Street theater scares children, shocks nation

Wednesday, March 5, 2008
TDN

Celebrations in Aşkale, Erzurum, include workers dressed up as Armenians acting out hanging an imam and murdering a family before being killed themselves by high school students playing the Turkish militia. While the mayor defends the event as educational, experts, commentators and newspapers call for an end to such displays of animosity

ANKARA – TDN with wire dispatches

The 90th anniversary of the liberation of the eastern province of Erzurum's Aşkale region was celebrated there Monday, with municipality workers – in a staged event – dressed as members of an Armenian gang sending the imam to the gallows, torching the mosque and bayoneting a doll in a crib, to the alarm of many locals.

The daily Sabah described the story as “shocking” on its front page yesterday, and Hürriyet's headline read, “The mentality in this day and age.”

The daily Radikal's front page headline was, “This disgrace should end.”

The celebrations began with town administrator (kaymakam) Zeyit Şener, Mayor Ahmet Yaptırmış and Regional Commander Captain Ertuğrul Yavuz laying a wreath at the Atatürk statue in the town square.

Just like in previous years, celebrations continued with municipality workers dressing up as Armenians and playing out a massacre committed by Armenians over 90 years ago. The workers first sat around a table and drank alcohol – actually cold tea – before acting out torching the local mosque. Murat Billur, a barber who played the imam in the play, was hung from the makeshift gallows in the town square as he recited the call to prayer.

The workers then acted out the murder of a family and bayoneted a doll in a crib to screams from the town's children.

The play ended with Aşkale High School students, who played the Turkish militia that freed the town from occupation, attacking and “killing” the workers.

Yaptırmış, of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), defended the play. They repeat the event every year, he said, so children will always remember what happened. “Keeping these sentiments alive will give us an honorable future,” he said.

“There are no bans. I don't think children will be affected adversely,” he said.

‘We are ashamed'

Municipality workers who played the Armenians said the mayor issued orders and they obeyed.

One worker, Celal Akar, said his family, friends and neighbors criticized him for playing an Armenian. “Sometimes they even make fun of us. We don't want to be part of the play, but when the mayor says it we can't object. We have been doing this for at least 20 years,” he said. The municipality is responsible for the organizing the event, but Şener was upset when he saw the play. “Next year's celebrations will be without Armenians,” he said.

Media, experts criticize the event:

Burning and stabbing people in front of children is very harmful for young and impressionable kids, said psychologist Alanur Özalp, speaking to Hürriyet. “We all saw teenagers being exploited in the murder of Hrant Dink and priest (Andrea) Santoro. When asked, these teenage murderers said, ‘He was Turkey's enemy. They told me to go and kill him.' Such scenes should not be repeated when we are trying to rid ourselves of the image of barbarian Turks,” she said.

Celebrations portraying Turkey's neighbors as enemies have ended in many regions in Turkey, said Erdun Babahan, editor-in-chief at Sabah, in his column yesterday. “As long as your children grow up watching things like this, it will never be hard to find teenage triggermen to do bad jobs,” Babahan said.

There is a difference between teaching history to children and becoming ugly and rude while doing so, said Hürriyet's Oktay Ekşi in his column yesterday. “Isn't there a more civilized way of teaching history to children? Which is right? Teaching civilization and peace, or animosity to future generations?”

Ekşi asked how teachers and parents could make their children, who were obviously shocked and scared, watch such scenes. “Now do you see how those who murdered Dink and Santoro grow up? Now do you understand what Rakel Dink meant when she said, ‘Nothing can be done without questioning how a baby can become a murderer,'” he said.

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.

“Internet Slanderer's Identity Revealed by Favorite Victim”

June 11, 2007
Hetq Online, Armenia
By Ruben Izmailyan

According to the recent discovery by Taner Akcam, the author of perhaps the most vicious anti-Armenian website on the web is an accomplished Turkish-American cartoonist. Hiding under the pseudonym of “Holdwater” was Murad Gumen who for several years has run the infamous tallarmeniantale.com website (TAT). Besides spreading anti-Armenian rhetoric and at times comparing Armenians to rodents, while bitterly denying the notion of an Armenian Genocide, the site is also famous for belittling and vilifying some of the most notable scholars and individuals that have spoken or written about it. Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Weisel, historians Richard Hovhanissian, Vahakn Dadrian, genocide scholar Israel Charny and many others have been subject to accusations of bias, incompetence, bribery, promoting “Armenian propaganda” and other similar misdeeds.

But one of the biggest recipients of Holdwater's finger pointing is Taner Akcam himself, a renown human rights activist and Professor of History at the University of Minnesota, who has authored numerous prominent works on the Armenian Genocide and is considered to be one of the top experts on the Genocide. On Holdwater's website Mr. Akcam is called a convicted terrorist, and referred to as a “Turkish Turncoat” along with other Turks who recognize the Genocide or significantly deviate from the Turkish Government's position of unconditional denial. Labeling Akcam a “former terrorist leader” and an enemy of America “responsible for the deaths of American citizens,” Mr. Gumen attempts to discredit and disrepute Akcam and others who refuse the official position of Ankara. Doing so behind a veil of anonymity, until recently, allowed Gumen to indiscriminately and shamefully slander dozens of other individuals including various historians, academics, politicians, activists, ambassadors and students.

According to Holdwater, the purpose of the site is to “provide The Other Side of the Falsified Genocide ” and that TAT, unlike other Turkish sites, attempts to offer information from “impartial Westerners” and Armenian sources as well as Turkish ones. Paradoxically these “impartial” Western individuals include such “scholars” as the late Samuel Weems, a disbarred Arkansas judge best known for his book Armenia: The Secrets of a Christian Terrorist State . His unique survey of Armenia makes such claims, as “The number one export of Armenia is terrorism.” Considering that Mr. Weems is one of Holdwater's favorite “scholars” it is easy to see the substance behind Tall Armenian Tale . Using Mr. Weems' radically anti-Armenian views, Holdwater attacks virtually every credible person and publication that speaks of the destruction of the Ottoman Armenians. Tall Armenian Tale contains an astounding amount of information from scholars in the mold of Mr. Weems and is considered to be the most comprehensive site of its kind, as it gathers many of the most virulent and preposterous arguments for Genocide denial into one site, while ridiculing virtually every credible source on the matter. Quotes from this site are used habitually on anti-Armenian websites, forums and groups, giving Mr. Holdwater and his site a cult-like following among those actively denying the Armenian Genocide.

In one of his articles Holdwater, otherwise notoriously discreet and careful to not reveal his true identity, made reference to correspondence with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. He did so without realizing that the personal communication contained in that file was in the public domain. Thus Taner Akcam was able to trace the identity of the man who anonymously headed a massive smear campaign against Akcam and many others.

Mr. Akcam's discovery represents a victory not because Murad Gumen will likely never be allowed to make another Mickey Mouse comic, but because Mr. Akcam's quest for the truth has brought Holdwater and Akcam onto an even playing field.

Thus since Holdwater is no longer anonymous he can not spread unfounded lies and harass people any more . He has since removed the webpage where the ill-advised reference to public correspondence was made. Perhaps Mr. Gumen is trying to cover his tracks , but it is far too late to cover up all the dishonesty, sleaziness and hateful rhetoric that made him a favorite tool of anti-Armenian elements and deniers of the Genocide.

Apparently Mr. Gumen is guided by the very principles that he tried to defend – the favorite of Turkey's government – the practice of deleting incriminating evidence and distorting reality. Like Turkey's government, he hopes that everyone will move on and forget what happened, instead of honorably facing the truth and its consequences.

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.

Holdwater: The mysterious name behind the “premier” anti-Armenian website

Posted on June 6th, 2007 by Blogian.

By Taner Akçam

This article by Taner Akçam reveals who "Holdwater" the pseudonym for the webmaster of "Tall Armenian Tale" is. It is a shame to see how a person with such a vindictive nature towards Armenians can be accepted and quoted by many. He compares Armenians to rodents. His true name is Murad Gümen. He "is best known for his animation work. After making his own animated short 'Erased Off', he went on to work as an in-between on 'Raggedy Ann and Andy' in 1977. He wrote, directed, and produced the comedy-fantasy feature film, 'Wonderguy'. He has also worked as a writer, artist and illustrator. His work appeared in Crazy (Marvel), Ghostly Haunts (Charlton) and Cracked, as well as Playboy and Heavy Metal. He worked as a staff artist at the New York office of the Walt Disney Company in the 1980s" Here.

On July 27, 2005, the Yeni Şafak newspaper published an interview, “The Mysterious American Who Drives the Armenians Mad,” about an “interesting and unique” person who writes under the pseudonym Holdwater. “This mysterious American has been financing, for many years, a highly effective, U.S.-based Internet site,” Yeni Şafak reports. “The principal aim of Tall Armenian Tale: The Other Side of the Falsified Genocide is to provide substantial responses to the Armenian Diaspora’s claims of genocide.”

According to the newspaper, Holdwater, a New York native, was born in the 1950s to Turkish parents who had migrated to America in the 1940s and raised their son without teaching him a single word of Turkish. He champions the Turkish theses [denial of the Armenian Genocide] on his website at www.tallarmeniantale.com.

Holdwater says he uses a pseudonym because he is the target of threats and sabotage on a daily basis. “If I tell you my real name and you publish it in your newspaper,” he told Yeni Şafak, “trust me, within a few days neither my family harmony nor my good business nor my Internet site will still be in existence.”

While afraid to disclose his own name because his peace will be disturbed, Holdwater does not hold back from publishing the photographs of intellectuals such as Halil Berktay and Müge Göçek [of the Workshop for Armenian-Turkish Scholarship], and parading them as targets in his articles full of animosity and hatred. It is quite difficult to understand how someone who is afraid of being attacked can organize such ruthless campaigns of belligerence against others.

[...]

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.