Turkey, Armenia, and the burden of memory
By Charles Tannock

Dailytimes.com
21 May 2005

The European Parliament is pressing for Turkish recognition of
the Armenian genocide. It is also calling for an end to the trade
embargo by Turkey and its close ally Azerbaijan against the Republic
of Armenia, a reopening of frontiers, and a land-for-peace deal to
resolve the territorial dispute over Nagorno Karabakh in Azerbaijan
and safeguard its Armenian identity

All wars end, eventually. But memories of atrocity never seem to
fade, as the anti-Japanese riots now taking place in China remind
us. The 90th anniversary of the Armenian massacres of 1915, ordered
by the ruling Young Turks of the Ottoman Empire and carried out by
the Kurds, is another wound that will not heal, but one that must be
treated if Turkey’s progress toward European Union membership is to
proceed smoothly.

It is believed that the Armenian genocide inspired the Nazis in their
plans for the extermination of Jews. However, in comparison with the
Holocaust, most people still know little about this dark episode.

Indeed, it is hard for most of us to imagine the scale of suffering
and devastation inflicted on the Armenian people and their ancestral
homelands.

But many members of today’s thriving global Armenian Diaspora have
direct ancestors who perished, and carry an oral historical tradition
that keeps the memories burning.

It is particularly ironic that many Kurds from Turkey’s southeastern
provinces, having been promised Armenian property and a guaranteed
place in heaven for killing infidels, were willingly complicit in
the genocide. They later found themselves on the losing end of a
long history of violence between their own separatist forces and
the Turkish army, as well as being subjected to an ongoing policy of
discrimination and forced assimilation.

Historically, the ancient Christian Armenians were amongst the most
progressive people in the East, but in the nineteenth century Armenia
was divided between the Ottoman Empire and Russia. Sultan Abdulhamit
II organised the massacres of 1895-97 but it was not until the spring
of 1915, under the cover of the World War I, that the Young Turks’
nationalistic government found the political will to execute a true
genocide.

Initially, Armenian intellectuals were arrested and executed in public
hangings in groups of 50 to 100. Ordinary Armenians were thus deprived
of their leaders, and soon after were massacred. Many were burnt alive.

Approximately 500,000 were killed in the last seven months of 1915,
with the majority of the survivors deported to desert areas in Syria,
where they died from either starvation or disease. It is estimated
that 1.5 million people perished.

Recently, the Armenian Diaspora has been calling on Turkey to face up
to its past and recognise its historic crime. Turkey’s official line
remains that the allegation is based on unfounded or exaggerated
claims, and that the deaths that occurred resulted from combat
against Armenians collaborating with invading Russian forces during
the World War I, or as a result of disease and hunger during the
forced deportations. Moreover, the local Turkish population allegedly
suffered similar casualties.

Turkey thus argues that the charge of genocide is designed to besmirch
Turkey’s honour and impede its progress towards EU accession. There are
also understandable fears that diverging from the official line would
trigger a flood of compensation claims, as occurred against Germany.

For many politicians, particularly in America, there is an
unwillingness to upset Turkey without strong justification, given its
record as a loyal NATO ally and putative EU candidate country. But,
despite almost half a century of membership in the Council of Europe –
ostensibly a guardian of human rights, including freedom of speech
and conscience – Turkey still punishes as crime against national
honour any suggestion that the Armenian genocide is an historic
truth. Fortunately, this article of Turkey’s penal code is now due
for review and possible repeal.

Indeed, broader changes are afoot in Turkey. The press and government,
mindful of the requirements of EU membership, are finally opening
the sensitive Armenian issue to debate. Even Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, under increasing EU pressure as accession negotiations
are due to begin this October, has agreed to an impartial study by
academic historians, although he has reiterated his belief that the
genocide never occurred. In France, the historical occurrence of the
Armenian genocide is enshrined in law, and denial of its occurrence
is regarded in the same way as Holocaust denial.

The European Parliament is pressing for Turkish recognition of
the Armenian genocide. It is also calling for an end to the trade
embargo by Turkey and its close ally Azerbaijan against the Republic
of Armenia, a reopening of frontiers, and a land-for-peace deal to
resolve the territorial dispute over Nagorno Karabakh in Azerbaijan
and safeguard its Armenian identity.

Armenia, an independent country since 1991, remains dependent on
continued Russian protection, as was the case in 1920 when it joined
the Soviet Union rather than suffer further Turkish invasion. This
is not healthy for the development of Armenia’s democracy and weak
economy. Nor does Armenia’s continued dependence on Russia bode well
for regional co-operation, given deep resentment of Russian meddling
in neighbouring Georgia and Azerbaijan.

There is only one way forward for Turkey, Armenia, and the region. The
future will begin only when Turkey – like Germany in the past and
Serbia and Croatia now – repudiates its policy of denial and faces
up to its terrible crimes of 1915. Only then can the past truly be
past. – DT-PS

Charles Tannock is chairman of the European Parliament’s Human Rights
Committee