Turkish academics break genocide taboo
Tuesday 27 September 2005
Aljazeera
By Jonathan Gorvett in Istanbul
The recent conference in Istanbul on the controversial killing of Ottoman Armenians in the closing stages of first world war has been widely lauded as a breakthrough event which could strengthen accession talks with the European Union.
"It was a major shift in the understanding here of the importance of freedom of expression," Ferai Tinc, a leading columnist with the Turkish daily Hurriyet, told Aljazeera.net. "It showed a transformation in mentality."
Others see it as a major step too on Turkey's rocky road to European Union membership, with talks on this due to start in just one week's time.
[...]
"This was Turkey's academic community asserting its independence," says Razmik Panossian, a leading Armenian academic and director of programmes at the Canadian Rights and Democracy pressure group.
"They were saying 'We'll go ahead with this even if people are against us'. This was a very important step to take."
[...]
"The conference was not just about the Armenian issue," says Ekyen Mahcupyan, the ethnic Armenian director of Turkish think-tank TESEV's democratisation programme. "It was about Turkey showing itself and the world that it can discuss issues like who we are and what kind of world we want to live in."
[...]
"It is obvious that Europe will be influenced in a positive way by how things turned out," adds Mahcupyan. "As soon as the court halted the conference, everyone reacted - many people came forward to condemn the court and support the event and free speech."
[...]
The issue also has wider strategic implications for Turkey's EU accession bid. Turkey borders Armenia, yet the frontier remains closed, with no diplomatic relations between the two.
[...]
The claims over genocide are a key factor in these frozen relations - although there is one other major issue at stake.
"Relations are being held hostage by the Nagorno Kharabakh conflict," says Panossian. Since war between Armenia and Turkish ally Azerbaijan resulted in the occupation of some Azeri territory by the Armenians, Turkey has shut off its links with its Armenian neighbour.
"From the moment the EU accession talks start, the Armenian issue will keep coming up"Gareth Winrow,Bilgi University, Istanbul"Yet, from the moment the EU accession talks start, the Armenian issue will keep coming up," says international relations professor Gareth Winrow of Istanbul's Bilgi University - where the conference was eventually held.
[...]
Meanwhile, ordinary Turks seem largely divided on the issue.
"I don't think it should have been allowed," says shop worker Mert Aslan. "There was no such genocide - it was the Turks who suffered. Nobody ever talks about that, and to think that Turkish professors are supporting the Armenians is a shame for us."
By contrast, student Dicile Atacam said: "I think it's a very good thing. If we can't talk freely about the past, then how can we ever understand each other today, in the present?"
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
Aljazeera
By Jonathan Gorvett in Istanbul
The recent conference in Istanbul on the controversial killing of Ottoman Armenians in the closing stages of first world war has been widely lauded as a breakthrough event which could strengthen accession talks with the European Union.
"It was a major shift in the understanding here of the importance of freedom of expression," Ferai Tinc, a leading columnist with the Turkish daily Hurriyet, told Aljazeera.net. "It showed a transformation in mentality."
Others see it as a major step too on Turkey's rocky road to European Union membership, with talks on this due to start in just one week's time.
[...]
"This was Turkey's academic community asserting its independence," says Razmik Panossian, a leading Armenian academic and director of programmes at the Canadian Rights and Democracy pressure group.
"They were saying 'We'll go ahead with this even if people are against us'. This was a very important step to take."
[...]
"The conference was not just about the Armenian issue," says Ekyen Mahcupyan, the ethnic Armenian director of Turkish think-tank TESEV's democratisation programme. "It was about Turkey showing itself and the world that it can discuss issues like who we are and what kind of world we want to live in."
[...]
"It is obvious that Europe will be influenced in a positive way by how things turned out," adds Mahcupyan. "As soon as the court halted the conference, everyone reacted - many people came forward to condemn the court and support the event and free speech."
[...]
The issue also has wider strategic implications for Turkey's EU accession bid. Turkey borders Armenia, yet the frontier remains closed, with no diplomatic relations between the two.
[...]
The claims over genocide are a key factor in these frozen relations - although there is one other major issue at stake.
"Relations are being held hostage by the Nagorno Kharabakh conflict," says Panossian. Since war between Armenia and Turkish ally Azerbaijan resulted in the occupation of some Azeri territory by the Armenians, Turkey has shut off its links with its Armenian neighbour.
"From the moment the EU accession talks start, the Armenian issue will keep coming up"Gareth Winrow,Bilgi University, Istanbul"Yet, from the moment the EU accession talks start, the Armenian issue will keep coming up," says international relations professor Gareth Winrow of Istanbul's Bilgi University - where the conference was eventually held.
[...]
Meanwhile, ordinary Turks seem largely divided on the issue.
"I don't think it should have been allowed," says shop worker Mert Aslan. "There was no such genocide - it was the Turks who suffered. Nobody ever talks about that, and to think that Turkish professors are supporting the Armenians is a shame for us."
By contrast, student Dicile Atacam said: "I think it's a very good thing. If we can't talk freely about the past, then how can we ever understand each other today, in the present?"
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 8:57 AM
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