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The Political Football Continues
The Mirror Spactator
Editorial 7-26
By Edmond Y. Azadian
As soon as the World Cup was over in Rio, the political version of the
game resumed in Armenia's backyard, with the ball being the Armenian
Genocide.
Of course, eventually the issue of the Genocide appearing in the
political and international news is beneficial, especially on the eve
of the centennial. But we need to sort out who is taking advantage of
the complex situation of world politics and how that can impact
Armenia's standing on the issue.
With Armenia wrapped up in its local politics as well as its hardening
relations with Iran and Russia, it does not seem to have the global
reach to take part in the Middle East discourse.
It is not the first time that the Armenian Genocide has been rendered
into a political football; of all possible quarters, Ankara is
becoming the defender of people against whom genocide is perpetrated.
And, of course, this gives an opportunity to Turkey's adversaries to
point out Turkey's own skeletons in the closet, meaning the Armenian
Genocide.
Under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey rose to the position
of an international political player, albeit, some of its feats were
based on rhetoric and cheap populism. Especially, the Arab street
throughout the Middle East was hungry for the feast of bravura Mr.
Erdogan was providing. He converted his popularity not only into
political dividends but also economic opportunities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu wins accolades among hawks
with Israel's assault on Gaza, said Mahir Zeynalov, a journalist at
the English-language Turkish daily, Today's Zaman. There is another
leader who benefits from the tragedy in Gaza: Turkey's prime minister
who is skilled at exploiting Arab causes for his own political
ambitions. Now, it is time for Arabs to reject another leader who only
makes empty promises for political ends.
Indeed, Erdogan's heroic march in the Arabic popular imagination began
in Davos in 2009, when he had a fallout with Israel's President Shimon
Peres and walked off the stage, accusing Israel of committing Genocide
against the Palestinians. His popularity skyrocketed in the Muslim
world with the Mavi Marmara raid, which incurred 10 casualties at the
hands of Israeli forces.
While Erdogan was duping the Arab public, Turkish-Israeli military
contracts remained intact and the trade volume increased from $3.4
billion in 2008 to $4.4 billion in 2011 and exceeded $4 billion in
2012. It is reported that foreign trade between Turkey and Israel has
increased 27.6 percent in the first half of 2014 compared to the same
period in 2013.
In the meantime, Erdogan's son was continuing his lucrative business
in Israel. And Kurdish oil, running illegally from Iraq to Turkey, was
being sold to Israel.
With the Israeli raids on Gaza raging, Mr. Erdogan has, once again,
resorted to his mantle as the defender of the Palestinian cause. They
curse Hitler morning and night, Erdogan told thousands of supporters
in the Black Sea city of Ordu. However, now their barbarism has
surpassed even Hitler's.
Erdogan had already invoked Hitler on July 15 to criticize an Israeli
lawmaker. On July 18, he accused Israel of attempted genocide in Gaza.
Israel ordered the withdrawal of diplomats families from Turkey last
week after anti-Israel demonstrations there.
Even if Erdogan's rhetoric has lost its luster in the Arab world, it
continues to retain its value as domestic currency in his electoral
campaign.
The Israeli government has retaliated against Erdogan's accusations by
invoking the Armenian Genocide. Indeed, Arutz Sheva
(IsraelNationalnews.com) reports that Transportation Minister Yisrael
Katz of the Likud Party hit back at Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, after the latter accused Israel of attempting
systematic genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. In 1915 the Turks
massacred a million and a half Armenians and he accuses us, who are
fighting his friends in Islamic movement, of genocide? Who wants a
relationship with such a person?
Of course, this is a necessary quote for all journalists and
historians who deviously often characterize 1915 as what Armenians
call a genocide.But Mr. Katz statement will remain a self-serving
disingenuous sound bite if he does not go further by bringing the
Armenian Genocide issue before the Israeli parliament.
For Mr. Erdogan, the time of reckoning has also come in the Arab
world. He was the darling of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. During
former president Mohammed Morsi's administration, and even before,
Turkey had built inroads in Egyptian society and had permeated
academia to produce a number of articles in the news media and books
in scholarly circles promoting Turkish views on the issue of the
Armenian Genocide. Now, the tables have turned; not only are newspaper
articles being published but scholarly debates are conducted on TV
screens providing objective documentation on the Armenian Genocide.
And Mr. Erdogan has been demonstrating his genius in provoking such
rebuttals to his statements. Last week, he lambasted Egypt's President
Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi as an illegitimate tyrant and said Cairo could
not be relied upon to negotiate a truce with Israel.
A news item on Tahrirnews.com responds to Erdogan's statement once
again, referring to the Armenian Genocide: Dr. Ayman Salama, professor
of law and member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs said
that Turkeys prime minister has made clumsy statements blaming the
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and insulting the Egyptian
political system. He further pointed out that it is surprising that
Erdogan speaks of tyranny in Egypt, forgetting the centennial of the
horrible genocide of the Armenians in the 20th century, committed by
Erdogan's Ottoman grandparents.
As we can see, the issue of the Armenian Genocide has become a
political currency in the turmoil of the Middle East and Armenians
have no way of capitalizing on it.
The war in Gaza and the crash of the Malaysian airliner in Ukraine are
two major events dominating the news and the Genocide issue is popping
out of nowhere when politicians need to settle scores. However, it has
become a marginal issue rather than one that can stand on its own in
the global landscape.
If we had a strong and organized diaspora, serving as an extension of
Armenia's foreign policy establishment, we could bank all these
developments and derive dividends for the Armenian cause.
At this crucial junction of history, the diaspora remains rudderless
and Armenia can hardly deal with its own challenges, much less right a
historic wrong. And thus we are allowing history to bypass us yet
again.
Meanwhile, the political football continues.
The Mirror Spactator
Editorial 7-26
By Edmond Y. Azadian
As soon as the World Cup was over in Rio, the political version of the
game resumed in Armenia's backyard, with the ball being the Armenian
Genocide.
Of course, eventually the issue of the Genocide appearing in the
political and international news is beneficial, especially on the eve
of the centennial. But we need to sort out who is taking advantage of
the complex situation of world politics and how that can impact
Armenia's standing on the issue.
With Armenia wrapped up in its local politics as well as its hardening
relations with Iran and Russia, it does not seem to have the global
reach to take part in the Middle East discourse.
It is not the first time that the Armenian Genocide has been rendered
into a political football; of all possible quarters, Ankara is
becoming the defender of people against whom genocide is perpetrated.
And, of course, this gives an opportunity to Turkey's adversaries to
point out Turkey's own skeletons in the closet, meaning the Armenian
Genocide.
Under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey rose to the position
of an international political player, albeit, some of its feats were
based on rhetoric and cheap populism. Especially, the Arab street
throughout the Middle East was hungry for the feast of bravura Mr.
Erdogan was providing. He converted his popularity not only into
political dividends but also economic opportunities.
Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu wins accolades among hawks
with Israel's assault on Gaza, said Mahir Zeynalov, a journalist at
the English-language Turkish daily, Today's Zaman. There is another
leader who benefits from the tragedy in Gaza: Turkey's prime minister
who is skilled at exploiting Arab causes for his own political
ambitions. Now, it is time for Arabs to reject another leader who only
makes empty promises for political ends.
Indeed, Erdogan's heroic march in the Arabic popular imagination began
in Davos in 2009, when he had a fallout with Israel's President Shimon
Peres and walked off the stage, accusing Israel of committing Genocide
against the Palestinians. His popularity skyrocketed in the Muslim
world with the Mavi Marmara raid, which incurred 10 casualties at the
hands of Israeli forces.
While Erdogan was duping the Arab public, Turkish-Israeli military
contracts remained intact and the trade volume increased from $3.4
billion in 2008 to $4.4 billion in 2011 and exceeded $4 billion in
2012. It is reported that foreign trade between Turkey and Israel has
increased 27.6 percent in the first half of 2014 compared to the same
period in 2013.
In the meantime, Erdogan's son was continuing his lucrative business
in Israel. And Kurdish oil, running illegally from Iraq to Turkey, was
being sold to Israel.
With the Israeli raids on Gaza raging, Mr. Erdogan has, once again,
resorted to his mantle as the defender of the Palestinian cause. They
curse Hitler morning and night, Erdogan told thousands of supporters
in the Black Sea city of Ordu. However, now their barbarism has
surpassed even Hitler's.
Erdogan had already invoked Hitler on July 15 to criticize an Israeli
lawmaker. On July 18, he accused Israel of attempted genocide in Gaza.
Israel ordered the withdrawal of diplomats families from Turkey last
week after anti-Israel demonstrations there.
Even if Erdogan's rhetoric has lost its luster in the Arab world, it
continues to retain its value as domestic currency in his electoral
campaign.
The Israeli government has retaliated against Erdogan's accusations by
invoking the Armenian Genocide. Indeed, Arutz Sheva
(IsraelNationalnews.com) reports that Transportation Minister Yisrael
Katz of the Likud Party hit back at Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, after the latter accused Israel of attempting
systematic genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. In 1915 the Turks
massacred a million and a half Armenians and he accuses us, who are
fighting his friends in Islamic movement, of genocide? Who wants a
relationship with such a person?
Of course, this is a necessary quote for all journalists and
historians who deviously often characterize 1915 as what Armenians
call a genocide.But Mr. Katz statement will remain a self-serving
disingenuous sound bite if he does not go further by bringing the
Armenian Genocide issue before the Israeli parliament.
For Mr. Erdogan, the time of reckoning has also come in the Arab
world. He was the darling of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. During
former president Mohammed Morsi's administration, and even before,
Turkey had built inroads in Egyptian society and had permeated
academia to produce a number of articles in the news media and books
in scholarly circles promoting Turkish views on the issue of the
Armenian Genocide. Now, the tables have turned; not only are newspaper
articles being published but scholarly debates are conducted on TV
screens providing objective documentation on the Armenian Genocide.
And Mr. Erdogan has been demonstrating his genius in provoking such
rebuttals to his statements. Last week, he lambasted Egypt's President
Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi as an illegitimate tyrant and said Cairo could
not be relied upon to negotiate a truce with Israel.
A news item on Tahrirnews.com responds to Erdogan's statement once
again, referring to the Armenian Genocide: Dr. Ayman Salama, professor
of law and member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs said
that Turkeys prime minister has made clumsy statements blaming the
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and insulting the Egyptian
political system. He further pointed out that it is surprising that
Erdogan speaks of tyranny in Egypt, forgetting the centennial of the
horrible genocide of the Armenians in the 20th century, committed by
Erdogan's Ottoman grandparents.
As we can see, the issue of the Armenian Genocide has become a
political currency in the turmoil of the Middle East and Armenians
have no way of capitalizing on it.
The war in Gaza and the crash of the Malaysian airliner in Ukraine are
two major events dominating the news and the Genocide issue is popping
out of nowhere when politicians need to settle scores. However, it has
become a marginal issue rather than one that can stand on its own in
the global landscape.
If we had a strong and organized diaspora, serving as an extension of
Armenia's foreign policy establishment, we could bank all these
developments and derive dividends for the Armenian cause.
At this crucial junction of history, the diaspora remains rudderless
and Armenia can hardly deal with its own challenges, much less right a
historic wrong. And thus we are allowing history to bypass us yet
again.
Meanwhile, the political football continues.