ARMENIANS DISPLAY AMAZING NAIVETY BY CHERISHING HOPES ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION BY WASHINGTON
Karine Ter-Sahakyan
PanARMENIAN.Net
09.12.2008 GMT+04:00
Seemingly today’s Turkey isn’t going to repeat the massacre but there
exists Azerbaijan which has become the worthy successor of the Ottoman
Empire in the Armenian issue.
A group of Turkish intellectuals recently sent a petition letter
to Armenians, apologizing publicly for the Armenian Genocide in
the Ottoman Turkey in 1915. The fact itself is already unique
if taking into account Article 301 of Turkish Penal Code, which
"promises" to arrest those who will openly discuss the Armenian
Genocide. Nevertheless, professors BaskÑ~Mn Oran and Ahmet Ðnsel,
journalists Ali BayramoÑ~@lu and Cengiz Aktar personally apologized
for the "great disaster Ottoman Armenians suffered in 1915".
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ According to Today’s Zaman, the intellectuals’ group
is calling on other people to sign the petition posted online, which
reads as follows: "I cannot conscientiously accept the indifference
to the great disaster that Ottoman Armenians suffered in 1915,
and its denial. I reject this injustice and, acting of my own will,
I share the feelings and pains of my Armenian brothers and sisters,
and I apologize to them."
"We are apologizing for not being able to discuss the "Great Calamity"
that the Armenian nation suffered in 1915, for not talking about
it openly for such a long time, nearly one hundred years," said
Turkish journalist Cengiz Aktar. Meanwhile, Turkish nationalists
and historians demand that the people "supporting Armenian claims of
Genocide be arrested."
In unison with this statement Armenian intellectuals sent an open
letter to Turkish President Abdullah Gul, suggesting once again
recognition of the Armenian Genocide. The letter particularly states
that the issue baffled the collective awareness of the Armenian and
Turkish nations, and caused actions irrespective of various demands
of everyday policy.
"We all should accept that the Ottoman Empire is guilty of the massacre
of the Armenian people, and modern-day Turkey bears "hereditary
responsibility" for what they consider a "monumental crime against
humanity". Present-day Turkish diplomacy and propaganda machine
can’t cover this dark page of history. The historic memory of our
nations is deep and restless. Your generation of Turkish leaders must
accept the undeniable truth and recognize the fact of the Armenian
Genocide. Recognition of this indisputable fact is first of all
essential for the Turkish people. Relieving this burden of history,
they can turn this dark page and launch a sincere dialogue for true
reconciliation," Armenian intellectuals said in the letter.
Such addresses are, of course, necessary but they are made for
no political or time-serving reason; they are dictated by human
heart. However, the mournful experience should have long sobered up
that part of Armenian nation, who still, despite of the Genocide and
the Nagorno Karabakh war, consider that petitions or pleas are capable
of solving a problem. The European diplomats, who were witnesses
of massacre in 1915-1916, acted exactly the same way. They wrote
to Berlin, London, Washington and St. Petersburg, but it produced
no results. They proved to be unable to change anything, and there
miraculously remained only several hundred thousand Armenians in the
world. And though, most likely, today’s Turkey isn’t going to repeat
the massacre, there exists Azerbaijan which has become the worthy
successor of the Ottoman Empire in the Armenian issue. At least,
anti-Armenian articles in the Azeri press are much more than they are
in Turkish papers. And it suggests much. Moreover, Baku has begun
to speak of Turkey’s possible Â"betrayalÂ" against her brother and
her probable normalization of relations with Armenia, which in Azeri
politicians’ opinion goes against the strategic goals of Official Baku.
It is evident that present-day Turkey will never voluntarily recognize
the Armenian Genocide. It is also difficult to say what or who can
make her do it. Seemingly, the European Union would be unable to do
it, as to all appearances Erdogan’s Government is no more eager to
enter into the EU. It would be at least naive to stake on the Islamic
countries too. As for Russia, it would never press on Turkey in such
a complicated issue, since it is now essential for Russia to move
Turkey away from the USA and attract her to her side.
Not at all belittling the work done by the Office of Â"Hay DatÂ"
towards the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide,
we nevertheless consider that Armenians are amazingly naive in this
issue, especially towards the new US Administration. In case Barack
Obama officially recognizes the Armenian Genocide, he will have to
deal not with Turkey herself, but with the Jewish and Turkish lobby
that will immediately make it clear for the President that he hurried
with his decision. Thus, "Hay Dat" Office Director Kiro Manoyan’s
statement saying that "Recognition by the new U.S. Administration
seems quite possible now" is a bit premature.
–Boundary_(ID_mFHXssPraYAEbwpcpHDCWQ) —
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress