Georgian Armenians Observe Anniversary of "Armenian Genocide", Recognition Remains Controversial
2007.04.30
Georgian Times
Keti Khachidze, Natia KoKashvili
About 150 ethnic Armenians living in Georgia joined their voices to the worldwide calls for recognition of the events of 1915 as genocide. The active Armenian community gathered at the Turkish Embassy in Tbilisi holding banners and lighting candles in the remembrance of the massacred victims.
“Armenians will never forget the tragedy, and we will try to make Turkey finally recognize it as a genocide,” said Gena Muradzini, President of Union of Armenians in Georgia. “We, the Armenian community commemorate this date every year, as this was the biggest tragedy for our nation. April 24 is the day of mourning and we are to pay tribute to those who perished. Turkey must recognize the genocide to make sure that such a massacre never occurs again.”
“Our aim is to finally achieve justice,” said Karen Elchyan, President of Armernian Corporation In Georgia . “What Turkey committed 92 years ago was brutal, and many countries in the world agree with us. Many years have passed since the tragedy, but the Armenian nation will stand firm and we will remember our ancestors who perished on April 24. We believe that Turkey will recognize the Armenian genocide and will change their policy toward our nation. Their crime claimed the lives of 2,000,000 people.”
The massacre started with a tragic event on April 24. In a swift move enacted by the Ottoman government, an estimated 250 Armenians from the intelligentsia were arrested on the night of April 24, 1915. While there is no clear consensus on how many Armenians lost their lives during what is now called the Armenian Genocide, there is general understanding among Western scholars that over a million Armenians may have perished between 1914 and 1918.
"Armenian Genocide" from Political Perspective
The Armenian community worldwide is stepping up pressure to win recognition of the massacre as genocide.
Last week the European Union approved a framework decision aimed at criminalizing denial of the Holocaust and other genocides following six years of intense debate. Attempts by Armenia to qualify the incidents of 1915 as an act of genocide by the Ottoman Turks were turned down and were not included in the scope of the law. The end product was described as a carefully-balanced compromise by EU diplomats, which allows EU countries to opt out of enforcing the law if national laws do not prohibit similar conduct.
With the apparent consideration of the political alliance with Turkey, the US remains cautious to label the event as ‘genocide’. Although a resolution on the issue has been on the agenda for many years, this year George Bush again refused to use the term ‘genocide’.
In the past year, however, the struggle over the word ‘genocide’ has received international attention through a series of high-profile news events. Last year the US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans resigned his post after coming under fire from the State Department for calling the 1915 massacres ‘genocide’" during a 2005 speech at the University of California at Berkeley.
The French lower house decided on October 12, 2006 to make it illegal to deny the Armenian genocide. The bill has yet to be ratified by the French Senate in order to become law. But reaction has been prompt. In April, Turkey suspended talks with Gaz de France over a pipeline project that would bring Caspian natural gas to Europe in reaction to a French resolution on so-called Armenian genocide.
Turkish entry talks with the EU were met with a number of calls to consider the event as genocide, though it never became a precondition.
Georgia along with the UK, Israel, Ukraine, the US is among those countries which do not officially use the word genocide to describe the events. However, the parliaments of a number of countries have officially recognized the event as genocide.
Costs of Recognition of Alleged Genocide
“Besides the political factor, Turkey does not want to recognize the fact as genocide due to the compensation issue,” says Gena Muradzini. “If it recognizes the massacre as genocide, Turkey will have to compensate Armenia and the families of the genocide victims. But what is important to us is moral compensation and the recognition in moral terms.”
The compensation issue is not the only cost for Turkey, however. Although Armenia says it has no territorial claims on Turkey, but such claims may arise after recognition.
“I am the fourth generation of the victims genocide and my heart sinks with grievance on this day,” said Levon Chidiliani. “We are just one part of the Armenians living in the world, and we demand those territories from which we were expelled. Our main task is to make Turkey recognize the genocide as every pragmatic country has done.”
“Do not Hang Me Before You Judge” – Turkey’s Position
Academics in Turkey, where it is illegal to "offend Turkishness," widely object to the characterization of the mass killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey from 1915-18 as "genocide." While it is accepted that killings took place during the relocation of Armenians within the Ottoman Empire during World War I, many Turkish scholars do not believe they were the result of a deliberate campaign.
In March 2005, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan invited Turkish, Armenian and international historians to form a Commission to establish the events of 1915. Kocharyan rejected the proposal saying “the suggestion to address the past cannot be effective if it deflects from addressing the present and the future.”
This year Turkey launched a wider campaign to promote its message of ‘unearthing history’. The ads ran in the New York Times, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Politico and Roll Call newspapers.
“Let us open our archives and find out the truth together,” this was also the main message of Turkish ambassador to Georgia Ertan Tezgor in an interview with GT.
Ertan Tezgor: “We, Turks and Armenians, have been living together for 800 years in peace. 24 ministers in the Ottoman Empire who at that time were called vezirs were Armenians and Foreign Minister in the Ottoman government in 1915 Armenian. Then I often ask myself a question: ‘What happened that separated us’? We have to find out the answer to this question in history. We are not afraid of our history and are ready to face it. We have opened our archives and do expect a similar move from Armenians. We invite third parties to the commission of historians and academicians, so that we all see the hands of everyone. Not only Armenians and Turks but other players also intervened. Without studying the history we will not know who the main players were, what their hidden agenda was. Now you are coming to me and asking to apologize for the so called genocide. Then I ask you: ‘Do not hang be before you judge.’
GT: Many countries have recognized the massacre as genocide. It seems that the world supports Armenia’s assessment?
A: Firstly, it is not the whole world. If we go back to 1915 events and look just before that and after the date, you will find out the players behind the game. Then you will understand which circles are pushing for the recognition of the genocide now. We will see that this is just one sector of the world. I can understand in the whole world this is just one sector. Secondly, parliaments have nothing to do with history. Parliamentarians are not scholars and they cannot judge fairly. So, their decisions do not concern us at all, although this certainly is an irritating factor. There are certain reasons why politicians support the recognition of the genocide, not because they like the eyes of Armenians. Politicians seek to gain support of Armenian communities and win votes for the elections.
GT: Turkish entry talks with the EU were met with a number of calls to consider the event as genocide. Is Turkey poised to make a compromise on the genocide issue for the sake of the EU accession?
ET: There are Copenhagen criteria for Turkey’s entry into EU which does not mention the so-called genocide as a precondition for the entry. However, there are some circles in the EU take the Armenian allegation of the genocide as a shield to close the door to Turkey. Each time we do our homework and the chapter is over and certified, another precondition arrives and this has become a non-lasting process. Then, we have to find out: Is EU a Christian Club? We are committed to follow the track and meet our commitments. But then maybe one day they will say yes - “all the chapters are crystal clear” - but we have to conduct a referendum and ask our people.
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.
Georgian Times
Keti Khachidze, Natia KoKashvili
About 150 ethnic Armenians living in Georgia joined their voices to the worldwide calls for recognition of the events of 1915 as genocide. The active Armenian community gathered at the Turkish Embassy in Tbilisi holding banners and lighting candles in the remembrance of the massacred victims.
“Armenians will never forget the tragedy, and we will try to make Turkey finally recognize it as a genocide,” said Gena Muradzini, President of Union of Armenians in Georgia. “We, the Armenian community commemorate this date every year, as this was the biggest tragedy for our nation. April 24 is the day of mourning and we are to pay tribute to those who perished. Turkey must recognize the genocide to make sure that such a massacre never occurs again.”
“Our aim is to finally achieve justice,” said Karen Elchyan, President of Armernian Corporation In Georgia . “What Turkey committed 92 years ago was brutal, and many countries in the world agree with us. Many years have passed since the tragedy, but the Armenian nation will stand firm and we will remember our ancestors who perished on April 24. We believe that Turkey will recognize the Armenian genocide and will change their policy toward our nation. Their crime claimed the lives of 2,000,000 people.”
The massacre started with a tragic event on April 24. In a swift move enacted by the Ottoman government, an estimated 250 Armenians from the intelligentsia were arrested on the night of April 24, 1915. While there is no clear consensus on how many Armenians lost their lives during what is now called the Armenian Genocide, there is general understanding among Western scholars that over a million Armenians may have perished between 1914 and 1918.
"Armenian Genocide" from Political Perspective
The Armenian community worldwide is stepping up pressure to win recognition of the massacre as genocide.
Last week the European Union approved a framework decision aimed at criminalizing denial of the Holocaust and other genocides following six years of intense debate. Attempts by Armenia to qualify the incidents of 1915 as an act of genocide by the Ottoman Turks were turned down and were not included in the scope of the law. The end product was described as a carefully-balanced compromise by EU diplomats, which allows EU countries to opt out of enforcing the law if national laws do not prohibit similar conduct.
With the apparent consideration of the political alliance with Turkey, the US remains cautious to label the event as ‘genocide’. Although a resolution on the issue has been on the agenda for many years, this year George Bush again refused to use the term ‘genocide’.
In the past year, however, the struggle over the word ‘genocide’ has received international attention through a series of high-profile news events. Last year the US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans resigned his post after coming under fire from the State Department for calling the 1915 massacres ‘genocide’" during a 2005 speech at the University of California at Berkeley.
The French lower house decided on October 12, 2006 to make it illegal to deny the Armenian genocide. The bill has yet to be ratified by the French Senate in order to become law. But reaction has been prompt. In April, Turkey suspended talks with Gaz de France over a pipeline project that would bring Caspian natural gas to Europe in reaction to a French resolution on so-called Armenian genocide.
Turkish entry talks with the EU were met with a number of calls to consider the event as genocide, though it never became a precondition.
Georgia along with the UK, Israel, Ukraine, the US is among those countries which do not officially use the word genocide to describe the events. However, the parliaments of a number of countries have officially recognized the event as genocide.
Costs of Recognition of Alleged Genocide
“Besides the political factor, Turkey does not want to recognize the fact as genocide due to the compensation issue,” says Gena Muradzini. “If it recognizes the massacre as genocide, Turkey will have to compensate Armenia and the families of the genocide victims. But what is important to us is moral compensation and the recognition in moral terms.”
The compensation issue is not the only cost for Turkey, however. Although Armenia says it has no territorial claims on Turkey, but such claims may arise after recognition.
“I am the fourth generation of the victims genocide and my heart sinks with grievance on this day,” said Levon Chidiliani. “We are just one part of the Armenians living in the world, and we demand those territories from which we were expelled. Our main task is to make Turkey recognize the genocide as every pragmatic country has done.”
“Do not Hang Me Before You Judge” – Turkey’s Position
Academics in Turkey, where it is illegal to "offend Turkishness," widely object to the characterization of the mass killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey from 1915-18 as "genocide." While it is accepted that killings took place during the relocation of Armenians within the Ottoman Empire during World War I, many Turkish scholars do not believe they were the result of a deliberate campaign.
In March 2005, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan invited Turkish, Armenian and international historians to form a Commission to establish the events of 1915. Kocharyan rejected the proposal saying “the suggestion to address the past cannot be effective if it deflects from addressing the present and the future.”
This year Turkey launched a wider campaign to promote its message of ‘unearthing history’. The ads ran in the New York Times, the Washington Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Politico and Roll Call newspapers.
“Let us open our archives and find out the truth together,” this was also the main message of Turkish ambassador to Georgia Ertan Tezgor in an interview with GT.
Ertan Tezgor: “We, Turks and Armenians, have been living together for 800 years in peace. 24 ministers in the Ottoman Empire who at that time were called vezirs were Armenians and Foreign Minister in the Ottoman government in 1915 Armenian. Then I often ask myself a question: ‘What happened that separated us’? We have to find out the answer to this question in history. We are not afraid of our history and are ready to face it. We have opened our archives and do expect a similar move from Armenians. We invite third parties to the commission of historians and academicians, so that we all see the hands of everyone. Not only Armenians and Turks but other players also intervened. Without studying the history we will not know who the main players were, what their hidden agenda was. Now you are coming to me and asking to apologize for the so called genocide. Then I ask you: ‘Do not hang be before you judge.’
GT: Many countries have recognized the massacre as genocide. It seems that the world supports Armenia’s assessment?
A: Firstly, it is not the whole world. If we go back to 1915 events and look just before that and after the date, you will find out the players behind the game. Then you will understand which circles are pushing for the recognition of the genocide now. We will see that this is just one sector of the world. I can understand in the whole world this is just one sector. Secondly, parliaments have nothing to do with history. Parliamentarians are not scholars and they cannot judge fairly. So, their decisions do not concern us at all, although this certainly is an irritating factor. There are certain reasons why politicians support the recognition of the genocide, not because they like the eyes of Armenians. Politicians seek to gain support of Armenian communities and win votes for the elections.
GT: Turkish entry talks with the EU were met with a number of calls to consider the event as genocide. Is Turkey poised to make a compromise on the genocide issue for the sake of the EU accession?
ET: There are Copenhagen criteria for Turkey’s entry into EU which does not mention the so-called genocide as a precondition for the entry. However, there are some circles in the EU take the Armenian allegation of the genocide as a shield to close the door to Turkey. Each time we do our homework and the chapter is over and certified, another precondition arrives and this has become a non-lasting process. Then, we have to find out: Is EU a Christian Club? We are committed to follow the track and meet our commitments. But then maybe one day they will say yes - “all the chapters are crystal clear” - but we have to conduct a referendum and ask our people.
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.
Labels: Armenian Genocide Remembrance
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