The Republic of Turkey has been founded on the Armenian Genocide
Time passed as Taner Akcam was recognized as a unique phenomena of Turkish intellectual who had acknowledged and openly discussed the Armenia Genocide. Nowadays we know scores of his nationals who are eligible to challenge to Ankara’s official propaganda. In this list we can find writer Kemal Yalchin; publisher, the author of series of articles and researches on Armenian and Greek culture Osman Koker; well-known Turkish lawyer, the member of Advocatory Chamber of Ankara, one of the initiators of the campaign “Apologies to Armenians” Bendal Celil Ezman a person who has taken the risk to apply to the Ankara Court, claiming to recognize the events of the last century as Genocide. The list of the bold spirits is being filled day by day…
The journalist Erol Ozkoray famous for his publications about Armenian terrorism (ASALA) against Turkey has recently questioned in the press pages: “Why does the Armenian Genocide keep on being a taboo?” “Why do we not blame the Ottoman Empire in Genocide if the Turkish Republic has been established due to the disavowal of Ottoman Empire? Why does the Turkish Republic take the responsibility for those monstrous events which are considered as the first crime against humanity and the first Genocide of the 20th century?” He thinks that he has the right to raise this question which is a sore point for Turkish society. “Everything I say about the Genocide is the withdrawal of 35 years of researches and repeated reviews of my position. One of his conclusions is that Ankara “is sorry for” the past and does not disown bloody heritage of Ottoman mainly because “there were killers among the founders of Turkish Republic who had taken part in Armenian Genocide and executed such a monstrous crime.”
“One more thread of the successor between the Ottoman and the Republic is the means of money and property confiscated from Armenians which played a significant role in the financing of the war for independence,” he marks. “The killers taken part in the Genocide (I talk about the people whose hands are in blood) have been a part of political and administrative Elite of the new republican mode.” That’s why Ozkoray considers that the problem can not be solved by blaming the Ottoman. “Today when we talk about the recognition of the Armenian Genocide we should put on the table practically everything - the Republic, kemalism, government, state ideology of the founders and governors of the Republic, regime of the Turkey, the political system of the country, its army, universities, educational programs, the press, the elite, its businessmen, courts, political parties etc. It is obvious that no one can withstand such confrontation, especially in crypto-Nazi and crypto-totalitarian regime we live. It is extremely difficult, if ever possible, to pay these bills…” In the author’s opinion the destiny of the armenian-tukish protocols is very spectral as the Turkish government with its current structure will reject any constructivism. “The problem can be solved only in the country whose governors have the highest intellectual abilities and culture of democracy,” Errol Ozkoray writes.
Nesheh Dyuzelin the analyst of the outstanding newspaper in Turkey “Taraf” was also brave enough to interview the famous Turkish historian Seliman Deringil. To the question if there were massive murders of Armenians up to young Turks in Anatilia the historian answered: “Yes, there were but there is a difference between Abdul Hamid and young Turks the young Turks’ goal was to exterminate the Armenian population but Abdul Hamid aimed to get rid of a small number of Armenians, reduce their role in economy and form a Mussulman bourgeoisie in the place of Armenians. At the epoch of Abdul Hamid agents in dressed as traders were sent to different districts to organize provocations during the Friday Namaz declaring that the Armenians have attacked The Mussulmen. How could they attack Mussulmen during Friday Namaz if they were only the minority in many places?
There were Armenians in any town of Anatolia: in Ordu, Tokat, Trabzon, Amasya, Urfa, Sivas - Armenians lived everywhere. They were murdered in different towns. Current official historiography indicates that all happened due to the revolt of Armenians however it is difficult to affirm that the revolts were everywhere.” The historian states in the interview that after 1915 approximately 300 thousand Armenian children were adopted. Young children were more appreciated. Today there are approximately 60 thousand Armenians left in Turkey of those 300 thousand children and their descendants. “At the epoch of Turkish Republic against Armenians and other Christians the second tide of depopulation has risen. When we say depopulation we should not understands killings but such conditions were offered that Armenians had to emigrate to foreign countries. At the period of Ottaman Empire Armenians could reach the highest positions, but at the epoch of Turkish Republic they could not even find a work of a watchman. The recently made declaration of prime-minister Eldoham: “You can not force us to say that our grandfathers had committed genocide” makes us to ask the question “May they have committed?” Young Turks tried to exterminate Armenians. After all that whether you will call it genocide, murdering or… But the Turkish historians want to express official point of view. They try to prove that Armenians’ affirmations are not essential. Some of them make reference to mutual murders but in this case they should have had equal capacities which of course Armenians didn’t have.”
“Why does the theme of extermination become open for research after so many decades? There is an opinion “the pie has already gotten cold and it can be eaten without being afraid of getting burnt” as the direct executors of those actions are gone. Can such version be correct? This phrase belongs to Taner Akcam. The famous Turkish historian later explains that the main issue is not the pie that has not even gotten that cold to be absolutely safe. “The direct executors of the genocide have gone long ago but the potential criminals stay behind.” The scientist reckons his colleagues among them and also all those people rejecting and sheltering the dateless crime against humanity. Keeping up with Akcam we should confess that the number of the “potential criminals” has been persistently decreasing for the last years.
Elena Shuvaeva-Petrosyan