TEARING AWAY AT HISTORICAL TABOO

Hurriyet
Dec 17 2008
Turkey

ISTANBUL – An online petition apologizing for the 1915 incidents in
the Ottoman Empire and a counterstatement from retired ambassadors
show that Turkey is more freely and openly discussing the issue,
suggesting the country is coming closer to breaking a long-held taboo
on the subject

A healthy, mature mentality surfaces in Turkey as former Turkish
ambassadors issue a statement Monday criticizing an initiative to
apologize for 1915 incidents at the hands of the Ottomans.

The online apology, co-written by about 200 intellectuals, opened for
signature Monday and had been signed by more than 6,000 people as of
yesterday. The nature of the debate shows progress in the country’s
ability to discuss the highly sensitive issue.

The apology by the group of prominent academics, journalists, writers
and artists Ä~^ which avoided using the contentious term "genocide" in
the apology, using the less explosive "Great Catastrophe" instead Ä~^
met with a counterstatement from retired ambassadors who argued that
the apology is wrong and against Turkey’s national interests. Apart
from individual reactions from politicians, the statement of the former
ambassadors was the most visible reaction to the initiative, certainly
a clear sign that society is coming closer to breaking a long-held
taboo against acknowledging Turkish culpability for the deaths.

Mensur Akgun, an academic from Istanbul’s Kultur University, told
the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review the initiative was a first
for Turkey, where for the first time a group of people showed they
felt responsible for this tragedy. "In a country, where people are
killed for solely being Armenian, this initiative constitutes a
mental breakthrough," he said. The crucial point is the timing of
the initiative; three years ago such a campaign would most likely
have created a public outcry. In fact, in 2005 a crisis erupted when
a group of lawyers made a legal plea to prevent a conference on the
Ottoman Armenians to be held in a state university.

Professor Ahmet Evin from Sabancı University, who is one of the
signatories, said the apology was an opportunity for individuals and
civil society to express their view, an opportunity that would not come
from political channels. "I see the possibility of rapprochement. This
campaign gathers those favoring reconciliation and it would relieve
Turkey of pressure from Armenian lobbies in the international
arena. There is no other ulterior motive or agenda," he said.

Hugh Pope, Turkey’s director of the International Crisis Group,
said the campaign and the ambassadors’ statement showed there were a
lot of different viewpoints in Turkey. "The discussion is becoming
freer. Before, people only talked about what happened and how to
define it. Now we see a more civilized discussion," he said.

Akgun said the way was paved for such an initiative by President
Abdullah Gul’s visit to Yerevan and the Ergenekon investigation,
in which people have been detained for alleged participation in
a plot to overthrow the government. President of the International
Strategic Research Organization, or USAK, Sedat Laciner said, however,
the timing of the campaign would undermine the dialogue between the
two countries. "We are in a historical period. Both countries are in
a hustle to make big steps out of small steps to establish diplomatic
relations. However, such a move would increase tensions in Turkey,
while strengthening the hand of radicals in Armenia," he said.

The counterstatement issued by more than 50 retired diplomats said
the apology was wrong since it would be followed by territorial and
compensatory demands. Akgun, however, objected to this, saying that
according to the 1948 Genocide Convention, signatory countries could
not be accused of genocide. The diplomats’ statement also emphasized
that the apology did not mention the death of the Turks during the
1914-15 events, therefore was unbalanced. Retired Ambassador Ä°nal
Batu agreed that the academicians’ statement was unbalanced. "Hundreds
of thousands of Ottoman citizens of Kurdish and Turkish origin were
also killed. They should have expressed deep sorrow, not apology,
for both massacres," Batu said.

But the counterstatement is also far from perfect, as it fails to
provide an adequate alternative to Turkey’s policy on the matter,
according to Batu.

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