Turkish Forum

Author: Harut Sassounian

  • Men Who Rape and Marry Girls Under 18 Could be Pardoned in Turkey

    Men Who Rape and Marry Girls Under 18 Could be Pardoned in Turkey

    Harut Sassounian

    Jan 27, 2020, 6:31 PM (5 hours ago)

    The British Independent newspaper published an unbelievable article last week, titled: “‘Marry-your-rapist’ bill to be introduced by lawmakers in Turkey.”

    This sounds like a subject from the Middle Ages. If the Turkish Parliament approves it, the pending law “would allow men accused of having sex with girls who are under 18 to avoid punishment if they marry their victims,” The Independent reported.

    Turkish Women’s rights campaigners are furious that such a shameful bill could become law in ‘modern’ Turkey. Critics contend that the envisaged law “not only legitimizes child marriage and statutory rape but also paves the way for child abuse and sexual exploitation,” The Independent wrote. The pro-Kurdish opposition People’s Democratic Party (HDP) opposes this bill.

    “United Nations agencies warned the bill would generate a landscape of impunity for child abuse and leave victims vulnerable to experiencing additional mistreatment and distress from their assailants,” according to The Independent.

    A similar bill, introduced in 2016, was defeated in the Turkish Parliament, after receiving criticisms from women’s rights activists from around the world. That legislation would have only pardoned men for having sex with young girls “without force or threat.”

    A small number of countries have passed such legislation for the purpose of protecting and safeguarding “family honor.” However, several other countries, such as Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, and Palestine that had such objectionable laws, have repealed them in recent years.

    The Independent quoted Suad Abu-Dayyah, a women’s rights campaigner, saying it was ‘shocking’ politicians are trying to pass a bill that “provides impunity for perpetrators of child sexual exploitation.” She told The Independent: “I applaud the brave work of women’s rights campaigners in Turkey who are taking a stand against this discriminatory bill and pushing back against regressive forces that are seeking to remove current legal protections for girls. Similar ‘marry-your-rapist’ legal provisions have been on the statute books of countries across the Middle East and North Africa. Thanks to years of campaigning by women’s rights activists and lawmakers in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, and Palestine have all removed these loopholes in recent years. Rather than attempting to introduce legislation that harms women’s rights and protections, Turkish lawmakers should take heed of these advances in repealing gender discriminatory laws.”

    Even though the legal age of consent in Turkey is 18, The Turkish Daily News quoted Tekin Bingol, a member of the Turkish Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Parliament, stating: “a total of 482,908 underage women were married in the last 10 years. In Turkey, 26 percent of females were married before the age of 18. Ten percent of them gave birth before the age of 18. Some 142,298 underage mothers were recorded in the last six years. Most of these children were married with religious ceremonies. A total of 440,000 underage girls have given birth since 2002. The number of women under 15 who gave birth after being exposed to sexual abuse was recorded as 15,937.”

    The Independent reported that “Violence against women and girls is prevalent in Turkey — with 38 per cent of Turkish women having suffered physical or sexual violence from a partner according to the United Nations. A campaign group called We Will Stop Femicide estimates some 409 women were murdered by a partner or a family member in the country in 2017 — a stark rise from the total of 237 four years beforehand.

    Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, instead of defending women’s rights, has made public statements denigrating the value of women! During a meeting in 2014, Erdogan told the audience: “You cannot put women and men on an equal footing. It is against nature.” Erdogan also urged women in 2016 to have at least three children and argued that a woman’s life was ‘incomplete’ if she did not reproduce. “A woman who says ‘because I am working I will not be a mother’ is actually denying her femininity,” Erdogan said. “A woman who rejects motherhood, who refrains from being around the house, however successful her working life is, is deficient, is incomplete.”

    I hope that the legislation pardoning men who marry underage girls after raping them will be rejected. Since the majority of the Turkish Parliament members are affiliated with Pres. Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), the President can easily stop this legislation from being introduced in Parliament. However, it is not known what he will do, as he has taken many domestic and international positions which are contrary to Turkey’s and Turkish people’s interests. As we have seen on many occasions, Erdogan prefers to appeal to his radical followers rather than doing the right thing!

  • Newly-Elected Patriarch of Turkey Lashes Back at his Armenian Critics

    Newly-Elected Patriarch of Turkey Lashes Back at his Armenian Critics

    After giving a series of interviews to the Turkish press since his election on December 11, 2019, the new Armenian Patriarch of Turkey, Sahak II Mashalyan, responded to his Armenian critics on January 15, 2020, by issuing an official “Clarification” to Turkish-Armenian newspapers.

    It is important to point out that the Patriarch’s critics were not simply those who live outside Turkey, unjustly accused of being unaware of the repressive treatment of Istanbul Armenians by the Turkish government. In addition to criticisms from Armenians in Armenia and the Diaspora, the Patriarch was attacked by Armenians living in Turkey as well as the Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos.

    The Patriarch’s interview to the Turkish newspaper Aksham generated the most controversy as he not only distanced Istanbul Armenians from Diaspora Armenians, but also belittled the massive tragedy of the Armenian Genocide. His Beatitude complained that a few of the sentences in his interview with Aksham, drawing the most negative interpretations and exceeding the limits of understanding, reached a campaign of tarnishing his name.

    The Patriarch made the excuse that in his 40-minute interview, he “had provided lengthy explanations and details which naturally were not included in the article. The words appearing in the newspaper were filtered from those explanations which were given as answers for a particular question. That style was the choice of the editor. Without considering the questions, when only answers are provided, a change in the meaning takes place, which is placed successively, one after another. In this case, they become unclear expressions and failed statements, which make the transmitted idea meaningless.”

    The Patriarch then stated that he had given the following answer to the question about Turkish Armenians: “Armenians of Turkey, unlike Armenians in the Diaspora and Armenia, form a third segment. From the point of view of administration and economy, the Armenian Diaspora has no ties with us; we are self-sufficient.”

    When his Beatitude was asked about the irreconcilable attitude of Diaspora Armenians toward Turkey and the reasons for its negative position, he claimed that the given answer does not belong to him, but is a simple sociological correction — familiar to all — expressed as such: ‘One hundred years ago, the people who left these lands with a great tragedy have transmitted the trauma they lived to future generations and realized that for the Armenian identity and its preservation it is beneficial and necessary to form a consciousness of the Genocide. They continued to live for more than a hundred years in a status quo away from Turkey and Turks. But, we — Armenians who have remained in Turkey — continued to share our lives with Turks in these lands and gained the experience of living together. In that sense, we are distinct Armenians in the Armenian world.”

    The Patriarch continued: “In such super sensitive subjects, the priority of the people has been that they listen to what they want, and not what the Patriarchs of Turkish Armenians say and under what conditions. The fate of the Armenian Patriarchs of Turkey is like the captain of a ship that is being crushed between two non-melting icebergs. In that circumstance, it is not always possible to secure harmony and errors appear to occur according to one of the sides. Sahak Patriarch too, like his predecessors, has tried to give answers regarding Armenian issues that are satisfactory to all sides. It is never acceptable to any of the sides to take a rejectionist and disregarding position. Each person must first understand correctly, what in reality has been expressed in the uttered words and then criticize.”

    Some in the Diaspora may agree with the Patriarch’s words, emphasizing the dire conditions that he and the Turkish community are in. Any Armenian who is familiar with those repressive conditions can be somewhat sympathetic to the Patriarch’s situation.

    Our intent was never to urge the Patriarch to antagonize the authorities in Turkey. After all, he is responsible for the safety of his community. All we ask from the Patriarch is to be cautious in his words, not to alienate his followers in Turkey and not insult the memory of 1.5 million Armenian martyrs by engaging in outright denialism. Whenever possible, the Patriarch should avoid giving interviews to the Turkish press. He should appoint a press spokesman who is capable of avoiding difficult and sensitive questions, particularly on political issues. If the spokesman makes a mistake, it is less consequential than if the Patriarch himself makes a mistake. Spokesmen can be fired, but the Patriarch’s position is life-long.

    Finally, it is unacceptable for the Patriarch to blame the Turkish newspaper for allegedly misinterpreting his words. First of all, we do not know what exactly the Patriarch told the Turkish newspaper and if it was really misinterpreted. For example, in his above “Clarification,” the Patriarch claims that he had used the word “Genocide” in his interview with the Turkish newspaper. This is not credible!

    Secondly, the Patriarch is someone who is born and raised in Istanbul. He knows the Turkish media well. He should have known that the Turkish press often distorts the words of those they interview. Therefore, giving an interview to the Turkish press and then complaining that his words were distorted is not sincere. The Patriarch should have known that in advance. Complaining about Turkish media distortions after the interview is published is foolish!

  • Turkey Eliminated its Minorities from The Economy with Exorbitant Taxes

    Turkey Eliminated its Minorities from The Economy with Exorbitant Taxes

    www.TheCalforniaCourier.com

    After the near total physical elimination of the minorities from the Ottoman Empire 1915-23, the Turkish government embarked in 1941 on the financial ruin of the remaining Armenians, Greeks, Jews, and a small number of Turkish Muslims.

    Turkish journalist and political analyst Uzay Bulut, formerly based in Ankara, wrote an in-depth article posted on the greekcitytimes.com website, titled: “Wealth Tax Law: How Turkey’s Non-Muslims Were Eliminated from the Economy.”

    The chauvinistic government of then Prime Minister Shukru Saracoglu enacted the Wealth Tax Law on November 11, 1942. While the Genocide of the minorities in Turkey has attracted much international attention in recent decades, the seizure of their wealth through taxes has not been as well publicized. The minorities residing in Istanbul were not subjected to mass deportations by the Ottoman authorities due to the presence of foreign embassies in that city which was then the Ottoman Empire’s capital.

    Turkish scholar Bashak Ince wrote that the stated aim “was to tax previously untaxed commercial wealth and to rein in the inflationary spiral of World War II. However, the underlying reason was the elimination of minorities from the economy and the replacement of the non-Muslim bourgeoisie by its Turkish counterpart.”

    The Turkish researcher Ridvan Akar, who wrote a book about the exorbitant Wealth Tax Law, described it as “economic genocide against minorities.”

    Here are the four groups and the percentage of taxes imposed on them according to the 1941 tax law: Armenians (232%), Jews (179%), Greeks (156%) and Muslims (4.94%).

    “The way in which the law was applied was scandalous,” wrote Ince, an assistant professor of political science. “Converts paid about twice as much as Muslims, while non-Muslims ended up paying up to ten times as much. In addition, non-Muslims were required to pay their taxes in cash within 15 days; as a result, they had to sell their businesses or property to Muslim businessmen at low prices to cover the bill. The law was also applied to the many poor non-Muslims (numbering 26,000), such as drivers, workers, and even beggars, whereas their Muslim counterparts were not obliged to pay any tax.”

    Those who could not pay the taxes were sent to labor camps at Askale, near Erzurum, deported or their properties seized by the government, wrote Bulut.

    Author Sidney Nowill described the labor camp as “an area cooler than Moscow in the winter.” The tax debtors were put to work breaking stones, but the tragedy did not end there!

    “Out of 40,000 tax debtors,” Ince wrote, “about 5,000 were sent to these camps, and all of these were members of non-Muslim communities. Unfortunately, 21 people died in these camps and the government usurped their wealth and sold it to Turkish Muslims at low prices.”

    Furthermore, “The government also confiscated the property of the tax debtors’ close relatives, even if they had been sent into labor service.”

    Bulut also quoted historian Corry Guttstadt who wrote in her book, “Turkey, the Jews, and the Holocaust,” about the financial and psychological ruin the Wealth Tax inflicted on the minority non-Muslim citizens of Turkey: “People who were unable to pay were granted a two-week extension on request, but interest was charged for this period. Many families were forced to sell their shops and businesses, their houses, even their carpets, furniture, and other household articles to raise the tax money…. Some people committed suicide in despair. The extraordinary tax was also levied on foreign Jews, and if they were in no position to pay, their property was confiscated down to the beds and cupboards. Although the law stipulated that people over 55 years old were exempt from labor service, 75 and 80-year-old men and even sick people were dragged to the train station and deported.”

    Turkish Prime Minister Saracoglu stated at the time: “This way, we’ll break the foreigners’ tight grip over our market and put Turkish money into the hands of Turks.”

    Turkish Researcher Sait Chetinoglu has investigated and written extensively on the Turkish government’s Wealth Tax policy, based on historical documents and testimonies of the victims. A Greek-Turkish woman, Marika Shishmanoglu, was quoted as saying that the unreasonably large tax of 30,000 Turkish liras was charged on her father who was forced to sell both of his houses and his shop and was still unable to pay the full amount of the taxes levied on him. So he was deported to the Askale labor camp. Her uncle was also charged an extraordinarily large amount of tax and was financially ruined. He was deported to Askale too. Her father died at the labor camp of Sivrihisar of a heart attack at the age of 57.

    “The Wealth Tax was repealed in March 1944, under the pressure of criticism from Britain and the United States,” Bulut wrote. “It was the so-called ‘secular’ Republican People’s Party (CHP), for example, that imposed this ‘jizya — kafir [infidel] tax’ on Turkey’s non-Muslim citizens.”

    Turkish journalist Bulut concluded: “The founders and ideologues of Turkey — since the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923 — propagated a discriminatory and Turkish supremacist mindset that revealed itself under the slogan ‘Turkey for the Turks.’ All succeeding governments have consciously attempted to make this slogan a reality, turning the lives of religious minorities into hell on earth. The current aggressive policies of the ruling AKP government against non-Muslims are just a continuation of this mentality.”

  • Senate’s Adoption of Genocide Resolution Upsets Newly-Elected Patriarch of Turkey

    Senate’s Adoption of Genocide Resolution Upsets Newly-Elected Patriarch of Turkey

    I responded last month to the interview given by the newly-elected Patriarch of Turkey, Bishop Sahak II Mashalyan, to a Turkish newspaper in which he had criticized the adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution by the U.S. Senate.

    Since then, the Armenian world was disturbed that the Patriarch has continued giving interviews to the Turkish media, making pro-Turkish and anti-Armenian comments. As I have written before, it is understandable that the remnants of the Armenian community in Istanbul are hostages in the brutal hands of the Turkish regime. Consequently, we should express some understanding for their questionable pronouncements. Nevertheless, not every statement is made under duress. Some of their negative statements are made of their own free will, without any pressure from the Turkish government. Sometimes, certain Armenians in Turkey make anti-Armenian statements either to protect their own business arrangements with Turkish officials or to preserve their seats by endearing themselves to the Turkish authorities. Therefore, one should not automatically jump to the conclusion that we should refrain from criticizing their pro-Turkish statements just because they live in Turkey. It all depends on the circumstances of the statement and the extent to which an Istanbul Armenian attacks Armenians and their political demands.

    After giving interviews to two Turkish newspapers — Milliyet and Sabah — Patriarch Mashalyan continued to be the center of attention of the Turkish media. He told the Aksham newspaper on January 2, 2020, that Diaspora Armenians and Istanbul Armenians have no connection with each other and that the Diaspora has remained 100 years behind.

    Patriarch Mashalyan added: “All minorities in Turkey agree that we live in our most comfortable period under the reign of President Erdogan.” The Patriarch seems to have forgotten that for the last 12 years the Armenian community was not allowed to elect a replacement Patriarch after the comatose state of the previous Patriarch. Erdogan’s government was also the one that banned the participation of several Turkish Armenian clergymen in the patriarchal election simply because they were serving in parishes outside of Turkey. Patriarch Mashalyan most probably would not have been chosen if the other candidates were allowed to participate in the election.

    “Ever since the period of the Ottoman Empire, the problems of minorities have been exploited to interfere in the internal affairs of Turkey. We do not want this issue to be the reason why Turkey suffers losses in international politics. We are the citizens of this country. Any word against this country hurts us too,” the Patriarch told Aksham newpaper.

    Furthermore, the Patriarch of Turkey stated that “the Armenian Diaspora has no connection with us. 1915 and its subsequent memories have been transmitted through generations. They have seen that this issue at least preserves their unity and creates a negative collective consciousness. A collective consciousness has been created based on a tragedy. They do not wish to lose it. But we remained on these lands after those events. We chose to live together with the other elements. The Diaspora has remained 100 years behind…. There is a difference between the way we understand Islam and the way the Diaspora understands it. In reality, the people are much softer. They remember on April 24, and forget it until the next April 24.

    Continuing his anti-Armenian crusade, Patriarch Sahak II told the Turkish NTV on January 2, 2020 that the decision of the U.S. Senate approving the Armenian Genocide Resolution “hurt me.” The Patriarch also stated: “We are not the Diaspora. We have always been here and stayed in this country. After the bitter events of 1915, we chose to stay here. We lived for 105 years differently from the Diaspora Armenians. They existed with the 1915 trauma with bitter memories which they passed from generation to generation. We survived that trauma. We did not forget it, but we survived it. The magic of living together has taken place.”

    Patriarch Sahak II has had a controversial past with various odd incidents. But I prefer not to dwell on those issues right now. It is not pleasant to attack a high- ranking Armenian clergyman. I just want to quote briefly from the Patriarch’s 2017 writing: “I gave the church my life, my youth and my masculinity. I do not have a family. For six years, I lived in a 20 meter square room in the Patriarchate.”

    The statements made by Patriarch Sahak II to the Turkish media, at the very beginning of his term in office, even prior to his ordination, are not a good sign. Many Armenians, both inside and outside Turkey, were complaining that his rival, Archbishop Aram Ateshyan, was too subservient to the Turkish authorities. While that kind of behavior is somewhat understandable, given the oppressive nature of the Turkish authorities, the newly-elected Patriarch has far exceeded his rival’s submissive conduct.

    Patriarch Sahak II’s self-demeaning words to the Turkish media are simply the repetition of the Turkish denials of the Armenian Genocide and rejection of the recent recognition by the US Senate. Furthermore, by aligning himself with the Turkish government, the Patriarch is distancing himself and the Turkish Armenian community from the Diaspora just as Turkish officials have banned Turkish Armenian clergymen serving in the Diaspora from participating in the patriarchal election.

    Patriarch Sahak II is living in the honeymoon stage of his new position. However, as we have seen in the past, the Turkish government can at any moment tighten the screws on the local Armenian community. When that happens, it is the Armenian Diaspora that will come to the rescue of the Turkish Armenian community, ignoring the Patriarch’s unwelcome words against the Diaspora!

    Furthermore, I am mindful that the Patriarch will use Diaspora’s critical statements to score points with the Turkish authorities.

  • Senate Recognition of Armenian Genocide: Reactions and Next Steps to be Taken

    Senate Recognition of Armenian Genocide: Reactions and Next Steps to be Taken

    For the first time since the Genocide of 1915, the US Senate adopted a Resolution unanimously on December 12, 2019, recognizing the Armenian Genocide, after it was blocked for three consecutive weeks by different Republican Senators at the request of the White House. Since then, I have received countless phone calls and emails from Armenians asking me if this Resolution, along with its companion Resolution adopted overwhelmingly by the House of Representatives on October 29, 2019, will now go to Pres. Donald Trump for his signature.

    I have written about this subject many times before, but it bears repeating that these two Resolutions are “stand alone” Resolutions, which means that they do not go to the White House and the President is not requested to sign them. This is the end of the road for these two Resolutions. If they were submitted to the two Houses of Congress as a “Joint Resolution,” they would then have been submitted to the President for his signature.

    Nevertheless, regardless of the type of Resolution, if Pres. Trump so wishes, he can use the term “Armenian Genocide” in his annual statement on April 24, 2020.

    Even though the October 29, 2019 recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the House of Representatives was the third time the House has passed such a Resolution, the December 12, 2019 Senate Resolution is historic since it is the first time since 1915 that the US Senate has adopted such a Resolution using the term Armenian Genocide. Furthermore, these two “stand alone” resolutions do not have the force of law, therefore, no legal consequence. They are simply considered the “Sense of Congress.”

    Nevertheless, the adoption of these two Resolutions and their international media coverage angered the Turkish government. Several Turkish officials issued statements condemning the US Congress and threatening to expel the US troops from two air bases in Turkey! Turkish officials also tried to minimize the importance of these Resolutions by stating that they have “no value at all.” The Turkish government went as far as compelling its Parliament to issue a resolution condemning the US Senate for recognizing the Armenian Genocide. The Turkish government also summoned US Ambassador in Ankara David Satterfield, telling him that the Armenian Genocide Resolution would disrupt US-Turkish relations, while claiming that the Resolution has “no value at all.” Why then has the Turkish government spent millions of dollars for years on lobbyists trying to block the Resolution in Congress? How can a “worthless” Resolution disrupt US-Turkish relations and why would Turkey threaten to expel the US from the Turkish air bases?

    Just as offensive are the attacks on the Senate Resolution by Azerbaijan’s officials. “The adoption of the resolution … is an attempt to falsification of historical facts and its use as a means of political pressure,” stated Leyla Abdullayeva, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman. The Resolution “serves only the dirty purposes of the Armenian lobby circles,” she added. Armenia’s officials should react sharply by condemning Azerbaijan’s denialist statement which makes Azerbaijan an accomplice to the crime of Genocide after the fact. As a punishment, Armenia should declare that it is temporarily freezing all negotiations with Azerbaijan on Artsakh.

    While it was expected that the Turkish government would lash back at the Armenian Genocide Resolutions, we are chagrined that the newly-elected Armenian Patriarch of Turkey, Sahak Mashalian, gave a lengthy interview to the Turkish newspaper Sabah, calling the Senate Resolution “not very moral.” While it is understandable that Armenians in Turkey are hostages deprived of their basic human rights, nevertheless there was no reason for the Patriarch, who was elected just one day before the adoption of the Senate Resolution, to go to such great lengths to parrot the Turkish government’s denialist propaganda! He not only condemned the US Senate, but said such offensive things as calling for a historical commission to study if a genocide had taken place, falsely claiming that some Armenians sided with Russian troops in attacking the Ottoman forces, accusing Armenians and Turks of massacring each other, urging Armenians and Turks to find a mutual solution without the interference of “third parties,” and supporting the adoption of the infamous Armenia-Turkey Protocols by both countries. All of these are arguments advanced by the Turkish government. Patriarch Mashalian stated at the end of his interview that “I am not a politician; there is a political dimension to this [issue].” He should have refused to talk to Sabah, stating simply that he is a spiritual leader and does not wish to engage himself in political matters.

    Regarding the Patriarch’s suggestion that third countries should not involve themselves in the Armenian Genocide issue, he is completely wrong! If it weren’t for the Diaspora’s lobbying efforts for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, this issue would have been forgotten by the world long ago! Rather than taking the side of the denialists and liars, Patriarch Mashalian should have worked tirelessly to establish the truth inside Turkey. This is the least one can expect from a man of God! Finally, even though the Patriarch is parroting the Turkish denialist talking points, we are not sure that the Turkish government has actually pressured him to give the interview to Sabah. He may have done it on his own to score points with the Turkish government, expecting that Ankara will shortly approve his election as Patriarch. “No one in this congregation would want to vote for a patriarch without approval from the state,” Mashalian told Sabah. The Patriarch is scheduled to meet with Turkish President Erdogan this week!

    Since Catholicos Karekin II and Aram Catholicos rushed to congratulate the newly-elected Patriarch of Turkey, I wonder if after Mashalian’s cowardly statements to Sabah, the two Catholicoi would retract their congratulations and denounce the Armenian Patriarch’s denialist statements!

    Armenian government officials, including the President, Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister issued statements thanking the US Congress and Armenian Americans for their support of the Genocide Resolution. While Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the adoption of the Resolution would reduce the Turkish threat to Armenia’s security, he regrettably added that he supports the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations “without preconditions.” If the recognition of the Genocide defends Armenia’s security, why would the Prime Minister say that “for us recognition of the Armenian Genocide is not on the agenda of our relations with Turkey?”

    In terms of next steps, it is high time that the Armenian government apply to the World Court (International Court of Justice) demanding from Turkey everything that Armenians lost as a result of the Genocide. These are:

    1) Pay monetary compensation for the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide;

    2) Return to victims’ heirs all personal properties, such as houses, farms, bank accounts and valuable items in bank safe deposit boxes;

    3) Restore churches, monasteries, schools and cemeteries to the Armenian community in Turkey;

    4) Liberate and unite Western Armenia with the Republic of Armenia.

  • Erdogan’s Backers Threaten to Commit A New Genocide Against Armenians

    Erdogan’s Backers Threaten to Commit A New Genocide Against Armenians

    A group of extreme nationalist Turkish lawyers, members of the Istanbul Bar Association, published an article in their November 2019 Bulletin threatening ‘to deport’ all Armenians from Turkey once again. The author of the article, Mustafa Chalik, writes that the ‘deportation’ would be ‘the mildest action’ against the Armenians. Since the Turkish government denies the occurrence of the Armenian Genocide, the author refers to it as ‘deportation.’ The article describes the Armenian Genocide as ‘a crowning achievement.’

    To make matters worse, Chalik blesses the memories of the chief henchmen of the Armenian Genocide: “the great martyr Talaat Pasha,” Enver Pasha, and Bahaddin Shakir, saying that “we bow in front of the saintly memories of all Unionists [Young Turks] and kiss their blessed hands…. We wish God’s mercy and eternal bliss in Heaven to all unnamed [Turkish] martyrs who lost their lives in the Armenian massacres.”

    Chalik goes on to write that “If the Committee of Union and Progress [Young Turks] committed ‘a crime,’ their only ‘crime’ was to prevent the catastrophe that occurred to us in the Balkans from happening to us in Eastern Anatolia.”

    The writer states that “we support the Armenian deportation of 1915. Those who call the deportation a genocide are making a declaration of war. Armenians and others, who call it a genocide, are threatened with a new deportation which will be the lightest measure against them.”

    “Our ancestors entered the World War to defend their sacred homeland and honor. It is our honor and the crown of our heads in all our struggles from Sarıkamısh to Chanakkale and from the Armenian deportation to Independence War. We will carry this crown with eternal pride,” writes Chalik.

    Chalik continues “If we believe that there is no other way to defend our homeland and national existence, whoever we are, the smallest gratification we will resort to is a new ‘deportation.’”

    In the preface of his book, “Armenian Genocide Claims,” Chalik describes the Armenian demands regarding the 1915 Genocide as “a crying literature…. Great nations with deep roots do not manage to cry and whine. They regard pity and seeking pity for themselves as demeaning. For this reason, ‘weeping and crying literatures’ are either not developed or have disappeared. This is one of the serious issues. From time to time, we, too, are influenced by the richness of the Armenian crying literature, and unnecessarily accuse ourselves for not publishing as much as they do. As a matter of fact, we can’t compete with them even if we wanted. We have such a vast ‘mourning literature’ that is not only related to the Armenian atrocities, but other catastrophes we are experiencing. In fact, it is said that the silence that the Turks came to exhibit in the face of Tashnak propaganda, which has been carried out for decades with a full cry, has been seen as ‘denial’ of the crime of slander and genocide.”

    In addition to Chalik’s article, there is a second article in the extreme nationalist Turkish lawyers’ Bulletin, written by Faruk Ulker, titled: “1915 Events and Armenian Atrocities.”

    Ulker writes that “the Armenian issue and the claim of the Armenian Genocide still remain one of the most important problems of our nation in the last century.” He calls the genocide, “self-defense.” The article also quotes Yusuf Halacoglu, a former member of the Turkish Parliament and a denialist of the Armenian Genocide, as stating: “the 300,000 Armenians who died during the deportations lost their lives due to disease in the Caucasus.”

    As if such denialist lies were not enough, the Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah published an article on December 8, 2019, titled: “Turkey to boost efforts to fight defamation campaign.”

    The Turkish government’s Directorate of Communications formed a website, “1915.gov.tr,” posting materials that deny the facts of the Armenian Genocide. Daily Sabah states that “Turkey objects to the presentation of the 1915 incidents as a ‘genocide,’ rather referring to it as a tragedy in which both Turks and Armenians suffered casualties amidst the throes of World War I…. ‘This website will respond to Armenian genocide slander used against our country at every possible opportunity in the international area, by putting historical information and data to the fore,’ said Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun on Saturday during a training program in the coastal province of Antalya.”

    Daily Sabah further reports that “In 1915, the Ottoman Empire relocated Armenians in eastern Anatolia following revolts in which some sided with invading Russian forces. There were many Armenian casualties during this relocation process. Armenia has demanded an apology and compensation, while Turkey has officially refuted Armenian allegations over the incidents saying that, although Armenians died during the relocations, many Turks also lost their lives in attacks carried out by Armenian gangs in Anatolia. The Turkish government has repeatedly called on historians to study Ottoman archives pertaining to the era in order to uncover what actually happened between the Ottoman government and its Armenian citizens. Rebuffing the ‘genocide’ allegations, Turkey has officially acknowledged past experiences as a great tragedy in which both parties suffered heavy casualties, including hundreds of Muslim Turks.”

    Altun was also quoted by Daily Sabah as stating that Turkey will step up its efforts against Armenians targeting the country. “We should wage a stronger fight against dark propaganda.”

    More importantly, Altun added that Turkey’s negotiating power in the international arena has been increasing as a result of its growing regional strength. “Our aim is to conduct high-quality, valuable work to equal to the upsurge of our country, which has a voice in the region and in the world,” Altun stated.

    We should make two conclusions from the above materials:

    1)    Those who say that the ‘Bloody Turk’ has not changed much in the past 100 years are right, except that we should not generalize to all Turks. There are many Turks who are righteous and readily acknowledge the crime of Genocide against Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks. However, there are many other Turks who are the blind followers of Turkish officials who intentionally deny the Armenian Genocide. Good examples of the denialist Turks are the authors of the two articles referenced above, and the website set up by Erdogan’s Turkish Government to deny the Armenian Genocide.

    2)    The Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun claims that with the increasing prestige of Turkey, it has become a stronger country. While this is unfortunately true, it should encourage all truth and justice loving people in the world to work tirelessly to expose the true barbaric nature of Turkey not only 100 years ago, but also today in Northern Syria against Kurds and Christians. Countering and diminishing Turkey’s clout in international relations should be one of the main objectives to establish historical justice!