TURKISH SCHOLARS SEEK TO ENGAGE ARMENIAN COUNTERPARTS IN HISTORICAL DEBATE
Civil Society
EurasiaNet.org
2/01/05
By Igor Torbakov
As Turkey prepares for what promises to be a lengthy European Union
accession process, officials in Ankara are striving to remove obstacles
that stand in the way of their integration ambitions. Accordingly,
authorities appear to be welcoming a research project by Turkish
historians designed to shed additional light on the circumstances
surrounding the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians from 1915-1923.
Armenian leaders have campaigned for international recognition of what
they insist was genocide committed by Turkish forces amid the chaos of
the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Yerevan’s calls have received
support in the capitals of some influential EU capitals, in particular
France, which has a sizeable Armenian émigré population.
In early January, the Turkish Historical Society – a semi-official
institution founded in the beginning of the 1930s – announced that it
had finished a large research project commenced in 2001. The result of
the historical exploration is four volumes of documents in which `the
allegations made by Armenians are answered one by one,’ according to a
Turkish journalist familiar with the research. The project marks the
first comprehensive attempt by Turkish scholars to challenge the
Armenian version of the tragic events of the past.
Armenian officials and historians assert that the Young Turk government
in power in Istanbul in 1915 ordered the systematic slaughter of
Armenians. Turkish leaders have insisted the mass deaths of Armenians
did not constitute genocide, alleging that Armenians were largely
victims of a vicious partisan struggle during and after World War I.
The authors of the recent four-volume study appear to endorse the
mainstream Turkish view of events. They also advocate the continuation
of research, calling for a multi-national inquiry into the events.
Professor Yusuf Halacoglu, head of the Turkish Historical Society, said
in a January 12 interview with the Reuters news agency that the
commission should comprise scholars from Turkey, Armenia, the United
States, France and Britain.
Turkey is due to start EU accession negotiations on October 3, while on
April 24 Armenians throughout the world will mark the 90th anniversary
of what they call the `first genocide of the 20th century.’ Many Turkish
officials and experts believe Yerevan may attempt to engage Ankara in a
`battle over history.’ According to Turkish media reports, commemoration
activities will include conferences, meetings, exhibitions and new
publication projects. A few Turkish commentators are urging the Turkish
government to adopt a more pro-active stance in the ongoing debate.
`Saying `we never committed genocide’ is no longer enough. We will be
forced to pay the price for inactivity. We need to do something,’ wrote
Mehmet Ali Birand in a commentary published by the Turkish Daily News on
January 4.
Right after EU leaders agreed last December to open accession talks with
Turkey, both the European Parliament and France, urged Turkey to
recognize the 1915-1923 killings of Armenians as genocide. `We will
raise all the matters, including the Armenian genocide, to hear Turkey’s
response in the course of accession negotiations, which will be very
long and very difficult,’ French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier was
quoted as saying.
Halacoglu, the Turkish historian, believes that France’s stance can be
viewed as an `opportunity.’ `Armenian and Turkish historians should sit
down and debate the matter,’ he said in a December 15 interview
published in the daily Milliyet. `This has nothing to do with the EU.
Let the historians resolve the matter.’
Such a direct dialog on the `genocide’ issue between Turkish and
Armenian historians actually began last year when researchers from the
Turkish Historical Society and their colleagues from Armenian Academy of
Sciences and Yerevan’s Genocide Museum formed the so-called Vienna
Armenian-Turkish Historians’ Platform (VAT). At VAT’s first meeting held
in Austrian capital in July 2004, the two sides started exchanging
archival documents pertaining to the events of 1915-1923. But VAT’s next
meeting, reportedly scheduled for last December, was cancelled. And in
mid-January, the Anatolia news agency reported that a VAT meeting due to
take place in May 2005 had also been cancelled.
Whatever the reason for VAT’s difficulties, it appears that the work of
this bilateral forum has virtually come to a standstill. This may
explain why Turkish researchers and pundits urge the formation of an
international commission of inquiry. This commission, in Halacoglu’s
opinion, would ideally work under the auspices of the United Nations, or
another international body, to help ensure impartiality and to encourage
all states to open up their archives to the panel. `The Armenian
archives, which are closed, should also be opened to the public,’
Halacoglu said.
The idea of forming an international commission appears to be part of
Ankara’s broader strategy of seeking rapprochement with Armenia. As
Birand points out, `If these [`genocide’] studies are initiated, we will
gain time. In addition, while this process continues, Turkey can broaden
its economic relations with Armenia and open the border gate.’
In the meantime, however, Turkish historians are getting ready to debate
their Armenian colleagues on the basis of their latest research.
Speaking January 5 on the CNN-Turk television program, Hikmet Ozdemir,
head of the Turkish Historical Society’s Armenian Desk, said a publicity
campaign would be launched in February.
Editor’s Note: Igor Torbakov is a freelance journalist and researcher
who specializes in CIS political affairs. He holds an MA in History from
Moscow State University and a PhD from the Ukrainian Academy of
Sciences. He was Research Scholar at the Institute of Russian History,
Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow; a Visiting Scholar at the Kennan
Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington
DC; a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University, New York; and a Visiting
Fellow at Harvard University. He is now based in Istanbul, Turkey.