To reconcile Turks and Armenians
By O. Faruk Logoglu
The Washington Times
May 3 2005
Last month, Armenians worldwide remembered a sad chapter in history,
when many of their ancestors perished during the waning days of the
Ottoman Empire.
In the midst of these remembrances, Armenian activists urged political
leaders, legislatures and nations to recognize their suffering on
terms they alone have defined.
As Armenian calls for recognition of their tragedy grow louder, Turks
around the world are also remembering, albeit in a silent manner. They
recall not only their forebears who perished during the same years in
war-torn Anatolia but also compatriots targeted by Armenian terrorists
in the 1970s and ’80s.
Indeed, during the First World War, hundreds of thousands of
Turks and Armenians died as a result of the Armenian revolt in the
Eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire. The cataclysmic war-borne
forces of disease and famine also played a great role in this human
suffering. This was a grievous time for both sides.
We should therefore acknowledge the grief and sadness felt by present
generations of Armenians over the terrible losses suffered by their
parents and grandparents. The same compassion must be extended to
the Turkish people.
While it is important to recognize and respect the emotions evoked
by past memories, we cannot let our unreconciled views of a specific
era dictate our present or our future. Indeed, our history is also
replete with centuries of friendship, fraternity and mutual respect
between Turks and Armenians.
The imperatives of good neighborliness, common sense and mutual
interests demand that Armenia and Turkey — and their expatriates
around the world — come to terms with the past and move forward in
renewed friendship and harmony.
Let’s opt for the positive, for the reasonable and for what will bond
our peoples in mutual acceptance. This can only be achieved through
open and honest dialogue.
That is why Turkey has made a multipronged effort to engage the
Armenian side in dialogue. Our scholars have tried to sit down with
Armenian colleagues. Turkish leaders and officials meet with their
counterparts from Armenia. Even third parties in the United States and
Europe have worked to bring together Turks and Armenians to discuss
their past.
None of these initiatives or contacts has yielded progress. This is
understandable because such dialogue is painful for both sides after
so many years of diametrically opposed monologues. But these efforts
must not be abandoned, as results will come only through development
of mutual trust and confidence through regular discourse.
Today, we have before us an unprecedented initiative that may
finally lead both sides toward reconciliation. In a letter to Armenian
President Kocharian earlier this month, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan
proposed establishing a group of historians and other experts to study
the events of 1915 not only in the archives of Turkey and Armenia,
but in all relevant archives. Their findings would then be presented
to the international community. The Turkish parliament has endorsed
this unprecedented opening by our government in clear demonstration
of a national will to close the issue based on an impartial assessment
of the facts.
If this opportunity is seized, the 90th anniversary of the 1915
events might also mark a historic and positive turning point in
Turkish-Armenian relations. President Bush expressed the same hope
in his annual message to the Armenian people on April 24.
After years of disagreement and troubled relations, it is time
for one-sided agendas to be replaced by open, introspective and
results-oriented dialogue. This will require bold leadership.
Turkey has taken an important first step in this direction. We
hope our Armenian neighbors will test our commitment, join in this
endeavor and seek the common understanding we both should desire.
Once a process is under way, there will be no turning back until the
truth is known. That is what we all need.
Ours is a shared history, and the tragedies of this difficult chapter
belong to both our peoples. Closure, therefore, can only come by
reconciliation between us. No amount of third-country advocacy or
outside interference will lift the burdens of history — or provide
such an opportunity for both our peoples to look together toward a
peaceful and prosperous future.
O. Faruk Logoglu is the ambassador of Turkey to the United States.