TURKISH LEADERS GOING BERSERK WITH ANTI-GENOCIDE OBSESSION
12-04-2005 14:30:00 | USA | Articles and Analyses
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
Turkish leaders are literally going out of their minds;
desperately searching for any and all possible ways to counter
the commemorations of the 90th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide.
Of course, it would have been much simpler and more honest
for them to simply face up to their own history and to tell the
truth. Unfortunately, that seems to be asking too much!
Last week, the Turks found a new ploy: holding a
parliamentary hearing on the Armenian Genocide. This was a very
unusual hearing. They invited three Turkish Armenians to
testify. These Armenians knew full well that whatever they say,
can and will be used against them. Two of the three managed to
say as much as they could under the circumstances, and they were
chastised severely for "speaking like Diaspora Armenians!" The
third Armenian was a total sell-out. He probably did not want to
take a chance with his life! Not surprisingly, no one
interrupted his speech.
The Turkish leaders' obsession with the denial of the
Armenian Genocide totally blinded them to the fact that by
holding such a sham hearing, they were, first of all,
undermining their own interests. For years, Turkish officials
have reacted with disdain toward the recognition of the Armenian
Genocide by other countries, by saying that historians should
deal with this issue rather than politicians. Now that their own
parliament has held a hearing on this issue, the Turks have
unwittingly accepted the Armenian Genocide resolutions adopted
by the legislatures of more than a dozen countries, as well as
the European Parliament, the United Nations, and other
international organizations.
To make matters worse, during the past couple of weeks,
various Turkish officials have made aggressive statements that
further publicized the commemoration of the 90th anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide. Here are some examples:
Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah
Gul said in Ankara on March 22: "I launch a call to countries
who became a tool of the Armenian allegations: Either you
account for what you have done, or prove the allegations [on the
Armenian Genocide]." In the same speech, Gul foolishly asked:
"If it [genocide] had happened, so why the Armenian churches
still exist? Why there are Armenian citizens in Turkey?" For a
diplomat, Gul is amazingly ignorant of the fact that the UN
defines genocide as the killing of a people "in whole or in
part." Genocide does not mean that all the members of a race
have to be killed in order to commit genocide. Otherwise,
according to Gul's definition of genocide, the Holocaust also
does not qualify as genocide, since there are still Jews living
in this world, and even in Germany! In addition, we don't need
to remind Gul about the destruction of hundreds of Armenian,
Greek and Assyrian churches in Turkey, which is cultural
genocide!
Threatening more aggressive actions against the Armenian
"claims," Gul said the Turkish Parliament would hold a special
session this week to announce a new action plan. Interestingly,
he now backs away from the Turkish government's announced
intention of taking the Armenian issue to the United Nations.
One of his advisors must have finally reminded him that the U.N.
already dealt with this issue back in 1985 and categorized the
Armenian Genocide as a genocide! Fearing more embarrassment at
the U.N., Gul said: "The U.N. may make mistakes in voting.
Individuals raising their hands to vote may vote wrongly based
on political gains and interests. History has many examples of
voting that proved to be fallacious." Too bad. Gul wisely
sidestepped another humiliating experience for Turkey!
No to be outdone by Gul in displaying his nationalistic
credentials, the Turkish President, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, sternly
warned the Europeans last week that Turkey would not bow to
European Union pressure to recognize the Armenian Genocide, as a
condition of joining the EU. Armenians, in conjunction with the
majority of Europeans who oppose Turkey's EU membership, have to
make it crystal clear to the Turks that they would do everything
in their power to prevent Turkey from joining the EU, unless it
recognizes the Armenian Genocide and make appropriate amends for
it.
Significantly, all of these developments on the Armenian
Genocide have taken place weeks before a single Armenian
commemorative activity has been held. Once the worldwide
commemorative events start, the Turkish leaders would probably
go totally berserk!