Armenpress News Agency , Armenia
December 21, 2017 Thursday


Armenian Genocide is historical fact destroying identity structure of
Turkish society – Taner Akcam



YEREVAN, DECEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. The Turkish authorities are obliged
to face their own history if they want to establish a democratic and
human rights respecting system. Without facing the history public
peace and democratic system are impossible to establish, Turkish
historian Taner Akcam, who recognized the Armenian Genocide, says in
his new article in T24.com, reports Armenpress.

In the article titled ‘Obligation to face history and barriers for
it’, the historian says at present it is an authoritarian and
dictatorial regime in Turkey, fundamental human rights and freedoms,
and especially the freedom of thought are being violated. “Hundreds of
intellectuals, writers, journalists are jailed, the main democratic
structures and laws do not operate, the judiciary is completely under
the control of one person, the principle of the rule of law has been
eliminated. The ethnic-religious issues, in particular, the Kurdish
issue, the issues of Alevi, Christian and Jewish minorities are in
poor situation”, the historian writes.

He highlighted four means reasons to face the history. “The first one
is that if you want to have a democratic regime respecting the human
rights, you have to face the human rights violations committed during
the history. If you are unable to face the violations of the past,
today you will not be able to establish a society that will respect
the human rights. You will build the future the way you look at the
past. If you discuss the issues existing in the history, stating that
“Armenians betrayed”, “Greeks deserved it”, “Kurds play an
imperialists game”, “Those are traitors who want to divide the country
and are a serious threat to our country”, now as well such issues will
be perceived from this perspective. As you previously violated the
fundamental rights, you will do the same today”, Akcam said.

As a second reason the historian stated that the societies, who had
bad and painful relations within the course of the history, will be
able to live jointly only in case of talking to each other. According
to the third reason, it’s necessary to return the human dignity of
people killed in the past. And finally, as a fourth reason the Turkish
historian mentions that refusal from facing the history can lead to
bad consequences. Denial of facing the history means to have a
potential to repeat the same crime.

Talking about the Armenian Genocide, Taner Akcam writes: “We have
established a nation-state in 1923 and created an identity in
accordance with it. And today this identity turned into a reality
determining our thinking, feelings, in other words, the whole
social-cultural relations of the society. But if we, for example,
start talking about the Armenian Genocide, we will see how this
reality begins to collapse. The Armenian Genocide is a historical fact
totally destroying the identity structure of the Turkish society. This
is the reason that we avoid facing the history”.