NO, DEAR PRIME MINISTER, DON’T TOUCH THE ARMENIANS, PROTECT THEM

Hurriyet
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March 17 2010
Turkey

I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard the news.

How could it be that Turkey’s prime minister could say such a thing?

Was it his own thought or did someone else think of it?

Or is there a misunderstanding?

Or was he trying to say something else but the wrong words came out
of his mouth?

No, the prime minister clearly spoke these words on BBC.

He openly underlined these words on a TV channel watched throughout
the world.

He announced that citizens of Armenia who came as tourists and started
working illegally just to earn a bit of money because they are so poor,
would be deported in case the initiative does not work.

He might have intended to intimidate Armenia.

First I thought of CHP’s important member Oymen. Remember how he said,
"Turkey should teach Armenia a lesson never to be forgotten" and was
criticized by the AKP. Rest assured that the prime minister’s latest
statement is no different from his.

There could be neither a lousier timing nor a more fatal word than
this one.

As everybody tries to label Turkey as perpetrator of genocide

We are living in a period of time in which the tendency of the
international public to labeling Turkey in respect to the Armenian
genocide increases. The Sweden parliament has made a new decision. The
American Congress Committee for Foreign Affairs said, "Turkey has
committed genocide."

The British House of Commons and the American Congress are likely
to take up this matter. Ankara is spending great effort in order
to prevent President Obama from pronouncing the word "genocide"
on April 24.

I’m not sure how to interpret the prime minister’s statement
of deporting 100,000 undocumented working Armenians while we are
struggling to prove everybody there has been no Armenian genocide in
the past.

Has it been a slip of tongue?

Or a not well reasoned strategy?

Or is he trying to scare Armenia, Washington and other countries that
are planning to accept the genocide resolution?

Or a great brain wave put forth by some advisor?

No matter which option you chose to accept these words are of the
kind that will hurt our country.

Even if the prime minister has mentioned this contingency to be
applicable in the long run, now a smear campaign in the lines of
"Turkey as a perpetrator of genocide did not want the poor Armenians to
earn a few bucks" will start and people talk in purple prose saying,
"In the past they killed millions of people and now they will condemn
100,000 Armenians to death by starving."

Yet the prime minister presented the toleration of illegally working
Armenians as a sample of generosity.

It was a correct identification.

Our attitude of claiming and being tolerant in respect to Armenian
citizens who were unable to find a job and nearly starved to death
in Armenia, who took on all kind of risks just to work in Turkey is
what goes well with us.

No government can deport 100,000Armenians

Even if our relationship with Armenia is spoiled or protocols
cancelled, deporting 100,000 Armenians is nearly impossible. Can you
imagine thousands of Armenians being gathered by the police in front
of cameras deported as if being exiled?

We could defend ourselves all we want and say they are working
illegally, nobody would believe us.

They’d say, "See, again the Turks are casting out the Armenians."

And this action would be labeled "second deportation."

These people are only struggling to survive. And no matter how hostile
Armenia or the Diaspora is, protecting these people can only dignify
Turkey further.

They are, such as to, our strongest and most convinced lobby.

They are our siblings.

Let us open up our doors and they will notice that we are no monsters.

Now we are expecting the prime minister to fix this damage. We would
like him to comfort people by confirming that 100,000Armenians won’t
be deported.

Let’s not touch the 100,000Armenians, at least let us show that we
embrace them.

Such an attitude suits a Turkish prime minister and especially Erdogan
the more.