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POPE'S 'GENOCIDE' STATEMENT IS BOTH TOO EARLY AND TOO LATE
Chicago Tribune
April 14 2015
Bloomberg
The following editorial appears on Bloomberg View:
Sometimes it's necessary to state the obvious, and sometimes it isn't.
So which was it Sunday when Pope Francis described the Ottoman Empire's
1915 slaughter of more than a million ethnic Armenians as genocide?
In one sense, the recognition comes late: This month marks the
100th anniversary of the Ottoman leadership's systematic campaign
to exterminate or expel the entire Armenian population from Eastern
Anatolia. (The "Young Turk" generals running the empire during World
War I saw these Christian citizens as a fifth column for the allied
armies that were dismembering it.) This was genocide, something Turkey
has to come to terms with. The Armenian atrocity helped to inspire
the creation of both the word and -- in 1948 -- the crime.
Yet Sunday's remarks can also be viewed as spoken too soon. That's
because Turks as a nation have only in recent years begun to recognize
the truth of what happened, or even had access to the historical
record. Until about 15 years ago, the subject was taboo for research
by Turkish historians; schoolchildren weren't taught the history
of what Armenians call the "Great Catastrophe." More than denial,
there was ignorance.
Since then, Turkey has come a long way. Turkish historians such as
Taner Akcam have given unsparing accounts. Last year, in a courageous
first step, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan became the first Turkish
leader to apologize to Armenians for what happened, although he
continues to oppose describing the slaughter as genocide, with its
association to Nazi Germany. Inevitably, the Turkish reaction to
Francis's words was furious.
Ultimately, though, a word cannot make what happened a century ago
any better or worse. Far more important is what Turks and Armenians
do in the here and now.
It's easy enough to say that the two nations should reconcile,
that the children of Armenians who fled into exile should be able to
return to Turkey if they wish, that they should be allowed to trade
and to restore their churches and cultural heritage. Yet the border
between Armenia and Turkey remains closed, despite a 2009 agreement
to open it. The deal, which would have set up a joint historical
committee, ultimately failed because it became linked to the question
of Armenia's military occupation of part of neighboring Azerbaijan,
a close Turkish ally.
These are the unresolved issues that matter most today. Pope Francis
deserves some credit for publicly speaking the g- word (as Pope John
Paul II deserved credit for writing it 16 years ago), and for combining
his condemnation of the Ottoman atrocity with other genocides,
including by Christians. The true test of papal diplomacy, however, is
whether Francis can help revive the abandoned reconciliation process,
appeal to Erdogan's desire to lead in the region, and bring Turks
and Armenians together again after a century of division.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-wp-blm-news-bc-bg-editorial-pope14-20150414-story.html
Chicago Tribune
April 14 2015
Bloomberg
The following editorial appears on Bloomberg View:
Sometimes it's necessary to state the obvious, and sometimes it isn't.
So which was it Sunday when Pope Francis described the Ottoman Empire's
1915 slaughter of more than a million ethnic Armenians as genocide?
In one sense, the recognition comes late: This month marks the
100th anniversary of the Ottoman leadership's systematic campaign
to exterminate or expel the entire Armenian population from Eastern
Anatolia. (The "Young Turk" generals running the empire during World
War I saw these Christian citizens as a fifth column for the allied
armies that were dismembering it.) This was genocide, something Turkey
has to come to terms with. The Armenian atrocity helped to inspire
the creation of both the word and -- in 1948 -- the crime.
Yet Sunday's remarks can also be viewed as spoken too soon. That's
because Turks as a nation have only in recent years begun to recognize
the truth of what happened, or even had access to the historical
record. Until about 15 years ago, the subject was taboo for research
by Turkish historians; schoolchildren weren't taught the history
of what Armenians call the "Great Catastrophe." More than denial,
there was ignorance.
Since then, Turkey has come a long way. Turkish historians such as
Taner Akcam have given unsparing accounts. Last year, in a courageous
first step, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan became the first Turkish
leader to apologize to Armenians for what happened, although he
continues to oppose describing the slaughter as genocide, with its
association to Nazi Germany. Inevitably, the Turkish reaction to
Francis's words was furious.
Ultimately, though, a word cannot make what happened a century ago
any better or worse. Far more important is what Turks and Armenians
do in the here and now.
It's easy enough to say that the two nations should reconcile,
that the children of Armenians who fled into exile should be able to
return to Turkey if they wish, that they should be allowed to trade
and to restore their churches and cultural heritage. Yet the border
between Armenia and Turkey remains closed, despite a 2009 agreement
to open it. The deal, which would have set up a joint historical
committee, ultimately failed because it became linked to the question
of Armenia's military occupation of part of neighboring Azerbaijan,
a close Turkish ally.
These are the unresolved issues that matter most today. Pope Francis
deserves some credit for publicly speaking the g- word (as Pope John
Paul II deserved credit for writing it 16 years ago), and for combining
his condemnation of the Ottoman atrocity with other genocides,
including by Christians. The true test of papal diplomacy, however, is
whether Francis can help revive the abandoned reconciliation process,
appeal to Erdogan's desire to lead in the region, and bring Turks
and Armenians together again after a century of division.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-wp-blm-news-bc-bg-editorial-pope14-20150414-story.html