Zaman, Turkey
April 26 2005

Where Should we Begin on the Armenian Question?

SELCUK GULTASLI

Just as the Greek Cypriots rejected the Annan Plan without suffering
harm after guaranteeing their membership in the European Union (EU),
the Armenians also have taken important positions on the so-called
“genocide” issue and are cool to the offer of discussing the issue
with Turkey, expecting many gestures from Turkey nowadays to solve
the problem, having received implicit support from the EU on the
issue. Turkey, which was late over Cyprus, is now facing a similar
situation over the Armenian issue.

Let’s take a look at the vote in the Belgian Parliament last week,
envisaging prison sentences and a fine for those who deny the
Armenian “genocide.” A total of 129 people participated in the vote.
108 said, “yes,” while 21 abstained. Nobody voted “no.” No one in the
parliament in Belgium, where 150,000 Turks live and many people of
Turkish origin, ranging from ministers to senators work, had said:
“Let’s not hurt the Turks. The Turks have called for a joint and
independent commission to investigate the allegations.” Coming to
those who abstained, they were deputies of the fascist-racist party,
Vlaams Belang, who strongly oppose Turkey’s EU membership. The reason
for their opposing the draft was not because of their love for
Turkey, but because of their opposition perception of “genocide”
sentences, according to their mentality. We will see whether or not
the draft will be approved by the senate.

Watching official TV channels in Turkey, one might think there is a
draft in the Turkish Parliament aimed at accepting the Armenian
“genocide” claim. A retired military official said,” If a genocide
occurred, it was the Armenians who did it to Turks.” An Azerbaijani
woman and Prof. Mumtaz Soysal, support a French lawyer who defends
Turkey over the Orly massacre, however, there is no historian among
them.

You may also look at the websites claiming that the Armenian
“genocide” was a reality. All of them are prepared more
professionally than each other and one another. Some of them include
dirges. Websites that deny the “genocide” are erroneous with many
punctuation and spelling mistakes. Their English versions are even
worse. The brains who had been very efficient in “making Turkish
propaganda for Turks,” seem “as if Turks do not even believe what
they say,” while explaining the issue to the world.

It is nice while expressing displeasure over European news programs
that only pay attention to the Armenian thesis and rightfully blaming
the West for being selective; however, why couldn’t we, through
official and unofficial means, direct our anger to the right places,
when we sought and could not find someone advocating the Turkish
thesis? Those who had been glued to their screens for “Turkish
propaganda for Turks” are absent when it is time to explain the issue
to Europe.

It is true that France did not apologize to Algeria. It is obvious
that Belgium looks indifferently at those who accuse it of “genocide”
in the Congo in the 19th century, that resulted in the deaths of
millions of people. We certainly can give more examples. It would be
naive to think that the demands of the furious Armenian Diaspora will
end after the Turks’ recognition of the “genocide” allegations. It is
also clear that the Anatolian Armenians are not “innocent Berlin
Jews,” as Prof. Ilber Ortayli put it.

Furthermore, look at what the architect of the expel and transfer
bill, Talat Pasha, at the last convention of the Progress and Union
Party on November 1, 1918, said: “Enemies, who came and gathered
around in many places for a long time, committed abuses with
impunity, that forced us against our wish, to implement policies that
led to forced emigration. Many civil servants resorted to excessive
violence and tyranny. Some innocent became wrong victims in many
places. Let us make this confession.”

We should begin the job by accepting that Armenians who lived on
these lands experienced severe pains during a period of time. It is
only then we will have the opportunity of convincing the world that
the incidents were not genocide and had no similarity whatsoever with
what the Jews experienced.

April 25, 2005
Brussels