WHY I SUPPORT RECOGNITION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE (REP. JOHN SARBANES)
John Sarbanes

The Hill
n-policy/95181-why-i-support-recognition-of-the-ar menian-genocide-rep-john-sarbanes
April 29 2010
DC

April 24th marked the 95th commemoration of the Armenian Genocide,
the systematic annihilation of more than 1.5 million Armenians by
Ottoman-era Turkish authorities. On March 4, 2010, the House Committee
on Foreign Affairs voted in favor of Resolution 252 to recognize the
Genocide. The next step is to achieve recognition in the full House of
Representatives. The Armenian Genocide, the first of the 20th Century,
included massacres, deportations, and death marches where hundreds
of thousands were herded into the Syrian Desert to die of thirst and
starvation. Without final rites, the remains of these victims lay
strewn across the desert in testament to a horrific demise.

Modern-day Turkish authorities sadly have chosen to deny this chapter
of Turkish history and have sought every opportunity to discredit
the findings of legitimate genocide scholars. Notable scholars
and historians who recognize the Armenian Genocide include the
International Association of Genocide Scholars and the Elie Wiesel
Foundation for Humanity whose opinion is supported by 53 Nobel
Laureates. Yet, in the face of all the evidence, Turkey presses
on, exporting a legacy of Genocide denial – a legacy ruthlessly
enforced within its own borders. In Turkey, anyone who uses the word
"genocide" to describe the massacre of the Armenians is subject to
criminal punishment under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code. The
late journalist Hrant Dink was prosecuted under this article, and
after being marked as an "enemy of the state," was slain in 2007 by a
17-year old Turkish nationalist. In 2005, Orhan Pamuk, Turkey’s first
Nobel Laureate, was charged with the crime of insulting Turkishness,
because he too made mere reference to the Armenian Genocide during
an interview. Thankfully, an international outcry spared him from
full prosecution.

Affirmative denial of the Armenian Genocide – as well as denial
of similar aggression directed in the past at millions of Greeks,
Assyrians and other religious minorities — compromises Turkey’s
ability to tell the positive story of its economic and political
progress in recent years. It also reinforces international perceptions
that Turkey is still governed by a repressive impulse – one that
continues to be directed at those of its peoples who do not comply
with a rigid definition of "Turkishness." For years, Turkey has
discriminated against its largest ethnic minority by outlawing the
Kurdish language, suppressing the Kurdish culture, and officially
classifying Kurds as Mountain Turks, or Eastern Turks. Even the
religious liberties of Turkey’s Muslim majority are subjected to
discriminatory state controls.

In Congress, there is significant support for recognizing the Armenian
Genocide, but sponsors of a resolution to do just that have been
thwarted by Turkey’s relentless lobbying campaign. Threatening
all manner of retaliation should the resolution pass, Turkey has
convinced some members that such action would imperil Turkish-American
relations. The United States should be confident enough about
the mutual stake both parties have in their relationship to know
otherwise. Furthermore, the experience of other nations suggests
there is every reason to believe that America’s recognition of the
Armenian Genocide will ultimately enhance, not damage, its relations
with Turkey. The European Parliament and the legislatures of more
than twenty countries including Canada, France, Italy, and Russia,
have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide. Turkey has not
halted its attempts to join the European Union, and its political
and economic relationship with each of these countries has only grown
since their Genocide recognition.

By speaking candidly to our ally, we can encourage Turkey to face
the dark chapters of its past and abandon the destructive ventures
of its present, such as the ongoing state-sanctioned discrimination
against the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the continued occupation of the
Republic of Cyprus and the disenfranchisement of the Kurdish minority.

Recognition of the Armenian Genocide can serve as a catalyst in
securing Turkey’s status as a European democracy worthy of full
European Union membership.

I have heard the common refrain: "It’s just not a good time." That
excuse – and it is only an excuse – can always be trotted out based on
one or another issue that may be pending between the United States and
Turkey. But that excuse ignores the moral imperative to recognize the
Genocide and misunderstands that such recognition will actually enhance
Turkish-American relations and advance America’s strategic interests.

For the sake of its core values and in true furtherance of its
strategic interests, the United States must take a deep breath, look
its ally Turkey in the eye, and recognize the tragedy of the Armenian
Genocide to be an unambiguous fact of history.