TURKISH INTELLECTUALS CONDEMN ANTI-ARMENIAN STATEMENTS IN TEXTBOOKS
13:19 01/10/2014 >> SOCIETY
A group of Turkish academics, journalists, artists and intellectuals
have released a statement condemning in the harshest terms what
they define as expressions that include “open hatred and hostility”
towards Armenians in Turkish schoolbooks, which were recently exposed
by the newspapers Agos and Taraf, Today’s Zaman reported.
The two newspapers recently published reports on hateful remarks
targeting Armenians in the textbooks used in history classes.
A letter accompanying the text of the condemnation, written by
historian Taner Akcam, notes that including such expressions as lesson
material to teach children is a disgrace.
The signees said textbooks in schools should seek to encourage feelings
of peace, solidarity and living together over inciting hatred towards
different religious and cultural groups, Akcam said. He further wrote:
“Standing with integrity in the face of history is the prerequisite for
establishing the future on the foundations of friendship and peace. I
do hope that this signature campaign will be taken as a scream from
all of us for the publication of textbooks that we would like to see.”
The statement said: “The revolutions history and history textbooks
should be collected immediately, with an apology issued to everyone
and particularly to Armenian students. This is where the path to
Turkish-Armenian peace lies, at this time when we are approaching
2015.” Revolutions history classes teach students the reforms carried
out by the first government of Turkey after the end of the Ottoman
Empire.
The signatories include some of Turkey’s most respected writers
and journalists.
Source: Panorama.am