Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 14 2010

Leave history alone, Turkish-Armenians tell outsiders

Many Turkish citizens of Armenian descent have called on third
countries not to involve themselves in historical disagreements
between Turkey and Armenia while the two countries are in the process
of resolving these issues and normalizing their once-tense bilateral
relations.

Speaking to Sunday’s Zaman, many Turkish-Armenians have, in
particular, denounced the approval of US and Swedish resolutions
recognizing the killings of Armenians in 1915 as `genocide,’ which
they said would not help either side in the long-disputed problem.

Nazar Ã-zsahakyan, chairman of Surp Yerits Mangans Armenian Church
Foundation in Ä°stanbul, stated that he shared the feelings of Turks
when he first heard about the passage of the resolutions. `I reacted
to those resolutions the same way Turks did,’ he said, adding that he
was not alone as a Turkish citizen of Armenian descent opposing any
third country’s usage of the issue as a political tool. `All of the
Armenians whom I have contacted think just like me,’ he stated.

On March 4, the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign
Affairs voted 23-22 to approve the non-binding resolution, clearing it
for consideration by the full House. But it is unclear whether the
measure will get a floor vote. The adoption of the resolution,
however, irked many and stirred wide reaction in Turkey, which
vehemently rejects the allegations and regards the events as civil
strife in wartime that claimed the lives of many Turks and other
residents of the region at the time as well as Armenians.

The Swedish Parliament recognized the Armenian genocide with a vote of
131 to 130, only a week after the US committee’s vote, further
aggravating Turkey.

Kayseri Surp Krikor Lusarovic Armenian Church Foundation Chairman
Zadik Toker joined Ã-zsahakyan in taking a critical stand against the
US resolution and reiterated that the decision has discomfited the
Armenian community living in Turkey. `We don’t appreciate such moves,
and the Armenians living in Turkey are uncomfortable with them,’ said
Toker. He added that bilateral issues should be resolved without the
interference of third parties as has particularly been the case with
the World War I-era Armenian killings. `Turkey and Armenia should
resolve their problems on their own through meetings with each other
and exchanging views,’ he added.

The decades-long dispute is a highly sensitive issue in Turkey.
Following the adoption of the resolution in the US, Foreign Minister
Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu told reporters that the issue was a matter of honor
for the country and thus they would assess what measures to take.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an and President Abdullah Gül have
denounced the US and Swedish moves as well. Turkish envoys in
Washington and Stockholm were recalled immediately after the votes in
a powerful reaction to the governments of both countries.

Etyen Mahçupyan, editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian
weekly Agos, argued that states should not take part in such
discussions as primary actors. `Both US and Swedish votes were actions
whose aims were unclear. I find them meaningful neither for
understanding the past nor for setting the future,’ said the Armenian
author and journalist, adding that he did not approve of the Turkish
government’s reaction to the moves, either. `I categorically reject
states’ involvement in such matters. They should never become actors
in similar discussions. Otherwise, we cannot avoid politicization
there,’ he asserted.

Markar Esayan, a deputy editor and a columnist of the liberal Taraf
daily, joined Mahçupyan in dismissing state involvement in matters
related to past sufferings. `Even if I am a citizen of Armenian
descent, I regard this problem as a citizen of Turkey as much as I
regard it an ethical and humane issue. I rise against the fact that
the sufferings of people to whom I belong are being used as a factor
of pressure on the country to which I belong,’ he wrote in his column
on March 4, even before the US vote, predicting that it was going to
be in favor of the Armenian resolution.

Though the exact figure is unclear, it is estimated that there are up
to 70,000 Armenians in Turkey, most of them living in Ä°stanbul, while
the rest are scattered across the country. There are also undocumented
Armenian workers who left their homeland to seek better lives in
Turkey. A study conducted by the Eurasia Partnership Foundation last
year suggested that the number of undocumented Armenian workers was
around 12,000.

14 March 2010, Sunday
MUSTAFA EDIB YILMAZ Ä°STANBUL