Editorial: The Turkish Counteroffensive
Posted by Armenian Weekly Staff
January 7, 2012
The battle lines are drawn. The next three years leading up to the
100thanniversary of the Armenian Genocide will witness a continued,
steady, but firm advance of truth and justice in academic, legal, and
political arenas on both sides of the Atlantic. The `Return of
Churches’ resolution in Congress; the lawsuits in the U.S. and Europe
demanding the return of church properties stolen from the Armenians
during and after the genocide; the bill criminalizing genocide denial
in France; and the discussions in the Israeli Knesset – all within the
last weeks of 2011 – are a harbinger of things to come.
The more significant threat to the tidal wave of truth and justice is
the Turkish government’s policy to undermine Armenian efforts by not
mere denial and disengagement, but rather direct engagement with
Armenia and the diaspora.
These successes of varying degree and significance were registered due
to the unrelenting efforts of Armenian communities worldwide, an
increasing awareness of the genocide by the world, and favorable
political winds. They were not precipitated by an absence of
counter-efforts by the Turkish state, but despite them. Threats of a
diplomatic and economic nature, lawsuits, and the intimidation of
scholars have become hallmarks of the official Turkish response. These
policies will undoubtedly continue in the next few years.
Yet the more significant threat to the tidal wave of truth and justice
is the Turkish government’s policy to undermine Armenian efforts by
not mere denial and disengagement, but rather direct engagement with
Armenia and the diaspora. Discussions in diplomatic circles and the
Turkish press have increasingly focused on the search for innovative
ways to deal with the `Armenian problem.’ From the Turkey-Armenia
protocols to talk of `engaging the Armenia Diaspora,’ efforts by the
Turkish political elite are focused on swaying Armenians and world
public opinion towards a `middle ground.’
The ideas floating around in Turkey include granting descendants of
genocide survivors Turkish citizenship, commemorating the `joint
suffering’ of Armenians and Turks during World War I, and normalizing
relations with Armenia. Strikingly, even these meager steps – which fail
to address the core issues of truth and justice – are being raised in
the Turkish media as a means to impede Armenian efforts, and not as a
genuine effort to provide a remedy for the crime of genocide.
On the other hand, there is a very small, yet vocal group of Turkish
citizens (Turks, Kurds, Armenians, and others) who continue to
adamantly criticize the country’s public discourse on the Armenian
genocide.
As the pressure continues to mount on the Turkish state in the lead up
to the 100thanniversary of the genocide in 2015, we must reemphasize
our parameters for engagement: truth and justice. The rest is
window-dressing.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Disclaimer: This article was contributed and translated into English by Emil Lazarian. While we strive for quality, the views and accuracy of the content remain the responsibility of the contributor. Please verify all facts independently before reposting or citing.
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