MORE ARMENIAN GHOSTS (AGAIN)

GetReligion.org
g/?s=Hrant&submit.x=0&submit.y=0
March 20 2009

Trust me, I realize that what I am about to write falls into the
"there he goes again, saying the same old things" category. I wish
that wasn’t the case, but I know that it is.

That’s OK. I still think that there are religion ghosts — millions
of them — in all of that bitter debate about whether Turkey did or
did not commit genocide against the nation’s Armenians in the early
20th century.

Yes, ethnicity was a major factor. Yes, politics was involved. But
so was the ancient Christian faith of the Armenian Orthodox and the
unique, at times mysterious, "secular" brand of Islam advocated by
the Turks. To say otherwise is simply bizarre.

The situation is, of course, horribly complex and emotional. Disputes
mixing money, religion, politics and ethnicity usually are. But it
doesn’t help to gouge the soul out of this still bleeding body.

If you doubt what I am saying, try running a Google search for this
hame — "Hrant Dink." Or just click here, scroll down, and read a
bit. Then read some more.

However, if you click here and read a recent Los Angeles Times report
about the genocide debate, you will learn absolutely nothing about
the role that religion has played in this old, old story that is
now haunting the White House. This isn’t a conflict that includes a
religion angle, don’t you know? Here’s the top of this haunted report:

The Obama administration is hesitating on a promised presidential
declaration that Armenians were the victims of genocide in the early
20th century, fearful of alienating Turkey when U.S. officials badly
want its help.

President Obama and other top administration officials pledged during
the presidential campaign to officially designate the 1915 killings of
Armenians by the Ottoman Turks as genocide. Many Armenian Americans,
who are descendants of the victims and survivors, have long sought
such a declaration.

But the administration also has been soliciting Ankara’s help on
Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and other security issues amid Turkish
warnings that an official U.S. statement would imperil Turkey’s
assistance. Administration officials are considering postponing a
presidential statement, citing progress toward a thaw in relations
between Turkey and neighboring Armenia.

So, what was the alleged genocide all about? Here is one chunk of
facts from this report:

An estimated 1.5 million Armenians were victims of planned killings
by the Ottoman Turks as the empire was dissolving during World War I,
an episode historians have concluded was a genocide. But Turkey and
some of its supporters contend that the deaths resulted from civil
war and unrest and that their numbers were exaggerated. …

Obama declared repeatedly during his campaign that the killings were
genocide. Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton are on record with similar positions. But the Obama
administration would like to use Turkey as part of the military supply
line for Afghanistan. It also would like more help regarding Iraq,
Iran’s nuclear program, Russia and Mideast peace.

The current government of Turkey is very nervous about this issue. This
is no surprise. But why?

The bottom line question: Is this simply about nationalism and ethnic
pride? Really? Read the story and try to find even a hint that there
is more to the conflict than that.