1915-2007: Nothing much has changed, it seems
PanARMENIAN.Net
25.01.2007 17:16 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Nothing much has changed, it seems. They were
killed both in 1915 and in 2007," Turkish writer and journalist
Ahmet Altan says in his "1915-2007" article, which was published in
"Gazetem.net" site just the other days. Independent French journalist
Jean Eckian retold the PanARMENIAN.Net corespondent Ahmet Altan’s
article.
"They killed us, and we killed them back. What are we going to say
about the murder of Hrant then? That "Hrant killed us, and we killed
Hrant back?" Now that is not what we say, is it? We say "traitors
killed Hrant." We do not see the murderers of Hrant as one of "us." Why
is it that "we" are the ones who ninety years ago killed hundreds
of thousands of people, without forsaking children, women, elderly
and babies, who decimated the Armenians, but we are not the ones who
killed Hrant? What is the difference between the two? The difference
is that this time we saw the murder, that we have an idea about the
intentions of the murderer. This time they did not "tell us" how the
murder was committed, we personally witnessed it ourselves. If those
who in this country "write" the history of 1915 had also written the
murder of Hrant, the children in this country would have said fifty
years later that "Hrant had killed us, and we killed Hrant back. The
truth would have changed shape in the hands of the liars."
We did not kill Hrant. Most probably some people who have ferreted
their way into the state had Hrant killed. Their intention was for
the world to react negatively to Turkey, which would have escalated
nationalism within the country in response, leading to a break off
from Europe. In 1915 as well, "we" did not kill the Armenians. Those
poor people were not killed by "the ones ferreted inside the state,"
but directly by the state itself. A great massacre that was organized
by the Unionists in government was actualized. The Armenians who
were killed were Ottoman subjects. They were a part of the Ottoman
nation. A part of the nation was utterly destroyed by the state.
"We" are the nation. The ones who were killed were a part of
"us." Since each Turk who lives in this country see themselves not
as a "part of the nation" but rather a "part of the state," however,
they also own this massacre executed by the state. "They killed us,
we killed them," they say. Now that is a lie. The Ottoman State, under
the government of the Unionists killed, in an organized manner, with
the planning of the intelligence unit entitled Special Organization
(Teskilat-? Mahsusa), a "part of us." The murdered Armenians are a
part of "us." It is actually our duty to ask them to account for that
murdered part of us.
"We" ought to face this state and ask them "are you a continuation
of the Ottoman state," ask them "why do you own up to the murder
committed by a state you destroyed," ask them "why don’t you yourself
seek accountability for this destruction by the state of a part
of its nation and instead leave this task to others. "Because "we"
did not ask this, one of "us," Hrant Dink, has now been murdered. On
top of it all, he, while still mourning for his ancestors, wanted
Turkey not to be trapped solely within the term "genocide," not to
have the entire debate forced into a single word; he wanted Turkey
to be permitted to become democratized through uniting with the world.
Hrant Dink was declared "an enemy of the Turks." He was no one’s enemy,
he was not someone who could have been a foe. He was a friend. And he
was a friend to everyone. Why is it that in this country those who are
"for murders and massacres" are accepted as a Turk while "those for
friendship, peace, justice and humanity" are regarded as foe. The
Turkish populace owns up to the crimes of the old and new "state"
because it cannot grasp that it is the "nation." As it cannot grasp
that it itself is the nation, it identifies itself with the murderers
instead and says "us." My heart could never bear to have the sorrowful
deaths of those hundreds of thousands of people, the bloody tragedy
that was experienced to be lost within the vortex created by the
term "genocide." Yet because we have not been able to move beyond
that word, people like Hrant are still being killed. I think that
now, in order to prevent new murders, in order to stop this country
from being dragged to a dead end, it is up to us to move beyond that
word. The Ottoman State killed hundreds of thousands of people solely
because they were "Armenians." And today a hidden force kills Hrant
for "being an Armenian." What are we going to call it if a person is
being killed solely because of their race or their religion? It is
up to "us," to this nation to ask for an accounting of those who were
killed. Hrant’s death hurts you all deeply. If you had witnessed what
had happened in 1915, you would have been likewise deeply hurt. And
you would not have said "they killed us, we killed them." You would
have been ashamed. Just as you wanted Hrant’s murderers to be found,
you would have wanted the murderers of those Armenians found as well.
With his death, Hrant made us remember that we are a nation, that we
should not identify ourselves with the murderers. Then let us do what
befits being a nation.
Who killed Hrant? Who killed the Armenians in 1915?
They do not have to account for their actions to "others," they have
to account to "us." For we are the ones who have died. The ones who
died are a part of us".