FOR ALL TURKS AND ARMENIANS: AN ANALYSIS AND MANIFESTO
Barin Kayaoglu
JTW Columnist
Journal of Turkish Weekly
Oct 17 2007
This op-ed aims to do two things: Give a balanced rendering of the
Turkish-Armenian dispute and call upon Turks and Armenians to get
out of their straight-jackets and reach an understanding.
The Analysis
Last week, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of
Representatives passed Resolution 106, titled "Affirmation of the
United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution." Introduced
by Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), H. Res. 106 calls "upon the
President [of the United States] to ensure that the foreign policy of
the United States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity
concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and
genocide documented in the United States record relating to the
Armenian Genocide, and for other purposes."[1] It is expected that
the resolution will be approved by the full House in mid-November.
While Armenians around the world rejoiced at the decision, Turkish
officials have pointed out that if the House accepts the resolution,
nationalist reaction in Turkey will damage Turkish-American and
Turkish-Armenian relations beyond repair.
For decades, a lot has been said on the tragedy that befell Ottoman
Armenians during World War I. The argument is over whether the
events can be described as genocide (defined by the "UN Convention on
Genocide" as the deliberate "intent to destroy, in whole or in part,
a national, ethnical [sic], racial or religious group") or not.[2]
Those who make a case for genocide argue that from April 1915 until
late 1917, the Ottoman government used the military losses on the
Caucasian front at the hands of Russia and the terrorism by Armenian
nationalist revolutionaries to implement a genocide against Armenian
civilians. For this school, the Ottoman government’s decision to
relocate/deport the Armenians was a smoke-screen.[3]
Those who argue that the events did not constitute genocide point
out that Istanbul’s order to temporarily deport Ottoman Armenians
intended to do strictly that – to relocate Armenian civilians to
areas away from the troubles. Their destination was other Ottoman
provinces. Incompetent administrators, pressed by terrorism, poor
logistics, and an inadequate infrastructure, failed to cope with
the situation. All of this resulted in the tragic deaths of the
Armenians. At any rate, this school argues, Armenian terrorists also
killed many Muslims; the killings went both ways.[4]
These stances can be scrutinized in different ways. A strict
application of the UN Convention’s definition of the term "genocide"
may disqualify the Armenian example. Those who make the case against
genocide maintain that the government in Istanbul did not intend
to exterminate the Armenians. Those arguing for genocide claim the
opposite and point out to the secret telegrams sent from Istanbul to
the eastern front ordering the mass killings.
Some of those Ottoman officials who were guilty of premeditated murder
actually confessed to their crimes in military tribunals following
World War I. The records of the tribunals, coupled with some of the
hand-written copies of telegrams sent from Istanbul to the front,
demonstrate that it took a little more than berserk troops on the
ground to carry out the genocidal killings.
But the claim that Istanbul ordered the annihilation of Armenians
is also weakened by certain factors. The authenticity of certain
documents tarnishes the case for genocide. The secret telegrams,
for example, are almost exclusively available at the archives of the
Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem. Not a terribly neutral venue.
Specifically, take the "Naim-Andonian telegrams." In 1920, Aram
Andonian, an Armenian journalist who had worked for the Young Turk
government earlier in the war, published the memoirs of a certain
Naim Bey. According to Andonian, Naim Bey was a Turkish official who
served as the chief secretary of the deportation committee in Aleppo
during the war. Upon the conclusion of the war, Naim handed Andonian
the telegrams originating from Istanbul with the orders to massacre
Armenian civilians. The problem is that those telegrams are labeled
as forgeries by some historians because Andonian never produced the
originals. In fact, some scholars have even gone far as to suggest
that Andonian simply wrote what he thought about the massacres by
using Naim as a mouthpiece.[5]
Documents comparable to the minutes of the Nazis’ Wannsee Conference of
January 1942 (where they came up with their infamous "final solution
to the Jewish question") in brevity, scope, and authenticity cannot
easily be mustered that in the Armenian case and that is a problem.
None of these points, however, eclipse one glaring fact: Hundreds
of thousands of Ottoman Armenians died between 1915 and 1917 (the
estimates range from 600,000 to 1.5 million, depending on one’s
position). Turkish and Kurdish civilians also suffered horrendously
at the hands of Armenian bands, both in the Russian-occupied parts
of Eastern Anatolia and the territory controlled by the Ottoman state.
It is true that some of the Armenians died of disease, cold, and
malnutrition. On the other hand, it must be conceded that probably
a lot Armenians died at the hands of Turkish soldiers and Kurdish
tribesmen as well.
The Manifesto
Looking at the sheer numbers of dead civilians, we have to understand
the futility of the "genocide – not genocide" discussion. How can
anyone limit one’s conscience to a single word? No person in his right
mind would do such a thing. And neither should Turks and Armenians.
This tragedy that befell us was much more sinister than a genocide.
If the Istanbul government implemented a genocide, why did most of our
ancestors not stand up for their neighbors? When Armenian terrorists
rounded up fellow Muslim villagers, why did most of our grandparents
not do anything to stop them? Forget about stopping the massacres, some
of them – Armenian and Muslim – happily did their part in the killings!
What is tragic is that since 1915, we have only emulated their
mistakes. The deaths of Turkish diplomats in the 1970s and 1980s,
incessant bickering between Turks and Armenians, and lately, the tragic
murder of the Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in January 2007,
attest to the fact that we have to change our attitude.
That change of attitude should start by recognizing the fact that we
Turks and Armenians killed each other on an industrial scale. That many
more Armenians died than Turks is irrelevant. The important thing is
that innocent civilians perished – babies, mothers, fathers, sisters,
brothers, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.
If you cannot comprehend the gravity of such a loss, just imagine
yourself at a family gathering: You are surrounded by all the people
you love – your mother, father, siblings, spouse, children, nieces,
nephews. And all of a sudden imagine that these people – every single
one of them – are killed before your eyes by people with whom you
lived as good neighbors for nearly a millennium. After the deaths of
your loved ones, hundreds, thousands, and millions would mean very
little for you because you do not have a reason to exist anymore.
So I call upon all Turks and Armenians: Come to your senses!
We have lost too much and suffered long enough. Let us regain what
we once had – our friendship, peaceful coexistence, and respect for
each other. Let the Armenians convince Turks, rather than American
politicians, about their sufferings. Let the Turks make the Armenians
see their point of view. As Hrant Dink said in an interview not
long before he was slain, "Armenians are the doctors of Turks and
Turks are the doctors of Armenians." Only by talking to each other
rather than through each other can we resolve our differences and
ease our suffering.
Esteemed members of the U.S. House of Representatives: The
biggest favor that Western nations can possibly do to Turkish and
Armenian people is to mind their own business and let them come to an
understanding on their own. Your resolution is only going to exacerbate
enmities. To expect that H. Res. 106 will facilitate a reconciliation
between Turks and Armenians is as sensible as extinguishing fire with
dynamite. We implore you not to do it.
Finally, those who owe their petty existence to the perpetuation of
this dispute: Hate-mongers! Appear as you may as Turks or Armenians,
you are all on the same side. Yes, you hate-mongers are on the
same side!
You extremists do not strive for the happiness of your peoples; you
look around for enemies to satiate your neurosis. Stirring up trouble
is only a convenience for you. You live by seeing enemies everywhere.
If you cannot find enemies, you create them, just as you did nearly a
hundred years ago. You, murderers of Hrant Dink, Mehmet Baydar, Artin
Penik, Necla Kuneralp and hundreds of thousands of others, are all on
the same side. We – real Turks and Armenians – are on the other side.
Leave us alone!
Barýn Kayaoðlu is a Ph.D. student in history at the University of
Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia and a regular contributor to
the Journal of Turkish Weekly.
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