REINSTITUTION OF TURKISH – ARMENIAN FRIENDSHIP

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 3 2005

SAHIN ALPAY

The crux of my speech at the panel on “The Armenian Problem and Turkish
Democracy” in the “Ottoman Armenians” conference was the following:
I am not a historian. As a political scientist and public commentator,
my interest is focused on the current issues and problems of Turkish
politics.

I believe that the resolution of the “Armenian problem” is
indispensable for consolidation of liberal and pluralist democracy, and
for peace culture to prevail in Turkey. Consequently, I am interested
more in the future than in the past. My problem is: What can be done to
reinstitute Turkish – Armenian friendship? There certainly are people,
among both Turks and Armenians, who want to reach conciliation and
resolve the problem. These today constitute a minority, but they may
well become the majority in the future. To this end, those who favor
a solution need to reach a consensus on some basic points.

Regarding history: What was experienced at the end of the19th and the
beginning of the 20th centuries is the story of the dissolution of
the multi-religious and multi-ethnic Ottoman Empire as a result of
conflicting religious and ethnic nationalisms backed by imperialist
European powers. It is the story of millions of people who were
subjected to ethnic cleansing, deportation and massacres. Almost all
of the ethnic and religious which made up the Ottoman Empire had their
share of this tragedy. The Union and Progress Party government decided
to put Anatolia fully under its control, and to cleanse this region
of ethnic and religious elements whose loyalty it did not trust. When
in 1915 – 16 the Unionists in order to punish Armenian separatists
who sought to establish an independent Armenia by cooperating with
the Russians deported Armenians living in all parts of the country
to Syria (Zor province), Armenians became the religious and ethnic
group which suffered most during the course of the dissolution of
the empire. Not only those living in the war zone but all Armenians,
except those living in Istanbul and Izmir were subjected to the
forced deportations. In the process hundreds of thousands of them
were killed or died as a result of famine or illness. Some escaped
deportation by converting to Islam, others managed to survive by
converting to Islam after being rescued by Muslims. Some of those who
managed to reach Syria alive settled there, while many emigrated to
France and the US. Turkish people know very little about the tragedy
of the Ottoman Armenians, and a solution to the “Armenian problem”
is not possible until they are sufficiently informed about it.

Neither is it possible to reach a consensus on the claim that Armenians
were subjected to genocide. Some will continue to insist on this claim,
while others will never accept it. It is, however, clear that this
claim hinders Turkey from discussing freely what really happened in
history. Holding all Turks then and now accountable for the crimes
committed by the Ottoman Unionist government, and using the genocide
allegation to fan racist hatred and enmity against all Turks, is surely
unacceptable. If a broad consensus on the above facts is achieved,
it is possible to move forward towards a solution.

Our tasks as those in Turkey who favor of reconciliation are obvious:
We must first of all exert our utmost efforts to ensure that our
Armenian citizens enjoy equal citizenship rights and that their
minority rights are secured. Historians should, with courage and
determination, work to shed light on what really happened and on those
who were responsible. We should try to win over the public opinion in
favor of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and
Armenia, and opening of the borders between the two countries. Ankara
can thereby even contribute to peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We
should also try to enhance the links and dialogue between the Turkish
and Armenian civil societies. If we can do all these, it will one day
be possible to erect a monument in Anatolia in memory of the great
suffering Ottoman Armenians lived through.