Nauseated Feeling and Media
by ETYEN MAHCUPYAN

Zaman Online, Turkey
March 25 2005

In every society, the periods of rapid and chaotic metamorphoses pave
the way for conservatism. Above all, if this reference to change
especially is coming from “outside” and denotes that the society
adopts a new way of life, then it wouldn’t be surprising if the
conservatism at issue turns into xenophobia.

For our modern world, which has been nourished by the nation-state
structure and nationalism, it would be seen as natural if this
conservatism becomes more of an excluder and adopts more “national”
tones. As a matter of fact, the anti-EU motion is heading towards
that direction~E We confront numerous examples of the uneasiness the
society feels for change being activated as a reactional nauseated
feeling. And trying to produce “proud reinforcing” outcomes from
this… It is possible to refer to art and science in order to repair
the pride that felt it could be hurt, but bearing in mind that since
it is being considered that we are not powerful enough in this field,
or as a result of the habit of “wanting to get something for
nothing,” the attitude of acting in order to rediscover history, has
been adopted. On the other side, the history issue does not seem to
be separated from the EU context, Armenian emigration, even
indirectly, and is in a position as the main part of the agenda.
Therefore, the said nauseated feeling, turning its face to history
and rediscovering itself through history, is a sensible phenomenon.

These kinds of activities, as reflected recently in newspapers;
laying wreaths at the grave of Talat Pasha, the British commemorating
the six soldiers they killed in 1920, at the station where the
incident happened, have gained significance within this context. It
seems hard to find a different explanation to these ceremonial
commemorations, which had been ignored for years, becoming very
popular all of a sudden, and people exerting efforts to find some
incidents to commemorate~E But what really is interesting here is the
media’s attitude: We see that the “centrist” media, which has taken
it upon itself the mission to reflect the irritation penetrating into
the depths of Turkey’s state structure, is making banner headlines
out of stories like this or carrying them to its front pages.
Moreover, we see that an editor is using his pen as a tool to
encourage these kinds of activities. And do bear in mind that all
these are being done in an atmosphere where the AKP government is
seen as “ambivalent and incoherent,” where a commander, as if this
did not amount to interference, blames the government over Iraq. What
is being seen is that the anti-EU and anti- AKP parties have joined
forces; a strategy in which one can be hindered through the other, is
being pursued. And the societal nausea — and the Armenian issue have
been used in the psychological context in the entire case.

Otherwise, would it be possible to ignore an incident, which at the
moment should have been the top priority on the agenda? The Armenian
ambassador to the EU [Viguen Tchitechian] told the European
Parliament’s Interparliamentary Cooperation Commission meeting [in
Strasbourg] that the Armenian Diaspora created the genocide issue.
Undoubtedly, this does not mean we are not confronting a so-called
genocide problem~E The ambassador said the following: “Without any
doubt, there was a genocide committed by Young Turks (Jeune Turks),
however, the responsibility for this should not be put on the
shoulders of modern Turkey and the Turkish nation. This genocide is
important for the security of Armenia~EBut it is not a precondition
for our relations with Turkey.” This statement is a sign that the
phenomenon, which is called “Armenian Issue,” can be divided into two
categories, history and politics, and both categories can move in
different directions. This is the point Turkey has been trying to
reach for years… But this news did not appear in many newspapers,
and in a few, it was a small story buried in the back pages.

Apparently, our media did not like this story. Let me put it this
way, the anti-EU and anti-AKP coalition that has been formed found it
far short of their targets. Because this matter, taking a
rationalistic turn, is hardening reactive nationalism that is being
produced and making manipulation difficult.