Amersfoortse Courant (Dutch regional paper)
Utrechts Nieuwsblad,
April 22, 2005
Almost 1.5 million Christian Armenians were killed in Turkey between 1915
and 1923. Turkey has always systematically denied the genocide. If the
country wants to have a chance at becoming an EU member, Ankara will have to
come to terms with this dark chapter. This weekend, it is the ninetieth
anniversary. Time to admit mistakes.
VAKIFLI
By Fidan Ekiz
The Armenians of Vakifli, in the province of Hatay on the south coast of
Turkey, knew how to escape from the Turks by hiding themselves for 40 days
on Mount Musa (Moses) in Antakya. “Without food and drinks they waited
there, in the cold,” says Havadis Demirci.
The 90-year-old Armenian was born during the “dark days” on the mountain. In
Vakifli, the last Armenian village in Turkey, no more than a miserable 130
Armenians live there.
Of the 5000 Armenians from seven villages, who found their refuge on Musa,
many died of hunger and cold. The survivors were saved by French seamen who
were sailing across the Ak Sea. Among them was Havadis Demirci. “We were
taken to Egypt. When I was four, I returned to Vakifli with my parents and
other inhabitants.” They were received by those who stayed behind and
astonishingly survived the massacre.
For centuries the Orthodox Christian Armenian minority lived harmoniously
with the Muslim Turks. When the Ottoman Empire began to crumble at the
beginning of the twentieth century, Turkish tolerance also came to an end.
During World War I, instigated by strong nationalistic sentiments, the Turks
turned against the Armenians, whom they accused of rebellion. The Armenians,
according to Turks, wanted to abuse the chaotic war situation to create an
independent Armenia that would need parts of Turkey and the Russian Empire.
The anti-Armenian pogroms began with the execution of Armenian leaders who
were hanged from the Galata bridge in Istanbul, followed by genocide on
hundreds of thousands of Armenians in other parts of the country.
The small Vakifli is now mostly inhabited by old Armenians, who live there
undisturbed. Most of the youth has left the village. But in the summer it is
dominated by a happy crowd. Armenians from the diaspora smell the sea air
and visit the local church.
The people here have little to complain about and some are therefore not
pleased with the heated debate that is now taking place concerning the
Armenian genocide. “Why now? The massacres took place 90 years ago. A
Turkish recognition will not bring back my murdered grandfather,” says the
head of village Berc Kartun. “By bringing back the memories, our minority
position is accentuated even more, which is painful.” The fear, even after
so many years, still seems very great. Many Armenians do not dare to be
among Turks now, according to the head of the village. “It is hypocritical
that countries like England and France now, much too late, take our side.
While they are themselves guilty of causing enmity between Armenians and
Turks.” The Western countries realized at the time that there was only way
to force the Ottoman Empire onto its knees, he claims. The minorities were
called to rebel. The nationalistic Turkish sentiments were therefore
instigated because of British and French meddling.
The son of the old Havadis thinks it is good that, after years of silence,
the issue of the genocide is becoming debatable in Turkey. “For years
already the word “Armenian” in Turkey has been synonymous with a
swear-word,” says Artin Demirci. “That we find the Turkish recognition
important has nothing to do with revenge. Turkey has to admit its mistakes
in order to become a fully fledged democracy.” For the commemoration of the
genocide next Sunday nothing special is planned in Vakifli. In previous
years Armenians gathered in the church, but that has not been in use for a
while now. “People will pray at home,” Artin thinks.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress