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Turkey's challenge to the Armenians
Mehmet Ali Birand Thursday, January 6, 2005
While I was interviewing Turkish History Institute President Hikmet Özdemir on yesterday's Manşet program, I breathed a sign of relief and said, “Thank God someone is prepared.”
The PR campaign waged by the Armenians since 1918 has indirectly affected us, regardless of how committed we were to our own version. The international public listened to the Armenians for more than 80 years and at long last believed them. It was included in textbooks and then taught at universities. Finally, the public was sure: “Armenians had faced a genocide committed by Turks.”
Professor Özdemir said the Armenians had been entangled in a blood feud against Turks since the Ottoman era, throughout the republican age, and noted, with examples, how Turkey had punished those who were found guilty.
The Turkish History Institute has finished its research, which had started in 2001. A huge campaign will be launched in February.
Four volumes of documents have been prepared. The allegations made by the Armenians are answered one by one.
You might remember French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier saying, “Turkey needs to face up to its history,” to which Professor Özdemir replies, “We are facing up to our history, but all those who incited the Armenians should also do the same.” This is also part of the study: showing who was behind the Armenian uprisings. It appears Turkey will now put aside manners and shout out what happened.
It won't only be the release of documents. For example, Turkey will ask for a retrial for Tehlerian, who was found not guilty after killing Talat Paşa in 1921 in Berlin. No one knows if this will be possible, but they will try and they will prove that a document used in that trial was a fake.
Another new innovation will be to challenge Armenian intellectuals in television debates.
It will be the first time Turkey will pose a challenge to the Armenians.
[HH] How will we explain ourselves to the world?
Armenians have been waging a battle for the last 75 years. They have brainwashed the international community. They have transformed the process into an entire culture by using tampered photos and fake documents.
Turkey, meanwhile, inexplicably, was weak. It behaved like it had done something, and was so ashamed that it didn't even want to defend itself. The Armenians were allowed free rein.
Things will change. Turkey, even though belatedly, has taken the initiative.
However, the documents alone don't prove anything. The most important matter is publicizing these facts to the world and making them believable.
That's the most important thing.
How will we do that?
Our attempts to make our voice heard have been so flimsy up until now that the state bureaucracy needs work miracles to pull it off.
Another point to consider is that in addition to documents and promotion, there should also be political initiatives. Such campaigns can produce results only when all these initiatives are combined.
What Professor Özdemir told me was very encouraging; however, there are still questions in my head about the way the whole enterprise will be coordinated. No matter how effective a campaign the institute wages, without help from all the other state institutions, nothing will come about. It will once again be the case of us talking and no one listening.
However, this is the final match on the genocide allegations. Additionally, we have lost all the previous games and we know we need to win this one. We can't tolerate any mistakes this time.
Mehmet Ali Birand Thursday, January 6, 2005
While I was interviewing Turkish History Institute President Hikmet Özdemir on yesterday's Manşet program, I breathed a sign of relief and said, “Thank God someone is prepared.”
The PR campaign waged by the Armenians since 1918 has indirectly affected us, regardless of how committed we were to our own version. The international public listened to the Armenians for more than 80 years and at long last believed them. It was included in textbooks and then taught at universities. Finally, the public was sure: “Armenians had faced a genocide committed by Turks.”
Professor Özdemir said the Armenians had been entangled in a blood feud against Turks since the Ottoman era, throughout the republican age, and noted, with examples, how Turkey had punished those who were found guilty.
The Turkish History Institute has finished its research, which had started in 2001. A huge campaign will be launched in February.
Four volumes of documents have been prepared. The allegations made by the Armenians are answered one by one.
You might remember French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier saying, “Turkey needs to face up to its history,” to which Professor Özdemir replies, “We are facing up to our history, but all those who incited the Armenians should also do the same.” This is also part of the study: showing who was behind the Armenian uprisings. It appears Turkey will now put aside manners and shout out what happened.
It won't only be the release of documents. For example, Turkey will ask for a retrial for Tehlerian, who was found not guilty after killing Talat Paşa in 1921 in Berlin. No one knows if this will be possible, but they will try and they will prove that a document used in that trial was a fake.
Another new innovation will be to challenge Armenian intellectuals in television debates.
It will be the first time Turkey will pose a challenge to the Armenians.
[HH] How will we explain ourselves to the world?
Armenians have been waging a battle for the last 75 years. They have brainwashed the international community. They have transformed the process into an entire culture by using tampered photos and fake documents.
Turkey, meanwhile, inexplicably, was weak. It behaved like it had done something, and was so ashamed that it didn't even want to defend itself. The Armenians were allowed free rein.
Things will change. Turkey, even though belatedly, has taken the initiative.
However, the documents alone don't prove anything. The most important matter is publicizing these facts to the world and making them believable.
That's the most important thing.
How will we do that?
Our attempts to make our voice heard have been so flimsy up until now that the state bureaucracy needs work miracles to pull it off.
Another point to consider is that in addition to documents and promotion, there should also be political initiatives. Such campaigns can produce results only when all these initiatives are combined.
What Professor Özdemir told me was very encouraging; however, there are still questions in my head about the way the whole enterprise will be coordinated. No matter how effective a campaign the institute wages, without help from all the other state institutions, nothing will come about. It will once again be the case of us talking and no one listening.
However, this is the final match on the genocide allegations. Additionally, we have lost all the previous games and we know we need to win this one. We can't tolerate any mistakes this time.
) to researchers. So it's funny that you say Oskanyan didn't accept to open archives, again another misinformed Turk.
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