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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Jan 6 2015
Is Etyen Mahcupyan a national security threat?
by JOOST LAGENDIJK
January 06, 2015, Tuesday
Whether Turkey likes it or not, 2015 is going to be the year when this
country, the successor to the Ottoman Empire, will be faced again with
the question - more pertinent than ever before--of how it looks back at
the atrocities committed against the Ottoman Armenians in 1915.
The rest of the world will be watching how Turkey will deal with the
allegations of genocide placed at its feet by Armenians all over the
world, morally supported by global public opinion that believes Turkey
has the responsibility to come up with a convincing answer. After 100
years of denial and failed efforts to redefine the issue, Turkey will
at least have to show it recognizes this unsolved problem and respond
to it in a constructive and compassionate way.
Many hope Turkey will continue where then-Prime Minister and current
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ended last year when he extended his
condolences for the Armenian losses in 1915. His actions were a
historic first and, together with speeches from then-Foreign Minister
and current Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, seemed to indicate a
willingness to initiate a new phase in currently frozen
Armenian-Turkish relations and in dealing with the haunting disputes
of the past.
I am sure that from now until April 24, we will see a lot of
speculation about what Turkey is planning to do in the run-up to and
on the day of the centennial. Expectations are high that Etyen
Mahcupyan, one of the most well-known Turks of Armenian descent who
has been nominated to be adviser to Prime Minister Davutoglu, can play
a positive role in that process.
Against this background of cautious optimism, reading a recent article
examining how Turkish textbooks deal with the Armenian genocide was an
alarming wake-up call, revealing the distance that still has to be
covered. Taner Akcam, the Turkish historian who opened the eyes of
many Turks to the horrors of 1915 and now works in the U.S., took a
close look at the history textbooks that are being used today in
Turkish schools, prepared and approved by the Ministry of National
Education. His conclusions are both shocking and sad.
Akcam cites many examples of blatant errors and obvious fabrications
that are being used in the textbooks to paint a picture of Armenians
as the true aggressors and Turks as innocent victims. Incredibly,
after all that has been published on this issue, history is still
being distorted and manipulated in order to legitimize the massacres
that took place. Akcam's conclusion is clear: "There is nothing new
about the New Turkey. Everything here is a repeat of what's been going
on for decades."
On top of these historical falsifications, what is most upsetting is
the way today's Armenians, in Turkey and abroad, are presented as one
of the biggest national security threats to Turkey. Turkish history
textbooks convey the message that every Armenian is an enemy. In the
words of Akcam: "Even if we set aside for a minute the diaspora and
Armenians in Armenia, it is clear that the government perceives a
segment of its own citizens and their problems to be a threat against
national security, and educates all of its citizens to engender
feelings of hatred an enmity towards this one segment."
How schizophrenic is a country in which students are indoctrinated
against Armenians, while at the same time Etyen Mahcupyan -- the most
visible representative of that ethnic group-- is one of the main
advisers to the prime minister?
At the end of his article, Akcam makes an almost desperate call to his
readers, one that I support wholeheartedly: "The Turkish government is
going to put up smokescreens, claiming to be interested in making
amends, and claiming that Armenians are the ones who keep backing
away, etc. It is going to try to create the impression that it is the
side willing to compromise and to find solutions. Please place these
textbooks directly in front of them at each and every opportunity, and
make it clear to them that if they want to reclaim any kind of
integrity on the subject they should first pull these books from
circulation."
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/joost-lagendijk/is-etyen-mahcupyan-a-national-security-threat_369067.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Jan 6 2015
Is Etyen Mahcupyan a national security threat?
by JOOST LAGENDIJK
January 06, 2015, Tuesday
Whether Turkey likes it or not, 2015 is going to be the year when this
country, the successor to the Ottoman Empire, will be faced again with
the question - more pertinent than ever before--of how it looks back at
the atrocities committed against the Ottoman Armenians in 1915.
The rest of the world will be watching how Turkey will deal with the
allegations of genocide placed at its feet by Armenians all over the
world, morally supported by global public opinion that believes Turkey
has the responsibility to come up with a convincing answer. After 100
years of denial and failed efforts to redefine the issue, Turkey will
at least have to show it recognizes this unsolved problem and respond
to it in a constructive and compassionate way.
Many hope Turkey will continue where then-Prime Minister and current
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ended last year when he extended his
condolences for the Armenian losses in 1915. His actions were a
historic first and, together with speeches from then-Foreign Minister
and current Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, seemed to indicate a
willingness to initiate a new phase in currently frozen
Armenian-Turkish relations and in dealing with the haunting disputes
of the past.
I am sure that from now until April 24, we will see a lot of
speculation about what Turkey is planning to do in the run-up to and
on the day of the centennial. Expectations are high that Etyen
Mahcupyan, one of the most well-known Turks of Armenian descent who
has been nominated to be adviser to Prime Minister Davutoglu, can play
a positive role in that process.
Against this background of cautious optimism, reading a recent article
examining how Turkish textbooks deal with the Armenian genocide was an
alarming wake-up call, revealing the distance that still has to be
covered. Taner Akcam, the Turkish historian who opened the eyes of
many Turks to the horrors of 1915 and now works in the U.S., took a
close look at the history textbooks that are being used today in
Turkish schools, prepared and approved by the Ministry of National
Education. His conclusions are both shocking and sad.
Akcam cites many examples of blatant errors and obvious fabrications
that are being used in the textbooks to paint a picture of Armenians
as the true aggressors and Turks as innocent victims. Incredibly,
after all that has been published on this issue, history is still
being distorted and manipulated in order to legitimize the massacres
that took place. Akcam's conclusion is clear: "There is nothing new
about the New Turkey. Everything here is a repeat of what's been going
on for decades."
On top of these historical falsifications, what is most upsetting is
the way today's Armenians, in Turkey and abroad, are presented as one
of the biggest national security threats to Turkey. Turkish history
textbooks convey the message that every Armenian is an enemy. In the
words of Akcam: "Even if we set aside for a minute the diaspora and
Armenians in Armenia, it is clear that the government perceives a
segment of its own citizens and their problems to be a threat against
national security, and educates all of its citizens to engender
feelings of hatred an enmity towards this one segment."
How schizophrenic is a country in which students are indoctrinated
against Armenians, while at the same time Etyen Mahcupyan -- the most
visible representative of that ethnic group-- is one of the main
advisers to the prime minister?
At the end of his article, Akcam makes an almost desperate call to his
readers, one that I support wholeheartedly: "The Turkish government is
going to put up smokescreens, claiming to be interested in making
amends, and claiming that Armenians are the ones who keep backing
away, etc. It is going to try to create the impression that it is the
side willing to compromise and to find solutions. Please place these
textbooks directly in front of them at each and every opportunity, and
make it clear to them that if they want to reclaim any kind of
integrity on the subject they should first pull these books from
circulation."
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/joost-lagendijk/is-etyen-mahcupyan-a-national-security-threat_369067.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress