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California Courier Online, May 11, 2006
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
In the vain hope of splitting the Diaspora from Armenia, Turkish officials
have been making self-delusional statements. They have repeatedly claimed
that Diaspora Armenians are the ones pushing for demands from Turkey, while
the people of Armenia supposedly just want to live in peace with their
Turkish neighbors.
On April 24 of this year, high-ranking Armenian officials went out of their
way to expose these Turkish distortions by taking a very tough stand
vis-ŕ-vis Turkey. In an official statement issued on the occasion of the
91st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Pres. Kocharian went far beyond
anything he had said before on Turkish responsibility for the Armenian
Genocide. For the first time, he blamed not only the Ottoman Empire for the
Genocide, but also today's Turkish Republic.
Pres. Kocharian stated: "Today we commemorate the memory of the victims of
the Armenian Genocide. Ottoman Turkey and its legal successor bear full
responsibility for this crime. In the years succeeding the Armenian
Genocide, the survivors have borne the grave consequences of the committed
crime. The pain is all the more intense, as we are forced to struggle for
recognition as well as condemnation of that black page of history. The
Republic of Armenia, as the articulator of the national interests of
Armenians living in the homeland as well as those scattered throughout the
world, will continue that struggle. We are grateful to all the countries,
organizations and individuals who are supporting us."
The Prime Minister of Armenia, Antranik Margarian, in his April 24
statement, found it salutary that "the number of countries recognizing and
condemning the Armenian Genocide is increasing with each passing year.... The
efforts of today's Turkey aiming to deny the Genocide, distort the
evidence, cover up the facts, and silence the handful of Turkish
intellectuals who are exposing and condemning the shameful pages of its
history, are not only unhelpful in promoting a stable peace and good
neighborly relations in the region, but in an atmosphere of impunity, make
the perpetration of new crimes possible."
The Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Tigran Torosian, said:
"Recognition of the Genocide will dignify Turkey and the Turkish people.
They can also not recognize it, but that won't change anything in the
world."
The Deputy Minister of Defense of Armenia, Artur Aghabekian, stated:
"Turkey must understand that sooner or later the whole world, each and
every state, will recognize the Armenian Genocide.... Turkey will have to
recognize the Genocide. If it won't do it today, it will do it tomorrow.
How could it evade historical justice?"
In an interview conducted by Paul Chaderjian and aired on April 24 on
Armenia TV, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said: "Today, the children of
the survivors and the Government of Armenia, both, have been transformed
from victims to activists working with the international community to right
a historical wrong, to acknowledge a crime against humanity and to advocate
prevention of such crimes in the future.... Today, in its search for European
Union membership, Turkey is having to deal with history and memory and
identity. And of course, the existence of an Armenian state means that we
can raise these issues at an official government level."
When asked if it would not be wiser to let the Diaspora pursue the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the Foreign Minister emphatically
responded: "The Genocide affected every single Armenian. The responsibility
to right the memory of that wrong rests with all of us. The Armenian
Government has the moral responsibility to speak about the Genocide of the
Armenians, and to call for Genocide recognition. This responsibility is one
we fully acknowledge. In fact, the active involvement of the Armenian
Government and its representatives has also played a role in the progress
of the recognition process. The podiums and forums that are available to
the representatives of a state are many and we use them to make our case to
the international community. At the same time, as a responsible member of
that community, we know that we cannot make Genocide recognition a
pre-condition to our relationship with the Republic of Turkey. The irony is
that we, the survivors and victims of Genocide, don't make normal relations
conditional on its recognition, yet the Turkish side often suggests that
Armenia should put Genocide recognition aside if it wants normal relations
with Turkey. Clearly, we cannot."
Foreign Minister Oskanian then provided the possible reasons for Turkey's
refusal to face the Genocide issue: "There is perhaps a fear that entering
this realm, embarking on a relationship with Armenians will place them in a
morally uncomfortable and undesirable situation, and that they will be held
responsible for those events. I cannot repeat this often enough: Armenians
are able to distinguish between the perpetrators and today's Turkey. But
Turks themselves must be willing to do what is morally right and reject and
denounce the crimes of the Ottoman Empire. Otherwise, today's denial means
implicit endorsement or acceptance of those past crimes."
Continuing to express his serious concerns over the denial of the Armenian
Genocide by Turkey, Minister Oskanian said: "Justifying, even revering the
genocidal state policy of one regime has become the state policy of another
regime. Denial is state policy, just as genocide is state policy. It is
today's Turkish State that is wasting money and credibility on denying,
distorting, dismissing serious crimes against humanity committed during the
Ottoman years. Not only are they denying history, they are also legislating
denial by making it difficult, if not impossible, to actually dig into this
painful issue and come face to face with difficult historic and political
realities. It is safe to say that Turkish society -- writers, historians,
journalists -- are in fact seeking and trying to reach their own
conclusions about what really happened. It is the state that insists on
rejecting those questions even. The people of Turkey are searching for
answers. The memoir of US Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, the British Blue
Book, the works of Vahakn Dadrian and Peter Balakian can be found in
Turkish, in Turkey. We welcome this, because before there can be dialogue
with Armenians, there must be internal questioning and dialogue in Turkey."
The Armenian Foreign Minister concluded with an ominous warning: "The
longer it takes for Turks to repudiate those acts, the more today's Turks
and yesterday's Ottomans will become synonymous in people's minds."
After such strong statements by the President, Prime Minister, Deputy
Parliament Speaker, Foreign Minister, and Deputy Defense Minister of
Armenia, it would be preposterous for any Turkish official to claim that
the Armenian state has no interest in pursuing the Genocide issue. All
Armenians, be they in Armenia or the Diaspora, are united in their resolve
to demand that the Turkish Republic acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and
make appropriate amends.
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
In the vain hope of splitting the Diaspora from Armenia, Turkish officials
have been making self-delusional statements. They have repeatedly claimed
that Diaspora Armenians are the ones pushing for demands from Turkey, while
the people of Armenia supposedly just want to live in peace with their
Turkish neighbors.
On April 24 of this year, high-ranking Armenian officials went out of their
way to expose these Turkish distortions by taking a very tough stand
vis-ŕ-vis Turkey. In an official statement issued on the occasion of the
91st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Pres. Kocharian went far beyond
anything he had said before on Turkish responsibility for the Armenian
Genocide. For the first time, he blamed not only the Ottoman Empire for the
Genocide, but also today's Turkish Republic.
Pres. Kocharian stated: "Today we commemorate the memory of the victims of
the Armenian Genocide. Ottoman Turkey and its legal successor bear full
responsibility for this crime. In the years succeeding the Armenian
Genocide, the survivors have borne the grave consequences of the committed
crime. The pain is all the more intense, as we are forced to struggle for
recognition as well as condemnation of that black page of history. The
Republic of Armenia, as the articulator of the national interests of
Armenians living in the homeland as well as those scattered throughout the
world, will continue that struggle. We are grateful to all the countries,
organizations and individuals who are supporting us."
The Prime Minister of Armenia, Antranik Margarian, in his April 24
statement, found it salutary that "the number of countries recognizing and
condemning the Armenian Genocide is increasing with each passing year.... The
efforts of today's Turkey aiming to deny the Genocide, distort the
evidence, cover up the facts, and silence the handful of Turkish
intellectuals who are exposing and condemning the shameful pages of its
history, are not only unhelpful in promoting a stable peace and good
neighborly relations in the region, but in an atmosphere of impunity, make
the perpetration of new crimes possible."
The Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Tigran Torosian, said:
"Recognition of the Genocide will dignify Turkey and the Turkish people.
They can also not recognize it, but that won't change anything in the
world."
The Deputy Minister of Defense of Armenia, Artur Aghabekian, stated:
"Turkey must understand that sooner or later the whole world, each and
every state, will recognize the Armenian Genocide.... Turkey will have to
recognize the Genocide. If it won't do it today, it will do it tomorrow.
How could it evade historical justice?"
In an interview conducted by Paul Chaderjian and aired on April 24 on
Armenia TV, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said: "Today, the children of
the survivors and the Government of Armenia, both, have been transformed
from victims to activists working with the international community to right
a historical wrong, to acknowledge a crime against humanity and to advocate
prevention of such crimes in the future.... Today, in its search for European
Union membership, Turkey is having to deal with history and memory and
identity. And of course, the existence of an Armenian state means that we
can raise these issues at an official government level."
When asked if it would not be wiser to let the Diaspora pursue the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the Foreign Minister emphatically
responded: "The Genocide affected every single Armenian. The responsibility
to right the memory of that wrong rests with all of us. The Armenian
Government has the moral responsibility to speak about the Genocide of the
Armenians, and to call for Genocide recognition. This responsibility is one
we fully acknowledge. In fact, the active involvement of the Armenian
Government and its representatives has also played a role in the progress
of the recognition process. The podiums and forums that are available to
the representatives of a state are many and we use them to make our case to
the international community. At the same time, as a responsible member of
that community, we know that we cannot make Genocide recognition a
pre-condition to our relationship with the Republic of Turkey. The irony is
that we, the survivors and victims of Genocide, don't make normal relations
conditional on its recognition, yet the Turkish side often suggests that
Armenia should put Genocide recognition aside if it wants normal relations
with Turkey. Clearly, we cannot."
Foreign Minister Oskanian then provided the possible reasons for Turkey's
refusal to face the Genocide issue: "There is perhaps a fear that entering
this realm, embarking on a relationship with Armenians will place them in a
morally uncomfortable and undesirable situation, and that they will be held
responsible for those events. I cannot repeat this often enough: Armenians
are able to distinguish between the perpetrators and today's Turkey. But
Turks themselves must be willing to do what is morally right and reject and
denounce the crimes of the Ottoman Empire. Otherwise, today's denial means
implicit endorsement or acceptance of those past crimes."
Continuing to express his serious concerns over the denial of the Armenian
Genocide by Turkey, Minister Oskanian said: "Justifying, even revering the
genocidal state policy of one regime has become the state policy of another
regime. Denial is state policy, just as genocide is state policy. It is
today's Turkish State that is wasting money and credibility on denying,
distorting, dismissing serious crimes against humanity committed during the
Ottoman years. Not only are they denying history, they are also legislating
denial by making it difficult, if not impossible, to actually dig into this
painful issue and come face to face with difficult historic and political
realities. It is safe to say that Turkish society -- writers, historians,
journalists -- are in fact seeking and trying to reach their own
conclusions about what really happened. It is the state that insists on
rejecting those questions even. The people of Turkey are searching for
answers. The memoir of US Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, the British Blue
Book, the works of Vahakn Dadrian and Peter Balakian can be found in
Turkish, in Turkey. We welcome this, because before there can be dialogue
with Armenians, there must be internal questioning and dialogue in Turkey."
The Armenian Foreign Minister concluded with an ominous warning: "The
longer it takes for Turks to repudiate those acts, the more today's Turks
and yesterday's Ottomans will become synonymous in people's minds."
After such strong statements by the President, Prime Minister, Deputy
Parliament Speaker, Foreign Minister, and Deputy Defense Minister of
Armenia, it would be preposterous for any Turkish official to claim that
the Armenian state has no interest in pursuing the Genocide issue. All
Armenians, be they in Armenia or the Diaspora, are united in their resolve
to demand that the Turkish Republic acknowledge the Armenian Genocide and
make appropriate amends.
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