TURKEY’S AFRAID OF ITS OWN HISTORIANS: ETYEN MAHCUPYAN
Tert.am
19.04.10
All the parliaments across the world would have far long ago
recognized the Armenian Genocide, should Turkey have been of
less international significance, writes the Chief Editor of the
Istanbul-based Armenian-Turkish language weekly Agos, Etyen Mahcupyan.
"No single resolution would have been brought to the parliament of any
country, had the international community not considered Turkey guilty.
On the other hand, all the parliaments across the world would have
far long ago recognized the Armenian Genocide, should Turkey be of
less international significance," writes Mahcupyan.
"The Turkish proposal of creating a joint commission of historians is
not convincing, while the viewpoint of leaving the issue to historians
is senseless as it has been left to them already for 90 years …
Turkey’s aim is not leaving the issue to historians but rather to those
historians that are acceptable for Turkey," writes the author, adding
that Ankara wants to create a commission of uncoordinated historians
who will not be able to reach an agreement on any issue which, in turn,
will enable Ankara to say that the historical issue is "obscure."
According to Mahcupyan Turkey’s denialist policy is day by day
strengthening the conviction with the international community that
the Armenian Genocide is a fact.
"If Turkey’s aim is really leaving the history to historians and
agree with the results of the study the commission will conduct, let
it involve Turkish historians who share different views over the issue.
But can a call of creating a commission of historians by a country be
treated seriously if that country is afraid of its own historians,"
writes Mahcupyan, adding that such a policy will not contribute to
the democratic development of Turkey.