The Armenian Genocide Debate Armenia & Turkey

by Anna Hakobyan
5 May 2005

With the prospect of EU membership ahead for Turkey, Ankara and Yerevan may be inching towards common ground on the most vexed question in their shared history.

Names and numbers are at the heart of the quarrel between Armenia and Turkey. How many Armenians died, directly or indirectly, at Turkish hands nine decades ago? Were their deaths caused by an act of genocide, ethnic cleansing, or the unfortunate result of unrest, famine, and rebellion?

Now, names and numbers may indicate one way of easing an old dispute that has stymied relations between Armenians and Turks since 1915, and between Yerevan and Ankara ever since Armenia gained its independence in 1991. The name: the European Union. The numbers: 10 to 15 (years) – the expected time it will take for Turkey to become a full member of the European economic, cultural, and legal community.
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On 28 April a Turkish court began hearing a case against Dink and another man, human-rights activist Seyhmus Ulek, on charges of insulting Turkey. The case against Dink relate to a statement he made three years ago about a patriotic verse recited by Turkish schoolchildren. "I said that I was a Turkish citizen, but an Armenian, and that even though I was honest and hardworking [a reference to the text of the verse], I was not a Turk, I was an Armenian," he told AFP.
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The Armenian Genocide Debate Armenia & Turkey
Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...].The bold emphasis is mine.