Armenian Genocide (!)

Friday , 21 April 2006
Journal of Turkish Weekly
Nursun Erel

A controversial PBS documentary entitled "The Armenian Genocide" was broadcast this week in the U.S. by hundreds of TV stations. Serious debates about the show began even before it hit the airwaves. Some political observers said that the program was "blatantly one-sided" and reflected the "self-serving political agenda" of Armenian American activists.

In fact, PBS held a panel discussion about the program after the documentary was broadcast but many PBS affiliate stations didn't see the necessity for airing it. So once again, Armenian allegations ended up being dictated as a monologue through the program. Stations may have been persuaded by the Armenian lobbyists, who exerted a great deal of pressure to avoid even having such a panel at which opposing opinions could be discussed.

They don't need to argue

Recently I was talking to Dr. Kerstin Tomenendal, an Austrian historian who is an expert on the Ottoman era. She told me:

"I believe being a historian is a complicated job because we didn't see the facts with our own eyes. We just try to research them afterwards by investigating historical documents. So looking from only a certain angle or at only a single aspect is wrong. Using a variety of sources is the best way to investigate something. What do the other sources say? What kind of facts are in memoirs, how do diplomats see the issues? This is the best way of researching the facts of history.

"They (Armenians) don't (see the) need to discuss the issue because almost the entire world is backing them; there's no need to argue. A while ago in Vienna (last spring) we established a platform to discuss the issue, Armenian and Turkish historians and experts would debate the 1915 incidents. Each side was asked to bring 100 documents to the table. These would be exchanged between the two sides, and at the next meeting (six months later) they'd be evaluated. The Armenians left the meeting at the last minute, but they should have been sitting there instead. So I believe this is a meaningful example of their stance." (*)

PBS ombudsman's reaction

So we can understand why the Armenians were opposed to the panel discussion that was supposed to be aired by TV stations after the documentary, but we learned more from the Turkish ambassador to Washington DC, Nabi Sensoy, who told us that even the PBS ombudsman was concerned by the program financed by the Armenians:

"Regrettably, the producer of 'The Armenian Genocide' doesn't let facts get in the way of his efforts to identify a scapegoat for tragedies that befell many thousands of innocents during the period of World War I when the circumstances of war, inter-communal strife, disease, famine and instability took countless lives, regardless of ethnicity or religion," said Sensoy. "As a result, the program is rife with errors, misrepresentations, exaggerations and unsubstantiated conclusions, with other widely accepted facts and interpretations conveniently omitted. The lack of objectivity, however, is common practice for the film's producer, who in the past has worked with funding from Armenian Americans on similar projects and who has done little to hide his antagonism for Turkey or his bias on the sensitive matter in question. Such predilections are to be expected from this program as well, underwritten by those who subscribe to the genocide thesis and who seek to ignore or suppress evidence that would in any way contradict their view. For this reason, PBS' own ombudsman has expressed reservations regarding the almost exclusive participation of Armenian Americans in the funding of the program."

Let's get rid of the obsessions

As someone who once visited Armenia and is very disappointed by the deteriorating living conditions of most Armenians, I just want us to overcome all these obsessions.
So I personally supported Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent unprecedented proposal to Armenian President Robert Kocharian for an impartial study of the matter through the establishment of a joint historical commission. It's a pity that the proposal was turned down. But unless the Turkish and Armenian people can begin a dialogue on this matter, peace will be unable to dominate the Caucasus and people in Armenia will suffer from all of the negative circumstances. I wonder if the Armenian diaspora is really aware of this fact.


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.