ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DEBATE
by Johan Huizinga

Radio Netherlands, Netherlands
April 24 2007

The Dutch Armenian Committee for Justice and Democracy march in The
Hague for the victims of the genocide (Photo ANP)

"Let’s unearth the truth about what happened in 1915 together". That
was the headline of a page-wide advertisement from the Turkish
government in some international newspapers. Ankara hopes to win
public support over the issue of the Armenian genocide in 1915.

The proposal to let Armenian and Turkish historians investigate
the matter together, however, is not new and neither is the support
from Washington for this idea. But the timing of the adverstisment,
just before the annual commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, was
very clever.

In the advertisement, Ankara invites Armenia to establish a joint
commission of historians to investigate the 1915 killings of thousands
of Armenians in the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Estimates range from
800,000 to 1.2 million Armenians who have died between 1915 and 1917
in the mass killings and deportation of Armenians. However, for mainly
nationalistic reasons, Ankara still refuses to acknowledge that what
happened was genocide, the planned extermination of an ethnic group.

Thorny issue

The genocide denial remains a thorny issue in Turkish relations
not only with Armenia, but with the US, the EU and several European
countries as well. That explains the advertisement, which also quotes
US President George W Bush and his Secretary of State, Condoleezza
Rice who are backing the proposal. But according to Professor Eric
Jan Zurcher, Turkey expert at Leiden University, neither the proposal,
nor the American support is new.

The proposal is a few years old and has been categorically rejected
by the Armenian government. The Armenians claim no extra research is
needed to establish the historical facts. The Americans support the
Turkish proposal since they are bound by the need to maintain good
relations with Turkey and the demands from Armenian pressure groups.

So in the end, the advertisement very much looks like a publicity
stunt to win time for Turkey.

Fruitless debates

And the chances of any joint commission of historians reaching the
same conclusions are still very small, fears Mr Zurcher. Historians
appointed by the Armenian and Turkish governments will first of all
be selected for their loyalty to the national points of view on this
issue. So the attempt to find a common conclusion will most likely
end up in some fruitless debates.

Then there remains another possible pitfall, warns Professor Zurcher.

In the initial stages, Ankara hinted that such a joint commission of
historians would get exclusive rights on the issue.

That could bar independent historians from using Turkish archives,
for instance and it would possibly silence the debate on the Armenian
Genocide for the time being which might be exactly what the Turks
are after.

This leaves the Armenians, demonstrating at the Turkish embassy
in The Hague, with their clear demands: a penalty on denial of the
Armenian Genocide and no Turkish EU-membership without acknowledging
the genocide by Ankara. Whether the Armenians will have it their
way remains very doubtful however. Although more than 90 years have
passed since the atrocities took place, the discussion is a long way
from reaching a conclusion.

taffairs/gen070424mc