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Washington Post
April 23 2014
Why Erdogan's 'unprecedented' statement on Armenian massacres left
many unsatisfied
By Adam Taylor
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a surprising move
Wednesday: Speaking on the eve of the 99th anniversary of the
controversial mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman soldiers in 1915,
he expressed condolences for the "inhumane" incident.
Erdogan's comments are significant. For many years, the killings in
1915 were rarely talked about by Turkey. However, the events - which
left some 1.5 million Armenians in what is now modern Turkey dead
during the final years of the Ottoman Empire - have long been a source
of anger in Armenia and among the Armenian diaspora.
The Associated Press called the comments an "unprecedented,
conciliatory message to Armenians," while a Turkish official told
Reuters that it was the first time a Turkish leader had offered
condolences so directly to Armenians. The comments were released in
nine languages, including Armenian: They were clearly designed to make
an impact.
There are a couple of important reasons that Erdogan's comments are
being treated with skepticism, however: language and timing.
First, the language of Erdogan's comments was clearly well-thought out
-- perhaps too thought out for many in the Armenian community.
"The incidents of the First World War are our shared pain," Erdogan
said, adding that millions of people of "of all religions and
ethnicities" died during the war. "Using the events of 1915 as an
excuse for hostility against Turkey and turning this issue into a
matter of political conflict is inadmissible," Erdogan added.
To many, especially those in Armenian lobbying groups, that wasn't
enough. Armenian Weekly, an English Armenian publication from
Massachusetts, wrote that the Turkish minister used "euphemisms and
the age-old 'everyone suffered' denialist refrain." Most importantly,
Erdogan didn't mention the word "genocide," despite the fact that many
historians now argue that the Armenian killings marked the first
genocide of the 20th century (in fact, the man who invented the word,
Raphael Lemkin, was partly inspired by the deaths). The lack of that
word in Erdogan's statement is almost certainly deliberate: Earlier
this month, the Turkish foreign ministry condemned a U.S. Senate
committee resolution that called the killings a genocide, arguing that
it "distorts history and law."
Meanwhile, Erdogan's comments are being viewed skeptically by some in
Turkey due to their timing. Erdogan and his AKP party have suffered
almost a year of political tension, from the protests in Istanbul's
Gezi Park that began last summer to the corruption scandal and rivalry
with Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen that eventually led to Turkey's
well-publicized ban on Twitter and YouTube.
The timing of Erdogan's comments is just too perfect for some in
Turkey to believe. "While the media hype over statement fills the
airwaves, and print pages, he'll get down on business of consolidating
more power in Turkey," tweeted Abdullah Bozkurt, a journalist with
Today's Zamen (an English-language newspaper linked to the Gulen
movement), on Wednesday. Erdogan, who has been pilloried in the
international media recently for a number of crackdowns, is simply
hoping to curry favor, the argument continues.
Perhaps this is unfair. Regardless of intention, Erdogan's comments
may well be an important step in reconciliation between Turkey and
Armenia, the beginnings of a dialogue about a tragic moment in
history. And Erdogan has worked hard to move away from Turkish
nationalist positions and improve relationships with minorities, most
notably the Kurds. Still, that the language and timing of the comments
are leaving many people unsatisfied suggests that there may well be
quite a ways to go.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/04/23/why-erdogans-unprecedented-statement-on-armenian-massacres-left-many-unsatisfied/
From: A. Papazian
April 23 2014
Why Erdogan's 'unprecedented' statement on Armenian massacres left
many unsatisfied
By Adam Taylor
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a surprising move
Wednesday: Speaking on the eve of the 99th anniversary of the
controversial mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman soldiers in 1915,
he expressed condolences for the "inhumane" incident.
Erdogan's comments are significant. For many years, the killings in
1915 were rarely talked about by Turkey. However, the events - which
left some 1.5 million Armenians in what is now modern Turkey dead
during the final years of the Ottoman Empire - have long been a source
of anger in Armenia and among the Armenian diaspora.
The Associated Press called the comments an "unprecedented,
conciliatory message to Armenians," while a Turkish official told
Reuters that it was the first time a Turkish leader had offered
condolences so directly to Armenians. The comments were released in
nine languages, including Armenian: They were clearly designed to make
an impact.
There are a couple of important reasons that Erdogan's comments are
being treated with skepticism, however: language and timing.
First, the language of Erdogan's comments was clearly well-thought out
-- perhaps too thought out for many in the Armenian community.
"The incidents of the First World War are our shared pain," Erdogan
said, adding that millions of people of "of all religions and
ethnicities" died during the war. "Using the events of 1915 as an
excuse for hostility against Turkey and turning this issue into a
matter of political conflict is inadmissible," Erdogan added.
To many, especially those in Armenian lobbying groups, that wasn't
enough. Armenian Weekly, an English Armenian publication from
Massachusetts, wrote that the Turkish minister used "euphemisms and
the age-old 'everyone suffered' denialist refrain." Most importantly,
Erdogan didn't mention the word "genocide," despite the fact that many
historians now argue that the Armenian killings marked the first
genocide of the 20th century (in fact, the man who invented the word,
Raphael Lemkin, was partly inspired by the deaths). The lack of that
word in Erdogan's statement is almost certainly deliberate: Earlier
this month, the Turkish foreign ministry condemned a U.S. Senate
committee resolution that called the killings a genocide, arguing that
it "distorts history and law."
Meanwhile, Erdogan's comments are being viewed skeptically by some in
Turkey due to their timing. Erdogan and his AKP party have suffered
almost a year of political tension, from the protests in Istanbul's
Gezi Park that began last summer to the corruption scandal and rivalry
with Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen that eventually led to Turkey's
well-publicized ban on Twitter and YouTube.
The timing of Erdogan's comments is just too perfect for some in
Turkey to believe. "While the media hype over statement fills the
airwaves, and print pages, he'll get down on business of consolidating
more power in Turkey," tweeted Abdullah Bozkurt, a journalist with
Today's Zamen (an English-language newspaper linked to the Gulen
movement), on Wednesday. Erdogan, who has been pilloried in the
international media recently for a number of crackdowns, is simply
hoping to curry favor, the argument continues.
Perhaps this is unfair. Regardless of intention, Erdogan's comments
may well be an important step in reconciliation between Turkey and
Armenia, the beginnings of a dialogue about a tragic moment in
history. And Erdogan has worked hard to move away from Turkish
nationalist positions and improve relationships with minorities, most
notably the Kurds. Still, that the language and timing of the comments
are leaving many people unsatisfied suggests that there may well be
quite a ways to go.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/04/23/why-erdogans-unprecedented-statement-on-armenian-massacres-left-many-unsatisfied/
From: A. Papazian