TURKEY STILL REACTING TO OSKANIAN’S RESPONSE
Azg/arm
12 March 05
At the March 9 press conference foreign minister of Armenia, Vartan
Oskanian, rejected Turkish PM Erdogan’s offer “to open archives and
to carry out impartial research with the involvement of Armenian and
Turkish historians” and stated: “Historians had their say long ago,
and Turkey has to work its own approach to this. There is nothing
left to the historians any more”.
Turkey strongly reacted to the minister’s response (see Azg’s March
10 issue). Vartan Oskanian’s Yerevan press conference alongside with
his interview to Reuters was widely covered by Turkish press. Anatolu
agency issued a press release on March 10 on the matter and Turkish
NTV highlighted the issue on March 11. In the interview to Reuters
Oskanian repeated what he said at the press conference and then called
the Armenian Genocide a “political issue” and noted: “It turned into
political issue when Turkey began denying the Genocide. For that
reason the issue demands a political solution”.
Suggesting Armenia to conduct an impartial research in the Genocide
issue, PM Erdogan meanwhile called on states that have recognized the
Genocide on parliamentary level or demand Turkey to recognize it on
the threshold to EU to open their archives.
Germany appeared on the list of such countries lately, and a press
release by German embassy in Turkey responding to Erdogan’s call to
“open archives” was quite expected. Turkish Sansursaz newspaper wrote
on march 11 that the release says: “All documents kept in German
archives, including Foreign Ministry’s official political documents,
are available for researches without any exception. All documents
are available at the Berlin city archive reading hall. They all were
handed over to Armenia and Turkey in 1998 in form of microfilms”.
Thus, the press release by the German embassy turns futile Erdogan’s
accusations to European states. Another Turkish newspaper, Zaman, wrote
yesterday that Yusuf Sarinay, president of the General Directorate of
State Archives of the Prime Ministry, confessed that scientists from
75 countries have applied to the Directorate and asked for documents
but, he emphasized, no documents were demanded about Armenian issue.
It leaves room for Sarinay to say that “They don’t want to be faced
with historical realities”. Prof. Enver Konukcu, head of the History
Chair at the Ataturk University, joined Sarinay in his accusations.
Commenting on Oskanianâ’s response to Erdoganâ’s offer “of joint
research”, he says that the refusal strengthens Turkish historiansâ’
positions and added: “Armenian historians have neither documents at
hand nor knowledge. Armenians always evaded. Turkish historians were
always ready to prove the truth. Armenians evade both, the history
and the truth. But historical truths are inevitable”.
A question arises: whatâ’s that truth? Konukcu thinks that it is the
Turkish genocide of 1915-1919 that claimed lives of 519 thousand Turks
as well as the 185 common graves and 50 thousand archive documents
that though contain 2 thousand papers “denying” the Armenian Genocide
do not attract foreign scholarsâ’ attention.
German embassy’s confronting response to Erdogan’s accusation
and the fact that foreign scientists pass by the documents of
General Directorate of State Archives in indifference not only
confirm Oskanian’s words that “nothing is left to the historians”
and “Erdoganâ’s offer is groundless” but also prove the issue to
be political indeed. In these conditions, Turkey’s new project of
“Standing against Armenian genocide claims” is simply nonsensical
together with Turkish government’s and opposition’s unity around it.
By Hakob Chakrian
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