Journal of Turkis weekly
April 13 2005
Halacoglu: Armenian issue a ‘matter of honor’ for Turkey
The New Anatolian / Ankara
‘This is an issue that concerns whether or not to take responsibility
for a shameful act of inhumanity. I won’t accuse my grandfather of
being a villain for a crime he didn’t commit,’ says Halacoglu
While the April 24 date for the commemoration of the so-called
genocide anniversary approaches, Turkey is preparing a counterattack
against rising Armenians efforts for the recognition of their claims.
In support of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s worldwide “letter
campaign,” demanding apologies from countries that used the “Blue
Book” as a reference in recognizing the Armenians’ claims, the
Turkish Historical Society (TTK) declared that it would publish three
books dealing with the issue from the Turkish perspective.
TTK Chairman Yusuf Halacoglu released a declaration yesterday saying
that the TTK’s Armenian Research Desk, after making detailed
scientific investigations, would publish three books. He listed the
books as, “Deaths Caused by Epidemic Diseases, 1914-18,” “The
Tricolor Over the Taurus, 1918-1922,” and “The Armenian Events in
French Diplomatic Documents, Vol. 1.’
Halacoglu also gave a lecture at Cankaya University on the so-called
Armenian genocide and Turkey’s archival documents.
Stating that history should depend on documents and verifiable
sources, Halacoglu said, “Frivolous comments are nothing but
fantasies.” He also described the Armenians’ claims as a very
sensitive issue for Turkey.
“Turkey has Armenian citizens at home and abroad,” He said. “I
cleanse them of guilt. It is just a few associations that have
brought the issue to its present state.”
Halacoglu noted that not only the Ottoman Empire but other countries
had gone through such tragedies during the world wars.
Halacoglu stated that 5.5 million people migrated from the Balkans
and Caucasian regions to Anatolia during World War II. He also added
that 2.5 million people died due to diseases and raids during these
migrations.
“This was a war,” said Halacoglu, “You should expect anything to
happen in a war that is seen to benefit either warring side. If these
were countries fighting, it would be acceptable, but things get
distorted when the actions are done by civilians against other
citizens. The Ottomans were unable to take precautions against such
actions.”
Halacoglu rejected the claim that “1.5 million Armenians were
killed.”
“This claim entails that all Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire
were killed and then some,’ he said. “According to the population
census in 1914, there were some 1.3 millions Armenians living in
Ottoman lands. American historian Justin McCarthy sets the number at
somewhere near 1.69 million. It’s claimed that 1 million Armenians
emigrated. If 1 million Armenians emigrated then nobody is supposed
to have gone to Caucasia. However, there are documents proving that
450,000 Armenians migrated to Caucasia voluntarily.’
‘A matter of honor’
Professor Halacoglu also described the genocide claims as “a matter
of honor.”
“This is an issue that concerns whether or not to take responsibility
for a shameful act of inhumanity,” he said. “I won’t accuse my
grandfather of being a villain for a crime he didn’t commit.”
Halacoglu will hold a press conference to discuss the new studies on
Friday.
The New Anatolian