Solidarity with the Victims of All Genocides,
c/o The Temple of Peace, Cardiff
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 077189892732
The link between Genocide Denial and present Human Rights abuses in
Turkey investigated in the UK Parliament
Last week a Conference took place in the Portculis House annexe of the
Houses of Parkiament in which the academic researcher, author and
organizer of the 24th April Genocide Conference in Ankara, Said
Cetinoglu delivered a speech which showed continuity in the genocidal
policies of Turkey. He had already published a book “The Malta
Documents” in which he showed that those court-marshalled after the
First World War for their responsibility for the mass killings of
Armenians in 1915, were released from British custody and went on to
become prominent figures in the new Turkish Republic .He concentrated
this time on a tax, the Wealth Tak or Capital Tax,during the second
world war, aimed at terrorrising the remainming minorities, and
resulting in deportations and death.
The legitimacy of Turkey’s borders questioned
Eilian Williams then went on to analyze the status of “Turkish”
Armenia in the light of the events of the past week in the
Mediterranian. He condemned the hypocricy of the Turkish government’s
policies on Palestine and Gaza, when it has been responsible for the
19 year old blockade of the Armenian republic as well as the ” Legal
Occupation” of Western Armenia.
He said : “The legitimacy of Turkey’s present borders, (as is the
legitimacy of the borders of several other countries) , is questionable
.But amongst all these other cases, the question mark hanging over
Turkey’s borders is quite unique. This “legitimacy” seems dependent on
the sucess of the 1915 Genocide of its Armenian and Syriac population,
and for the United Nations and other International bodies to continue to
ignore this fact is a serious handicap to their moral authority. The UN
and these other bodies have a thus a responsibility to the Islamized
Armenians of Turkey (those whose grandparents were forcibly converted
during the genocide) to ensure their welfare. The Lausanne Treaty,
signed by Britain and some of her allies, has condemned four generations
of “Crypto-Armenians” to the human suffering of Cultural Genocide At
least Palestinians are able to live openly without the need to deny
their identity. Whatever are the rights and wrongs of the Arab-Israeli
issue, it is unreasonable to consider Palestine as an occupied land
while denying that the same reality applies to Western, (or Turkish)
Armenia
It has been revealed that the Turkish government keep information on
Crypto-Armenians as being of possible danger to the state.The neuralgic
attittude of Turkey towards its minorities cannot be better illustrated
than here. Those whose only crime is that their grandparents were not
massacred in the genocide, are suspected as being of possible threat to
the Turkish State. This speaks volumes about Turkey’s guilt and fear of
eventual Justice”
A major exhibition was announced on Cultural Genocide in Western
Armenia to be held in Cardiff, Wales from 24th to 30-th September
The writer Desmond Fernandes then explored the continuing Human
Rights abuses in Turkey, in particular against its Kurdish population(
speech to be forwarded)
The meeting was hosted by Nia Griffith MP
Here is the speech by Sait Cetinoglu
The Mechanisms of Terrorizing Minorities: The Work Battalions and the
Capital Tax-Varlik Vergisi- in Turkey during the WWII.
Sait Cetinoglu
Historian, Free University- Ankara-Turkey.
What is the Capital (or Wealth)Tax-Varlik Vergisi?
The Capital Tax known as Varlik Vergisi, constitutes a black page in the
history of modern Turkey. It was implemented by the Turkish Government
under the pretext to control the prices of the goods and suppose to
prevent the accumulation of capital, without taking care of the increase
of the black market and the illegal profits. Then, in order to respond
to the reaction of the people and suppose to tax the excessive profits
and with this “innocent” reason implemented a heavy taxing of the
non-Muslim minorities with the purpose to exterminate their economic and
cultural existence, loot their properties and living means and in
parallel to Turkify the economy of the Country. This tax is a
continuation of the tradition of the Committee Union and Progress (CUP)
and has the structure of an ethnic cleansing whip. The law of Capital
Tax-Varlik Vergisi is entirely political and represents a pre-capitalist
implementation of a social transformation.
The Government of that time, with a very devious way succeeded to
divert the critics against her towards the non-Muslim citizens and
through this law achieved to destroy the minorities economically and
culturally in order to promote the ethnic homogenization. There was also
the reason that ethnic homogenization was achieved in the other parts of
the country and only in Istanbul that Greeks, Armenians and Jews were
not “diluted” yet.
By implementing the Law with an extremely unequal way between Muslims
and non-Muslims the minorities were “targeted” to a such degree that
when the President Ismet Inonu himself paid the tax was get upset, while
Fevzi Cakmak (The Chief of the Armed Forces) asked himself “Am I a
Giavour-infidel?” not being able to hide his rage and anger. According
to the narration by Faik Okte, one of the architects conceiving and
applying the Capital Tax, shows that for whoom the Tax was designed.
Fevzi Cakmak during the collection of the Tax said: “One of my aides
came to my office and expressed his disapproval to the fact that he is
obliged to pay tax together with the minority people who are black
marketers and merchants”.
Ferit Melen, one of the ex prime ministers, who has been an undisputable
factor of the non-ordinary periods, said that “through Varlik Vergisi
all the anti-minority goals were aimed to be realized simultaneously”.
Varlik Vergisi, as a tradition of the Union and Progress, has been one
of the most serious practices after the anti-Jewish pogroms of Thrace in
1934, the campaign “citizen speak Turkish” and the mobilization to work
battalions during 1941-42 of the minorities. These political practices
were aimed to show the minorities that they don’t have a place to live
in this land. Those they didn’t understand this act the 6-7 September
was applied, with a much more strength in order to “understand” it
clearly. The only choice minorities had was to leave the country by
abandoning their properties. Those Jews wanted to immigrate to the new
established State of Israel, in getting permit of leave had to abandon
all their properties. The Greek citizens which were “etablis” according
to Lausanne Treaty, when they were deported in 1964 had to abandon all
their movable and real estate properties. The Greek citizens whose
staying in Turkey were under the guarantee of the Lausanne Treaty, when
they were deported couldn’t receive anything from their properties with
them. They were thanking God for passing the border alive.
We can read the terrible writings of Fazil Ahmet Aykac, in the semi
official state journal Ulus in the context of that times atmosphere: “We
should know that this Tax more than a punishment to those have not
understood their limits, it was a colossal warning for those who dare
to forget”. The events of the night of 6 – 7/9/1955 can be understood as
an expression of this mentality. Akcaz notices that the Capital Tax it
is the point of the path stared in 1915.
Sergati was not able to afford the exile conditions in Askale and tried
to commit suicide and in the letter left to her wife expresses clearly
the conditions of the minorities in Turkey: “I don’t know if we will
return to our homes, all the time death above of us, please take care of
our children and go to a free country, here they will nothing more than
slaves”.
The signs of Capital Tax-Varlik Vergisi even today are deep. After so
many years the victims don’t want to speak about this tax. Still they
haven’t escaped of the fear of it. Because of this no research work can
describe the level of barbaric act of this Tax. Not any statistics and
analysis can reflect the pain of the victims totally. As a result of my
research I arrived to the conclusion that any analysis is insufficient.
This work is more concentrated on the political aspects of the Tax
rather than the statistical analysis.
Capital Tax is the final point of 1915 genocide. As the 1915 genocide,
it was implemented with the help of the opportunities presented by the
war time conditions.
The other important factor that we need to point out is the fact that
the 1915 genocide remained unpunished. If Malta had been be a Nurenberg
in 1920, there could be neither Jewish Holocaust nor the Capital Tax .
Unfortunately, the facts that the state which implemented the Capital
Tax was rewarded and remained unpunished due to real politics encouraged
and promoted the pogrom of 6/7 September. The UK archival documents
which have been recently found out indicate that UK consulate officials
provoked 6/7 September events.
Discrimination and ethnic cleansing policies against non-Turkish
subjects in the Ottoman Empire and its successor, the Republic of Turkey
were implemented with the encouragement of the West for the sake of real
politics. For this reason, the West and the United Kingdom which was the
hegemonic power of the period owe an apology because of these policies
against Armenians, Greeks and other people. The West should not forget
that it welcomed these people who were expelled from their territories
as cheap and insecure labor force, and it created capital accumulation
by exploiting these people who were forced to leave their destinies. The
West and UK have not paid this debt yet.
The pains and miseries of these people expelled from their historic
territories were forgotten for a long time but they have been opened for
discussions since 1965. The genocide which was made forgotten in Turkey
would be started to be discussed beginning with 1980’s. In these
discussions, I want to emphasize that the contribution of Belge
International Publication, in which I took part as an editor despite the
law suits that have been claimed and continue, has been very important.
“What happened in 1915: Denial and Confrontation” conference which we
organized in Ankara under the leadership of Ankara Freedom to Thought
Initiative and with the support of socialist circles showed how
difficult and dangerous discussing this topic is. Despite the fact that
we faced with tremendous obstacles, we as the socialists of Turkey
discussed this question for two days with oppressed, socialists and poor
people of Turkey and scholars from Turkey and abroad.
From: A. Papazian