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ANOTHER BARRIER DOWN BETWEEN TURKS AND ARMENIANS
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Nov 19 2013
YAVUZ BAYDAR
I was handed by the postman some weeks ago a mid-size package.
It contained the Turkish translation of a monumental work titled
"A Reference Guide to Modern Armenian Literature 1500-1920," by
Professor Kevork Bardakjian, who I had the pleasure of meeting years
ago at the University of Michigan.
As the social awakening here proceeds below the surface about
the crimes of humanity at the end of the Ottoman Empire, with the
immense tragedy that brutally wiped out massive proportions of its
Armenian subjects from Anatolia, so do the activities to help raise
the awareness. Books on various aspects of the genocide are appearing,
as well as others on Armenian culture and politics.
New ground was also broken by the recent conference at Bosporus
University on the forced conversion of Christian Armenians to Islam,
with heart-wrenching narratives now coming to the surface.
"You cannot imagine the mental blocks now coming unstitched in the
Anatolian social fabric," a hardworking civilian activist told me
recently. "Wherever we go and meet people, in villages or towns,
in eastern or western Anatolia, the stories just pour out of them,
about the past kept under the carpet."
This is very good news.
Another historic threshold was passed the other day, on Nov. 18,
as part of the reconciliation process -- albeit seemingly slow
motion, but irreversible. A few members of the Yerevan-based
Civilitas Foundation opened an office in the heart of Istanbul,
in a well-attended ceremony. It is the first time a purely Armenian
organization has now cemented -- officially -- its active visibility
in a step that was totally unimaginable, say, 10 years ago.
A non-profit organization established in 2008 by Armenia's former
minister of foreign affairs, Vartan Oskanian, Civilitas has been
focused on projects to strengthen civil society, promote democracy and
facilitate dialogue between Armenia and the international community.
The importance of the event was underlined by an emotional inauguration
speech by Salpi Ghazarian, director of the foundation, who is a good
friend for all of us engaged in the reconciliation process over the
years. For her, it was a dream fulfilled, with an extremely loaded
agenda ahead.
When I asked what it meant to her personally, Ghazarian told me:
"I was born a librarian, I believe in satisfying the need to know. We
all have that need, and that right. Armenians about ourselves, our
roots here in this city. The people of Turkey about themselves and
their part in our history. This is a part of that process of seeking
answers. We want to focus not just on helping each country's citizens
better understand what's going on across the border, but also to
demonstrate to the international community that we are able to speak
to each other, even about the difficult issues. It is possible to
tackle and overcome [these issues]."
Not so far ahead, the unresolved burden of the unspeakable atrocities
of 1915 looms; in two years, its 100th anniversary will be marked. At
this stage, question marks and hopes about a closure are intertwined.
Yet, as Ghazarian pointed out, it will not be the focus of the
center's work; dialogue on memories and loss will matter more than
anything else.
"The closed border between the two countries presents both a physical
and a psychological barrier. It's a barrier to replacing old memories
with new ones, to unrestricted access to today's Armenia and today's
Turkey," she added, underlining the vital role of enhanced dialogue.
"This can in no way replace the political work that must be done by
governments. Nor is this a second track attempt at reconciliation.
Instead, this is a civil society effort to support the work being
done on the ground. It is also an effort to share information about
Armenia's [and the diaspora's] organizations and NGOs."
It is all a work in progress. Anything that helps a closure is
welcome. As a reminder of that, on my way out of the ceremony, I was
handed by the owners of Aras Publishers, located in the same building,
another new book in Turkish, by Levon Surmelian, on the tragedy of
his family in Trabzon, in 1915. The more we learn, the closer we are.
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Nov 19 2013
YAVUZ BAYDAR
I was handed by the postman some weeks ago a mid-size package.
It contained the Turkish translation of a monumental work titled
"A Reference Guide to Modern Armenian Literature 1500-1920," by
Professor Kevork Bardakjian, who I had the pleasure of meeting years
ago at the University of Michigan.
As the social awakening here proceeds below the surface about
the crimes of humanity at the end of the Ottoman Empire, with the
immense tragedy that brutally wiped out massive proportions of its
Armenian subjects from Anatolia, so do the activities to help raise
the awareness. Books on various aspects of the genocide are appearing,
as well as others on Armenian culture and politics.
New ground was also broken by the recent conference at Bosporus
University on the forced conversion of Christian Armenians to Islam,
with heart-wrenching narratives now coming to the surface.
"You cannot imagine the mental blocks now coming unstitched in the
Anatolian social fabric," a hardworking civilian activist told me
recently. "Wherever we go and meet people, in villages or towns,
in eastern or western Anatolia, the stories just pour out of them,
about the past kept under the carpet."
This is very good news.
Another historic threshold was passed the other day, on Nov. 18,
as part of the reconciliation process -- albeit seemingly slow
motion, but irreversible. A few members of the Yerevan-based
Civilitas Foundation opened an office in the heart of Istanbul,
in a well-attended ceremony. It is the first time a purely Armenian
organization has now cemented -- officially -- its active visibility
in a step that was totally unimaginable, say, 10 years ago.
A non-profit organization established in 2008 by Armenia's former
minister of foreign affairs, Vartan Oskanian, Civilitas has been
focused on projects to strengthen civil society, promote democracy and
facilitate dialogue between Armenia and the international community.
The importance of the event was underlined by an emotional inauguration
speech by Salpi Ghazarian, director of the foundation, who is a good
friend for all of us engaged in the reconciliation process over the
years. For her, it was a dream fulfilled, with an extremely loaded
agenda ahead.
When I asked what it meant to her personally, Ghazarian told me:
"I was born a librarian, I believe in satisfying the need to know. We
all have that need, and that right. Armenians about ourselves, our
roots here in this city. The people of Turkey about themselves and
their part in our history. This is a part of that process of seeking
answers. We want to focus not just on helping each country's citizens
better understand what's going on across the border, but also to
demonstrate to the international community that we are able to speak
to each other, even about the difficult issues. It is possible to
tackle and overcome [these issues]."
Not so far ahead, the unresolved burden of the unspeakable atrocities
of 1915 looms; in two years, its 100th anniversary will be marked. At
this stage, question marks and hopes about a closure are intertwined.
Yet, as Ghazarian pointed out, it will not be the focus of the
center's work; dialogue on memories and loss will matter more than
anything else.
"The closed border between the two countries presents both a physical
and a psychological barrier. It's a barrier to replacing old memories
with new ones, to unrestricted access to today's Armenia and today's
Turkey," she added, underlining the vital role of enhanced dialogue.
"This can in no way replace the political work that must be done by
governments. Nor is this a second track attempt at reconciliation.
Instead, this is a civil society effort to support the work being
done on the ground. It is also an effort to share information about
Armenia's [and the diaspora's] organizations and NGOs."
It is all a work in progress. Anything that helps a closure is
welcome. As a reminder of that, on my way out of the ceremony, I was
handed by the owners of Aras Publishers, located in the same building,
another new book in Turkish, by Levon Surmelian, on the tragedy of
his family in Trabzon, in 1915. The more we learn, the closer we are.