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Egypt's Largest Independent Daily Newspaper Recognizes Turkey's Geno

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  • Egypt's Largest Independent Daily Newspaper Recognizes Turkey's Geno

    Egypt's Largest Independent Daily Newspaper Recognizes Turkey's
    Genocide Against Armenians

    - AUGUST 17, 2013

    By Appo K. Jabarian
    Executive Publisher / Managing Editor
    USA Armenian Life Magazine

    August 17, 2013

    Turkey's posturing in the Muslim world and especially Middle East
    suffered yet one more serious political blow last week when Mr. Essam
    Kamel, Editor-in-Chief of `Veto' Egypt's largest independent daily
    newspaper wrote a scathing editorial condemning Ottoman Turkey's
    genocidal dark past.

    Mr. Kamel went on to criticize Turkey's continued denial of the
    genocide against Armenians; and for having committed countless other
    atrocities and injustices against former subject peoples of the
    Ottoman Empire.

    In my capacity as Managing Editor of USA Armenian Life Magazine, I
    wrote Mr. Kamel an email in both Arabic and English languages thanking
    him and saying: `Please accept my heartfelt gratitude for writing such
    a powerful article and for showing courage and integrity in addressing
    the historic facts of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by Ottoman
    Turkey.'

    No later than couple hours he responded: `Greetings, genuine
    appreciations and then some. The position we adopt is consistent with
    the most basic principles of humanity. Whatever the Ottoman Empire did
    in Egypt is specifically in line with its mistreatment of the peaceful
    Armenian people. And what they did against your ancestors is beyond
    description and your struggle for international recognition is
    honorable and we share your struggle with all the means available to
    us. It's our honor to do so. Please accept my sincere greetings.'

    In his regular column titled `Landmines - Detonated by Essam Kamel,' the
    Editor-in-Chief of `Veto' Egyptian newspaper wrote: `The Egyptian
    government has the right to hesitate in acknowledging the massacres of
    Armenians by the Turkish forces due to the high incitement of Asitana
    (today's Ankara) as this acknowledgement will have bad repercussions
    on the Egyptian-Turkish relations. This Egyptian hesitation will not
    stop me, the signer below - to acknowledge the genocidal collective
    massacres suffered by the Armenian people throughout their history
    during the era of Ottoman Empire, which (successor Turkey) here comes
    again (to Egypt) with the support of the fascist brothers (of Muslim
    Brotherhood).'

    Quoting famous Egyptian historian Dr. Mohammad Refaat Al Imam, Mr.
    Kamel underlined: `As Dr. Refaat said, the Armenians are the people
    whom the Ottoman Empire called `Millet Sadiqa' (`The honest
    community') for their loyalty and fidelity to the country and the
    Sultan. But despite all this, they were the most persecuted group of
    people in the world that was subjected to genocide throughout all
    their history because of their struggle for their rights. Like the
    Egyptian saying goes, `Nihayat khedmatel-ghaz alka)' (which means to
    say `not just one episode of tragedy but an endless chain of
    persecutions were befallen on Armenians' - so Armenians weren't just
    stricken once but they got slaughtered, looted and killed in the
    streets like nobody else in the history of the Ottoman Empire. There
    was a whole Army called `Firak Al Khayala Al-Hamidia' (`Hamidian Horse
    Rider Units') named after the Sultan Abdel Hamid who executed not just
    hundreds but actually thousands in the streets and the genocidal
    massacres did not occur away from the view of the world, but it was
    witnessed and known by everybody.'

    He added: `Some of the chapters of the Armenian tragedy that was
    recounted in the history books and was known afterwards, was a result
    of the famous rebellion in Sassoon in 1894 when the massacres against
    the defenseless people started October 13 of the same year and lasted
    until November 30 of the following year where more than 100 thousand
    people died and more than half a million Armenians were rendered
    homeless. The city of Raha alone suffered gruesome massacres on 28 and
    29 of December, 1895 where 3000 Armenians were burned and died in the
    streets. Around 117 years ago, specifically on 26 August, 1896, and
    after being fed up and frustrated with the situation, a group of
    Armenian youth who belonged to the Tashnaq party took over the Ottoman
    Bank in Asitana (Constantinople - modern day Istanbul) and took
    hostages. They offered to release the hostages if the Ottoman Empire
    would promise to ameliorate life for Armenians and would recognize
    their rights. When the Ottoman Empire failed to control the situation,
    Russia helped solving it by offering the combatants to leave the
    country in a French ship and guaranteed their safety on condition that
    the Ottoman Empire improves the life of Armenians. As the Armenian
    youth were getting onto the ship, the Sultan and Turkish units were
    committing massacres against Armenians in the streets to the extent
    that they killed the entire Armenian population of (`Kassem quarters')
    `Hay Kassem Basha' and the (`Jewish Quarters') `Hay al Yahoudi'.'

    He further wrote: `These are some of the aspects of Turkish Genocide
    against Armenians, as the Turks were never civilized. They never
    maintained a heritage of illumination. They didn't follow the
    (Islamic) religious tenets of love and tolerance, but they were tools
    for sabotage, destruction and killings. They were always known for
    that and that's what we witnessed in our country (Egypt). When they
    were occupying our country, they plundered our wealth, they cursed our
    country and spread hatred and ignorance among our people for the whole
    period of what they called the Ottoman Caliphate (Succession) (Al
    Khilafa Al-Othmania).'

    Mr. Kamel concluded lambasting Turkey: `That's what the (Turkish)
    state is attempting - helping and supporting Mohammad Morsi to come
    back to power and once again to rule us and take over our country and
    plunder our wealth in the name of religion just like they did before.
    Religion is never about what they are doing.'

    Shedding light on Turkey's black pages of massive and systematic
    Armenian annihilation, he noted: `Whoever follows the facts on
    Armenian massacres is very aware of the humanitarian tragedy that
    surrounded a nation that until today is still insisting on its
    identity. And whoever reads the dark history of the Turks and their
    Empire will know very well why Erdogan is supporting the terrorist
    brotherhoods. And whoever reads what the Armenians went through will
    definitely acknowledge the collective genocide that Turkey perpetrated
    against a defenseless people.'

    Soon after embattled President Morsi's fall from power Turkish Prime
    Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made no secret of being wary of
    Muslim-Brotherhood-backed Mohammed Morsii's fall and of Egypt's
    non-Islamist opposition gaining regional momentum, much like the Arab
    uprisings. Mr. Erdogan's radical Islamist meddling in Egypt's internal
    affairs has antagonized large segments of the Egyptian society all the
    way from the streets to the highest echelons of the most populous Arab
    state.

    It seems that Mr. Kamel's commentary acknowledging the Armenian
    Genocide comes at a time when public discussions in Egypt have been
    multiplying and popular consensus has been fast building in support of
    official recognition of Armenian Genocide.

    Obviously it's not a matter of `if.'It's a matter of `when' Egypt will
    set a morally healthy example in Asia and Africa ushering in a new era
    free of imperial neo-ottoman Turkish presence in Egypt and the region.

    Egypt also stands to regain her leadership role in the Arab world by
    keeping Erdogan's fascist Islamist-backing Turkey at bay, setting the
    stage for Pan-Arab nationalism's victory over Turkish-backed misguided
    Pan-Islamism.

    http://www.armenianlife.com/2013/08/17/egypt%E2%80%99s-largest-independent-daily-newspaper-recognizes-turkey%E2%80%99s-genocide-against-armenians/



    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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