A Lively Discussion On Armenian Issue At Turkish Weekly

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A LIVELY DISCUSSION ON ARMENIAN ISSUE AT TURKISH WEEKLY
Baris Sanli

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Sept 22 2005

For those people looking for a lively debate about Armenian Issue,
Journal of Turkish Weekly(JTW) provided such a medium for it, thanks
to Maral Der OHANNESIAN & Sedat LACINER. After Mrs. OHANNESIAN's call
for a duel, Sedat Laciner accepted the invitation and the duo started
a lively discussion.

The first and the second part of these letters were published on JTW's
Comments page. The discussions cover a wide range of topics from the
claims to DNA tests. Mrs. OHANNESIAN will set an example for both
Armenian politicians and people with her courage and her willingness
to discuss this issue. This braveness and firm belief in her version
of the history will help the two nations to better understand what
has happened.

The letters can be accessed from:

http://www.turkishweekly.net/comments.php?id=1753

http://www.turkishweekly.net/comments.php?id=1752

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Der Ohaniesian’s Response To Dr. Laciner ‘s Armenian Letters 5

By Maral Der Ohanesian

For me, your response in whole is out of our discussion subject, that is whether the event of 1915 was Genocide or not, I don’t want to deviate from our original discussion, so let’s stay focused here. Although you are yet to provide the evidences that I asked for to support whatever you have claimed in your previous letter.

There are only few points, I wanted to comment on, and they are as follows:

** The list of churches which, alone, constituted over 50% of your response to my letter, which was really unneeded as the link you provided was enough to make your point, contains not only churches, but schools, cemeteries and other institutions, which None of them except few are in the region of Eastern Turkey (The Historical Six Armenian Vilayets) the area in question, and if you had read my letter carefully you’d know that, it was the area about which I was speaking, and that list only concurred with what I was saying!!

In point “5. Bölge - Anadolu Ermeni Kiliseleri (Churches in Anatolia),” you listed only 8 churches in the region where over 2000 Armenian churches and monasteries situated before 1914, according to the list made by Maghakia Ormanian by the order of the Ottoman Interior Ministry. Well, even if you find that keeping 8 churches out of 2000 is a sign of “Turkish kindness,” I kindly ask you to publish the attached pictures [ http://img418.imageshack.us/img418/4...giragos2pm.jpg ] of one of your listed churches (one of the 5 listed to contain a phone number), Surp Giragos Ermeni Kilisesi. Surp Giragos was one of the largest cathedrals of the Christian world. Today, the ruins of the church serve the “Armenian community” of Diyarbakir, which consists of 10 families (less than 1% that was before 1915). I have attached the picture of Surp Giragos’ bell tower taken before 1914, and a more recent one. Do you know that this is violation of the Versailles treaty, according to which Turkey pledged to protect the Christian monuments?!

** While talking about Cemal, Enver and their friends, you wrote “They made great mistakes, yet I know that they did not make genocide, because they were Turkish.”
What does that supposed to mean? Excuse me, but are you actually saying that they can’t commit Genocide “just because they are Turks”?!! Are Turks some sort of impeccable or divine race, that doesn’t make mistakes? Please, make sense!!


** One last thing, you kept repeating that “Armenians hate …” Allow me to ensure you, that Armenians do not hate you or any other individual Turk, Armenians have a “Cause,” and this is a Cause for Justice. Justice is what Armenians want, and seeking Justice is Armenians motivator, not hate. it is a grave error and underestimation to simply blame it on hate, and thus you can comfort your conscience for not at least giving the benefit of doubt to the Armenians' demands of Justice, and justify to yourself not trying to find the truth about what had happened, and so simply dismiss the case in whole and continue your life with clear conscience.

Regards,

Maral Der Ohanesian.


Dr. Laciner's letter can be reasd at http://www.turkishweekly.net/comments.php?id=1838


Tuesday , 18 April 2006

Past letters

http://www.google.com/u/jtw?q=maral&sa=Search&domains=turkishweekly.net&sitesearch=turkishweekly.net

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Dr. Sedat Laciner's Response To Der Ohaniesian

Dear Maral,

First of all we do not only discuss the so-called 1915 Genocide. You claim and I do not accept such an insult. We are her to make a meaningful dialogue. The main problem is lack of dialogue. Both sides do not listen to each other and we repeat the same thing here I see no point to exchange letters. If we do not try to understand each other, our letters would only serve to deepen the biases between the two nations.

Churches and Schools

Most of the Armenian churches and schools are in the Western Turkey, because the Armenians live in these regions. There is no point to establish a school in the eastern provinces. As a matter of fact that the Armenians open these schools and churches not the Turkish Government. They have all the right to set up a church or school in any part of Turkey according to the Lausanne Treaty. But they prefer the Western provinces. By the way, there is no historical Armenian Vilayets. All these vilayets (provinces) were home for the Armenians, Kurds and Turks, and the Armenians were not majority in any of them.

You say that I only listed only 8 churches in 5th region. The list is not mine. It is prepared by the Armenian institutions in Turkey. You argue that there was “over 2000 Armenian churches and monasteries situated before 1914” in the region. First of all the 2,000 figure should be questioned. I am not expert on architecture history. I just send the list prepared by the Istanbul Armenians. But of course the number of the schools and churches decreased in time because the Armenians left the region. If there is no Armenian, there is no church or Armenian school. However most of the historical monuments have been preserved and some of them are being visited by the Armenian and other tourists. The Akhdamar is a good example. The $1.5 million restoration of this church is ordered and financed by the Turkish government. I should accept that the governments neglected the historical monuments not only in the east but in the West as well. But the reason was not political I thing. At least we can argue that the political reasons were very limited and the real reason was economic and cultural. Not only the Armenian monuments but also the Turkish and Islamic historic monuments have been neglected for the decades. We hope the policy has dramatically been changed in the recent years. However we cannot see a similar change in Armenia. It is impossible to fin any Azeri mosque in Armenia and occupied territories. There were more than 1 million Azeri Muslims, but the Armenian occupying forces totally destroyed the traces.

We cannot publish the picture you posted due to the technical problems, however we published the address in your letter. And I remind you that you may find more photos like this. Turkey is not a rich country and the situation of the historic Churches or Mosques are not direct result of official policies.


It is true, I believe in that “Cemal and Enver Pashas made great mistakes, yet I know that they did not make genocide, because they were Turkish.”

I am not racist and I do not think that the Turkish race is greater than the others. However, the Turkish nation is a mixture of the Central Asian and Balkan races. Turkey was and is an immigrant countries and it has been more multi-national than the U.S. is. Compare the modern Turks in Anatolia with the Central Asian Turks and you would realize the differences. No Anatolia Turk could claim that he or she is a pure Turkish. ‘Turkish nation’ is a name of a civilization, more than a race.

You should be racist to make a genocide and you cannot find a suitable groud for racism in Turkey.

Another factor is religion. Islam does not allow people to destroy a nation or race just because of their race. If Cemal and Enver were Turkish, they had no capability to commit genocide.

Armenian Hate

Yes many Armenians hate the Turks though they had never met with Turk and they had never been to Turkey. You are talking about ‘Cause of Justice’. Actually you are talking about a ‘Revenge’.

The Armenian militants ask eastern and south eastern Turkey to fulfill this ‘Cause of Justice’. They ask billions of dollars and humiliation of the Turkish nation. I mean your Cause is not so innocent and idealistic. I understand you, but thanks.

Regards
Dr. Sedat Laciner
18 April 2006


Tuesday , 18 April 2006