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Cihan News Agency, Turkey
April 18 2015
The European Parliament's decision and Turkey
CIHAN | ISTANBUL- 18.04.2015 12:13:09
Turkey has had to publish a number of angry statements in recent days,
as the pope and the European Parliament (EP) have talked about the
Armenian Genocide. One can't be sure if these declarations from
foreign states will really help to deal with the problem. It is
obvious that foreign politicians often use the Armenian issue to put
pressure on Turkey and the latter keeps saying that it will reject all
such pressure. By the way, some people criticize the politicians'
involvement and claim that the problem can only be dealt with either
by historians or jurists.
It is indeed difficult to find a solution to this complex problem only
through political statements, or by decisions adopted by foreign
parliaments. Besides, historians or jurists can't find the way out
either, as this is not a simple academic debate. The genocide issue
has become a matter inextricably linked to Turkish and Armenian
peoples' feelings, perceptions and judgments. No matter what the
politicians say, what the academics publish, or how many parliaments
adopt recognition laws, these two nations' perceptions don't change
and they refuse to look at the historic events from different angles.
Most people in Turkey genuinely believe that foreign forces,
malevolent countries wanting to corner Turkey, manipulate the genocide
issue. That's why the public doesn't even want to discuss the
humanitarian dimension of the matter and it is looked at as a
diplomatic dossier in terms of public opinion. Those political leaders
and parliaments who mention the genocide are quickly labeled `enemies'
and people start to question their real motives. Unfortunately, few
people really ask questions about the matter itself, i.e., what really
happened in Anatolia in the 1910s, who made what kind of political
decisions back then and so on.
Probably Turkish people don't currently feel any particular connection
to the country's leaders of the 1910s, and if questioned, they would
probably say that those political personalities don't really represent
them. Nevertheless, as a reflex, they start to defend them when
foreigners criticize and condemn them. Maybe this is simply because of
the old habit of defending the country against foreign forces no
matter what.
Another reason that could explain why modern Turks are so angry about
these decisions and declarations is that they don't feel personally
responsible for what happened a century ago and they don't understand
why foreigners point their finger at them. They simply say, `We are
not to blame, why all this pressure?'
Besides, every time foreigners mention the genocide, many Turks
automatically start talking about the suffering of the Turkish people
in the same historical period. The situation during World War I was
indeed terrible; but because we are always talking about the
suffering, we're not able to heal and we're always busy remembering
who attacked whom, and how many people were killed by which country.
So the antagonism of a century ago is mentioned too frequently, and
one gets the impression that it still continues today.
This psychological atmosphere has existed in Turkey for a long time.
It especially manifests every April. Moreover, the annual crises over
this matter make people progressively indifferent. Society is growing
weary of these `April pressures;' they no longer care which foreign
country has made which decision. That is not encouraging for those who
would like to see Turks developing a real self-questioning about the
past.
It seems that as long as politicians exploit this issue, it will only
exacerbate nationalistic reactions in Turkey and will become a source
of trouble between Turks and foreigners.
BERÄ°L DEDEOÄ?LU (Cihan/Today's Zaman)
April 18 2015
The European Parliament's decision and Turkey
CIHAN | ISTANBUL- 18.04.2015 12:13:09
Turkey has had to publish a number of angry statements in recent days,
as the pope and the European Parliament (EP) have talked about the
Armenian Genocide. One can't be sure if these declarations from
foreign states will really help to deal with the problem. It is
obvious that foreign politicians often use the Armenian issue to put
pressure on Turkey and the latter keeps saying that it will reject all
such pressure. By the way, some people criticize the politicians'
involvement and claim that the problem can only be dealt with either
by historians or jurists.
It is indeed difficult to find a solution to this complex problem only
through political statements, or by decisions adopted by foreign
parliaments. Besides, historians or jurists can't find the way out
either, as this is not a simple academic debate. The genocide issue
has become a matter inextricably linked to Turkish and Armenian
peoples' feelings, perceptions and judgments. No matter what the
politicians say, what the academics publish, or how many parliaments
adopt recognition laws, these two nations' perceptions don't change
and they refuse to look at the historic events from different angles.
Most people in Turkey genuinely believe that foreign forces,
malevolent countries wanting to corner Turkey, manipulate the genocide
issue. That's why the public doesn't even want to discuss the
humanitarian dimension of the matter and it is looked at as a
diplomatic dossier in terms of public opinion. Those political leaders
and parliaments who mention the genocide are quickly labeled `enemies'
and people start to question their real motives. Unfortunately, few
people really ask questions about the matter itself, i.e., what really
happened in Anatolia in the 1910s, who made what kind of political
decisions back then and so on.
Probably Turkish people don't currently feel any particular connection
to the country's leaders of the 1910s, and if questioned, they would
probably say that those political personalities don't really represent
them. Nevertheless, as a reflex, they start to defend them when
foreigners criticize and condemn them. Maybe this is simply because of
the old habit of defending the country against foreign forces no
matter what.
Another reason that could explain why modern Turks are so angry about
these decisions and declarations is that they don't feel personally
responsible for what happened a century ago and they don't understand
why foreigners point their finger at them. They simply say, `We are
not to blame, why all this pressure?'
Besides, every time foreigners mention the genocide, many Turks
automatically start talking about the suffering of the Turkish people
in the same historical period. The situation during World War I was
indeed terrible; but because we are always talking about the
suffering, we're not able to heal and we're always busy remembering
who attacked whom, and how many people were killed by which country.
So the antagonism of a century ago is mentioned too frequently, and
one gets the impression that it still continues today.
This psychological atmosphere has existed in Turkey for a long time.
It especially manifests every April. Moreover, the annual crises over
this matter make people progressively indifferent. Society is growing
weary of these `April pressures;' they no longer care which foreign
country has made which decision. That is not encouraging for those who
would like to see Turks developing a real self-questioning about the
past.
It seems that as long as politicians exploit this issue, it will only
exacerbate nationalistic reactions in Turkey and will become a source
of trouble between Turks and foreigners.
BERÄ°L DEDEOÄ?LU (Cihan/Today's Zaman)