By Appo K. Jabarian
Executive Publisher/Managing Editor
USA Armenian Life Magazine
According to an April 10 article in the Turkish Daily News,
titled "Foreign Ministry Provides Internet Service On Genocide
'Allegations'," the Turkish FM Abdullah Gul said: "There are
more than 1 million Web sites in languages other than Turkish
with regard to the Armenian question. If one takes into account
the Armenian Diaspora's efforts to broadcast in almost every
language for propaganda purposes, it will take a long time to
determine the exact number of (pro-Armenian) publications."
The Turkish Daily also reported: "Facing a mounting
Armenian campaign to get international recognition for the
'alleged' genocide, Turkey called for a joint committee of
Turkish and Armenian experts last year to study the
'allegations'. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter
to Armenian President Robert Kocharian proposing the
establishment of such a committee. Erdogan's 'proposal' was
turned down by Kocharian, who instead offered an
intergovernmental commission to study ways to resolve problems
between the two neighboring countries."
President Kocharian must be commended for not falling in
the Turkish trap of a defrauding "study." No genuine
reconciliation may occur without genuine acknowledgement by
Ankara of the historic facts of the Armenian Genocide, committed
at the hands of Turkey.
It is very obvious that the denialist Turks' ill-developed
master plan to obstruct real reconciliation with Armenians is
constantly backfiring.
One such most recent episode is the USC "state" fiasco that
more than tarnished Turkey's already-faltering image. In late
March, USC cancelled a Turkish-government initiated forum on its
campus.
Harut Sassounian, the Publisher of The California Courier,
wrote a news analysis-commentary narrating the circumstances
surrounding the embarrassing cancellation of a "lecture" show by
Gunduz Aktan and Omer Lutem at USC. Aktan and Lutem are two
retired top diplomats and prominent Ankara-based Turkish
denialists.
In an interesting follow-up analysis-commentary, titled
"Those Who Live in Glass Houses, Should not Throw Stones..."
Sassounian wrote on April 10: "The anticipated self-promotional
puff-piece by Gunduz Aktan, a former Turkish Ambassador and
member of the infamous Turkish Armenian Reconciliation
Commission (TARC), was finally published in the April 8 issue of
the Turkish Daily News. Aktan and Omer Lutem, another former
Turkish ambassador and a notorious denialist, toured the U.S.
during the second half of March, to spread coast to coast their
perverted version of history regarding the Armenian Genocide."
Sassounian's poignant commentary narrates the reversal of
"fortunes" for the denialist Turks, on the one hand, and on the
other, it genuinely portrays Armenians as fairly and squarely
accepting the long-awaited Aktan's offer to try the Armenian
Case at the Hague International Court, without blinking an eye.
I can imagine Aktan hating to see 1) the squandering of his
political capital, 2) the further damaging of Turkey's image
because of the "state" fiasco at USC on the eve of the worldwide
commemorations of the 91st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Aktan and his beloved Turkey were subjected to political
misfortunes as a direct result of the Los Angeles-based Turkish
consul's willful misrepresentations to the officials of
University of Southern California, one of the most prestigious
American institutions of higher learning.
The Los Angeles-based Turkish consul, the visiting Turkish
deniers Aktan, and Lutem, and the Turkish "student" at USC
further compounded Turkey's problems by "earning" a strong
admonishment from Mr. Joshua Fouts of USC.
As reported by Sassounian, Mr. Fouts, rightfully so, dealt
the Turks a major blow by highlighting the fact that he was
being lied to, by these Turkish officials.
The non-Armenian observers can surely comprehend the extent
to which the deniers are willing to go in order to misguide the
innocent third party members. They can also realize how
desperate the Turkish deniers are in covering up the historic
facts of the Armenian Genocide at the hands of their
grandparents' generation.