Hayk Demoyan

Dr. Hayk Demoyan is the Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute in Yerevan, Armenia, a post he has held since 2005. The Museum-Institute’s aim is to accurately document and illustrate all materials related to the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923.

Writing

Ten Suggestions And More Commissions For Turkey To Face Its Own History

Noyan Tapan 2012-01-22 22:24:17

Hayk Demoyan, Director of Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute (AGMI)

Museum G-Brief

The landmark decision made by the Lower House of the French Parliament on penalization of the Armenian Genocide denial provoked an impressive and harsh reaction from the Turkish political circles illustrated with aggressive connote-tions in their rhetoric. Indeed, the French law with all chan-ces to be affirmed by Senate sounds like an anathema for Turkey, a country which desires to ascribe itself a new role and activities as a regional power with ambitious projects.

Once again the Turkish leadership faced enormous humiliation and reacted very nervously realizing that the French bill may create a domino effect for new recognitions of the Armenian Genocide and criminalization of the denial of the Turkish atrocities committed during the WWI. Ankara's disappointment is doubled since the state-sponsored denial campaign and face-saving proposal for establishment of the commission of historians are in limbo.

Thus, as a substitute, Ankara has launched a new campaign of sympathy which is intent on putting forward such or similar proposals from the mouths of foreign leaders. Despite the fact that the very idea of the commission of historians and accusation that Armenia has territorial claims from Turkey is already proven to be a bluff, some leaders in order to please panicked Turkish officials willingly became victims of Turkish tricks. It is especially bizarre that the Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey states "the historians would then contribute to discussions with their findings", (Swissinfo, December 26, 2011). It is clear that Turkey wants to take from dead protocols what is desired, and avoid the unpleasant responsibilities. The idea fix of the Turkish side is to make Armenian Genocide a subject for endless debates at the same time ignoring historical facts and academic findings on the subject, which has long concluded that Armenian Genocide is a classical example of state organized genocide, a statement made primarily by Rafael Lemkin, a Jewish lawyer who coined the term genocide and gave legal explanations to it back in 1944, thus paving the way for Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Recently Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that the main obstacles to Turkey to become "one of the world's most powerful states is that it can't face up to its past, history, taboos and fears", (Asbarez, November 23, 2011) Like a mantra Turkish leaders and government-associated intellectuals do not stop dealing with its own past via a common practice called - escaping from the truth via denying what happened. The very idea of the commission of historians which is clearly political rather than academic offer is intended to be a trap, striving to receive the rejection of the Armenian side, and at the same time to get a positive stance towards this idea from the world. This goes hand in hand with nervous attempts of the Turkish side to blame on victims for committing mass killings of Turks, a trick, which is very common approach in almost all genocidal crimes and attempts to justify perpetrators.

On November 23, 2011, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan while referring to the Dersim killings of Kurds back in 1930s said "the most tragic incident of our near past." While apologizing for Dersim killings Ankara consciously or not slightly linked itself with the Armenian Genocide since many of those who were massacred in Dersim and surrounding territories were Armenian survivors of the Genocide (committed by Young Turks and Kemalist forces between 1915-1922), who found refuge among friendly Kurds. Another shocking confession by the Turkish PM: ...It is a disaster that should now be questioned with courage. The party that should confront this incident is not the ruling Justice and Development Party [AK Party]. It is the CHP, which is behind this bloody disaster, who should face this incident and its chairman from Tunceli." (www.eurasianet.org, November 23, 2011).

Leaving aside political accents of the statement one could say that while criticizing the Republican People's Party (RPP) led by Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, Erdogan again points to the Armenian Genocide crimes as well, since many leaders who joined Kemal Ataturk's team were members of the Ittihadist party, and directly were involved in decision making and perpetration of the Armenian Genocide.

Moreover, during the Dersim crimes RPP was the sole party in the country, as was Ittihad ve Terakki during the WWI when the Genocides against Armenians and other Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire were being committed.

Herewith, I would like to set a symbolic roadmap for the Turkish side on what should be done before rising the issue of necessity of the discussion of the Armenian Genocide and better preparation for discussion of unpleasant and intention-nally hidden pages of the Turkish history.

Hence I do hope that the following tips could be very useful to follow:

1. It is an urgent need to revise Kemalist heritage in the social and intellection debates, especially in terms of lifting a Soviet-like ban on discussion historical events and censoring memory;

2. It is urgent to eliminate Procrustean Article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code on insulting the Turkish nation and give a real chance for Turkish academicians, journalists to express their opinions freely, with no fears of being punished for their opinions and judgments;

3. To enable Turkish and foreign researchers to conduct their studies freely, it is strongly suggested that Ankara should open Turkish archives fully, among them the archives of the General staff, declassifying those materials which are related to hearings of the Turkish military courts in 1919-1922, which sentenced the main criminals responsible for perpetration of the Armenian Genocide to death;

4. It is necessary for Turkey to take real measure for prevention of further destruction of the cultural monuments of the Armenian heritage or erasing the cultural markers under the pretext of their restoration. From this point one more important gesture would be welcomed if Ankara orders to remove also Turkish flags from the Armenian monuments, especially from those churches which were turned into military depot;

5. It is strongly suggested that the hatred and xenophobia against the Armenians and national minorities living on the territory of Turkey should be removed from the Turkish textbooks. It is important also to cease any politically motivated denial campaign in the Turkish schools;

6. Stop financial activities in hiring scholars to deny the Armenian Genocide and while doing so denying the inseparable part of the Turkish history: Arme-nian Genocide is not only part of the Armenian history and memory, but also the Turkish one;

7. Accept internationally recognized and scholarly accepted definition for "tragic events of 1915" and recognize the crimes committed by Turkey in the past as Genocide and cease all attempts to deny it;

8. Consider the Armenian Genocide, as well as genocidal activities against other indigenous people of Anatolia, such as Greeks and Assyrians, as a shameful page of the Turkish history and be ready for apologizing without any reservations and linguistic exercises;

9. While recognizing and apologizing for the committed genocidal crimes, Turkey must be ready for elimination of the consequences of the genocide committed and undertake necessary measures for preparing Turkish society for such developments;

10. It would be great step for Ankara to deal with Armenian Genocide issue while accepting the following motto with four important notions: RECOGNITION, CONDEMNATION, APOLO-GY AND ELIMINATION OF CONCEQUEN-CES OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE.

In the end I would like to suggest several proposals on possible commissions which could be useful to and will enable Turkey to face with its own history. The following proposals would be important for further reconciliation of the Turkish society with its own history and memory rather to be solely focused on questionable Turkish-Armenian commission of historians. Let Turkey set commissions with following nomination:

a. Turkish-Armenian, Turkish-EU and Turkish-Syrian commissions on border issues;

b. Turkish-Cypriot commission on war crimes of the Turkish armed forces in Cyprus in 1974;

c. Turkish-Greek commission on compensation of Greek victims of the state organized pogroms of 1955 in Istanbul;

d. Turkey-NATO commission on training of Azerbaijani officers on the territory of occupied Northern Cyprus;

e. Jewish-Turkish commission on forcible exile and violation of the rights of Jews of Trace in early 1930s;

f. Turkish-Kurdish commission on compensation as a result of forced resettlement of Kurdish citizens.

g. Turkish-Armenian commission on the elimination of the consequences of the Armenian Genocide

Is that enough until the centennial of the Turkish Republic in 2023?

I do think that it is more than enough...