The Gazette (Montreal)
April 10, 2005 Sunday
Final Edition
Events were tragic – but not genocide: Accusations are unfair.
Condemnation by Canadian Parliament was politically motivated
GERARD EMIN BATTIKA, Freelance
Members of the Turkish Canadian community have asked me to convey
their concerns and points of view about the alleged Armenian genocide
of 1915 and its recognition by the Canadian Parliament a year ago.
Unfortunately, Parliament acted as judge and jury. The vote on the
emotionally charged issue was not unanimous. Members of the cabinet
and several MPs voted against the resolution. The government said it
was non-binding and would not change Canada’s attitude toward the
republic of Turkey and the Turkish nation.
For our part, we were deeply offended to see that our ancestors were
accused of having been genocidal. In our opinion, Parliament’s
decision was politically motivated. After all, Armenians outnumber us
in Canada, and have been here longer.
Last April, Jeffrey Simpson of the Globe and Mail described the
Parliament’s move as “unnecessary, irresponsible and provocative.” He
accused the politicians of being “influenced by Armenian and Greek
descendants in their districts.”
The charge of Armenian genocide is a complex and multi-dimensional
question. Nicholas S. Ludington, senior associate of the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace, describes the issue as “a swamp of
disputed historical facts.” In fact, it is the subject of genuine
debate among historians.
The disputed events have their roots in the 19th century when the
Ottoman Empire began to unravel. Armenians, seeking independence and
territory. co-
operated with the enemies of the empire. Their attacks against
officials sparked bloody clashes. Sadly, agitations, uprisings, harsh
measures and counter-attacks escalated for several years and turned
into a very serious situation during World War I.
At the time, the Ottoman Empire was in agony. In 1914, Ottoman
Armenian revolutionary groups formed voluntary units, set fire to
houses in eastern Anatolia and rose up in the rear of the Turkish
army, cutting it off from its base of supplies.
Armenian insurgents fought on the side of the invading Russian forces
and killed large numbers of Muslims to provoke retaliation.
Armenians maintain that only their losses were immense. They
consistently allege that agents of the Ottoman state killed unarmed
Armenian civilians. Survivors and independent historians state that
the rebels were well equipped with guns and ammunition. In our
opinion, neither side was blameless. Both sides have accounts to
reconcile.
As clashes continued in 1915, the Ottoman Empire decided to relocate
the Armenians from eastern Anatolia to Aleppo, Mosul and parts of
today’s Syria and Lebanon, thus clearing the war area and hinterland
of a disloyal group of people.
The text of relocation orders issued by the authorities was very
specific. All precautions were to be taken in order to guarantee the
safety of the relocatees. Officials were warned about tensions
between the Armenians and the Muslims, including the Kurds.
But unfortunately, the state mechanism collapsed. The displaced
Armenians became targets of lawlessness. Revenge-seeking tribes,
inadequate containment, involvement of Christian and Muslim deserters
and irregulars, as well as famine, sickness and harsh conditions
complicated the process.
It should be noted that the Ottoman government severely punished
those officials responsible for the sporadic killings, sending some
of them to the gallows.
It should also be noted that Ottoman Armenians living in Istanbul and
western Turkey were not affected at all, and that in 1918, the
Ottoman Empire granted permission to the displaced to return to their
homes. Thousands of them did.
In 1920, Armenians abandoned their claims on Turkey and proclaimed
the Republic of Armenia in the Caucasus as part of the Soviet Union.
In 1922, the Ottoman Empire faded into history.
The Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923.More than 100,000 Turkish
citizens of Armenian descent live in today’s Turkey. They are
hard-working, well-liked people who make valuable contributions to
that beautiful country.
Regardless of accusations and counter-accusations surrounding the
conflicts between the Turks and the Armenians, we sincerely express
our feelings of regret over the sad events that took place 90 years
ago and which culminated in the death of large numbers of Turks and
Armenians alike.
We also regret that members of the Armenian diaspora are
misinterpreting those events by labelling them a genocide. We feel
that even the death of one Armenian or one Turk was too many. Turks
and Armenians had lived under the same flag for several centuries.
As Turkish Canadians, we reiterate our wish to see the establishment
of peaceful and healthy dialogue between the Armenians and the Turks.
We also reiterate our desire to see the formation of a joint group of
historians to conduct scholarly research on the issue, under the
light of fairness and within the framework of international law.
Gerard Emin Battika is honorary consul-general of Turkey in Montreal.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress