You can listen to the program feature on the Turkish sensitivity towards
their history by Dorian Jones is “hidden”
in the BBC World Service Outlook program until Thursday on
(broadband connection needed)
Otherwise there follows the main points from this program
(some of the spellings of Turkish names may be suspect as it is taken
from an audio report)
Thousands of Armenian orphan children were “saved” and brought up as
Turkish Muslims during the Armenian Genocide (these specific words are
used in the broadcast).
Fethiye Cetin’s book (now in its fifth reprint) reveals her grandmother
was one such child prepared after extensive research into one of
Turkey’s darkest chapters.
Armenians are routinely described in Turkey as enemies and spies and the
genocide is “hidden” from the population.
Fethiye decided to write the book after feeling pain reading about
conflicting statistics on the number of deaths: each victim in her view
was an individual human tragedy.
Prof Selim Deringi mentioned that there were intractable problems, and
the wounds from the past have not healed.
The opposite views (genocide of civilians v 5th column collaborators
with enemy in wartime conditions) show that there is not a state of
dialogue.
A Turkish conference on the genocide (the professor was one of the
organisers) was deferred after “intense government pressure”.
European and other external pressure has resulted in the conference
being reorganised.
There is very strong opposition to any change to the official position
on this issue.
Shukri Elekdar believes that recognition of the genocide is a threat to
Turkey’s future, particularly as he sees it as part of a wider policy to
seize Turkish territory
(this is demonstrated by Armenians referring to Eastern Turkey as
Western Armenia.
All Turkish political parties are united behind the government on this
despite the Armenian benefit from the support received from the USA.
Nevertheless, more and more people are delving into Turkey’s past.
Berkiye Pars is editing her film on her grandparent’s adopted child.
She wants Turks to have a chance to learn about their own past.
Many families have Armenian or Greek members – but they keep this a
secret, even denounce it though their own neighbours know this.
Yshim Fsoghlu is preparing a new film (Waiting for Clouds) on the
expulsion of 1 million Greeks as part of the population exchange.
This is another taboo in Turkey’s many dark chapters in its past.
She too has been threatened with legal prosecution as has Orhan Pamuk
but feels that artists must challenge historical taboos.
People can be reactive with such material but they must think and feel