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Turkish Intellectuals Who Have Recognized The Armenian Genocide: Rasim
Ozan Kütahyal1
By MassisPost
Updated: October 10, 2014
By Hambersom Aghbashian
Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, (born 30 April 1981, Izmir -Turkey ) is a
Turkish journalist and columnist. He was first discovered by Ahmet
Altan, the head-columnist of `Taraf', and was enrolled as a columnist
for Taraf ( 2008 -2011), and then for Sabah since 2011. He is a
popular political commentator on various TV programs, having started
at CNN Turk and now appearing on Beyaz TV. Kutahyali is known for his
anti-militarist and liberal political views. He began with a
`pro-liberal' political view, and he was involved in reporting the
coup attempts in Turkey in the newspaper.(1)(4)
In December 2008, 200 prominent Turkish intellectuals released an
apology for `The great catastrophe of 1915³. This was a clear
reference to the Armenian Genocide, a term still too sensitive to use
so openly. The text of the apology stated `My conscience does not
accept the insensitivity showed to and the denial of the Great
Catastrophe that the Ottoman Armenians were subjected to in 1915. I
reject this injustice and for my share, I empathize with the feelings
and pain of my Armenian brothers and sisters. I apologize to them'.
Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı was one of the intellectuals who signed it.(2)
In his article `How I faced the Armenian genocide', Al`Monitor-Apr 22,
2014, Kütahyalı wrote, `Ninety-nine years ago, one of the region's
Christian people, the Armenians, fell victim to a great tragedy they
call it Metz Yeghern, or genocide¦' `Today, I tell of my own mental
journey and the transformation of conscience I experienced on this
issue as a Turk. I speak of how I faced up to the massacres of
Armenians and Christians and how the truth scarred my inner being. The
road to acceptance was definitely hard, but I eventually came to terms
with the truth. The Armenians were uprooted from the lands where I
lived. Hundreds of thousands of them were slain brutally on the orders
of Talaat Pasha's Young Turk government. In the ensuing Kemalist era,
Turkey's Christians and Jews were again expelled from their homeland.
It was an unmistakable act of ethnic cleansing, which is denied by
Turkey. Such denial, on top of everything else, is shameful.
At the end he wrote ' So, that's my personal story. I no longer
deceive myself. What happened in these lands in 1915 was a great
tragedy, a genocide against Armenians, a crime against humanity. Every
`but ¦' argument about this crime makes me nauseous.'(3)
In another article in Al`Monitor -Aug. 22, 2013, ' Who Poisoned Former
Turkish President Ozal?', Kütahyalı wrote ,' Political disputes
between the Kemalist army and democratically elected political parties
once were settled heavy-handedly, and a recent investigation into
Turgut Ozal's* death ruled that he was poisoned'. Kütahyalı mentions
many reasons , among them is that ' Ozal began uttering some
taboo-breaking words: We should resolve the Kurdish question through
freedoms and democracy, and What if we officially recognize the 1915
Armenian genocide and face up to our past?'.(4)
'''''''''''''''''-
*Halil Turgut Ã-zal (13 Oct. 1927 ` 17 April 1993) was the Prime
Minister of Turkey (1983`1989) and the President of Turkey
(1989`1993).
1- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasim_Ozan_K%C3%BCtahyal%C4%B1
2-http://www.armeniapedia.org/wiki/200_prominent_Turks_apologize_for_great_catastroph e_of_1915
3- http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/tr/originals/2014/04/genocide-armenia-turkey-anniversary-dink-metz-yeghern.html
4- http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/08/turkey-president-ozal-poisoned.html#
http://massispost.com/2014/10/turkish-intellectuals-who-have-recognized-the-armenian-genocide-rasim-ozan-kutahyal1/
Ozan Kütahyal1
By MassisPost
Updated: October 10, 2014
By Hambersom Aghbashian
Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, (born 30 April 1981, Izmir -Turkey ) is a
Turkish journalist and columnist. He was first discovered by Ahmet
Altan, the head-columnist of `Taraf', and was enrolled as a columnist
for Taraf ( 2008 -2011), and then for Sabah since 2011. He is a
popular political commentator on various TV programs, having started
at CNN Turk and now appearing on Beyaz TV. Kutahyali is known for his
anti-militarist and liberal political views. He began with a
`pro-liberal' political view, and he was involved in reporting the
coup attempts in Turkey in the newspaper.(1)(4)
In December 2008, 200 prominent Turkish intellectuals released an
apology for `The great catastrophe of 1915³. This was a clear
reference to the Armenian Genocide, a term still too sensitive to use
so openly. The text of the apology stated `My conscience does not
accept the insensitivity showed to and the denial of the Great
Catastrophe that the Ottoman Armenians were subjected to in 1915. I
reject this injustice and for my share, I empathize with the feelings
and pain of my Armenian brothers and sisters. I apologize to them'.
Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı was one of the intellectuals who signed it.(2)
In his article `How I faced the Armenian genocide', Al`Monitor-Apr 22,
2014, Kütahyalı wrote, `Ninety-nine years ago, one of the region's
Christian people, the Armenians, fell victim to a great tragedy they
call it Metz Yeghern, or genocide¦' `Today, I tell of my own mental
journey and the transformation of conscience I experienced on this
issue as a Turk. I speak of how I faced up to the massacres of
Armenians and Christians and how the truth scarred my inner being. The
road to acceptance was definitely hard, but I eventually came to terms
with the truth. The Armenians were uprooted from the lands where I
lived. Hundreds of thousands of them were slain brutally on the orders
of Talaat Pasha's Young Turk government. In the ensuing Kemalist era,
Turkey's Christians and Jews were again expelled from their homeland.
It was an unmistakable act of ethnic cleansing, which is denied by
Turkey. Such denial, on top of everything else, is shameful.
At the end he wrote ' So, that's my personal story. I no longer
deceive myself. What happened in these lands in 1915 was a great
tragedy, a genocide against Armenians, a crime against humanity. Every
`but ¦' argument about this crime makes me nauseous.'(3)
In another article in Al`Monitor -Aug. 22, 2013, ' Who Poisoned Former
Turkish President Ozal?', Kütahyalı wrote ,' Political disputes
between the Kemalist army and democratically elected political parties
once were settled heavy-handedly, and a recent investigation into
Turgut Ozal's* death ruled that he was poisoned'. Kütahyalı mentions
many reasons , among them is that ' Ozal began uttering some
taboo-breaking words: We should resolve the Kurdish question through
freedoms and democracy, and What if we officially recognize the 1915
Armenian genocide and face up to our past?'.(4)
'''''''''''''''''-
*Halil Turgut Ã-zal (13 Oct. 1927 ` 17 April 1993) was the Prime
Minister of Turkey (1983`1989) and the President of Turkey
(1989`1993).
1- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasim_Ozan_K%C3%BCtahyal%C4%B1
2-http://www.armeniapedia.org/wiki/200_prominent_Turks_apologize_for_great_catastroph e_of_1915
3- http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/tr/originals/2014/04/genocide-armenia-turkey-anniversary-dink-metz-yeghern.html
4- http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/08/turkey-president-ozal-poisoned.html#
http://massispost.com/2014/10/turkish-intellectuals-who-have-recognized-the-armenian-genocide-rasim-ozan-kutahyal1/