Tweet
Bedrosyan: Hidden Truths or Lies
by Raffi Bedrosyan
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/11/23/bedrosyan-hidden-truths-or-lies/
November 23, 2012
In a matter of years beginning in 1915, an entire people was wiped out
from its homeland of several thousand years. But how can you wipe out
the remnants'its creations, assets, traces, its very existence'from
the collective memory of those who remained in that country, or, for
that matter, from the collective memory of the rest of the world? This
has been an immense challenge for successive Turkish governments, a
mission that was mostly successful for almost four generations. And
yet, here and there the lies or the hidden truths kept coming out with
increasing frequency, especially in recent years.
Even the name of the island was changed to `Akdamar,' meaning `white
vein' in Turkish, so that the Armenian Akhtamar connection would
disappear. Why this fear, this paranoia? How can these moves convince
anybody in Turkey or the outside world that this is not an Armenian
church? (Photo by Khatchig Mouradian)
Hiding the truth and historic facts about 1915 from its own people has
been the policy since the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923,
through indoctrination of the education system, control of the media
and academia, destruction of Armenian buildings and monuments, and so
on. But the facts, perhaps still secret within Turkey but widely known
in the outside world, are now being revealed to the masses in Turkey,
because of increased liberalization, the internet and pioneering
academicians and media opinion-makers who dare to speak the truth in
Turkey. As a result, the citizens of Turkey, who for four generations
were hidden from the facts, are now amazed to learn that a people
called Armenians lived in Anatolia for several millennia, but somehow
all suddenly disappeared in 1915. In this article, I will try to give
a few paradoxical examples of the attempts in hiding the truth, versus
the ones uncovering it.
The second largest and most modern airport in Turkey is called the
Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, named after the adopted
daughter of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the first female pilot in Turkey, a
hero who helped put down the Alevi/Kurdish rebellion in Dersim in
1936-38 by bombing the rebels from her plane. Her photos and
accomplishments are prominently displayed on billboards at the
airport, and are seen by millions of passengers. And yet, there is
another side to her story: Her real name is Hatun Sebilciyan, an
Armenian girl from Bursa, who was orphaned in 1915, adopted by Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk, and given the Gokcen (azure, color of the sky in
Turkish) surname by him after completing pilot training. Former Agos
Editor Hrant Dink became a marked man by the `deep state' in Turkey
when he first uncovered this truth after interviewing Sebilciyan's
surviving relatives in Lebanon in 2001. This fact was deemed an
`insult to Turkishness' by the military, the media, and the
government. Another recently uncovered fact: The people being bombed
in Dersim were not rebels, but mostly women and children; the leaders
were already hanged the previous year, a fact acknowledged and
apologized for by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, mostly to score
political points against the governing party at the time (the current
opposition party). To add more to the sad irony, these women and
children were mostly remnants of the 25,000 Armenians who had sought
refuge and found shelter with the Dersim Alevi Kurds in 1915. It is
not certain whether Sebilciyan/Gokcen knew that she was Armenian, or
if she knew that the women and children she bombed were Armenian.
The ancient city of Ani near Kars, situated on the Armenian border
separated by the Akhurian River, is known as the `city with 1,001
churches.' It is a former capital of the Armenian Bagratid Kingdom,
and had a continuous Armenian presence from the 5th-17th century. It
reached its glory days in the 10th and 11th centuries, when it became
a central gateway on the Silk Route; its growing population of 100,000
even exceeded Constantinople at the time. Most of the buildings and
churches are now destroyed, but the main Ani cathedral, Dikran Honents
Church, the Sourp Prgitch Church, and the city walls are still
standing, with clearly visible Armenian writings carved in the
stonewalls. After years of neglect (or target practice) by the Turkish
military on the remaining buildings, the current Turkish government
has opened up Ani to tourists and has started some preliminary
restoration efforts. However, there is not a single word about
Armenians in the Turkish guidebooks or historic descriptions on Ani.
The standing churches and buildings are referred to as belonging to
the Georgians or the Seljuks. Even the name Ani is now spelled with an
i without the dot, or `Anı''which means `memory' in Turkish'so that
the Armenian Ani connection to this city will disappear. The denial
policy and the paranoia linked to 1915 has stretched so far that even
the Armenian presence in Ani is being denied.
The museum in Kars exhibits historical artifacts collected from the
region'wood-carved church doors, stone tombstones, carpets, and dowry
chests. Descriptions explain that the ancient ones are from the
Urartians, the more recent ones from the Russians or Georgians. And
yet, all these artifacts have clearly visible Armenian writings carved
in the wood or stone or woven into the fabric. Again, here, the
denialist paranoia has gone to extreme limits, but it can only fool a
few Turks who cannot recognize the Armenian alphabet.
The Holy Cross Church on Akhtamar Island near Van dates back to 921
AD. It was built by the Armenian King Gagik, together with a palace
and other buildings on the island. Armenian priests lived there
continuously until 1915. All the buildings on the island were
willfully destroyed by the Turkish army from the 1920's to 1950's, and
only through the intervention of renowned Kurdish author Yashar Kemal
was the Holy Cross Church building spared. The current Turkish
government decided to restore the church as a state museum in 2007.
While there are beautiful Armenian writings carved on the church
walls, both inside and outside the building, there is not a single
word in the descriptive plaques or guidebooks indicating that this is
an Armenian church. Even the name of the island was changed to
`Akdamar,' meaning `white vein' in Turkish, so that the Armenian
Akhtamar connection would disappear. Why this fear, this paranoia? How
can these moves convince anybody in Turkey or the outside world that
this is not an Armenian church?
In Istanbul, almost all of the prominent historic buildings built from
the 17th-20th century'such as the Ottoman imperial palaces, mosques,
military barracks, universities, schools, or fountains'were built by
Armenians. Led by the renowned Balyan family, royal architects for
several generations, teams of Armenian tradesmen and craftsmen were
involved in all aspects of the royal construction projects, including
stone masonry, tile and mosaic manufacturing and setting, plumbing,
foundations, glassworks, and metal works. And yet, until 10 years ago,
official guides would tell tourists that Italian contractors named
Balianis were involved in the construction of these buildings.
Similarly, at least a quarter of the buildings in the historic Pera
district, along the main thoroughfare called Istiklal Caddesi, were
either built by Armenian architects or owned by Armenians. Millions of
Istanbul citizens and tourists live, work, and play in these
buildings, without realizing their historic Armenian connection. Two
years ago, when the Hrant Dink Foundation published a book on Armenian
architects of Istanbul, and hosted an exhibition displaying photos of
the buildings, it was like a revelation, causing uproar and amazement
among the media and general public.
The government policy of forced amnesia over an Armenian presence
prior to 1915 extends beyond architects and builders. Armenians served
as ministers in the Ottoman government from the early 1800's until
1915, and were in charge of key ministries such as the treasury,
armaments, mint, public works, customs, and post office departments.
Tens of thousands of Armenians worked in the bureaucracy, army, and
state hospitals. And the Turkish government has not only hidden their
contributions but their very existence, as well. As a result, the
general Turkish population has only recently started to realize the
important role played by the Armenians in the Ottoman public sector.
The contributions of Armenians in the private sector, of course, are
completely and forcefully hidden, because all Armenian assets and
properties'such as farms, factories, mines, warehouses, businesses,
orchards, and buildings'were plundered and taken over by the
Turkish/Kurdish leaders and the general public in 1915. In fact, the
very foundation of the Turkish private and public sector economy and
industry, the start-up of wealthy individuals and corporations, is
based entirely on the seized Armenian assets; therefore, this is an
understandable component of the denial policy.
The positive contributions by Armenians during the Turkish Republican
era are also kept hidden. The introduction of the Latin alphabet and
conversion from Ottoman Turkish to modern Turkish was implemented by
an Armenian linguistics expert, Prof. Agop Martayan. In gratitude,
Kemal Ataturk gave him the surname of Dilacar, meaning `the one who
unlocks the language.' In Turkish textbooks, he is referred to as A.
Dilacar, with his first name Agop never spelled out. When he passed
away in 1978, the Turkish media printed his obituary as Adil Acar,
further Turkifying his given name. Another example of a hidden truth
is the case of Armenian musician Edgar Manas, the composer of the
Turkish national anthem, a fact only known by a few Armenians and
completely covered up by the Turks.
Why this fear, this paranoia, resulting in total denial? It goes
beyond the denial of the historical facts of 1915. It is the denial of
the existence of an entire people on these lands. Is it fear over the
Armenian assets and properties left behind? Is it the simplistic
argument: If Armenians never lived here, there could not have been a
genocide? But then, if Armenians never lived here, how could they have
massacred the Turks, as is claimed by the Turkish version of official
history? Rather than speculate about the answers, I'll refer instead
to the remarks made by prominent Kurdish professor Ismail Besikci, the
recent recipient of the Hrant Dink Foundation Peace Award:
`The Ittihadists [Committee of Union and Progress] had devised a plan
to reorganize the Ottoman Empire on the basis of Turkish ethnic
identity. The nationalization of the Ottoman economy was a further
significant target. But Greeks, Armenians, and other Christian people,
as well as Islamic but non-Turkish people such as Kurds, non-Muslim
Turkish and Kurdish people such as Alevis, presented significant
obstacles to the execution of this Turkification project. They would
get rid of the Greeks by forcing them into exile to Greece. The
Armenian population would be eliminated under the guise of forced
deportation into the desert. Then, the Kurds would be assimilated into
Turkishness, and the Alevis into Islam. The wealth and immovable
properties of the Greeks, forced into exile, and the Armenians,
perished through genocide, would be confiscated by Muslim Turkish
notables. A huge, widespread looting operation took place of the
assets left behind by the Armenians and Greeks, helping the Ottoman
economy, and then the Turkish economy, to be nationalized. Today, the
source of the wealth of the haute bourgeoisie is the Armenian and
Greek assets. In Kurdish areas of Turkey, the source of wealth of the
Kurdish tribe leaders is again the Armenian and Syriac assets.'
As Besikci has said, it has become apparent that the experiment of
trying to convert a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-cultural
Anatolian society into a monolithic, mono-ethnic, single-religion
Turkish nation, and then denying this fact, has failed. The hidden
truths about the fate of the Armenian and Greek people, and their
assets, can no longer be denied within and outside Turkey, despite
state efforts. The assimilation of the Kurds did not succeed, despite
state efforts.
As another Kurdish intellectual has very appropriately remarked, for
many years the Turks denied that Armenians were ever killed on these
lands, and also denied that Kurds ever lived on these lands. An
increasingly larger number of opinion-makers in the Turkish media and
academia have started to reveal the hidden truths, and sooner or
later, the people of Turkey will realize that the historic facts are
different than what they have been told by the state. As it becomes
apparent that the hidden truths cannot be hidden any longer, the
challenge for the Turkish government will be how to revise its stance
from denial to acceptance of the truth, and how to deal with the truth
vis a vis its own citizens as well as the outside world. It is hoped
that this process will be carried out within the norms of dialogue,
the establishment of common body of knowledge.
by Raffi Bedrosyan
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/11/23/bedrosyan-hidden-truths-or-lies/
November 23, 2012
In a matter of years beginning in 1915, an entire people was wiped out
from its homeland of several thousand years. But how can you wipe out
the remnants'its creations, assets, traces, its very existence'from
the collective memory of those who remained in that country, or, for
that matter, from the collective memory of the rest of the world? This
has been an immense challenge for successive Turkish governments, a
mission that was mostly successful for almost four generations. And
yet, here and there the lies or the hidden truths kept coming out with
increasing frequency, especially in recent years.
Even the name of the island was changed to `Akdamar,' meaning `white
vein' in Turkish, so that the Armenian Akhtamar connection would
disappear. Why this fear, this paranoia? How can these moves convince
anybody in Turkey or the outside world that this is not an Armenian
church? (Photo by Khatchig Mouradian)
Hiding the truth and historic facts about 1915 from its own people has
been the policy since the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923,
through indoctrination of the education system, control of the media
and academia, destruction of Armenian buildings and monuments, and so
on. But the facts, perhaps still secret within Turkey but widely known
in the outside world, are now being revealed to the masses in Turkey,
because of increased liberalization, the internet and pioneering
academicians and media opinion-makers who dare to speak the truth in
Turkey. As a result, the citizens of Turkey, who for four generations
were hidden from the facts, are now amazed to learn that a people
called Armenians lived in Anatolia for several millennia, but somehow
all suddenly disappeared in 1915. In this article, I will try to give
a few paradoxical examples of the attempts in hiding the truth, versus
the ones uncovering it.
The second largest and most modern airport in Turkey is called the
Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, named after the adopted
daughter of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the first female pilot in Turkey, a
hero who helped put down the Alevi/Kurdish rebellion in Dersim in
1936-38 by bombing the rebels from her plane. Her photos and
accomplishments are prominently displayed on billboards at the
airport, and are seen by millions of passengers. And yet, there is
another side to her story: Her real name is Hatun Sebilciyan, an
Armenian girl from Bursa, who was orphaned in 1915, adopted by Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk, and given the Gokcen (azure, color of the sky in
Turkish) surname by him after completing pilot training. Former Agos
Editor Hrant Dink became a marked man by the `deep state' in Turkey
when he first uncovered this truth after interviewing Sebilciyan's
surviving relatives in Lebanon in 2001. This fact was deemed an
`insult to Turkishness' by the military, the media, and the
government. Another recently uncovered fact: The people being bombed
in Dersim were not rebels, but mostly women and children; the leaders
were already hanged the previous year, a fact acknowledged and
apologized for by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, mostly to score
political points against the governing party at the time (the current
opposition party). To add more to the sad irony, these women and
children were mostly remnants of the 25,000 Armenians who had sought
refuge and found shelter with the Dersim Alevi Kurds in 1915. It is
not certain whether Sebilciyan/Gokcen knew that she was Armenian, or
if she knew that the women and children she bombed were Armenian.
The ancient city of Ani near Kars, situated on the Armenian border
separated by the Akhurian River, is known as the `city with 1,001
churches.' It is a former capital of the Armenian Bagratid Kingdom,
and had a continuous Armenian presence from the 5th-17th century. It
reached its glory days in the 10th and 11th centuries, when it became
a central gateway on the Silk Route; its growing population of 100,000
even exceeded Constantinople at the time. Most of the buildings and
churches are now destroyed, but the main Ani cathedral, Dikran Honents
Church, the Sourp Prgitch Church, and the city walls are still
standing, with clearly visible Armenian writings carved in the
stonewalls. After years of neglect (or target practice) by the Turkish
military on the remaining buildings, the current Turkish government
has opened up Ani to tourists and has started some preliminary
restoration efforts. However, there is not a single word about
Armenians in the Turkish guidebooks or historic descriptions on Ani.
The standing churches and buildings are referred to as belonging to
the Georgians or the Seljuks. Even the name Ani is now spelled with an
i without the dot, or `Anı''which means `memory' in Turkish'so that
the Armenian Ani connection to this city will disappear. The denial
policy and the paranoia linked to 1915 has stretched so far that even
the Armenian presence in Ani is being denied.
The museum in Kars exhibits historical artifacts collected from the
region'wood-carved church doors, stone tombstones, carpets, and dowry
chests. Descriptions explain that the ancient ones are from the
Urartians, the more recent ones from the Russians or Georgians. And
yet, all these artifacts have clearly visible Armenian writings carved
in the wood or stone or woven into the fabric. Again, here, the
denialist paranoia has gone to extreme limits, but it can only fool a
few Turks who cannot recognize the Armenian alphabet.
The Holy Cross Church on Akhtamar Island near Van dates back to 921
AD. It was built by the Armenian King Gagik, together with a palace
and other buildings on the island. Armenian priests lived there
continuously until 1915. All the buildings on the island were
willfully destroyed by the Turkish army from the 1920's to 1950's, and
only through the intervention of renowned Kurdish author Yashar Kemal
was the Holy Cross Church building spared. The current Turkish
government decided to restore the church as a state museum in 2007.
While there are beautiful Armenian writings carved on the church
walls, both inside and outside the building, there is not a single
word in the descriptive plaques or guidebooks indicating that this is
an Armenian church. Even the name of the island was changed to
`Akdamar,' meaning `white vein' in Turkish, so that the Armenian
Akhtamar connection would disappear. Why this fear, this paranoia? How
can these moves convince anybody in Turkey or the outside world that
this is not an Armenian church?
In Istanbul, almost all of the prominent historic buildings built from
the 17th-20th century'such as the Ottoman imperial palaces, mosques,
military barracks, universities, schools, or fountains'were built by
Armenians. Led by the renowned Balyan family, royal architects for
several generations, teams of Armenian tradesmen and craftsmen were
involved in all aspects of the royal construction projects, including
stone masonry, tile and mosaic manufacturing and setting, plumbing,
foundations, glassworks, and metal works. And yet, until 10 years ago,
official guides would tell tourists that Italian contractors named
Balianis were involved in the construction of these buildings.
Similarly, at least a quarter of the buildings in the historic Pera
district, along the main thoroughfare called Istiklal Caddesi, were
either built by Armenian architects or owned by Armenians. Millions of
Istanbul citizens and tourists live, work, and play in these
buildings, without realizing their historic Armenian connection. Two
years ago, when the Hrant Dink Foundation published a book on Armenian
architects of Istanbul, and hosted an exhibition displaying photos of
the buildings, it was like a revelation, causing uproar and amazement
among the media and general public.
The government policy of forced amnesia over an Armenian presence
prior to 1915 extends beyond architects and builders. Armenians served
as ministers in the Ottoman government from the early 1800's until
1915, and were in charge of key ministries such as the treasury,
armaments, mint, public works, customs, and post office departments.
Tens of thousands of Armenians worked in the bureaucracy, army, and
state hospitals. And the Turkish government has not only hidden their
contributions but their very existence, as well. As a result, the
general Turkish population has only recently started to realize the
important role played by the Armenians in the Ottoman public sector.
The contributions of Armenians in the private sector, of course, are
completely and forcefully hidden, because all Armenian assets and
properties'such as farms, factories, mines, warehouses, businesses,
orchards, and buildings'were plundered and taken over by the
Turkish/Kurdish leaders and the general public in 1915. In fact, the
very foundation of the Turkish private and public sector economy and
industry, the start-up of wealthy individuals and corporations, is
based entirely on the seized Armenian assets; therefore, this is an
understandable component of the denial policy.
The positive contributions by Armenians during the Turkish Republican
era are also kept hidden. The introduction of the Latin alphabet and
conversion from Ottoman Turkish to modern Turkish was implemented by
an Armenian linguistics expert, Prof. Agop Martayan. In gratitude,
Kemal Ataturk gave him the surname of Dilacar, meaning `the one who
unlocks the language.' In Turkish textbooks, he is referred to as A.
Dilacar, with his first name Agop never spelled out. When he passed
away in 1978, the Turkish media printed his obituary as Adil Acar,
further Turkifying his given name. Another example of a hidden truth
is the case of Armenian musician Edgar Manas, the composer of the
Turkish national anthem, a fact only known by a few Armenians and
completely covered up by the Turks.
Why this fear, this paranoia, resulting in total denial? It goes
beyond the denial of the historical facts of 1915. It is the denial of
the existence of an entire people on these lands. Is it fear over the
Armenian assets and properties left behind? Is it the simplistic
argument: If Armenians never lived here, there could not have been a
genocide? But then, if Armenians never lived here, how could they have
massacred the Turks, as is claimed by the Turkish version of official
history? Rather than speculate about the answers, I'll refer instead
to the remarks made by prominent Kurdish professor Ismail Besikci, the
recent recipient of the Hrant Dink Foundation Peace Award:
`The Ittihadists [Committee of Union and Progress] had devised a plan
to reorganize the Ottoman Empire on the basis of Turkish ethnic
identity. The nationalization of the Ottoman economy was a further
significant target. But Greeks, Armenians, and other Christian people,
as well as Islamic but non-Turkish people such as Kurds, non-Muslim
Turkish and Kurdish people such as Alevis, presented significant
obstacles to the execution of this Turkification project. They would
get rid of the Greeks by forcing them into exile to Greece. The
Armenian population would be eliminated under the guise of forced
deportation into the desert. Then, the Kurds would be assimilated into
Turkishness, and the Alevis into Islam. The wealth and immovable
properties of the Greeks, forced into exile, and the Armenians,
perished through genocide, would be confiscated by Muslim Turkish
notables. A huge, widespread looting operation took place of the
assets left behind by the Armenians and Greeks, helping the Ottoman
economy, and then the Turkish economy, to be nationalized. Today, the
source of the wealth of the haute bourgeoisie is the Armenian and
Greek assets. In Kurdish areas of Turkey, the source of wealth of the
Kurdish tribe leaders is again the Armenian and Syriac assets.'
As Besikci has said, it has become apparent that the experiment of
trying to convert a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-cultural
Anatolian society into a monolithic, mono-ethnic, single-religion
Turkish nation, and then denying this fact, has failed. The hidden
truths about the fate of the Armenian and Greek people, and their
assets, can no longer be denied within and outside Turkey, despite
state efforts. The assimilation of the Kurds did not succeed, despite
state efforts.
As another Kurdish intellectual has very appropriately remarked, for
many years the Turks denied that Armenians were ever killed on these
lands, and also denied that Kurds ever lived on these lands. An
increasingly larger number of opinion-makers in the Turkish media and
academia have started to reveal the hidden truths, and sooner or
later, the people of Turkey will realize that the historic facts are
different than what they have been told by the state. As it becomes
apparent that the hidden truths cannot be hidden any longer, the
challenge for the Turkish government will be how to revise its stance
from denial to acceptance of the truth, and how to deal with the truth
vis a vis its own citizens as well as the outside world. It is hoped
that this process will be carried out within the norms of dialogue,
the establishment of common body of knowledge.