Al-Monitor
April 25 2013
Turkey Should Acknowledge The Armenian Genocide
By: Yavuz Baydar for Al-Monitor Turkey Pulse
Every year passing, they are more in number. When Turks began
commemorating April 24, 1915 ‘ the day symbolizing the mass
deportations and annihilation of Ottoman Armenians ‘ four years ago in
Istanbul, those who attended the gathering were around 700. Yesterday,
in six cities, more than 3,000 were present.
This time the organizers ‘ “Dur De,” the anti hate-speech campaign and
various human rights groups ‘ were joined by a large foreign
delegation comprising 20 anti-racist and Armenian representatives from
15 countries, including the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU),
Young Professionals from Bulgaria, the “Roma Center” in Romania, and
the European Grassroots Antiracist Movement (EGAM).
There were some clashes in Ä°zmir and small disturbances in Istanbul,
but the police were determined that the events take place safely,
protecting the mourners.
The April 24 gatherings this year overlapped with the large
mobilization nationwide to end the 30-year Kurdish conflict, adding an
extra dimension. In many ways, Turkey’s glasnost since 2002 unleashed
dynamics that seem irreversible.
With the genies of the country’s oppressive past out of the bottle,
the push forward to a confrontation with the truth has now a
continuity, bringing along promises ‘ however faint ‘ of a closure.
One of the most striking sayings given birth by Turkish glasnost was,
“In this country, Armenians have desperately been trying to prove that
they were killed and gone, while its Kurds are desperately trying to
prove that they exist; that they are alive.” It tells of a hidden
past, an episode of looting and extermination, which the rulers
managed to sweep under the carpet, keeping an entire nation under mass
hypnosis for decades. The same went for the denial of the Kurdish
identity, which has led to numerous bloody uprisings.
Yet, the bitter truth has crept in, as it usually does, in its own
obstinate ways. The existence of the Kurds ‘ around 14 million,
according to a respected pollster, KONDA ‘ pushed their cause to the
current peace talks, demolishing all the taboos left on the subject.
The Armenian question has had to take a tougher path: It began slowly
to enter the awareness in late 1970s and has built up since 2002, as
the AKP took over, accelerating with Turkey’s EU membership process.
It was carried through by a tiny, but bold group of intellectuals in
the media and academia, later by growing numbers of NGOs by way of
conferences, memoirs, networks, books and collections of oral history.
The heinous assassination of our colleague, Hrant Dink, in January
2007, only helped to raise the issue higher in the national agenda;
waking up the conscientious portion of the pious, bringing them into
the debate over the pitch-black episodes of the late Ottoman history.
Curiousity about the subject has risen, as books by well-known
Armenian and international genocide scholars were published; and a new
generation of Turkish researchers were now busy digging in the various
dimensions. The challenge to the official denial has become real.
Yet, today, in the immediate aftermath of April 24, 2013, the question
is not how much closer the Turks have advanced toward the truth, but
whether or not the Turkish state is ready for any acknowledgment of
past wrongdoing.
Despite the fact that many in the media ‘ including myself ‘ have been
gently, but resolutely warning Ankara that the 100th anniversary of
the Great Armenian Tragedy (Aghet), the mass-deportation in 1915 that
in the end turned into a genocidal act, presents not a threat but a
great opportunity to confront the truth, by an apology, both over the
act itself, and over the decades-long, categorical, obstinate denial.
In this sense, needless to say, the social progress is ahead of the
official sphere. But, all the work on memory and NGO work, and April
24 anniversaries will not cut it. As the clock ticks, the world will
be watching what Ankara’s response to the expectations will be.
An important dynamic is stuck between Turkey and its ally, the US.
Every April 24, Ankara lends a nervous ear to what the US president
will have to say about the matter. The only focus is on whether the
g-word will be uttered, or not.
Every year the sigh over the absence of it looks like more than an
apology is issued by Ankara. It has turned into a farce, a painful
wordplay.
The famous absence continued again this year. President Barack Obama,
very real-politik conscious, avoided the term genocide, but actually
went beyond, when he mentioned `those who perished in one of the
‘worst atrocities of the 20th century.'”
`We pause to reflect on the lives extinguished and remember the
unspeakable suffering that occurred. In so doing, we are joined by
millions across the world and in the United States, where it is
solemnly commemorated by our states, institutions, communities, and
families. We also remind ourselves of our commitment to ensure that
such dark chapters of history are not repeated,’ he said.
He also implicitly urged Turkey to face its past and acknowledge
painful elements. `Nations grow stronger by acknowledging and
reckoning with painful elements of the past, thereby building a
foundation for a more just and tolerant future.’
It has not taken a long time before Ankara responded based on a
well-known template, reacting strongly against Obama’s statement.
It read: “US President Obama has unfortunately demonstrated this year
once again a one-sided approach which reflects the Armenian views
regarding the dispute between Turks and Armenians on the painful part
of their common history. We regard this statement, which distorts the
historical facts, as problematic in every aspect and deeply regret it.
¦ Such statements damage both Turkish-American relations, and also
render it more difficult for Turks and Armenians to reach a just
memory.”
The current version of annual American-Turkish exchange offers the
following interpretation: While the American side stays at the same
level in its frustration at Turkey’s denial, the new element in the
Turkish statement is the term “just memory.”
It means the following: Realizing the inevitable fact of the tragedy
of the Ottoman Armenians and the role of the ruthless Turkish
nationalist military command of that era, Ankara is now busy preparing
for 2015 on the premise that World War I caused an an immense trauma
to the Muslim subjects of the Ottoman Empire, which it will push the
Armenians today to acknowledge.
Of course, it will be perceived by the latter as a new attempt to
equalize the huge suffering of unarmed civilians with the suffering of
warriors.
The strategy of Ankara is already obvious. But it is highly doubtful
that it will be a game-changer for 2015. One can already take it for
granted that the ghosts of the past will not change their lamenting
choreography.
Yavuz Baydar is a contributing writer for Al-Monitor’s Turkey Pulse. A
journalist since 1979, he has been a radio reporter, news presenter,
producer, TV host, foreign correspondent, debater and, in recent
years, a news ombudsmen for the daily Sabah. His opinion pieces can be
followed in the English-language daily Today’s Zaman. Baydar also
contributes as a frequent commentator for BBC World, Swedish Radio-TV,
NPR, Russian TV and Al Jazeera. A former president of the World
Organisation of News Ombudsmen, he is a member of the World Editors
Forum, the Committee of Concerned Journalists and the UNESCO National
Committee of Communications.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/04/armenian-genocide-1915-turkey-defiant.html