Is Yerevan Scared of History?
By Sahin ALPAY

Zaman, Turkey
Aug 12 2005

A young Turkish researcher, Yektan Turkyilmaz, is being held in
custody since June 17 by the Armenian intelligence service under
high security conditions. He was due to appear in court tomorrow,
facing according to Article 215/2 of the Armenian Penal Code a jail
sentence of four to eight years for allegedly “smuggling rare books”
out of the country. We hope that the court will reach a decision that
will repair the gross injustice inflicted on Turkyilmaz.

Who is Turkyilmaz? He is a scholar who after receiving after his B.A.
degree at Bogazici University in Istanbul is working for a Ph. D.
degree at the Duke University, a prominent university in the United
States. In addition to Turkish and English, Turkyýlmaz speaks French,
Ottoman Turkish, Kurdish and Armenian. His general field of research
concerns nationalist movements among Turks, Armenians and Kurds
during the final period of the Ottoman Empire. His colleagues believe
that Turkyilmaz’s research will make a significant contribution to
the debates concerning this period since it is based on Turkish,
Kurdish and Armenian sources. Having good relations with Armenian
colleagues, Turkyilmaz became the first Turkish scholar to be allowed
to work in the Armenian national archives. According to Orin Starn,
his thesis instructor at Duke University, “Turkyilmaz is brilliant
and widely respected young scholar” who has receieved numerous awards
and fellowships.

What then is Turkyilmaz’s crime? Turkyilmaz was taken to custody
soon after he embarked the plane to return to Turkey after having
completing his research in the Armenian national archives on his fourth
visit to Yerevan. It was reported that Turkyilmaz was found guilty of
“smuggling” old books out of Armenia which require official permission
to be taken out of the country according to a law which dates from
the Soviet times. Since there are no diplomatic relations between
Turkey and Armenia, Turkish officials merely demanded Turkyilmaz’s
release. Armenian intelligence service interrogated him about his
research and his theoretical orientations, and confiscated the copies
of his archival research. More than 200 Turkish, Armenian and American
academics sent a letter to the Armenian President Robert Kocharian
on July 29, calling for his intervention for the immediate release
of Turkyilmaz and his notes to be returned. In brief, they said
the following:

We care deeply about improvements in Armenian – Turkish relations
and consider the unimpeded work of independent scholars to be vital
steps in the right direction… None of the books he had with him
were forbidden from being taken out of the country, but only required
permissions… While it may be appropriate to impose a fine for the
unknowing violation of customs regulations, prison terms of 4 to 8
years is grossly disproportionate… The political implications of
his detention cause grave concern. The dialogue which has recently
been opened up between Turkish and Armenian scholars is put to risk.
“This arrest would also raise serious doubts as to whether Armenia
encouraes independent scholarly research into history.”

US Senator Bob Dole also sent a letter to President Kocharian on
August 2 in which he said: Human Rights groups do not rank Armenia
as a democracy, and define it only as a “partly free” country due to
your governments mistreatment of opposition leaders and supporters.
Your detention of Yektan for seven weeks Yektan being in detention
for seven weeks confirms the shortcomings of democracy in Armenia. I
urge you to intervene for the immediate release of Yektan, and also
for the amendment of this strange law which is not compatible with
a free society.

The Turkyilmaz case underlines two basic questions: Is the Soviet
regime still continuing in Armenia which is a member of the Council
of Europe? Is the Armenian administration, which has grossly violated
academic freedom, scared of shedding light on its history?

–Boundary_(ID_XyO453/QgUsJ+flRcTinZA)–