By Harut Sassounian Publisher, The California Courier Ninety years after the Armenian Genocide, the Turkish government is still trying to cover up the facts of this most heinous crime. But for how much longer? Last week, newspapers around the world, including the Financial Times and the Boston Globe, reported the German government's long overdue apology for the genocide committed against the Hereros one hundred years ago! Back in 1904, German colonial troops ruthlessly wiped out the majority of the 80,000 Hereros then in existence in what is now Namibia. Successive German governments during the past 100 years, just like their Turkish counterparts for 90 years, had refused to apologize and pay compensation to the survivors. A few days ago, during a ceremony marking the centenary of the Genocide of the Hereros, German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said in Namibia: "I am painfully aware of the atrocities committed.... We Germans accept our historical and moral responsibility and the guilt incurred by Germans at that time.... So in the words of the Lord's Prayer that we share I ask you to forgive us our trespasses." But the Hereros, just like the Armenians, want more than just a simple acknowledgment and an apology. Kaiere Mbuende, a Herero, and a former government official, was quoted by Reuters as saying: "How is Germany going to own up to the apology? There has to be a form of redress, the injustice has to be undone." Even though Germany is Namibia's largest aid donor and has contributed $500 million since the country's independence in 1990, Reuters reported that a $4 billion lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the Hereros against Germany in a U.S. District Court. The German government has argued that no compensation can be paid in this case because international laws on the protection of the civilian population did not exist in 1904. German officials have been reluctant to issue a formal apology out of concern that this may strengthen the demands for compensation. The Armenian Foreign Ministry and Armenian organizations should pay close attention to developments in this case, as it may serve as a legal precedent for demanding compensation from Turkey for the mass murder of Armenians as well as the confiscation of their lands and properties. Armenians must contact the law firm that has filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Hereros in order to learn the specifics of the legal arguments used in that case. If adequate funds are raised to hire experts on international law in order to pursue Armenian claims from Turkey, it is possible that by the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, a Turkish Minister would lay a wreath at the Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, apologize to the Armenian nation, and start a dialogue on the compensation to be paid to the survivors of the Genocide. If the remnants of a small tribe in Africa, with no lobbyists in Washington or other foreign capitals, and no organized communities in various countries defending their cause, can take such a resolute stand on their Genocide after 100 years, then surely Armenians with their international presence, political connections and lobbying organizations can and should do no less. Jewish Journalist Chastises Israel and Turkey The International Herald Tribune published on August 20 an opinion column by prominent Jewish journalist, Jay Bushinsky, titled: "The Armenian Genocide: Face History's Heartbreaking Truth." He wrote: "The carnage perpetrated by the Ottoman Turks 89 years ago, in which 1.5 million ethnic Armenians were killed or deported, was a tragic prelude to the Nazi Holocaust." Bushinsky said: "Hitler's determination to destroy European Jewry was encouraged by the world's lack of interest in the Armenian tragedy." He then mentioned Hitler's well-known question: "Who, after all speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?" Hitler's statement is inscribed "on one of the walls of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial in Washington, and rightly so," Bushinsky said. The Jewish journalist stated that various "interest groups, including Jewish ones, misguided or opportunistic," lobbied against the passage of the congressional resolution on the Armenian Genocide in order not to offend Turkey. Bushinsky is indignant that when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently accused the Jewish State of terrorism, "neither Israel nor the overseas Jewish organizations dared remind Erdogan that leaders of nations that had committed crimes against humanity had best refrain from preaching to others." The Jewish writer expressed regret that Israel puts "contemporary priorities ahead of moral obligations." He recalled: "When a major documentary about the Armenian Genocide was due to be screened [in Israel], the foreign ministry intervened out of consideration for Turkish sensibilities." Bushinsky caustically pointed out: "It is hypocritical to expect compassion and sympathy from the peoples of the world for the lives lost in the Holocaust when 'raison d'etat' prevents Israel and most Israelis from commiserating with the Armenians." Bushinsky concluded his powerful commentary with the following admonition: "Historical truth must be faced regardless of how heartbreaking it may be. It cannot be subordinated to the ebb and flow of modern international relations. Anyone who visited the Armenians' grim memorial to their martyred brothers and sisters south of Yerevn, Armenia's capital, in the shadow of biblical Mount Ararat, cannot but grieve with them. Israelis, Jews, Zionists and their supporters should comfort the Armenians in their national sorrow and the Turks should accept the photographs, documents and above all testimony, which commemorate the Armenian Genocide, instead of insisting that it never happened." Jay Bushinsky should be commended for his humanity and honesty to the point of daring to criticize his own homeland for the sake of truth and justice. Both Israel and Turkey must realize that they will pay a heavy moral and political price as long as they continue denying the Armenian Genocide. Righteous individuals and organizations will hound the leaders of these countries until they stop desecrating the memory of the 1.5 million innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide. To counter the Turkish e-mail campaign against Bushinsky's column, please send a letter to the International Herald Tribune ([email protected]) indicating your support for this thought-provoking commentary.

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