Are We All Armenians?
by M. Nedim Hazar
Today’s Zaman
Jan. 27, 2007

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Let’s put aside all the questions, conspiracy theories (whether
reasonable or not), the alarming social point reached in recent
days. And let’s leave aside the sad and heartbreaking nature of the
murder for a moment. Let’s also temporarily shelve all the debates and
cross-talk and the fanatical racismbeing incited in youth under the
mask of "nationalism" prior to Hrant Dink’s murder?

Let’s have some mental exercises on the scene that appeared at Dink’s
funeral.

As the murderer admitted himself, nobody could have known this murder
would give rise to such great indignation. I think nobody would have
guessed that such a wide and strong social reaction would occur.

It is beyond argument that what happened on Tuesday was an
impressive. The Turkish people’s desire to say "no more" to some
dangers that have been accumulating was effective, as well as who Dink
was as a person and as a symbol.

Maybe the large funeral procession was a delayed show of support from
the masses for the victims who had eggs thrown at them outside court a
few months ago I think we the Turks are a lot more emotional and
hotheaded than other nations. Both our anger and compassion might be
volatile much of the time.

And especially when our passions rise, we might lose our balance.

You understand now: I’m going to talk about the placards reading "We
are all Armenians. We are all Hrant Dink."

Surely nobody understands these messages literally, as meaning an
expression of identity. Please keep in mind that I personally did not
miss the message it contains — the funeral procession was certainly a
meaningful response to that attack, which was sneaky, vile, stupid or
whatever you call it.

However all this does not justify perverting the facts.

"We are emotional," I said, but the Turkish media is a more emotional
than the Turkish people.

I want to say that I found the attitude of the Turkish media after the
assassination to be "exaggerated." Up until now, they have been
quicker than anyone to drown many liberal ideas and have outdone the
state in terms of limiting rights and freedoms. It is certainly
admirable that the media condemned and put a spotlight on such a
traitorous murder, without stooping to cheap and tabloid tactics —
however, it is still excessive.

The placards reading "We are all Armenians" make the issue more
complicated rather than providing a solution to it.

I am sure Hrant Dink would be disturbed as well. "Inappropriate," he
would say. "You do not need to become Armenians, it is better if you
just live together with Armenians as brethren." Someone like him who
had devoted hislife to ending the mutual hostility between Turks and
Armenians would, I believe, be opposed to a psychological mood
resulting from an emotional trauma becoming continuous and permanent.

The problem is not Armenians being Turkish — or not — so that the
solution would be making Turks Armenians! The cause Dink fought for
was to make it possible to accept others with their own identities and
understand one another.

The Armenian problem can’t be resolved by us becoming Hrant. Everyone
should know that we won’t have gotten rid of the "Armenian genocide"
problem even if we announce to the whole world that we are
Armenians. We are wrong if we believe that problems can be solved by
shouting slogans or holding placards at a funeral. Moreover, I am
becoming disturbed with the exaggerations of the media.

Yes, I am not Armenian, and I don’t think Hrant Dink would want anyone
to "become Armenian." Wisdom is not wishing to become "the other" but
managing to prevent creation of "the other."This style is not the cure
to the racist mentality that throws eggs and tomatoes at intellectuals
in front of houses of justice. But it might be an exaggeration
amounting to a similar conclusion.

I would expect all those who made and held those placards, first of
all in the media, to take the side of all those who were unjustly
treated. I don’t know, maybe like "All of us are Elif Safak" or "All
of us wear headscarves" — that sort of protest.

And wisdom is doing it before people die.

Or we’ll just keep talking and commenting in vain, and it will not
change anything.

_n.hazar@todayszaman.com_ (mailto:n.hazar@todayszaman.com)