“IF YOU ONLY WERE AS BRAVE AS ATATURK”

Azg/arm
11 Dec 04

Response to Turkish General’s Letter

In his response to Turkish general Orhan Tan’s words that “all the
authors of articles on Armenian-Turkish relations I ever read during
my student years at the US military school had second names ending in
â=80=98yan'” cited in Azg Daily’ s November 30 article titled “Turks
and Armenians Can Live in Peace” Misak Keleshian from Beirut writes:
“I studied in the States too and came across many authors who do not
have names ending in â=80=98yan’. If dear general is willing, I shall
mention some of them”. Here the reader presents 6 pages of names of
numerous reliable specialists who have spoken of the Armenian
Genocide. Below we have posted responses to the historic events as
eyewitnesses saw them.

“Lack of pages does not allow me to write about thousands of people
who were crucified, thrown into the rivers, cut by swords or axes,
burnet in their houses or churches or were objected to such tortures
that can never be repeated”, Rose Lambert, “Hadjin and the Armenian
Massacres”.

“It has been a month that the Kurdish and Turkish population of
Armenia massacre Armenians with the permission of Ottoman
authorities. Such massacres were carried out in Erzrum, Van, Dersin,
Akin, Tiflis, Mush, Sassoon, Zeytun and all over Cilicia. All
population of Van’s surrounding villages was slaughtered. Armenian
district of the town is sealed off by the Kurds. Considering this new
atrocities against humanity and civilization carried by Turkey, ally
states declare publicly that they will hold responsible all the
members and agentsof the Ottoman government who had hand in the
massacres”, reads the joint declaration of Russia, Great Britain and
France published on May 24 of 1915.

Here Misak Keleshian pauses to emphasize 3 exceptional facts. The
phrase “atrocity against humanity” appears in an official document for
the first time, secondly, heads of a country are held responsible for
the first time and thirdly, the word “new” is used hinting that never
the history of human kind has seen such evil.

“I think that it is not the deportation that is to be protested but
the awful cruelties that accompanied it. This one of the blackest
pages in the history of this war and I think our interference is
justified”, Robert Lansing, US Secretary of State (extract from a
letter send to President Wilson on November 21 of 1916).

“Taleat Pasha, interior minister, has honestly confessed that the
Turkish government is going to take advantage of the world war to
settle up accounts with its inner enemies. Turkey’s aim is to
â=80=98settle the Armenian Cause by eliminating the Armenian nation'”,
Baron Hans von Wangenheim.

And finally Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s article in The Los Angeles
Examiner’s August 1 issue of 1926 which reads: “Those remnants from
the Young Turksâ=80=99 Party must face justice for withdrawing
millions of our Christian nationals from their houses and killing them
in great numbers”.

Misak Keleshian asks dear general if this last statement was unknown
to him either? Is it appropriate to insist on numbers of 250 or 500
thousand when the founder of Turkish republic and Turkey’s national
hero himself mentions of “millions” and “great numbers”?

“I am glad when a high-ranking Turkish official writes that
â=80=98Armenians and Turks can live in peace’ but I would be even
gladder if you were ascourageous as you commander-in-chief was, and
recognized the Genocide. That would be a heroic act not only within
Turkey but within the whole world.

This is a wrong policy that Turkey has adopted and a heavy burden on
the republic’s shoulders. It should have condemned the Young Turks,
punish them and to lighten the burden. In that case the two countries
would regain peace, and your country would be braver in knocking
European community’s doors.

Anyone denying the history is under the threat of repeating it”, Misak
Keshishian rounds off his letter to general Tan.