So the fact that the Turkish government today, which is the heir to Kemal Pasha, denies that a genocide has taken place is something that I simply cannot understand. The evidence is absolutely overwhelming. There are tens of thousands, quite literally, reports in Austrian, German, French, and American archives that testify -- because, you know, until there were American representatives in Turkey before America entered the war. They reported back what was happening, what they literally saw around them.
So, the evidence is just huge. And there are some really courageous Turkish academics who deal with that problem; but there are people who will deny anything. And to me, a denial of a genocide is a denial of all genocides, and so I cannot accept that.
I had quite a run-in with some Turkish representatives of the past years, and I really consider myself a friend of Turkey; you know, I greatly appreciate Turkish culture and Turkish history. The Turks were extremely friendly to Jews in the wake of the expulsion of Jews from Spain.
Their role in World War II is problematic, but there were individual Turkish diplomats who risked their lives to rescue Jews. So, to say that I have anything against Turks or Turkey would be simply wrong. I am a great admirer of Turkey. But a denial of the Armenian genocide is something that no honest academic can suffer, can stand.
Yet, the momentum need also comes from within Turkish society itself. The voices present at Sultanahmet Square earlier this year need to be heard; or, better put, allowed to be heard, considering Article and its accompanying democratic restrictions. Taken together, criticism must go to state policies of non-recognition, which only serve to aid socially and politically destructive denial of a historical legacy.
Domestic Politics of Denial On 24 th April , Armenians, Turks and Kurds gathered in Taksim Square, Istanbul, to commemorate the chilling events of years prior: the destruction of Armenian Christians, otherwise known as the second Genocide of the twentieth century. International Dynamics of Non Recognition Currently, twenty-seven countries, along with the Vatican and the European Parliament, have passed resolutions, laws or declarations, which, in line with the consensus of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, recognise the historical deportations and massacres of Armenian Christians as a Genocide.
Bio Latest Posts. Latest posts by Sean Stout see all. Why study democracy promotion negotiation? The Pope "overlooked atrocities that Turks and Muslims suffered in World War One and only highlighted the Christian suffering, especially that of the Armenian people", the Turkish foreign ministry said. France has a large Armenian diaspora and since it has officially commemorated "the Armenian genocide" on 24 April, including a ceremony at a Paris monument. The killings are regarded as the seminal event of modern Armenian history, binding the diaspora together.
Armenians are one of the world's most dispersed peoples. In Turkey, public debate on the issue has been stifled. Article of the penal code, on "insulting Turkishness", has been used to prosecute prominent writers who highlight the mass killings of Armenians. A teenage ultra-nationalist, Ogun Samast, was jailed for nearly 23 years in July for murdering Dink, a Turkish-Armenian who edited a bilingual newspaper.
And in March two Turkish ex-police chiefs were jailed for life over the murder of Dink. The European Union has said Turkish acceptance of the Armenian genocide is not a condition for Turkey's entry into the bloc. Yes - they have no official diplomatic ties.
After decades of hostility there was a slight thaw, but since there has been no real rapprochement. In a six-week war over Nagorno-Karabakh aggravated Armenian-Turkish tension. Turkey backed Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory inside Azerbaijan held by ethnic Armenians since a war in the s. Azerbaijan made big territorial gains and pushed Armenian forces out of adjacent areas. Weeks before the outbreak of fighting in September Turkey had held large-scale military exercises with Azerbaijan.
Why did Armenia and Azerbaijan go to war? Turkey retaliates for French bill. Turkey's Armenian dilemma. Europe diary: Historical guilt. Armenian diaspora bound by killings. Fears of Turkey's 'invisible' Armenians. Turkey bans 'genocide' conference.
Armenian quest for lost orphans. Image source, Library of Congress. Arguments have raged for decades about the Armenian deaths in What happened?
0コメント