, Greek, and Korean.
Medz Yeghern = Buyuk Felâket = Great Calamity
The gradual promotion of Medz Yeghern as "Great Evil" in Italy
occurred concurrently with the emergence of "Great Calamity" in the
United States, which also began to be used in Turkey under the form
of the recently developed equation Medz Yeghern =Buyuk Felâket
=Great Calamity.
The translation "Great Calamity" appears to have been facilitated by
the misplaced assumption that "yeghern" belongs to two semantic fields,
"crime" and "calamity." In an essay on the 60th anniversary of the
genocide, a European Armenian author, Aram Terzian, wrote:
"Those mournful experiences have left a deep mark on the survivors,
amongst whom there were 300,000 orphans, and the special term of
medz yegherne is now part of their language as a consecrated word for
recalling the inhumanity of the period. Heavy sorrow has marked the
lives of the descendants of the martyrs. To the new generations, medz
yegherne carries the concept of 'great crime' or 'great calamity,'
and they meditate on this subject of survival with almost mystical
sanctity."3
The other misplaced assumption is that yeghern belongs to one semantic
field, "calamity/catastrophe," as German Armenian sociologist Mihran
Dabag put forth in an article published in 1999: "Yegherne aradsch,
yegherne verdsch, before and after the Catastrophe; thus begins today
every Armenian storytelling and remembering."4
In a study of the terminology on the genocide used in Armenian media,
published in 2006, scholar Khatchig Mouradian concluded that yeghern
had a double meaning, "Crime" and "Catastrophe," whereas he translated
Medz Yeghern just as "Great Crime" and Abrilian Yeghern just as "the
April Crime."5 In an expanded version published in 2009, he seemed to
slightly correct himself: he repeated the two meanings of yeghern and
wrote that Medz Yeghern meant "Great Crime/Catastrophe" and Abrilian
Yeghern, "the April Crime/Catastrophe."6 In 2009, German historian
Annette Schaefgen hinted at the supposed dichotomy between yeghern
"Calamity" and Medz Yeghern "Great Crime," but left unexplained how
"calamity" could have turned into "crime" overnight:
"The word "yeghern" has many meanings: 'misfortune, disaster, mishap,
catastrophe.' 'Meds Yeghern,' 'great crime,' indeed designated
the events of 1915-1916 in Armenian parlance, because the term
'Tzeghaspanutium' [sic], 'race murder,' however, was used for the
linguistic discussion of 'genocide.'"7
A regular contributor to The Armenian Weekly, C. K. Garabed,
confessed in 2010 that he was "not familiar with the term Medz
Yeghern, and subsequently consulted various dictionaries to ascertain
its meaning." He discovered that the definitions found in these
Armenian-English dictionaries revolved around the semantic field
of "crime": "The older ones define it as Great Crime, misdemeanor,
offense, rascality; the more modern ones as Great Crime, atrocity,
murder." But, nevertheless, he seemed inclined towards the "literary
translation" suggested by historian Dennis Papazian in a personal
communication: "Great Armenian Cataclysm."8
Meanwhile, in 2009, Armenian-Turkish journalist Rober KoptaÅ~_,
citing Mouradian's 2006 study, had written that Medz Yeghern meant
both Buyuk Felâket (Great Calamity) and Buyuk Suc (Great Crime).9 The
Turkish translation of President Barack Obama's April 2012 message,
published by the Armenian Turkish weekly Agos, of which KoptaÅ~_ is the
current editor, followed this assumption: Medz Yeghern was awkwardly
translated as Buyuk Felâket in the first sentence and as Buyuk Kıyım
[Great Slaughter] in the last one,10 as if both words were synonyms.
Buyuk Felâket, the literal Turkish translation of "Great Calamity,"
has currently been shaped as the "permissible" term used to discuss
the genocide. Its use can be traced back to the New Year message
delivered by the Armenian patriarch of Turkey, Mesrob Mutafian,
in Armenian, English, and Turkish on the eve of 2005, in which he
referred to the genocide as "Medz Yeghern" in Armenian, "the Great
Disaster" in English, and "Buyuk Felâket" in Turkish. The first
paragraph of the English version read: "One of the painful historical
events...has become known in Armenian literature as Medz Yeghern (The
Great Disaster)." This paragraph was quoted and endorsed by Armenian
American columnist Harut Sassounian, who wrote: "For the benefit of
non-Armenian speaking readers, we should point out that Medz Yeghern
was used by Armenians to describe the Armenian Genocide before the word
genocide existed. Medz Yeghern could be translated alternatively as
'Great Disaster,' 'Great Calamity,' or 'Great Cataclysm.' Armenians
sometimes still refer to the Armenian Genocide as 'Medz Yeghern,'
just as the Jews use the Hebrew word Shoah for the Holocaust." He
also praised the patriarch's "bold statement" on the "repressive
conditions" of Turkey: "We should point out that the patriarch, in
his statement, uses the term 'annihilation,' meaning extermination
or total destruction, which is another way of saying genocide."11
The Italians have an expression: Si non è vero, è bel trovato
(Even if it is not true, it was beautifully researched). Turkish
writers had a variety of sources at their disposal (the BBC, the
New York Times, Mesrob Patriarch, and Harut Sassounian, for example)
to find the translation of Medz Yeghern as "Great Calamity" and use
their own Buyuk Felâket with some justification. Whatever its origin,
the translation appeared in the well-known online statement of apology
for the denial of the genocide issued by four Turkish intellectuals
in December 2008. Its first sentence in the English version read: "My
conscience does not accept the insensitivity showed to and the denial
of the Great Catastrophe [Buyuk Felâket, in the Turkish version]
that the Ottoman-Armenians were subjected to in 1915." On Dec. 12,
2008, one of the four signatories, Baskın Oran, gave the following
exegesis to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: "You see, 'Great
Catastrophe,' in Armenian 'Medz Yeghern,' was the only definition,
the only expression, used until the Armenian Diaspora discovered the PR
value of 'Armenian Genocide.' Therefore, we use 'Great Catastrophe.'"12
Another signatory, Cengiz Aktan, on Dec. 19 declared in a debate on
the Turkish TV channel Kanal D that "Metz Yeghern is a word from the
time of 1915. The term genocide and its basis in international law is
[sic] from 1948. From 1915 until 1948, the Armenian people who were
subjected to this were of course going to give a name to it. We used
the name that they themselves used."13 The assumption was that Medz
Yeghern, with the purported translation "Great Catastrophe," was a
"neutral" term used before genocide and thus more palatable to those
"moderates" on both sides who were willing to engage in a process of
"reconciliation."
In a lecture in October 2009, Oran justified the use of Medz Yeghern
by arguing that the term was used in the Republic of Armenia; that it
was used in the name of the martyrs monument in Yerevan; that it was
used by Pope John Paul II in 2001 and there were no protests; that it
was used by Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II in his address in
Armenian (translated as "genocide" in the English version) in 2001;
and that it was the main term used by Armenians before (and after)
"genocide."14
Sassounian commented on the inaccuracies of the text: "Armenian critics
pointed out several shortcomings in the Turkish statement: First,
the apology avoided the term 'Armenian Genocide' by referring to it
as the 'Great Catastrophe.' Second, it alluded to the year 1915 only,
rather than 1915-23. Third, the apology was issued by individual Turks
rather than the Turkish state."15 Scholar Marc Mamigonian remarked that
"the expression Medz Yeghern/Great Catastrophe has been appropriated
and superimposed onto the discussion as if those doing so--those
who have themselves only lately discovered the term--possess either
the moral or the scholarly authority to assert what terms should or
should not be used."16
The Turkish press was flooded with the newly found Armenian phrase and
its "translations," both in Turkish and in English (variously "Great
Calamity," "Great Catastrophe," or "Great Tragedy"). Even Archbishop
Aram Ateshyan, the current general vicar of the Patriarchate of
Constantinople, used "Great Catastrophe" as the translation of Medz
Yeghern in an interview to the German magazine Der Spiegel in April
2009.17 It appears that Buyuk Felaket was already available and just
needed to be equalized to Medz Yeghern to become an item of mass
consumption in the ongoing war of words. According to Yavuz Baydar,
his great-grandfather had described the Bulgarian invasion in Western
Thrace (during the Balkan War of 1912) as Buyuk Felaket. The take of
this Turkish columnist of Today's Zaman was that Medz Yeghern was the
Armenian equivalent, "a popular term used in many similar contexts in
the storm of tragedies that, to a great extent, wiped out the soul
of Asia Minor; Greek deportations, Gallipoli, the Russian Front,
the Balkans and, of course, Armenians."18
The Armenian press seems to have just gone along with the "translation"
without any background check. For instance, an unsigned commentary
in the Asbarez newspaper (probably written by the editor) quoted the
text of the apology and added: "Then we have this 'Great Catastrophe'
stuff. Maybe they're just using a translation of our own, older,
usage of Medz Yeghern. Regardless, it's not 'genocide.' So, it's at
best sub-standard, more likely intentionally evasive for political and
personal safety reasons, or possibly intentionally duplicitous."19
Three days later, the English translation of the above-mentioned
debate in Kanal D was posted on the internet. It featured several
retired ambassadors, including veteran denialist M. Å~\ukru Elekdag,
a former ambassador to the United States and a parliament member
at the time, who made a harsh criticism of the apology that went
unnoticed by Armenian commentators: "Firstly, they are referring
to Great Catastrophe; this is Metz Yeghern in Armenian. This word
is a synonym for genocide. The difference between the two words is
as little as the difference between mass slaughter and mass killing
(kitle katliamı and kitlesel öldurme). There is no difference between
them. When Metz Yeghern is used, Armenians understand genocide. When
some official person goes to Armenia, visits the Monument, and wishes
to condemn genocide as well as not to offend the Turkish Republic
they use Metz Yeghern; and Armenians accept this. This statement
is tantamount to supporting the genocide campaign of the Armenian
Diaspora. It would have been alright to use terms like great tragedy
or pain. The concept of Great Catastrophe is an established term;
it has a loaded meaning which is very difficult to change. Therefore,
it naturally causes reactions. ... Today, Metz Yeghern is a totally
established term. And it is synonymous with genocide. It is not
possible to understand this statement any differently."20
Indeed, Elekdag ignored, intentionally or not, that there is a literal
Armenian translation of "genocide" and that Medz Yeghern does not mean
"Great Catastrophe." But, otherwise, he seemed to have learned his
lessons remarkably well. He knew that whenever Medz Yeghern is used,
Armenians understand genocide.
Medz Yeghern = Buyuk Felâket?
If not a non-Turkish source, it might be assumed that the source of
the Turkish translation as "Great Calamity" or "Great Catastrophe"
could have been an Armenian-Turkish dictionary or wordlist. Our
investigation into an array of available bibliography yielded the
following results:21
yeghern11 584x1024 The Turkish Made 'Great Calamity': How 'Medz
Yeghern' Became 'Buyuk Felâket'
The evidence from the dictionaries yields the conclusions that before
and after 1915:
1) Yeghern meant cinayet, suÄ~M or kabahat;
2) Aghed meant felâket or bela
Therefore, the translation of Medz Yeghern as Buyuk Felâket, which
would imply the meaning Great Calamity/Great Catastrophe/Great
Disaster, is unwarranted.
Notes
1 See www.gliscritti.it/approf/2006/conferenze/attarian01.htm.
2 The Armenian Weekly, May 17, 2012 (emphasis added).
3 Aram Terzian, "1915: The Darkest Year," Armenian Review, Summer 1975,
p. 158.
4 Mihran Dabag, "Feien des Gedenkens," in Bernhard Scheneider and
Richard Jochum (eds.), Erinnerungen an das Töten: Genozid reflexiv,
Vienna, Cologne and Weimar: Böhlau, 1999, p. 49.
5 The Armenian Weekly, Sept. 23, 2006.
6 Khatchig Mouradian, "From Yeghern to Genocide: Armenian Newspapers,
Raphael Lemkin, and the Road to the UN Genocide Convention," Haigazian
Armenological Review, vol. 29, 2009, p.
128.
7 Annette Schaefgen, "Von der treuen millet zum Sundenbock oder
Die Legende vom armenische DolschtoÃ~_," in Wolfgang Benz (ed.),
Vorurteil und Genozid: Ideologische Prämische der Völkermords,
Vienna, Cologne and Weimar: Böhlau, 2010, p. 59.
8 The Armenian Weekly, June 3, 2010.
9 Radikal, May 3, 2009.
10 Agos, April 25, 2012.
11 California Courier, Jan. 5, 2005.
12 Quoted in Marc Mamigonian, "Commentary on the Turkish Apology
Campaign," Armenian Weekly/Hairenik Weekly magazine, April 2009,
p. 19, 21.
13
Seehttp://armenians-1915.blogspot.com/2008/12/2680-tv-debate-transcript-32nd-da
y-on.html
14 Baskın Oran, "Denialism and Civil Society in Turkey," Clark
University, Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
(baskinoran.com/konferans/ClarkUniversity.pdf).
15 The Huffington Post, Dec. 18, 2008.
16 Mamigonian, "Commentary," p. 22.
17 The Armenian Weekly, May 7, 2009.
18 Today's Zaman, April 27, 2009.
19 Asbarez, Dec. 24, 2008 (emphasis added).
20http://armenians-1915.blogspot.com/2008/12/2680-tv-debate-transcript-32nd-da
y-on.html (emphasis added).
21 Bargirk haykazian lezvi (Dictionary of the Classical Armenian
Language), vol. 2, Venice: Antoni Bortoli, 1769, p. 9, 113; Rev.
Emmanuele Ciakciak, Nuovo dizionario italiano-armeno-turco, Venecia:
Tipografia Armena di San Lazzaro, 1829, p. 83, 174, 436; Nor bargirk
Haykazian lezvi (New Dictionary of the Classical Armenian Language),
vol. 1, Venice: S. Lazarus Press, 1836, p. 654; [Rev. Sukias Somalian],
A Pocket Dictionary of the Armenian, English and Turkish languages,
Venice: Press of the Armenian College of St. Lazarus, 1843, p. 20,
127, 316; [Idem], A Pocket Dictionary of the English, Armenian
and Turkish languages, Venice: Press of the Armenian College of
St. Lazarus, 1843, p. 76, 145; Krikor Peshdimaldjian, Bargirk
haykazian lezvi (Dictionary of the Classical Armenian Language),
Constantinople: Boghos Arabian, 1844, p. 17, 325; [Rev. Pilibbos
Chamchian], Nuovo dizionario Italiano-Francese-Armeno-Turco, Vienna:
PP. Mechitaristi, 1856, p. 143, 166, 581; Djanig Aram, Dictionnaire
abrégé Arménien-Turc-Francais, Paris: Typographie Arménienne, 1860,
p. 2, 17; Rev. Srabion Eminian, Baragirk gagghieren-hayeren-tajkeren
(Dictionary French-Armenian-Turkish), Vienna: Mekhitarist Press,
1871, p. 155, 254, 743 (first edition, 1851); M. K. Minassian, A
Dictionary, English, Armenian and Armeno-Turkish, Constantinople:
V. and H. Der Nersessian, 1908, p.
155, 246; Bedros Zeki Garabedian, Metz bararan osmanerene hayeren
(Great Dictionary Ottoman-Armenian), Constantinople: Arshag Garoyan,
1912, p. 270, 594; Rev. Aristakes Bohjalian, Trkerene hayeren ardzern
bararan (Turkish-Armenian Practical Dictionary), Istanbul: Armenian
Turkish Teachers' Organization, 1981, p. (first edition, 1974), p. 60,
138, 432; R. H. Baghramyan and I. H. Khalilov, Hay-adrbejaneren
bararan (Armenian-Azerbaijani Dictionary), Yerevan: Luys, 1978,
p. 16, 124; Rev. Aristakes Bohjalian, Hayerene hayeren batsadrakan
ardzern bararan (Armenian-Armenian Practical Explanatory Dictionary),
Istanbul: Armenian Turkish Teachers' Organization, 1991, p. 12, 142
(first edition, 1974); Katarine Kondakjian, Turkeren-hayeren bararan
(Turkish-Armenian Dictionary), Yerevan: Antares, 2003, p. 109, 137,
292; R. S. Ghazaryan, Turkeren-hayeren bararan, Yerevan: Mitk, 2003,
p. 82, 164, 432; Birsen Karaca, Dogu Ermenice-Turkce sözluk, second
edition, Ankara: Ankara University, 2007, p. 76.
From: Baghdasarian