CHILDREN EXPOSED TO RACIST PROPAGANDA MOVIE
BIA
Feb 18 2009
Turkey
A "documentary" on the events of 1915 prepared by the Turkish army
incites protest by NGOs and individuals. The nation-wide showing of
the propaganda material in schools will instill hatred in a whole
generation they warn.
The General Staff of the Turkish Army has prepared a six-part
"documentary", which was sent to all primary schools through the
province authorities of the Ministry of Education. The DVDs are
to be shown to children "at a convenient time", and schools are to
report back on the effects of the film by 2 March, so a letter sent
to schools by the Ministry in January.
One of Turkey’s most controversial issues The film is named after a
well-loved folk song, "Sarı Gelin" (Blonde Bride), a song whose melody
is known in Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia, yet, so the vehement
critics, the film has nothing to do with promoting intercultural
understanding.
The full title of this "documentary" is "Sarı Gelin: The Inside Story
of the Armenian Problem", and it was sent out to primary schools in
June 2008.
It deals with the events of 1915, when, so many Armenians and
also an increasing number of Turks say, millions of Armenian
citizens of the Ottoman Empire were forcibly sent into exile
across to Syria. Definitions of the event range from a genocide
(i.e. a deliberate plan to eradicate an ethnic group) to claims
that the government was at the least negligent in letting so many
people starve, die of exhaustion or be killed by gangs. The Turkish
official discourse has long been to deny any wrongdoing, and rather
blame nationalist Armenian gangs for causing upheaval in the Ottoman
Empire and killing Turkish civilians.
A recent rapprochement between Turkish President Abdullah Gul
and Armenian Serzh Sargsyan, as well as an initiative by Turkish
intellectuals to apologise for the events of 1915 seemed to be
indications of a lessening of polarisation. However, critics of this
"documentary" say that it reiterates the Turkish nationalist stance.
"A generation fed on hatred" The education trade union Egitim-Sen
has demanded that schools immediately stop showing this film. Trade
union leader Zubeyde Kılıc told bianet that their report on the
film would be published within a week, and that they may go to court
in order to prevent further screenings at schools.
According to Kılıc, the film would teach 12 million children,
aged 6-14, to hate Armenians and anyone who is different. It would
"create a generation fed on hatred."
She added, "These children are at an age when they accept information
without interpreting it, when they accept what they are told as
the truth, and when things are stored in their memory. It will be
impossible for a child watching this film not to feel hatred for
Armenians."
"As for the Armenian children (i.e. citizens of Turkey who will also
be exposed to this film), they may be marginalised or discriminated
against afterwards. This worry may lead to them hiding their
identities."
Kılı ;c has called on an education which would teach the events
of 1915, as well as other controversial parts of Turkey’s history,
in a way that would heal wounds. "But this film encourages conflict."
"Human rights violation"
The History Foundation has also denounced the film as propaganda
rather than a documentary. The foundation is currently working on
a project to identify human rights violations in school books, and
argues that this film represents just such a violation. It has also
called on the Ministry of Education to halt the viewings.
The foundation added, "This documentary is using a language of
hostility and discrimination to sow seeds of hatred in a society where
a hostility towards Armenians exists already. The ‘justified reasons’
for this hostile attitude towards people who are ‘not one of us’ is
built on manipulative and selective ‘arguments’ put forward in the
film. The young pupils watching this film will accept those claims
as the truth."
Societal peace needs to be promoted
The History Foundation further said, "All these children and their
families are citizens with equal rights in this country. It should
be expected from the Ministry of Education that it would respect such
sensitivities in its practices. A safe environment, and societal peace,
can only be created when education practices are in tune with such
an understanding of citizenship. Damaged children’s brains can only
stand in the way of societal peace."
Armenian schools worried Aris Nalcı, a writer for the Turkish-Armenian
newspaper Agos, reports that schools have started showing the film. He
says that the Armenian schools, which have also received the DVDs,
are worried. Some heads of school have said that their teaching
staff watched the film and decided that it would create traumas
among children.
Images of mass graves and bones for children The journalist cites
psychologist Asist. Prof. Dr. Serdar Degirmenoglu, who says that
children at that age would not be possible to recognise bad propaganda
material. The militarist tone of the film is supported by images of
mass graves, bones and skulls. Old men, who are calculated to evoke
feelings of sympathy, are interviewed. The psychologist expressed
his hope that the unsuitability of such a film for such an age group
would be realised.