PRES. KOCHARIAN SAYS TODAY'S TURKEY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
GENOCIDE
10-05-2006 14:10:00 | USA | Articles and Analyses
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
In the vain hope of splitting the Diaspora from Armenia,
Turkish officials have been making self-delusional statements.
They have repeatedly claimed that Diaspora Armenians are the
ones pushing for demands from Turkey, while the people of
Armenia supposedly just want to live in peace with their Turkish
neighbors.
On April 24 of this year, high-ranking Armenian officials
went out of their way to expose these Turkish distortions by
taking a very tough stand vis-a-vis Turkey. In an official
statement issued on the occasion of the 91st anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide, Pres. Kocharian went far beyond anything he
had said before on Turkish responsibility for the Armenian
Genocide. For the first time, he blamed not only the Ottoman
Empire for the Genocide, but also today's Turkish Republic.
Pres. Kocharian stated: "Today we commemorate the memory of
the victims of the Armenian Genocide. Ottoman Turkey and its
legal successor bear full responsibility for this crime. In the
years succeeding the Armenian Genocide, the survivors have borne
the grave consequences of the committed crime. The pain is all
the more intense, as we are forced to struggle for recognition
as well as condemnation of that black page of history. The
Republic of Armenia, as the articulator of the national
interests of Armenians living in the homeland as well as those
scattered throughout the world, will continue that struggle. We
are grateful to all the countries, organizations and individuals
who are supporting us."
The Prime Minister of Armenia, Antranik Margarian, in his
April 24 statement, found it salutary that "the number of
countries recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide is
increasing with each passing year... The efforts of today's
Turkey aiming to deny the Genocide, distort the evidence, cover
up the facts, and silence the handful of Turkish intellectuals
who are exposing and condemning the shameful pages of its
history, are not only unhelpful in promoting a stable peace and
good neighborly relations in the region, but in an atmosphere of
impunity, make the perpetration of new crimes possible."
The Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Tigran
Torosian, said: "Recognition of the Genocide will dignify Turkey
and the Turkish people. They can also not recognize it, but that
won't change anything in the world."
The Deputy Minister of Defense of Armenia, Artur
Aghabekian, stated: "Turkey must understand that sooner or later
the whole world, each and every state, will recognize the
Armenian Genocide... Turkey will have to recognize the
Genocide. If it won't do it today, it will do it tomorrow. How
could it evade historical justice?"
In an interview conducted by Paul Chaderjian and aired on
April 24 on Armenia TV, Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said:
"Today, the children of the survivors and the Government of
Armenia, both, have been transformed from victims to activists
working with the international community to right a historical
wrong, to acknowledge a crime against humanity and to advocate
prevention of such crimes in the future... Today, in its search
for European Union membership, Turkey is having to deal with
history and memory and identity. And of course, the existence of
an Armenian state means that we can raise these issues at an
official government level."
When asked if it would not be wiser to let the Diaspora
pursue the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, the Foreign
Minister emphatically responded: "The Genocide affected every
single Armenian. The responsibility to right the memory of that
wrong rests with all of us. The Armenian Government has the
moral responsibility to speak about the Genocide of the
Armenians, and to call for Genocide recognition. This
responsibility is one we fully acknowledge. In fact, the active
involvement of the Armenian Government and its representatives
has also played a role in the progress of the recognition
process. The podiums and forums that are available to the
representatives of a state are many and we use them to make our
case to the international community. At the same time, as a
responsible member of that community, we know that we cannot
make Genocide recognition a pre-condition to our relationship
with the Republic of Turkey. The irony is that we, the survivors
and victims of
Genocide, don't make normal relations conditional on its
recognition, yet the Turkish side often suggests that Armenia
should put Genocide recognition aside if it wants normal
relations with Turkey. Clearly, we cannot."
Foreign Minister Oskanian then provided the possible
reasons for Turkey's refusal to face the Genocide issue: "There
is perhaps a fear that entering this realm, embarking on a
relationship with Armenians will place them in a morally
uncomfortable and undesirable situation, and that they will be
held responsible for those events. I cannot repeat this often
enough: Armenians are able to distinguish between the
perpetrators and today's Turkey. But Turks themselves must be
willing to do what is morally right and reject and denounce the
crimes of the Ottoman Empire. Otherwise, today's denial means
implicit endorsement or acceptance of those past crimes."
Continuing to express his serious concerns over the denial
of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey, Minister Oskanian said:
"Justifying, even revering the genocidal state policy of one
regime has become the state policy of another regime. Denial is
state policy, just as genocide is state policy. It is today's
Turkish State that is wasting money and credibility on denying,
distorting, dismissing serious crimes against humanity committed
during the Ottoman years. Not only are they denying history,
they are also legislating denial by making it difficult, if not
impossible, to actually dig into this painful issue and come
face to face with difficult historic and political realities. It
is safe to say that Turkish society -- writers, historians,
journalists -- are in fact seeking and trying to reach their own
conclusions about what really happened. It is the state that
insists on rejecting those questions even. The people of Turkey
are searching for answers. The memoir of US
Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, the British Blue Book, the
works of Vahakn Dadrian and Peter Balakian can be found in
Turkish, in Turkey. We welcome this, because before there can be
dialogue with Armenians, there must be internal questioning and
dialogue in Turkey."
The Armenian Foreign Minister concluded with an ominous
warning: "The longer it takes for Turks to repudiate those acts,
the more today's Turks and yesterday's Ottomans will become
synonymous in people's minds."
After such strong statements by the President, Prime
Minister, Deputy Parliament Speaker, Foreign Minister, and
Deputy Defense Minister of Armenia, it would be preposterous for
any Turkish official to claim that the Armenian state has no
interest in pursuing the Genocide issue. All Armenians, be they
in Armenia or the Diaspora, are united in their resolve to
demand that the Turkish Republic acknowledge the Armenian
Genocide and make appropriate amends.