Tweet
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
Nov 22 2013
Not a genocide: Visiting professor's views on Turkey and its historic
role anger Australia's Armenians
DateNovember 23, 2013
by Deborah Snow
Visiting US academic Justin McCarthy paints himself as an unassuming
historian just doing his job.
But his presence in Australia on a brief speaking tour has enraged the
Armenian community and landed him in the middle of a row between the
NSW Parliament and leading politicians in Turkey.
He has had the doors of the Art Gallery slammed in his face and the
welcome mat pulled from beneath his feet by the University of
Melbourne.
He has been compared with holocaust denier David Irving (a charge that
he says ''offends and saddens'' him) and has been portrayed as a tool
of the Turkish government.
Advertisement
The source of this odium is the implosion of the Ottoman Empire a
century ago, and whether the deaths and expulsion of more than a
million Armenians during that bloody chapter of history amounted to a
genocide at the hands of the Turks.
The hugely influential Armenian diaspora (with politicians such as Joe
Hockey and Malcolm Turnbull on its side) says yes. The Turks say no.
Professor McCarthy leans towards the Turkish side, arguing events at
that time were more akin to a civil war with mass casualties on both
sides.
''This was a horribly inhuman time for all groups involved,'' the
68-year old said in Sydney on Friday. ''To say that one group was
guilty and one was innocent is just to ignore the historical reality,
I believe.''
Armenian National Committee of Australia executive director Vache
Kahramanian says Professor McCarthy's ''denialist'' views are an
''insult'' to Armenians. He also accuses Turkey of using the looming
centenary of Gallipoli to ''politically blackmail'' Australian
politicians.
In May the NSW Parliament endorsed the prevalent view of an Armenian
genocide, drawing threats from Turkey's parliamentary Speaker, Cemil
Cikek, to bar NSW MPs from the Gallipoli centenary ceremony.
Professor McCarthy said he ''could not be more against'' threats of
retaliation. But he also believes his opponents should debate him, not
close the discussion down. ''Even Jesus listened to the devil,'' he
said.
The organiser and funder of the speaking tour, the Australian Turkish
Advocacy Alliance, booked Professor McCarthy nearly two months ago to
speak at the University of Melbourne and at the Art Gallery of NSW but
both institutions cancelled at the last minute.
The gallery said on Friday that it had canned the ''private function ...
in the interest of public and staff safety''. The university said
''the description of the event given at the time of the booking was
not consistent with its true nature''.
On Thursday, Professor McCarthy addressed a small gathering in
Parliament House in Canberra, organised through the office of federal
MP Laurie Ferguson, but only five MPs turned up. He appeared unfazed,
saying: ''I just write the history. It should be studied like any
other set of events.''
http://www.smh.com.au/national/not-a-genocide-visiting-professors-views-on-turkey-and-its-historic-role-anger-australias-armenians-20131122-2y1h8.html
Nov 22 2013
Not a genocide: Visiting professor's views on Turkey and its historic
role anger Australia's Armenians
DateNovember 23, 2013
by Deborah Snow
Visiting US academic Justin McCarthy paints himself as an unassuming
historian just doing his job.
But his presence in Australia on a brief speaking tour has enraged the
Armenian community and landed him in the middle of a row between the
NSW Parliament and leading politicians in Turkey.
He has had the doors of the Art Gallery slammed in his face and the
welcome mat pulled from beneath his feet by the University of
Melbourne.
He has been compared with holocaust denier David Irving (a charge that
he says ''offends and saddens'' him) and has been portrayed as a tool
of the Turkish government.
Advertisement
The source of this odium is the implosion of the Ottoman Empire a
century ago, and whether the deaths and expulsion of more than a
million Armenians during that bloody chapter of history amounted to a
genocide at the hands of the Turks.
The hugely influential Armenian diaspora (with politicians such as Joe
Hockey and Malcolm Turnbull on its side) says yes. The Turks say no.
Professor McCarthy leans towards the Turkish side, arguing events at
that time were more akin to a civil war with mass casualties on both
sides.
''This was a horribly inhuman time for all groups involved,'' the
68-year old said in Sydney on Friday. ''To say that one group was
guilty and one was innocent is just to ignore the historical reality,
I believe.''
Armenian National Committee of Australia executive director Vache
Kahramanian says Professor McCarthy's ''denialist'' views are an
''insult'' to Armenians. He also accuses Turkey of using the looming
centenary of Gallipoli to ''politically blackmail'' Australian
politicians.
In May the NSW Parliament endorsed the prevalent view of an Armenian
genocide, drawing threats from Turkey's parliamentary Speaker, Cemil
Cikek, to bar NSW MPs from the Gallipoli centenary ceremony.
Professor McCarthy said he ''could not be more against'' threats of
retaliation. But he also believes his opponents should debate him, not
close the discussion down. ''Even Jesus listened to the devil,'' he
said.
The organiser and funder of the speaking tour, the Australian Turkish
Advocacy Alliance, booked Professor McCarthy nearly two months ago to
speak at the University of Melbourne and at the Art Gallery of NSW but
both institutions cancelled at the last minute.
The gallery said on Friday that it had canned the ''private function ...
in the interest of public and staff safety''. The university said
''the description of the event given at the time of the booking was
not consistent with its true nature''.
On Thursday, Professor McCarthy addressed a small gathering in
Parliament House in Canberra, organised through the office of federal
MP Laurie Ferguson, but only five MPs turned up. He appeared unfazed,
saying: ''I just write the history. It should be studied like any
other set of events.''
http://www.smh.com.au/national/not-a-genocide-visiting-professors-views-on-turkey-and-its-historic-role-anger-australias-armenians-20131122-2y1h8.html