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TURKEY'S WILLFUL AMNESIA
The New York Times
April 17 2015
By THE EDITORIAL BOARDAPRIL 17, 2015
Next Friday, April 24, Armenians the world over will commemorate the
100th anniversary of the start of the mass killings of Armenians in
Ottoman Turkey, now widely recognized as the first genocide of the
20th century. Widely, that is, outside Turkey, where the government
and the majority of Turks continue to furiously attack anyone who
speaks of genocide.
When Pope Francis used the term at a memorial service for the
Armenian victims on Sunday, Turkey recalled its ambassador from the
Vatican and a government minister insidiously noted that the pope
was Argentine, and "in Argentina, the Armenian diaspora controls the
media and business." And even before the European Parliament passed a
resolution on Wednesday urging Turkey to recognize the genocide and
seek a "genuine reconciliation" with the Armenians, President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan declared that whatever the Europeans say "will go in
one ear and out the other."
The hard Turkish line is especially unfortunate, because a year ago
Mr. Erdogan seemed to be moving toward a more conciliatory stance,
offering condolences to descendants of the Armenian victims and
suggesting that a panel of international historians be formed to
examine the historical evidence. No such panel was convened, and this
week Mr. Erdogan was back to painting Turkey as the aggrieved victim
of international slander: "It is out of the question for there to be
a stain or a shadow called genocide on Turkey."
For Armenians, millions of whom form a global diaspora outside the
Republic of Armenia, demanding recognition of the mass executions,
death marches and concentration camps inflicted on their ancestors in
the disintegrating Ottoman Empire, in which as many as 1.5 million
died, has been a decades-long, global mission. While Turkey has
admitted that many Armenians died, the official narrative is that this
was a nasty episode in a nasty war, and not a premeditated attempt
to destroy a people -- not, in other words, a genocide. To assert
otherwise is a crime in Turkey -- "insulting Turkish identity" --
and intolerable from foreigners.
The narrative, however, is simply not one Turkey can sustain against
the weight of scholarship that leaves no doubt of a regime-sponsored
campaign against Armenians during and after World War I. Mr. Erdogan
was on the right track last year when he called for an independent
panel, and it is difficult to understand why he has backed away now.
The longer Turks refuse to examine and acknowledge that history fully,
the greater the damage to Turkey's international standing.
The United States should not condone that posture of denial. During his
2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama declared that "as president,
I will recognize the Armenian genocide." But, like his predecessors,
he then became reluctant to upset an important NATO ally.
Maintaining good relations with Turkey is important, but at the least
the United States should join Europe and Pope Francis in making clear
to Mr. Erdogan that the greatest danger to Turkey lies not in anyone's
use of the word "genocide," but in refusing to acknowledge what took
place 100 years ago.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/opinion/turkeys-willful-amnesia.html?_r=0
The New York Times
April 17 2015
By THE EDITORIAL BOARDAPRIL 17, 2015
Next Friday, April 24, Armenians the world over will commemorate the
100th anniversary of the start of the mass killings of Armenians in
Ottoman Turkey, now widely recognized as the first genocide of the
20th century. Widely, that is, outside Turkey, where the government
and the majority of Turks continue to furiously attack anyone who
speaks of genocide.
When Pope Francis used the term at a memorial service for the
Armenian victims on Sunday, Turkey recalled its ambassador from the
Vatican and a government minister insidiously noted that the pope
was Argentine, and "in Argentina, the Armenian diaspora controls the
media and business." And even before the European Parliament passed a
resolution on Wednesday urging Turkey to recognize the genocide and
seek a "genuine reconciliation" with the Armenians, President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan declared that whatever the Europeans say "will go in
one ear and out the other."
The hard Turkish line is especially unfortunate, because a year ago
Mr. Erdogan seemed to be moving toward a more conciliatory stance,
offering condolences to descendants of the Armenian victims and
suggesting that a panel of international historians be formed to
examine the historical evidence. No such panel was convened, and this
week Mr. Erdogan was back to painting Turkey as the aggrieved victim
of international slander: "It is out of the question for there to be
a stain or a shadow called genocide on Turkey."
For Armenians, millions of whom form a global diaspora outside the
Republic of Armenia, demanding recognition of the mass executions,
death marches and concentration camps inflicted on their ancestors in
the disintegrating Ottoman Empire, in which as many as 1.5 million
died, has been a decades-long, global mission. While Turkey has
admitted that many Armenians died, the official narrative is that this
was a nasty episode in a nasty war, and not a premeditated attempt
to destroy a people -- not, in other words, a genocide. To assert
otherwise is a crime in Turkey -- "insulting Turkish identity" --
and intolerable from foreigners.
The narrative, however, is simply not one Turkey can sustain against
the weight of scholarship that leaves no doubt of a regime-sponsored
campaign against Armenians during and after World War I. Mr. Erdogan
was on the right track last year when he called for an independent
panel, and it is difficult to understand why he has backed away now.
The longer Turks refuse to examine and acknowledge that history fully,
the greater the damage to Turkey's international standing.
The United States should not condone that posture of denial. During his
2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama declared that "as president,
I will recognize the Armenian genocide." But, like his predecessors,
he then became reluctant to upset an important NATO ally.
Maintaining good relations with Turkey is important, but at the least
the United States should join Europe and Pope Francis in making clear
to Mr. Erdogan that the greatest danger to Turkey lies not in anyone's
use of the word "genocide," but in refusing to acknowledge what took
place 100 years ago.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/opinion/turkeys-willful-amnesia.html?_r=0