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RESPONSE TO THE STATEMENT BY TURKISH PRIME MINISTER AHMET DAVUTOGLU ON THE COMMEMORATION OF HRANT DINK
January 21, 2015
By MassisPost
Your Excellency Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu:
Indeed "It has now been eight years since Hrant Dink was taken from
us," suddenly and cruelly, from his family and friends. Your wishes
for our patience seem insincere, since your government has been unable
or unwilling to bring all those responsible for his murder to justice
after all this time.
I am one of those Anatolians by heritage and also a Canadian citizen,
who held Hrant Dink very dear. My roots, our roots, are still there in
our ancestral land, Anatolia, as Hrant always talked and wrote. That
is why it is so troubling to see the dichotomy you present between
Hrant's Armenian heritage and his loyalty to Turkey. His loyalty to
the homeland of his forefathers, and his love for all the people of
Anatolia--Turks, Kurds, Alevis, Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks, Jews,
and others--was an integral part of his identity. There was no need
for him to compromise, as there was no separation of his Armenian
heritage from his loyalty to the country and people. Yet, you make the
prejudicial assumption that a compromise should have been expected
between Hrant's Armenian heritage and Turkish loyalty. You would
never make or accept such an assumption about an ethnic Turk. Please
remember, it was his land as much as it is yours. This is what Hrant
was trying to explain. Alas, they, the real killers, did not accept
his message. That is why they killed him.
It is jarring to see the anniversary of Hrant's murder used as an
opportunity to obfuscate the events of 1915. They were not as you
state, simply "the inhumane consequences of the relocation policies
essentially enforced under wartime circumstances, including that of
1915," but rather, the killing, planned and executed by the state
apparatus, of about 1.5 million Armenian citizens with the clear
intent to exterminate the entire race and even the memory of the
existence of the Armenians.
I also yearn for "friendship and peace" between our two peoples
and wish very much "to open new path into hearts and minds." But,
how can we achieve that? How can you expect patience after 8 years,
without bringing to justice those who were the real murderers of Dink,
or those who took turns to get their photos taken in front of the
Turkish flag with Ogun Samast?
How do you show empathy for Armenians when, on the day you commemorate
Hrant's death, 19 January 2015, the Turkish court lifts a travel
ban imposed on Doðu Perincek, so that he can attend a hearing at
the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) related to his denial of
the Armenian Genocide, scheduled to take place on Jan. 28? How can
you talk about "Fostering a sense of mutual trust and cooperation,"
when the Turkish Government actively defends Perincek's denial of the
Armenian Genocide at the ECtHR, a man convicted in Turkey of being
a member of Ergenekon, described by the Turkish court as an armed
terrorist organization bent on overthrowing your own government?
This is a man who, following Hrant's assassination, wrote a letter to
the Armenian Patriarch Mutafyan in Istanbul and distributed in mosques,
condemning the public sympathy for Armenians displayed at Hrant's
funeral as "a rally of war against Turkey."1 The Ergenekon evidence
included a May 2007 letter from Perincek addressed to Armenian schools
in Turkey, urging them "to publicly declare in demonstrations, in their
neighbourhoods, workplaces and social activities that allegations
of genocide or other wrongdoings are lies," warning that otherwise
Armenians would soon be "counting the coffins to see how many real
Turks there are in this country."2
In the Ergenekon judgment, the Istanbul court also found "similarities
between the murder of ... Hrant Dink and [other Christian minorities]
which took place in different places of Turkey,"3 supporting the
prosecution's allegation that these were "not separate individual
incidents but killings done in accordance with a plan by the Ergenekon
Terror Organisation with the aim of accomplishing a common goal."4
Given the Istanbul court's finding concerning Perincek's "leadership
role" in "psychological war and propaganda," within both the Talaat
Pasha Committee and the Ergenekon Terror Organisation, and incitement
to anti-Armenian hatred and violence, including Hrant Dink's and
other murders, it is astonishing that your government has intervened
in support of Perincek in this case.
It is my hope that human values, fortified with the knowledge of
historical truth, will eventually empower Turkish civil society to
demand more effectively that your government embrace the facts of
history. It is worth recalling here the recent op-ed by Cengiz Aktar,
titled "Entering 2015," in which he wrote the following:
...The Armenian genocide is the Great Catastrophe of Anatolia, and
the mother of all taboos in this land. Its curse will continue to
haunt us as long as we fail to talk about, recognize, understand
and reckon with it. Its centennial anniversary actually offers us
a historic opportunity to dispense with our habits, understand the
Other and start with the collective therapy.
When I read words such as these, full of wisdom and truth, it
demonstrates the growing understanding of Turkish civil society of
the fundamental issue, which your government continues to deny. Civil
society's movement in this regard is already evident in that the
Human Rights Association of Turkey has made a strong argument for the
racism inherent in the Armenian case. They wrote, "...we are the most
immediate, direct witnesses of how the denial of the genocide against
Armenians and other Christian ethnic groups of Asia Minor has right
from the start generated an anti-democratic system, allowing racist
hatred, hate crimes, and violation of freedom of expression and human
rights in general...This has paved the way for Armenians in Turkey
to be treated as a 'fifth column' throughout the Republican history,
to be discriminated against, to be destined to lead their lives in
constant fear as their lives were threatened during various nationalist
upheavals and pogroms that took place during the Republican period."
Moreover, two Turkish human rights organizations have partnered
with the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights
Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute) to jointly submit a
brief to the European Court of Human Rights in the Perincek case -
a matter of genocide denial - documenting his discriminatory and
racist activities and statements against Armenians in Turkey and
Switzerland. Such instances of co-operation do strengthen contacts
between our two societies and take us on a genuine course "towards
a horizon of friendship and peace."
While your commitment "to press ahead with resolve to give
due recognition to the Armenian cultural heritage in Turkey and
those Armenian personalities who made inestimable contribution to
Ottoman/Turkish culture" would be a valuable confidence-building
gesture, it would lose its impact if your government continues its
official policy of denial of the Armenian Genocide.
My wish is that you, as the prime minister of the country, would
become an agent of change, bringing your government and the country
on the side of the true history of 1915. With that truth acknowledged,
it would be possible "to heal the wounds and re-establish friendship."
Respectfully yours,
K.M. Greg Sarkissian, President, Zoryan Institute
(Footnotes) 1 Vatan, 26 July 2007, "Perincek's
letter to Mutafyan distributed in mosques", at
http:/www.gazetevatan.com/perincek-in-mutafyan-a-mektubu-camilerde-dagitildi-105788-gundem/.
2 Three-page document stamped, signed and numbered 319783, pages
193, 194 and 195, by the Public Prosecutor included in the Ergenekon
Court File; see also Milliyet, 19 May 2007, "Armenian schools receive
threats", at http://www.milliyet.com.tr/2007/05/19/guncel/gun08.html.
3 Ergenekon Judgment, Book Two (A), Legal Opinions, Item 6.2, Opinion
established by Chief Prosecutor of Ankara, at p. 1720/6573.
4 Zirve Publishing House Massacre Case, Indictment, Section
1, under the heading "Evaluation of Section One", p. 23/1; see
http://haber.sat7turk.com/tag/zirve-iddianame-tam-metin/. See also
Zirve Publishing House Massacre Case, Indictment, Section 1, p. 85.
http://massispost.com/2015/01/response-to-the-statement-by-turkish-prime-minister-ahmet-davutoglu-on-the-commemoration-of-hrant-dink/
From: Baghdasarian
January 21, 2015
By MassisPost
Your Excellency Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu:
Indeed "It has now been eight years since Hrant Dink was taken from
us," suddenly and cruelly, from his family and friends. Your wishes
for our patience seem insincere, since your government has been unable
or unwilling to bring all those responsible for his murder to justice
after all this time.
I am one of those Anatolians by heritage and also a Canadian citizen,
who held Hrant Dink very dear. My roots, our roots, are still there in
our ancestral land, Anatolia, as Hrant always talked and wrote. That
is why it is so troubling to see the dichotomy you present between
Hrant's Armenian heritage and his loyalty to Turkey. His loyalty to
the homeland of his forefathers, and his love for all the people of
Anatolia--Turks, Kurds, Alevis, Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks, Jews,
and others--was an integral part of his identity. There was no need
for him to compromise, as there was no separation of his Armenian
heritage from his loyalty to the country and people. Yet, you make the
prejudicial assumption that a compromise should have been expected
between Hrant's Armenian heritage and Turkish loyalty. You would
never make or accept such an assumption about an ethnic Turk. Please
remember, it was his land as much as it is yours. This is what Hrant
was trying to explain. Alas, they, the real killers, did not accept
his message. That is why they killed him.
It is jarring to see the anniversary of Hrant's murder used as an
opportunity to obfuscate the events of 1915. They were not as you
state, simply "the inhumane consequences of the relocation policies
essentially enforced under wartime circumstances, including that of
1915," but rather, the killing, planned and executed by the state
apparatus, of about 1.5 million Armenian citizens with the clear
intent to exterminate the entire race and even the memory of the
existence of the Armenians.
I also yearn for "friendship and peace" between our two peoples
and wish very much "to open new path into hearts and minds." But,
how can we achieve that? How can you expect patience after 8 years,
without bringing to justice those who were the real murderers of Dink,
or those who took turns to get their photos taken in front of the
Turkish flag with Ogun Samast?
How do you show empathy for Armenians when, on the day you commemorate
Hrant's death, 19 January 2015, the Turkish court lifts a travel
ban imposed on Doðu Perincek, so that he can attend a hearing at
the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) related to his denial of
the Armenian Genocide, scheduled to take place on Jan. 28? How can
you talk about "Fostering a sense of mutual trust and cooperation,"
when the Turkish Government actively defends Perincek's denial of the
Armenian Genocide at the ECtHR, a man convicted in Turkey of being
a member of Ergenekon, described by the Turkish court as an armed
terrorist organization bent on overthrowing your own government?
This is a man who, following Hrant's assassination, wrote a letter to
the Armenian Patriarch Mutafyan in Istanbul and distributed in mosques,
condemning the public sympathy for Armenians displayed at Hrant's
funeral as "a rally of war against Turkey."1 The Ergenekon evidence
included a May 2007 letter from Perincek addressed to Armenian schools
in Turkey, urging them "to publicly declare in demonstrations, in their
neighbourhoods, workplaces and social activities that allegations
of genocide or other wrongdoings are lies," warning that otherwise
Armenians would soon be "counting the coffins to see how many real
Turks there are in this country."2
In the Ergenekon judgment, the Istanbul court also found "similarities
between the murder of ... Hrant Dink and [other Christian minorities]
which took place in different places of Turkey,"3 supporting the
prosecution's allegation that these were "not separate individual
incidents but killings done in accordance with a plan by the Ergenekon
Terror Organisation with the aim of accomplishing a common goal."4
Given the Istanbul court's finding concerning Perincek's "leadership
role" in "psychological war and propaganda," within both the Talaat
Pasha Committee and the Ergenekon Terror Organisation, and incitement
to anti-Armenian hatred and violence, including Hrant Dink's and
other murders, it is astonishing that your government has intervened
in support of Perincek in this case.
It is my hope that human values, fortified with the knowledge of
historical truth, will eventually empower Turkish civil society to
demand more effectively that your government embrace the facts of
history. It is worth recalling here the recent op-ed by Cengiz Aktar,
titled "Entering 2015," in which he wrote the following:
...The Armenian genocide is the Great Catastrophe of Anatolia, and
the mother of all taboos in this land. Its curse will continue to
haunt us as long as we fail to talk about, recognize, understand
and reckon with it. Its centennial anniversary actually offers us
a historic opportunity to dispense with our habits, understand the
Other and start with the collective therapy.
When I read words such as these, full of wisdom and truth, it
demonstrates the growing understanding of Turkish civil society of
the fundamental issue, which your government continues to deny. Civil
society's movement in this regard is already evident in that the
Human Rights Association of Turkey has made a strong argument for the
racism inherent in the Armenian case. They wrote, "...we are the most
immediate, direct witnesses of how the denial of the genocide against
Armenians and other Christian ethnic groups of Asia Minor has right
from the start generated an anti-democratic system, allowing racist
hatred, hate crimes, and violation of freedom of expression and human
rights in general...This has paved the way for Armenians in Turkey
to be treated as a 'fifth column' throughout the Republican history,
to be discriminated against, to be destined to lead their lives in
constant fear as their lives were threatened during various nationalist
upheavals and pogroms that took place during the Republican period."
Moreover, two Turkish human rights organizations have partnered
with the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights
Studies (A Division of the Zoryan Institute) to jointly submit a
brief to the European Court of Human Rights in the Perincek case -
a matter of genocide denial - documenting his discriminatory and
racist activities and statements against Armenians in Turkey and
Switzerland. Such instances of co-operation do strengthen contacts
between our two societies and take us on a genuine course "towards
a horizon of friendship and peace."
While your commitment "to press ahead with resolve to give
due recognition to the Armenian cultural heritage in Turkey and
those Armenian personalities who made inestimable contribution to
Ottoman/Turkish culture" would be a valuable confidence-building
gesture, it would lose its impact if your government continues its
official policy of denial of the Armenian Genocide.
My wish is that you, as the prime minister of the country, would
become an agent of change, bringing your government and the country
on the side of the true history of 1915. With that truth acknowledged,
it would be possible "to heal the wounds and re-establish friendship."
Respectfully yours,
K.M. Greg Sarkissian, President, Zoryan Institute
(Footnotes) 1 Vatan, 26 July 2007, "Perincek's
letter to Mutafyan distributed in mosques", at
http:/www.gazetevatan.com/perincek-in-mutafyan-a-mektubu-camilerde-dagitildi-105788-gundem/.
2 Three-page document stamped, signed and numbered 319783, pages
193, 194 and 195, by the Public Prosecutor included in the Ergenekon
Court File; see also Milliyet, 19 May 2007, "Armenian schools receive
threats", at http://www.milliyet.com.tr/2007/05/19/guncel/gun08.html.
3 Ergenekon Judgment, Book Two (A), Legal Opinions, Item 6.2, Opinion
established by Chief Prosecutor of Ankara, at p. 1720/6573.
4 Zirve Publishing House Massacre Case, Indictment, Section
1, under the heading "Evaluation of Section One", p. 23/1; see
http://haber.sat7turk.com/tag/zirve-iddianame-tam-metin/. See also
Zirve Publishing House Massacre Case, Indictment, Section 1, p. 85.
http://massispost.com/2015/01/response-to-the-statement-by-turkish-prime-minister-ahmet-davutoglu-on-the-commemoration-of-hrant-dink/
From: Baghdasarian