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New Statesman, UK
April 20 2013
It is time for Turkey to recognise the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide
It is now 98 years since 1.5m Armenians were systematically massacred.
Recognising what happened is the only way to help us all move forward.
By Benjamin Abtan
It has been 98 years since - following a premeditated plan with a
methodic implementation - one million and a half Armenians were
massacred in the Ottoman Empire. The Armenian people were the victims
of a genocide which would soon serve as a gruesome reference for those
that followed.
Today in Turkey, the mere enunciation of this historical fact still
provokes ferocious opposition, sometimes even physical threats.
Genocide denial serves as an encouragement to racism and hate against
Armenians and other non-Muslim minorities. Some want to pretend that
acknowledging the reality of the Armenian Genocide is an attack on all
Turkish people and on "Turkishness". It is not: it is a step towards
justice.
Several years ago, the genocide of Armenians began to be commemorated
in Turkey itself. The participants are still few but their number
grows every day despite an official discourse of genocide-denial.
Today, those among us who have taken part in these commemorations in
Turkey are calling for solidarity beyond borders.
This year on 24 April - the widely recognised starting date of the
massacre - we ask citizens, civil society leaders, antiracist
activists, intellectuals and artists, of Armenian and other diverse
origins, in Turkey and across the world, to unite in calling for the
historical fact of the Armenian Genocide to be recognised at last.
Our shared initiative is one of solidarity, of justice, and of democracy.
It is an initiative of solidarity between all who fight for historical
truth. Today the divide is not between Turks and Armenians, but
between those who struggle for the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide, whatever their origins are and wherever they live, and those
who promote denial. In a word, it is not a question of blood, but of
ideas; not a question of origins, but of a common goal.
It is an initiative of justice. In the words of writer and Holocaust
survivor Elie Wiesel, "Genocide kills twice, the second time by
silence." Denial, then, is the perpetuation of genocide. Fighting
against denial is trying to quell the trauma in Armenian communities
from one generation to another. It is not an end to this part of
history - because when it comes to genocide, there is unfortunately no
true end - but it offers new generations the opportunity to look
together towards the future.
Finally, it is an initiative for democracy. Echoing writer and
Buchenwald survivor Jorge Semprun's frequent reminder, democracy
requires vitality from civil society. Strengthening Turkish civil
society by establishing bridges with the rest of the European civil
society is strengthening democratic values, thus combating racism and
promoting human rights, in Turkey as well as in the rest of Europe.
In solidarity, for justice and democracy, for the respect of the
victims and their descendents, we will commemorate together the
Armenian Genocide on 24 April, in Turkey.
Signed by:
Benjamin Abtan, President of the European Grassroots Antiracist Movement - EGAM
Cengiz Algan & Levent Sensever, Spokespeople for Durde! (Turkey)
Alexis Govciyan , European President & Nicolas Tavitian, Member of the
Board of the Armenian General Benevolent Union - AGBU (Europe)
Meral Çildir, Member of the Board of Directors & Ayse Gunaysu, Member
of the Commission against Racism and Discrimination of the Turkish
Association for Human Rights - IHD (Turkey)
http://www.newstatesman.com/world-affairs/2013/04/it-time-turkey-recognise-historical-fact-armenian-genocide
From: A. Papazian
April 20 2013
It is time for Turkey to recognise the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide
It is now 98 years since 1.5m Armenians were systematically massacred.
Recognising what happened is the only way to help us all move forward.
By Benjamin Abtan
It has been 98 years since - following a premeditated plan with a
methodic implementation - one million and a half Armenians were
massacred in the Ottoman Empire. The Armenian people were the victims
of a genocide which would soon serve as a gruesome reference for those
that followed.
Today in Turkey, the mere enunciation of this historical fact still
provokes ferocious opposition, sometimes even physical threats.
Genocide denial serves as an encouragement to racism and hate against
Armenians and other non-Muslim minorities. Some want to pretend that
acknowledging the reality of the Armenian Genocide is an attack on all
Turkish people and on "Turkishness". It is not: it is a step towards
justice.
Several years ago, the genocide of Armenians began to be commemorated
in Turkey itself. The participants are still few but their number
grows every day despite an official discourse of genocide-denial.
Today, those among us who have taken part in these commemorations in
Turkey are calling for solidarity beyond borders.
This year on 24 April - the widely recognised starting date of the
massacre - we ask citizens, civil society leaders, antiracist
activists, intellectuals and artists, of Armenian and other diverse
origins, in Turkey and across the world, to unite in calling for the
historical fact of the Armenian Genocide to be recognised at last.
Our shared initiative is one of solidarity, of justice, and of democracy.
It is an initiative of solidarity between all who fight for historical
truth. Today the divide is not between Turks and Armenians, but
between those who struggle for the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide, whatever their origins are and wherever they live, and those
who promote denial. In a word, it is not a question of blood, but of
ideas; not a question of origins, but of a common goal.
It is an initiative of justice. In the words of writer and Holocaust
survivor Elie Wiesel, "Genocide kills twice, the second time by
silence." Denial, then, is the perpetuation of genocide. Fighting
against denial is trying to quell the trauma in Armenian communities
from one generation to another. It is not an end to this part of
history - because when it comes to genocide, there is unfortunately no
true end - but it offers new generations the opportunity to look
together towards the future.
Finally, it is an initiative for democracy. Echoing writer and
Buchenwald survivor Jorge Semprun's frequent reminder, democracy
requires vitality from civil society. Strengthening Turkish civil
society by establishing bridges with the rest of the European civil
society is strengthening democratic values, thus combating racism and
promoting human rights, in Turkey as well as in the rest of Europe.
In solidarity, for justice and democracy, for the respect of the
victims and their descendents, we will commemorate together the
Armenian Genocide on 24 April, in Turkey.
Signed by:
Benjamin Abtan, President of the European Grassroots Antiracist Movement - EGAM
Cengiz Algan & Levent Sensever, Spokespeople for Durde! (Turkey)
Alexis Govciyan , European President & Nicolas Tavitian, Member of the
Board of the Armenian General Benevolent Union - AGBU (Europe)
Meral Çildir, Member of the Board of Directors & Ayse Gunaysu, Member
of the Commission against Racism and Discrimination of the Turkish
Association for Human Rights - IHD (Turkey)
http://www.newstatesman.com/world-affairs/2013/04/it-time-turkey-recognise-historical-fact-armenian-genocide
From: A. Papazian