Aug 25, 2007
Genocide is silent no more
Armenians await an admission
By Bronislaus B. Kush TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
[email protected]
Last March, the government of Turkey hosted a ceremony marking the $1.5
million restoration of a 10th century Armenian church on Akdamar Island, an
event attended by about 3,000 people including high-ranking officials and
the Turkish Armenian Patriarch, Mesrob II.
International political observers viewed the three-year rehabilitation of
the historic church as yet another attempt by the government of Ankara to
reach out to the minority Armenian population.
But at the time, Armenians in Turkey and elsewhere insisted that there could
never be any real goodwill until the government acknowledged that the
massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks from
1915 to 1923 was a "genocide."
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The issue has made headlines again over the past few days, the result of a
potentially divisive debate within the Anti-Defamation League over whether
the nationally prominent organization itself should recognize the Armenian
killings as genocide and whether the ADL should support a congressional
resolution on the matter.
However, to Clark University scholars who have studied a number of global
atrocities over the years, there is no gray area when it comes to the World
War I era slaughter of the Armenians.
"It’s an absolutely settled matter with academics," said Deborah Dwork,
director of the Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
at Clark. "It was murder under the cover of a world war. Period. Full stop."
Armenians flourished for about 3,000 years in the land that now makes up
Turkey, but in 1913 the so-called "Young Turks" seized control of the
government and in March of 1915 began rounding up Armenian leaders,
thinkers, writers and professionals.
The governmental effort widened and thousands of Armenians were abducted,
tortured, deported and killed.
Many nations have recognized the genocide but Armenians charge that Turkey
refuses to take responsibility for what happened.
Earlier this month, Andrew H. Tarsy, the league’s regional director, was
fired by national Director Abraham H. Foxman for calling upon the
organization to recognize the killings in Turkey as a genocide and to
support a congressional resolution on the matter.
Mr. Foxman said he and the ADL acknowledged the massacre but feared that
calling the slaughter a genocide might imperil Jews living in Turkey.
He said ADL action might also strain Israeli-Turkey relations. Turkey is one
of the few Muslim nations that have a relatively warm diplomatic
relationship with the Jewish state.
Under mounting pressure from Jewish and Armenian groups, the ADL finally
labeled the killings a "genocide," but stopped short of backing the
resolution, which is co-sponsored by about 220 congressmen, including U.S.
Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester.
In reaction to the change in the ADL’s position, the Turkish Foreign
Ministry yesterday stated its continued opposition to the resolution but
said Turkish Jews have nothing to fear.
"The Jewish community in Turkey is part of our society and its members do
not have to worry," said the ministry in a statement.
Ms. Dwork, the Rose professor of Holocaust History, believes Turkey will
eventually call the killings a genocide but she added that it won’t happen
soon.
"Denial is a bad idea that will always bite you in the end," she said.
According to academics, a genocide is an organized killing of a people for
the express purpose of ending their collective existence. Genocides target
those of a particular race, social class, ethnicity, religion or political
leaning.
Ms. Dwork theorized the Ankara government may be denying that the atrocity
was a genocide because of the issue of restitution. Armenian lands,
possessions and wealth were seized during the purge.
"I don’t really know why Turkey denies this genocide," said Ms. Dwork,
noting there’s been a reluctance in many quarters to also label the
countless deaths in Rwanda and Darfur as genocides. "Only the officials in
Ankara know."
Clark University President John Bassett said Turkey’s denial could kill that
country’s bid to join the European Union.
"Some Europeans believe that Turkey’s part of Asia, and shouldn’t be part of
the European community to begin with," he explained. "The genocide
controversy could open up the door for critics."
He said Turkish national pride may also be an issue. "Some people don’t want
to know about the evils that occurred in the past."
Concerning the firing of Mr. Tarsy, who received an honorary degree from
Clark a few years ago, Mr. Bassett said there may be more to the issue than
the genocide question. He said, for example, that there might have been some
dissatisfaction with Mr. Tarsy’s job performance.
"We just don’t know," Mr. Bassett said. "I think Abe Foxman made a mistake,
however, in not trying to work things out before the issue turned into a
very unpleasant situation."
Source: 50352