TURKEY CAN’T HIDE FROM ITS PAST
Harry Sterling, Citizen Special
Ottawa Citizen
May 11, 2006 Thursday
Final Edition
‘The Armenian claims are a direct attack on our identity, on Turkey’s
history.”
With these words Turkish embassy counsellor Yonet Tezel explained his
government’s decision to recall its ambassador to Canada, Aydemir
Erman, for “consultations.” The move followed recent remarks by
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper associating his government with
Canadian parliamentary resolutions describing the deaths of 1.5 million
Armenians in Turkey during the First World War as an act of genocide.
Turkey has made a similar move against the French government for
contemplating a proposed law making denial of the Armenian genocide
a crime.
As a further indication of its displeasure, Turkey has announced
it is cancelling participation of Turkish fighter aircraft in an
international military air exercise May 17 to June 24 in Cold Lake,
Alta.
Despite its actions directed at Ottawa and Paris, Turkish authorities
stressed the recalls were only “… for a short time for consultations
over the latest developments about the baseless allegations of
Armenian genocide.”
While the statement by the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan was essentially pro-forma, for many it was indicative of
Turkey’s inability to confront an issue that is never going to go
away until the Turks come to terms with it.
Turkish governments have always maintained that the large-scale
deaths of Armenians during the First World War and after occurred
when the then-Ottoman government was trying to put down Armenian
nationalists aligned with invading Russian forces and was not an act
of premeditated genocide. They also insist the figure of 1.5 million
deaths is inflated and that during that turbulent period hundreds of
thousands of Turks in eastern Turkey also died.
While these explanations are widely shared by the Turkish population,
some Turks have called for a more open-minded approach to the issue,
including Turkey’s internationally recognized author Orhan Pamuk.
He was subjected to widespread criticism and physical threats for
commenting during an interview about the Armenian genocide and
repression of the country’s Kurdish minority, both considered taboo
subjects, especially by Turkish nationalists. He was charged with
denigrating the nation and faced a stiff prison sentence. However,
as a result of international pressure, particularly from the European
Union — which Turkey wants to join — the government dropped the
charges on technical grounds.
A number of Turkish academics have also voiced support for examining
the genocide issue with more of an open mind. One way to do this would
be to open up Ottoman-era archives and other documentary sources,
including Russian military reports that might shed light on what took
place during fighting in the region.
Investigations carried out by German and U.S. analysts concerning the
deaths concluded that the catastrophic defeat of Turkish troops engaged
against Russian forces during the early stages of the First World
War, and the Turkish army’s claim it had been stabbed in the back by
Armenian nationalists, resulted in the Turkish military disarming and
executing countless Armenian men as traitors, regardless of whether
they were engaged in an anti-Turkish insurgency.
The Turkish army purportedly then rounded up Armenian women and
children, ordering their deportation via the Syrian Desert, resulting
in massive deaths.
Turkish authorities dispute such findings, maintaining there was
no official policy to exterminate Armenians and that most deaths
were caused during the deportation to Syria due to lack of adequate
provisions at a chaotic time in eastern Anatolia.
Notwithstanding contradictory views on what transpired nine decades
ago, what is incomprehensible to many outside Turkey is why current-day
Turks are unable to look back on those horrific developments in a
more balanced fashion, instead of insisting Armenian claims have
absolutely no foundation in truth.
One reason that has been cited concerns the Turkish military, seen as
the true power in Turkey. The modern-day Turkish military founded by
Kemal Ataturk has always seen itself as the defender not just of the
country’s independence, but also of its national honour and dignity.
The Turkish officer caste takes its role in society extremely
seriously, even executing a prime minister for allegedly endangering
the stability of the state. Anything that could raise doubts or
undermine the military’s ability to present itself as guardian of
Turkey’s national honour and territorial integrity, or which portrays
Turks behaving in a barbaric fashion, is unacceptable.
This, some claim, is why it’s near impossible to confront the realities
behind the tragic fate of Turkey’s Armenian population 90 years ago
— or Turkey’s treatment of its Kurdish population — since it could
undermine Turkey’s own idealized perception of itself as a modern,
liberal society.
But like Germany, Turkey must confront the realities of the past if
it expects to be accepted as a nation capable of dealing open-mindedly
with its own history, however disagreeable that might be.
Harry Sterling, a former diplomat, is an Ottawa-based commentator. He
served in Turkey.

PARLIAMENT DELEGATION TO TRAVEL TO FRANCE TO WORK AGAINST ARMENIAN BILL
Anatolian Times, Turkey
May 9 2006
Press Review
Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc said yesterday that a delegation of
four parliamentarians is planning to travel to France tomorrow.
Speaking to reporters, Arinc, currently paying an official visit
to Sweden, stated that France’s Parliament is set to debate a bill
concerning the so-called Armenian genocide on May 18, adding that
the Turkish parliamentarians will hold a series of talks with their
France counterparts to convince them not to pass the bill. Regarding
the issue, Arinc also sent a message to France Parliament Speaker
Jean-Louis Debre last month.

TURKEY’S PARIS, OTTAWA ENVOYS RETURN TO POSTS IN GENOCIDE ROW
Agence France Presse — English
May 11, 2006 Thursday 1:56 PM GMT
Turkey’s ambassadors to Canada and France have returned to their
posts after being been recalled over disagreements on whether the
massacres of Armenians during World War I constitute genocide,
a Turkish diplomat said Thursday.
Ambassador to Paris Osman Koruturk and Aydemir Erman, the ambassador
to Ottawa, “have returned” to their posts after talks with Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and foreign ministry officials,
the diplomat told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The foreign ministry said Monday that the two had been summoned to
Ankara “for a short time” for consultations.
Turkey has warned Paris that bilateral ties will suffer if the French
National Assembly adopts a bill that would make it a punishable
offence to “deny the existence of the 1915 Armenian genocide”.
A first reading of the bill, proposed by the opposition Socialist
Party, is scheduled for May 18.
“I believe the French parliament will probably not introduce the
so-called Armenian genocide like a virus between two countries that
have such important ties. I believe common sense will prevail,”
Erdogan told reporters Wednesday.
If approved, the bill, which follows a 2001 French law officially
recognising the Armenian massacres as genocide, would provide for
five years in jail and a 45,000-euro (57,000-dollar) fine for any
person who denies that the 1915-1917 massacres constitute genocide.
Turkey was also angered when Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper
referred to the “Armenian genocide” as fact in a statement during
commemorations of the 91st anniversary of the killings on April 24.
The foreign ministry said at the time that Harper’s words were
“appalling” and would “negatively affect” bilateral ties.
In protest, Turkey withdrew from a planned multi-nation military
exercise to be held in Canada, officials in Ottawa said Wednesday.
In 2002, the Canadian Senate recognised the massacres as the first
genocide of the 20th century and the House of Commons followed suit
two years later.
Armenians claim up to 1.5 million of their kin were slaughtered in
orchestrated killings between 1915 and 1917, as the Ottoman Empire,
modern Turkey’s predecessor, was falling apart.
Turkey rejects the claim, saying 300,000 Armenians and at least
as many Turks died in civil strife when the Armenians took up arms
for independence in eastern Anatolia and sided with Russian troops
invading Ottoman soil.

RESCUERS REFINE DATA ON COORDINATES OF ARMENIAN JET’S BLACK BOXES
by Dmitry Nezdorovin
ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 11, 2006 Thursday 04:37 PM EST
Rescuers working in the area of last week’s crash of the Armenian
Airlines A-320 jet’s that occurred off the shores of Russian Black
Sea beach city of Sochi have refined the data on coordinates of the
airliner’s flight recorders that are lying on the seabed about 500
meters deep and roughly six kilometers away from the coast.
“We can say now with a big degree of confidence the flight recorders
of the A-20 jet that crashed May 3 are indeed lying on the seabed,”
a source at the operative staff coordinating support to the rescue
operation said.
An additional telemetric research has been scheduled for Friday.
Early data indicates the flight recorders are found at the depth
of 496 meters and the distance between them is about five meters,
the source said.

TURKISH AMBASSADORS TO FRANCE, CANADA RETURN TO POSTS
Xinhua News Agency
May 11, 2006 Thursday 10:30 AM EST
Turkish ambassadors to France and Canada returned to their posts on
Thursday after consultations in Ankara regarding Armenian genocide
allegations, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.
The two ambassadors have been recalled to Ankara early this week for
consultations over recent Armenian genocide allegations in France
and Canada.
Turkey is exerting efforts in diplomatic, political and economic
channels against a bill to be voted by the French parliament on May
18, which will criminalize any denial of the Armenian genocide at
the hands of the Turkish Ottoman Empire last century.
The bill, proposed by the main opposition Socialist Party in France,
will bring a fine of 45,000 Euros (57,000 U.S. dollars) and a prison
sentence to those who deny the Armenian genocide.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that he
believed a common sense would eventually win out as French- Turkish
relations were not “ordinary bilateral relations.”
Erdogan’s remarks came as a French parliamentary commission rejected
the bill on the same day. However, the possibility of adoption still
seems high, the Turkish Daily News reported Thursday.
On April 24, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper referred to the
“Armenian genocide” as a fact in a statement, which exasperated Turkey.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said that Harper’s words were ” appalling”
and would “negatively affect” bilateral ties.
In 2001, Turkey cancelled millions of dollars worth of defense deals
with France companies after French lawmakers recognized such an
killing as genocide.
Armenians claim that as many as 1.5 million of their kin were
slaughtered in orchestrated killings between 1915 and 1917, a claim
rejected by Turkey.
The Turkish government has called for forming a joint research
commission of Turkish and Armenian historians to investigate the issue.

LA TURQUIE PRESSE LES ENTREPRENEURS FRANCAIS DE S’OPPOSER A UNE PROPOSITION DE LOI SUR LE GENOCIDE ARMENIEN
Le Monde, France
11 mai 2006
Les representants de 22 entreprises francaises operant en Turquie ont
ete recus, mardi 9 mai, par le premier ministre turc, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, qui les a encourages a exprimer leur opposition a l’adoption
d’une proposition de loi du PS sur la question du genocide d’Armeniens
– elle sera soumise aux deputes francais le 18 mai.
La Turquie avait averti la France, la semaine dernière, que les
relations bilaterales pourraient souffrir de ” dommages incalculables
” si le Parlement francais votait cette proposition de loi.
La chambre de commerce francaise en Turquie a adresse, lundi 8 mai,
une lettre a Jacques Chirac lui enjoignant d’intervenir pour eviter
cette adoption.
–Boundary_(ID_B+Gok9SbhYwZCDh1q2LXMQ)- –

“GENOCIDE” ARMENIEN: LA TURQUIE BOYCOTTE UN EXERCICE MILITAIRE AU CANADA
Agence France Presse
10 mai 2006 mercredi 9:51 PM GMT
La Turquie a decide de se retirer d’un prochain exercice militaire
international au Canada, selon le ministère canadien de la Defense,
protestant ainsi contre la position d’Ottawa sur le “genocide”
armenien.
“La Turquie a averti les organisateurs de l’exercice Maple Flag
qu’elle ne participerait pas a celui-ci cette annee”, a declare a
l’AFP cette porte-parole.
“La Turquie est un important allie de l’Otan et nous esperons qu’elle
participera aux futurs exercices”, a-t-elle ajoute.
Un diplomate turc a Ottawa, qui a demande a conserver l’anonymat,
a reconnu que la decision traduisait la mauvaise humeur d’Ankara a la
suite de declarations du Premier ministre Stephen Harper. “C’est lie”,
a-t-il dit.
Le 21 avril, le Premier ministre canadien Stephen Harper avait salue
la commemoration du “genocide armenien de 1915”, piquant au vif la
Turquie qui s’etait dite “consternee” par ces propos.
Ankara avait annonce lundi le rappel pour consultations de ses
ambassadeurs au Canada et en France en raison de desaccords avec ces
pays sur la qualification des massacres d’Armeniens sous l’empire
ottoman pendant la première Guerre mondiale.
Les Armeniens affirment que jusqu’a 1,5 million des leurs ont peri
dans un genocide orchestre par l’empire ottoman (1915-1917).
Ankara soutient que 300.000 Armeniens et au moins autant de Turcs ont
ete tues au cours de troubles suscites par des soulèvements d’Armeniens
et leur ralliement aux armees russes en guerre contre l’empire ottoman,
et lors des deportations qui ont suivi.
L’Operation Maple Flag, un exercice de combat aerien d’une duree
de six semaines, doit reunir a partir de dimanche en Alberta plus
de 5.000 militaires et une quarantaine de chasseurs de neuf pays,
dont la France, les Etats-Unis, le Royaume-Uni et la Suisse.
–Boundary_(ID_cuGGMeaO0yfoQa1FTp831g)–

LE PARLEMENT BULGARE REJETTE UN TEXTE RECONNAISSANT LE GENOCIDE ARMENIEN
Agence France Presse
10 mai 2006 mercredi
Le parlement bulgare a rejete mercredi un projet de loi soumis par le
parti ultra-nationaliste Ataka (Attaque) et demandant la reconnaissance
du massacre des Armeniens en 1915 comme un “genocide” qui a eu lieu
sous l’Empire ottoman, predecesseur de la Turquie.
81 deputes sur les 170 presents au parlement qui compte 240 sièges
ont vote contre le projet de loi, 56 l’ont soutenu et 33 deputes se
sont abstenus.
Ataka a aussi demande au parlement de declarer le 24 mai “jour de
commemoration pour les victimes du genocide armenien sous l’Empire
ottoman”, indique le texte du projet.
La coalition dirigee par les socialistes a rejete le projet et des
deputes de gauche ont indique que, selon eux, cette initiative pourrait
rendre tendues les relations bilaterales avec la Turquie et au sein
du gouvernement tripartite dont fait partie un parti de la minorite
turque de Bulgarie.
Les Armeniens declarent que quelque 1,5 million d’Armeniens ont
ete massacres entre 1915 et 1917 lorsque l’Empire ottoman fut en
desagregation.
La Turquie, successeur de l’Empire, rejette categoriquement le point
de vue armenien.
La France, la Grande-Bretagne et la Russie ont recemment reconnu le
“genocide” armenien et Paris a propose un projet de loi selon lequel
ceux qui nient ce genocide seraient sanctionnes. Ankara a mis en garde
contre une telle decision qui causerait des “dommages incalculables”
aux relations bilaterales.
–Boundary_(ID_L36O32hhm5aY2sgWa8t8m A)–

LA TURQUIE APPELLE LA FRANCE A BLOQUER LA LOI SUR LE GENOCIDE ARMENIEN
Agence France Presse
10 mai 2006 mercredi
Le Premier ministre turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan a appele mercredi la
France a bloquer la proposition de loi qui vise a poursuivre toute
personne niant l’existence du genocide armenien (1915-1917) et mis
en garde contre ses consequences sur les relations bilaterales.
“Les liens entre la Turquie et la France ne sont pas des relations
banales. Ils remontent au 19ème siècle et les entreprises francaise
sont actuellement au premier rang parmi les investisseurs en Turquie”,
a dit M. Erdogan a la presse.
“Je pense que le Parlement francais ne va probablement pas injecter
le soi-disant genocide armenien comme un virus entre nos deux pays,
unis par des liens aussi importants. Je pense que le bon sens va
l’emporter”, a-t-il ajoute.
M. Erdogan s’exprimait avant son depart pour Vienne où il doit assister
au sommet UE-Amerique latine jeudi au cours duquel il est prevu qu’il
rencontre des dirigeants francais pour discuter du problème.
La Turquie, qui nie categoriquement que les Armeniens aient ete
victimes d’un genocide, s’inquiète des debats de l’assemblee nationale
francaise et a rappele lundi son ambassadeur pour des consultations.
Le texte, s’il est approuve, prevoit un an d’emprisonnement et
une amende de 45.000 euros (57.000 dollars) pour les auteurs de
declarations niant que les massacres d’Armeniens soient un genocide.
Il prend la suite d’une precedente loi, votee en 2001, qui a
officiellement reconnu que les massacres constituaient un genocide.
Il a ete propose par des membres de l’opposition socialiste (PS)
et arrive en première lecture a l’assemblee le 18 mai.
Les Armeniens estiment avoir perdu jusqu’a 1,5 million des leurs lors
de massacres orchestres entre 1915 et 1917, au moment de la chute de
l’empire ottoman.
La Turquie affirme au contraire que 300.000 Armeniens et au moins
autant de Turcs sont morts dans des combats entre civils lorsque
les Armeniens ont pris les armes pour reclamer l’independance dans
l’est de l’Anatolie et apporte leur soutien aux troupes russes lors
de l’invasion de l’empire ottoman.
–Boundary_(ID_WOjbc9+a2DVmxsM1+WzgGQ)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GENOCIDE ARMENIEN: REACTION DE SERGE KLARSFELD AUX CRITIQUES D’HISTORIENS
Agence France Presse
10 mai 2006 mercredi
L’association des Fils et Filles des deportes juifs de France de Serge
Klarsfeld, qui soutient une proposition de loi socialiste visant a
sanctionner la negation du genocide armenien, a critique mercredi
les historiens qui appellent a cesser de “jouer avec les memoires”.
“La loi doit dire l’histoire quand il s’agit de genocides dont les
auteurs ou les partisans s’acharnent a nier l’existence et parviennent
a persuader les dirigeants de pays comme la Turquie et l’Iran de
partager leur negationnisme a l’encontre des Armeniens et des juifs”,
selon un communique de cette association.
“Le lobby d’historiens qui exige que l’on cesse de +jouer avec
les memoires+ soutient avec arrogance que +la loi ne saurait
dire l’histoire+”, poursuit le communique, “la juste reponse des
parlementaires dans cette lutte pour la verite et la morale politique
sera le vote de l’Assemblee nationale pour sanctionner la negation
du genocide armenien”.
Dans une tribune publiee mercredi par le quotidien Liberation,
l’historien Jean-Pierre Azema denonce, au nom de membres de
l’association Liberte pour l’histoire qui avait lance une petition en
decembre, “les lois +memorielles+ qui pretendent imposer un jugement
historique” et interpelle les deputes en leur lancant: “Cessez de
jouer avec les memoires”.
Il incrimine notamment une proposition de loi socialiste completant
la loi du 29 janvier 2001 qui reconnaît le genocide armenien de 1915,
en prevoyant des sanctions penales contre sa negation.
Elle devrait venir en discussion publique a l’Assemblee le 18 mai. Le
texte a ete rejete de fait mercredi par la commission des Lois,
qui n’est pas passee a l’examen de l’article unique du texte.
–Boundary_(ID_ciwmI2Pj8UMkCxHfWHU6yg)–