Tweet
TURKISH INTELLECTUALS WHO HAVE RECOGNIZED THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: CEM OZDEMIR
By MassisPost
Updated: April 3, 2015
By Hambersom Aghbashian
Cem Ozdemir (born 21 December 1965) is the son of a Turkish-Circassian
from Tokat, Turkey; in 1983 he acquired German citizenship. After
graduating from a German secondary school and a Realschule Ozdemir
completed an apprenticeship, becoming an early childhood educator.
After qualifying for advanced technical college entrance he studied
social pedagogy at the Evangelical Technical College in Reutlingen,
Germany. After completing his studies in 1987, Cem Ozdemir worked as
an educator and a freelance journalist. Ozdemir currently is a German
citizen and politician. He is co-chairman of the German political
party Alliance '90/The Greens, together with Simone Peter. He was
a Member of the German Bundestag* between 1994 and 2002 and of the
European Parliament between 2004 and 2009. Ozdemir describes himself
as a "secular Muslim" and is married to the Argentine journalist PÃa
MarÃa Castro.(1)
In December 2008, two hundred prominent Turkish intellectuals released
an apology for the "great catastrophe of 1915â~@³. This was a clear
reference to the Armenian Genocide. The following is the text of the
apology: 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. Cem Ozdemir was one of the signees. (2)
According to "panarmenian.net", on April 21, 2012, Armenian Genocide
commemoration evening was held at St. Peter's Church in Hamburg,
Germany.Over 700 guests of different nationalities attended the event,
RA MFA press service reported. Cem Ozdemir, leader of the German party
of Alliance '90/The Greens stressed the need for the Turkish government
to put an end to Armenian Genocide denial policy."The Armenian
Genocide issue must be taught at Turkish educational institutions,
as this will enable the Turks to get familiarized with own past,"
Mr. Ozdemir said.(3).
Hurriyet Daily News wrote on December/19/2012 "The Danish Royal Library
has, together with the Armenian embassy, held an exhibition on "The
Armenian genocide and the Scandinavian reaction" though due to protests
from the Turkish embassy, the library's director, has agreed to hold
an alternative exhibition titled, "The so-called Armenian genocide."
This decision has caused widespread debate and 37 Turkish
intellectuals, have in an open letter in Denmark's leading daily
Berlingske called on the library's director to reconsider his
decision. In their view, the Turkish government has followed a policy
of denial for more than 90 years, culminating in the murder of Hrant
Dink in 2007. To allow the Turkish government to arrange an alternative
exhibition will only support this policy. Cem Ozdemir was one of the
Turkish intellectuals who signed the open letter. (4).
Muriel Mirak-Weissbach wrote on May/21/2013 an article entitled "
Armenians in Germany Commemorate Armenian Genocide" where, among
the speakers, she mentioned that "The second guest speaker was Cem
Ozdemir, the national chairman of the Green Party and member of
the Bundestag. His speech was entitled, 'In Memory of the Victims
of the Genocide against the Armenians 1915.' Ozdemir stressed how
difficult it is to grasp the 'why' behind the events: why the Young
Turk leaders destroyed the multi-ethnic, multi-religious Ottoman
state with their nationalist, racist ideology, and why the Armenians,
known as the loyal people, were victimized. To put the apparently
inconceivable crime in perspective, he reviewed the indispensable
place Armenians had occupied in Ottoman society as professionals,
manufacturers, intellectuals, artists. In Istanbul, for example,
where they represented a tenth of the population, there were nearly
as many newspapers in Armenian as in Turkish."(5)
Armenianpress.am wrote on March 12, 2015, " One of the leaders of
Germany's Greens Party of Turkish descent Cem Ozdemir has demanded
that Germany recognize "the genocide that was perpetrated against
the Armenians on Ottoman lands 100 years ago", as Hurriyet reports.
Ozdemir, who has visited Yerevan, mentioned the following: "The time
has come to not hide the term in this year marking the Centennial
of the Armenian Genocide. I regret to state the fact that the German
government does not use the right words when speaking about the crimes
perpetrated in 1915-16."(6)
-----------------------------
*The Bundestag (German ) is a constitutional and legislative body
in Germany.
1- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cem_%C3%96zdemir 2-
http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=200_prominent_Turks_apologize_for_ great
3- http://panarmenian.net/eng/news/104343/ 4-
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/a-controversial
genocide.aspx?pageID=238&nID=37144 5-
http://www.mirak-weissbach.de/Publications/Archive/files/5fdda96b9f509a92464593c6de416
6-
http://armenpress.am/eng/print/797467/turkish-mp-of-bundestag-calls-on-germany-to-recognize-the-armenian-genocide.htm
http://massispost.com/2015/04/turkish-intellectuals-who-have-recognized-the-armenian-genocide-cem-ozdemir/
By MassisPost
Updated: April 3, 2015
By Hambersom Aghbashian
Cem Ozdemir (born 21 December 1965) is the son of a Turkish-Circassian
from Tokat, Turkey; in 1983 he acquired German citizenship. After
graduating from a German secondary school and a Realschule Ozdemir
completed an apprenticeship, becoming an early childhood educator.
After qualifying for advanced technical college entrance he studied
social pedagogy at the Evangelical Technical College in Reutlingen,
Germany. After completing his studies in 1987, Cem Ozdemir worked as
an educator and a freelance journalist. Ozdemir currently is a German
citizen and politician. He is co-chairman of the German political
party Alliance '90/The Greens, together with Simone Peter. He was
a Member of the German Bundestag* between 1994 and 2002 and of the
European Parliament between 2004 and 2009. Ozdemir describes himself
as a "secular Muslim" and is married to the Argentine journalist PÃa
MarÃa Castro.(1)
In December 2008, two hundred prominent Turkish intellectuals released
an apology for the "great catastrophe of 1915â~@³. This was a clear
reference to the Armenian Genocide. The following is the text of the
apology: 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. Cem Ozdemir was one of the signees. (2)
According to "panarmenian.net", on April 21, 2012, Armenian Genocide
commemoration evening was held at St. Peter's Church in Hamburg,
Germany.Over 700 guests of different nationalities attended the event,
RA MFA press service reported. Cem Ozdemir, leader of the German party
of Alliance '90/The Greens stressed the need for the Turkish government
to put an end to Armenian Genocide denial policy."The Armenian
Genocide issue must be taught at Turkish educational institutions,
as this will enable the Turks to get familiarized with own past,"
Mr. Ozdemir said.(3).
Hurriyet Daily News wrote on December/19/2012 "The Danish Royal Library
has, together with the Armenian embassy, held an exhibition on "The
Armenian genocide and the Scandinavian reaction" though due to protests
from the Turkish embassy, the library's director, has agreed to hold
an alternative exhibition titled, "The so-called Armenian genocide."
This decision has caused widespread debate and 37 Turkish
intellectuals, have in an open letter in Denmark's leading daily
Berlingske called on the library's director to reconsider his
decision. In their view, the Turkish government has followed a policy
of denial for more than 90 years, culminating in the murder of Hrant
Dink in 2007. To allow the Turkish government to arrange an alternative
exhibition will only support this policy. Cem Ozdemir was one of the
Turkish intellectuals who signed the open letter. (4).
Muriel Mirak-Weissbach wrote on May/21/2013 an article entitled "
Armenians in Germany Commemorate Armenian Genocide" where, among
the speakers, she mentioned that "The second guest speaker was Cem
Ozdemir, the national chairman of the Green Party and member of
the Bundestag. His speech was entitled, 'In Memory of the Victims
of the Genocide against the Armenians 1915.' Ozdemir stressed how
difficult it is to grasp the 'why' behind the events: why the Young
Turk leaders destroyed the multi-ethnic, multi-religious Ottoman
state with their nationalist, racist ideology, and why the Armenians,
known as the loyal people, were victimized. To put the apparently
inconceivable crime in perspective, he reviewed the indispensable
place Armenians had occupied in Ottoman society as professionals,
manufacturers, intellectuals, artists. In Istanbul, for example,
where they represented a tenth of the population, there were nearly
as many newspapers in Armenian as in Turkish."(5)
Armenianpress.am wrote on March 12, 2015, " One of the leaders of
Germany's Greens Party of Turkish descent Cem Ozdemir has demanded
that Germany recognize "the genocide that was perpetrated against
the Armenians on Ottoman lands 100 years ago", as Hurriyet reports.
Ozdemir, who has visited Yerevan, mentioned the following: "The time
has come to not hide the term in this year marking the Centennial
of the Armenian Genocide. I regret to state the fact that the German
government does not use the right words when speaking about the crimes
perpetrated in 1915-16."(6)
-----------------------------
*The Bundestag (German ) is a constitutional and legislative body
in Germany.
1- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cem_%C3%96zdemir 2-
http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=200_prominent_Turks_apologize_for_ great
3- http://panarmenian.net/eng/news/104343/ 4-
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/a-controversial
genocide.aspx?pageID=238&nID=37144 5-
http://www.mirak-weissbach.de/Publications/Archive/files/5fdda96b9f509a92464593c6de416
6-
http://armenpress.am/eng/print/797467/turkish-mp-of-bundestag-calls-on-germany-to-recognize-the-armenian-genocide.htm
http://massispost.com/2015/04/turkish-intellectuals-who-have-recognized-the-armenian-genocide-cem-ozdemir/