Houston Chronicle, TX
Oct 7 2006
Dark memories rekindled in Lebanon
Armenians irked by Turk presence in U.N. troops
By GREGORY KATZ
Middle East Bureau
BOURJ HAMMOUD, LEBANON – After a 90-year absence, Turkish forces are
returning to Lebanon this weekend, but their impending arrival as
U.N. peacekeepers is opening up old wounds in this Armenian community
on the edge of Beirut.
Turkey will contribute about 800 ground troops plus a naval
contingent to the U.N. protection force known as UNIFIL. It was
established as part of the cease-fire that ended the 34-day war
between Hezbollah and Israel in mid-August.
The 222 Turkish sailors are expected to arrive in Lebanese waters
Sunday aboard a frigate. They will join a German-led force tasked
with preventing seaborne weapons deliveries to Hezbollah. Diplomats
said Friday that the frigate was already steaming toward Lebanon.
The return of the Turks – an odd postscript to the war – has sparked
little debate inside Lebanon. But the Armenian community in Bourj
Hammoud seems deeply troubled by their inclusion in the 15,000-member
U.N. force.
"The Turks are our first enemy, and if I see any Turkish army coming
in here I will kill them," said Manushat Ekmejian, practically
spitting her words as she left a food market.
Ancestors fled Turkey
Bourj Hammoud is home to about 60,000 Armenians whose ancestors fled
eastern Turkey in 1915 to escape the killings of their countrymen at
the hands of the Ottoman Turks. The deployment of the Turks, who were
Lebanon’s colonial rulers until World War I, is rekindling memories
of what the Armenians in this tightly knit Christian community call
the genocide, the darkest chapter in their history.
In every household, people remember how their ancestors were
slaughtered, said Jack Mandalian, owner of a gift shop filled with
carvings and portraits of Jesus Christ.
The Ottoman Turks would not allow them to practice their religion and
tried instead to force them into adopting Islam, Mandalian said.
"They said if you become Muslim, you could live in peace," said
Mandalian, 63. "We could not become Muslim, and we said we would die
but we won’t become Muslim for your sake. And they collected our
people and killed them."
Mandalian and other Armenians in Bourj Hammoud assert that 1.5
million Armenians were massacred. The figure has been disputed, but a
growing number of countries have denounced the Turks’ actions.
Survivors fled on foot, and many ended up in Lebanon where they were
welcomed and allowed to practice Christianity without repression,
Mandalian said.
"We want to be honest about the genocide," he said. ”We want (the
Turks) to apologize for what they did and pay a penalty, like Germany
and the Jews. You have to accept the truth, and they deny it."
The Turkish government steadfastly denies that anything resembling a
genocide took place. Speaking in Washington this summer, Deputy Prime
Minister Abdullah Gul called the charges "baseless" and said Turkey
wants a joint committee of historians to address the matter in depth.
A Turkish diplomat in London said Friday that the Armenian charges
should have no impact on the Turkish deployment.
"The Armenian claims are quite irrelevant to the UNIFIL deployment,"
he said. "We want to contribute to peace and stability in the region,
and all the Lebanese political parties agree with that position."
The diplomat said Turkey is "extremely opposed" to the use of the
word genocide to describe the events of 1915 and 1916.
"According to our interpretation, there were mutual killings, there
was a civil war in progress, and the Armenian elements fomented
insurgencies and collaborated with the invading army," he said. "And
measures had to be taken."
U.N. officials in Lebanon maintain that the Turkish presence, and the
addition of troops from other predominantly Muslim countries, will
give the expanded armed force added credibility. The U.N. force is a
centerpiece of the cease-fire reached in August between Israel and
Hezbollah. The soldiers are expected to demilitarize the border
region and prevent more fighting.
"It’s very good to have them," U.N. spokesman Khaled Mansour said of
the Turkish contingent. "We didn’t want this to be only a European
force, or only Asian or African, but a U.N. force so people have
confidence in it."
Not all the Armenians are critical of the Turks’ role in the U.N.
force. Sarkis Kournajian, owner of a video and electronics store in
Bourj Hammoud, said he is not troubled by their arrival.
"Attitudes are changing in the long run," he said. "We are Armenian,
but we are also Lebanese. In 50 years, we won’t be Armenians. If I
meet a Turk I will not kill him. I have them as customers. They are
very much like us … I don’t see that much difference."
‘We will never forget’
The return of the Turks is a hot topic in Bourj Hammoud, said Rafi
Bogosian, a 34-year-old policeman who spends most days directing
traffic in the city center.
"My grandmother told my father what they did, and he told me what
happened," Bogosian said. "She said they killed my grandfather and
threw him into the sea. We have taught our children that the Turks
never respect any human being. And now they are coming back. How can
we forget if they killed our parents? We will never forget."
He is chafing to take action against the Turkish soldiers but does
not want to jeopardize his job.
"I would like to do something to the Turks, but I can’t because I’m
in the Lebanese police," he said. "But inside I feel so bad about
this."
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