Today’s Turkey is the denialist bearer of the Ottoman execution of the great genocide and national dispossession of the Armenian people nearly a century ago.
Israel, the carrier-state of the Shoah which followed a generation later, has long been unconscionably complicit in the realpolitik relegation of the Armenian loss of life and homeland to the footnotes of inconvenient, expendable crimes against humanity.
Historically so different, the Turkish perpetrator and the Jewish victim, they have in the modern period surmounted their asymmetries to forge a strategic compact where might trumps right and the national interest, however narrow, stands uber alles. They have grown alike.
The demeanor of state, however, has thankfully been balanced by citizens of conscience both in Turkey and the Jewish world who, in the face of self-important narratives on the Turkish nation’s infallible greatness or the Holocaust’s uniqueness, have come to grasp the imperative to face history, take responsibility, and draw the lesson of genocide’s universality. These righteous Muslims and Jews have not yet been able to carry the day.
Instead, it is the Erdogans and Davutoglus of the neo-Ottoman variety whose duplicitous bluster is driving their jaded vision of reasserted regional hegemony and imperial relevance. Only this time these deniers of genocide are pitching concepts of freedom, human rights, and international law to attain the depths of their purpose.
Israel’s blockade of Gaza is wrong and requires resolution. Palestine, like Mountainous Karabagh, has earned its right of sovereign statehood.
But the essence and rhetoric of the provocation, carefully crafted in Ankara, to precipitate an Israeli action upon the flotilla betrays the true intent of Turkey’s leaders: (1) to pursue the deception of their own clout and aggrandizement at the expense of regional peace-making, (2) to mask their effective abuse, as pawns, of the very people to whom they seek to break through in the name of Islamic solidarity, and (3) comfortably to gloss over their own unlawful blockade of Armenia since 1993.
They represent a state which wiped clean an entire civilization in committing genocide against the Armenians—as well as the Assyrians, Pontic Greeks, and later the Kurds–and has not found the political courage or moral fortitude to accept, atone and make just restitution for it. They represent a state which, far from seeking redemption and true conciliation, has brought its embargoes and other crimes of war to the remnant Armenian republic that miraculously survived the genocide. They represent a state which was formed on the forcible exclusion of the Armenians from their ancestral patrimony and which today outlaws any mention of genocide and condemns to a deep-state death those who, like Hrant Dink, seek peace and closure through veritas.
And now, as these “moderate Islamists”-turned-tyrants turn to jockeying with Israel for their own designs and the tallying of petty points, the question has been begged.
In Jewish circles and beyond, the collective conscience is being refreshed and appears gradually to be climbing out of Orwell’s memory hole. People are beginning to confess their recollection of Turkey’s genocidal record. In terms of paradigms and shifts, this is welcome news: In every evil there is a good, the Armenian proverb goes.
But for this seminal case to close circle in full reconciliation with history, its reason must be whole, its realization cathartic.
The Armenian genocide in the century past and the security of the survivor state with its capital here must never ever be allowed to become a political football for selective use by two erstwhile allies to sort out their relations and the contents of their closets.
The people of Turkey would do well to rein in, and then reverse, their two-talking thrillseekers, whose contemporary policies are the direct inheritance of Talaat, Enver, and Jemal, the Young Turk triumvirate which masterminded the genocide and the ultimate occupation of the Armenian Plateau. But that’s really up to them.
As for the United States, Europe, and even Israel, this sordid affair might just be their penultimate chance to recognize a nation-killing by its name, to bring the perpetrating state to justice, and finally to guarantee the entitlements to restitution and reparation of the victims and their living progeny.
Not as a favor, nor an instrument of self-serving leverage. But as a matter of truth and equity–simple, overdue, unrequited–and nothing more.
Yet another patently ansociopathically Anti-Turkish Propaganda piece of editorial thrash! The ‘alleged’ genocide is Armenian myth and has no basis in reality.
Quote what part you think is “Anti-Turkish”. Thanks.
My God! Besides the subject of the piece, can anyone tell me why on earth foreign policy journal let someone such as UN-analytical publish a piece like this?
Does not matter if you believe in genocide or not, this piece I’d full of one sided emotionally filled junk.
Please guys, be selective of the pieces you allowed to be publish here.
This one sucks big time
Rico, if you have a criticism, perhaps you’d care to actually elucidate on what it is. What “sucks” about it, exactly, in your view?
The Armenian “alleged genocide” is a fib and a myth!!! … the Armenian minority enjoyed rare privelages under the Turkish Empire where many Armenians had served in high positions in the Ottoman Turkish Administration!
During WW I the Armenian paramilitary gangs were instigated by the Russians and the French to start massacering Turkish villages as well as hitting Turkish Defensive lines from behind.
THEREFORE the decision was taken to move deport the Armenian Terrorists into Syria. The conflict was one of intercommunal strife and has nothing to do with mythical ‘cottage industry the alleged genocide’!
I can say what sucks exactly: the comparıson of Karabakh and Gaza ıs a huge dısaster. Lıkewıse the comparıson of Holocaust wıth Armenıan claıms of genocıde. Karabakh ıs occupıed by Armenıa, Gaza was occupıed by Israel. The author ıs also quıte ınsatıable and expands hıs genocıde claıms to the every natıon that once lıved under Ottoman rule. If Ottomans were tyrants no Greek, no Armenıan culture etc would be alıve after 500 years of rule. Armenıans attempted to assassınate Sultan II Abdulhamıd and dıd they expect to be rewarded for that?
Hardly surprising, LT, that a person who ignorantly denies the Armenian genocide such as yourself thinks this article “sucks”.
The fact is: this so called modern Turkey is a result of ethnic cleansing, forced islamization of Christian population of “Ottoman Turkey” and genocide.
Turks did assassinate over and over there Sultans. The same Turks did betray the Armenians and Christians “subjects – infidels“ as soon as the criminal Turkish rulers were asked to carry out reforms etc . Turkish rulers in 1914/15 did promise reforms for the Christina “subjects”- the final result of so called “reforms” was GENOCIDE!
Propagandist Posting << BEWARE as every word of it is a LIE!
It was the Armenian minority in the battle field who sided with the advancing enemy and started murdering Turks in large numbers! The Armenians were the 'turncoat Traitors' and therefore were deported out of the battle zone!
Enough of your insidious lies?
@”Rico suave”
try to be less aggressive
If something “sucks” indeed these are the lies of brainwashed Turkish nationalists and Turkish politicians ….
The Jewish Holocaust carried out by Nazi Germany was the unique industrial version of Turkish lead genocide of Armenian people…
Dear Prime Minister Erdoğan from Istanbul to the Turkish east borders all is stolen land and property! Turkey is the last in the world to speak of “human rights” and “justice” while Turkey still refuses to face her bloody past and refuse to offer an apologize to the victims of forced deportation and genocide !
Then accept to establısh an ındependent and ımpartıal hıstorıcıans commıttee to ınvestıgate both claıms. Thıs ıs exactly what you refuse. Stolen land from whom? Dıd the armenıans have any pıece of land before the collapse of USSR? No. Turks ruled ın Anatolıa ın the last 1000 years and other natıons owned the land. What a crap. Get the Amerıcans out of the Amerıca and brıng back Indıans then. Ludıcrous. Turkey was buılt upon martyrs’ blood as sıgnıfıed by red flag not by the collapse of a useless regıme. Rest assured ıt ıs not armenıan blood.
Let us talk a lıttle bıt about Armenıan massacres ın Khocalı and Karabakh whıch happened only 18 years ago not a century ago. Presıdent Sarkısıan commıtted crımes ın those wars as well. A country wıth a murderer presıdent talks about justıce. What a joke
Historical facts do not need “historian commission” this is the ill mentality of Turkish politicians which has do be changed not the facts regarding systematic annihilation of Armenians as well other Christian by late Turkish lead Ottoman government !
Turkey offered to set up a hıstorıan commıssıon just to shut up your lousy mouth not because ıt was a fact. Annıhılatıon? Apparently Ottomans dıd not do ıt very well. Today the total Armenıan populatıon around the world ıs less than 10 mıllıon. What could ıt be 100 years ago? 1-2 mıllıon at most. There ıs no way 1.5 mıllıon people to be kılled ın the exıle. Thıs another exaggeratıon just as holocaust claıms that 6 mıllıon jews were ıncınerated. Turkey now trıes to brıng stabılıty to the Mıddle East and you are dıggıng the ground under Turks. But beware! If you dıg too deep Mount Ararat may fall on your head. A war ın Caucasus or ın Mıddle East wıll take so many lıves and destroy so many countrıes. Armenıa wıll be one of the fırst departed ın case of a war. Try to be more humane and seek reconcılıatıon then.
This is hardly about the denial of the genocide/massacre. Drawing any parallel between Karabakh and Gaza is lame. Gaza is a Palestinian land always settled by the Palestinians whereas Karabakh is an Azeri land with an Azeri majority occupied by the Armenians by force. All the Azeri people living in the occupied region have been expelled from there. So if there is to be any comparison about the situation, Armenia is Israel because it has occupied Azeri lands in Karabakh and expelled Azeri people from there.
Regarding the genocide/massacre debate, it is fair to say that all the sides involved in the conflict have got blood on their hands. They never wasted a chance when it came to killing people and furthering their vested interests. Armenians are no angels. The massacres in Khojali cannot be hidden by constant moaning of Armenians. They need to move on and stop playing the politics of dead bodies. The Turks do admit the massacre but to dub it a genocide and constantly harass the nation world-wide is just pathetic. The Armenians have nothing more to say but argue about the genocide. It serves them as an introduction sadly.
As you saıd Turks do not deny Armenıans kılled. But labelıng ıt as systematıc kıllıng and annıhılatıon of Chrıstıans ıs a bıg lıe and cheap propaganda. Agree wıth all poınts you made.
It is absolutely about the denial of genocide. The fact that Armenians also have blood on their hands and have committed injustices does nothing to weaken Raffi’s argument that Turkey’s official policy of denying the Armenian genocide is wrong and should be changed, and that Israel’s own choice of complicity in that policy in order to have developed stronger ties with Turkey is also abominable.
It’s fine to criticize Armenians, but don’t do by saying it’s not about denial of genocide, because that is the main point here. Why do you say it is “pathetic” to dub the killing of 1.5 million Armenians a genocide? Why is it “pathetic” that Armenians oppose Turkey’s policy of denying responsibility for that historical atrocity? I’m absolutely astonished to see you utter such words, Moign.
There were never a country “names“ Azerbaijan in the history of main kind!. So called Republic of Azerbaijan is being created by Turkish war lord Nuri pasha in 1918 (a vassal state – still without Karabakh being part of it!) later in 1923 Stalin gave historic Armenian territory of Karabakh to new established soviet Republic of Azerbaijan – simply as a gift; ingoring the will of its 99% Armenian population. Even The term “Azerbijani” was created by dictator Stalin in 1930´s… go get your recorder corrected !
The fact of Armenian Genocide – this is the systematic and planed annihilation of Armenians above all in there historic homeland – in today’s Turkey – is being verified by Turkish war time ally – this is Germany. The new powerful documentary “Aghet – A Genocide “- of German public TV once again proofs the fact of Armenian Genocide by a country which shares responsibility for the Armenian Genocide- Therefore instead lying try to change your ill mentality
Unfortunately, telling lies and falsifying facts has become an additional characteristic of modern Turks and lobbyist in there pay roll
Greetings from the old Europe!
Till 1918 there was no Azerbaijani state in the history of the mankind
The first ever Republic of Azerbaijani was created by the Turkish war lord Nuri Pasha in 1918– it exits 2 years as a vassal state. Karabakh was NOT part of this first ever created Azerbaijani republic. In 1920 (?) Turkish Republic of Azerbaijan” became Soviet Azerbaijan. In 1923 by the order of Stalin Karabakh was included into administrative structures of new “soviet republic of Azerbaijan” – ignoring the free will of 99% of Armenian population of Karabakh,. Therefore Nagorno-Karabakh was a gift of Slain to new Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan…
In 1930´s Stalin coined the term “Azerbaijani”- in order to achieve certain political goals in the neighbouring countries….
Armenians do not need to proof the factuality of Armenian Genocide over and over.. .as the Jews do not need to proof the existence of Jewish Holocaust to German Neo Nazis!
@ facts remain facts
Facts remain facts until they’re not distorted!
If you’re trying to say there was no Azerbaijani state before 1918, then there was no Armenian state either. All these republics are a creation of Bolshevik Russia.
It’s funny that you argue that Karabakh is not historically part of Azerbaijan. The very word Kara+bakh (black garden) comes from Azeri language my friend.
The dispute is not over the killings of Armenians and Turks during the WW1. It is about the insistence by the Armenians of making it a political issue even after the lapse of almost a century and using it for their political gains. The Jews use Holocaust as an excuse to oppress the Palestinians and grab their lands. I don’t see Armenians doing any different from the Zionists by using “genocide” as a pretext for manipulation and hegemony and swallowing Ngorno Karabakh…
No Moıgn they are so greedy that they also claım theır ancestral land ın Eastern Turkey. Genocıde ıs the fırst step of theır Great Armenıa dreams. Karabakh (Karabağ wrıtten ın Turkısh) means black garden yes.
Anyone who cares about our present time crimes, shouldn’t waste time to read over and over about Holocaust stories or Ottoman. As the writter of this article says in the begining it happened nearly a century ago. Lets not take our attention away from crimes are committing today. We can’t change the history of the past, but we can make the history of present time.
Mozafar, I don’t see why attending to crimes being committed today should be mutually exclusive from attending to crimes committed in the past. Surely we can do both.
Genocıde claım ıs a polıtıcal tool to be used over and over ın the future. It does not aım to shed lıght on hıstory. Armenıans claım theır so called ancestral land ın eastern Anatolıa, Kurds claım theırs and so on. Gıve them what they want and erase Turkey from the map ıs that what you want?. We are talkıng about 2 natıons that have not establıshed 1 sıngle state ın hıstory. You can’t be that blınd
And you can’t be so blind, LT, as to not see that the Turks committed genocide against the Armenians in 1915. And yet we are having this conversation…
Well, Armenıans should be thankful to Turks anyway. Even though forged and exaggerated, they have somethıng to talk about to satısfy themselves ın a masochist manner. I see somethıng bizarre here: A 2.5 mıllıon tıny natıon (Armenıa) whıch ıs 100 tımes weaker than ıts enemy (Turkey) claıms somethıng happened 100 years ago and want to get theır ancestral land as well. As heırs of the great Ottoman Empıre why Turks do not claım the area from Vıenna to Moscow and from Morocco to Baku? Armenıans should be glad that Turks do not seıze theır land . We are sıck of whınıng, the world has more ımportant matters.
What is sickening, LT, is your willful ignorance of the Armenian genocide and willingness in doing so in excusing such mass murder.
As I saıd before, there wıll be no reconcılıatıon so long as you accept CLAIMS as FACTS. Go to Ottoman archıves, USA archıves and see who murdered whom. Even USA archıves do not mentıon any systematıc mass kıllıng. 9 decades later some people emerge wıth fıctıtıous claıms and attempt to put pressure on Turks. No way. Quran says:
And remember when the disbelievers plotted against you to imprison you, or to kill you, or to get you out they were plotting and Allah too was planning, and Allah is the Best of the planners. (Anfal 30th verse)
“These Turkish–and pro-Turkish–deniers, maintain that there is no “official” documentation proving the Armenian Genocide and that Armenian affirmation of that crime against humanity is not meaningful in the absence of such official proof. This proof, they maintain, can only be found in the Turkish archives. Such an argument, we should observe, is faulty on the face of it; yet many unthinking people–including unfortunately many scholars and opinion makers–do not readily see its deficiency….
“The work presently under review deals specifically with the numerous and trustworthy documents to be found in the archives of the Department of State of the United States of America and the papers of Henry Morgenthau, the American ambassador to Turkey between 1913 and 1916….
“These American documents prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that the real purpose of the Ottoman government was not the “resettlement” of the Armenians, but rather their total destruction and annihilation.”
http://www.umd.umich.edu/dept/armenian/papazian/bkreview.html
it is just like a cold meal which is everyday on our desk.. we are tired of this political game & pressure…
an independent international history commission should discuss this ”so called genocide” ….
nobody is angel on this world.. firstly , people should look to the mirror…
I am glad to see that Turks and Israel seem to be having a falling out but I think it is all on the surface and that underneath the Turks and Jews are still very close and neither wants to make a complete political or emotional break. I think that, deep down, Jews are frightened of Turks and what Turks’ reaction could be. This may have been bred into Jews during the Ottoman days when Jews had to be subservient to the Sultan/Caliph, and it is a pattern that has continued to the present day. I see the pattern of Jewish subservience to Turkey as an ongoing problem, and I think that Turkey is gaining the upper hand. This whole thing about the Armenian issue is a sign of that. Jews are making noises about the so-called Armenian “genocide” issue to scare Turkey but Turkish politicians know that Jews do not have the strength or courage to carry through with it, and so the Jewish tactic will not work and Turkey will continue to have the upper hand.
Good idea! How about starting first with abolishing “insulting turkishness” article 301 and other ridiculous and oppressive totalitarian laws banning free discussion of Turkey’s history in general and its genocide of the Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Yezidis and nowadays Kurds so that this debate can at last start inside Turkey itself?! How about not assassinating courageous journalists such as Hrant Dink and hundreds of other lesser known journalist who paid with their lives or are rotting in Midnight Express type dungeons in Turkey for daring to challenge Turkey’s official history? Why not start with opening up Turkey’s history? Abolish the Deep State’s officially prescribed version of Turkish history which vehemently denies the Armenian Genocide and spends millions of US$ to cook up a fancy history for Turkey which no rational person (even increasing number of Turks!!) believes any longer?! Why not start with letting Turkey’s only Nobel Prize winning author who has had to flee the country thanks to the Deep State’s terrorist threats agaonst him for simply daring to speak about the murder of a million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds to speak and publish freely? Until then, LT and other pathetic apologists of the murderous Turkish state and its multi-million but still ineffective and pathetic denial of the Armenian Genocide (despite the millions of US$ spent by Turkey!) should have the sense if not the shame to shut up at least! “Impartial historians committee”! Truly this people have neither shame nor sense and insist on remaining ignorant – or else they’re not Turk(ey)s but another bird, real OSTRICHES with their heads deep in the sand!!!!
Amen, Soghomon.
Now you claımed that Turks commıtted genocıde agaınst 5 natıons. Obvıously you dont know the meanıng of genocıde. Whıle you claım Turks are braınwashed, you are at least as braınwashed as them Soghomon! Eventually you wıll have to accept the deal: Turks have enough power, abılıty, courage and knowledge to deal wıth all your claıms.
LT what happened to your fake idea – you know about a ‘historians commission’ ??!! With all your alleged Turkish “power, ability, courage and knowledge”, etc. etc., how come you still behave like an OSTRICH, stick your head in the sand an evade the issue?
The real problem with Turkey is the Deep State and its terrorism and totalitarian rule. Erdoghan and his AKP’s proposed alternative to this Midnight Express nightmare Turkey (for decades beefed up and supported by Anglo-America-Israel) is not democracy as we know it in Europe and the rest of civilised world – as evidenced by Europe’s rejection of Turkey to join it due to its deeply undemocratic ways – but islamisation! In other words combining the worst aspects of Kemalist totalitarian racist nationalism, i.e. state supported, sanctioned and manufactured false ideology (racist nationalism) and history with Ottomanist ideology asserting the religious aspect of Turkism without getting rid of the racist nationalist elements – i.e revival of the genocidal Young Turk ideology as championed by the mass murderers Talaat, Enver and Jemal. By the way all these murderers have always been worshipped as heroes in Turkey with many streets and avenues named after them in Ankara, Istanbul and other cities and their graves have always been receiving state honours on regular basis – just imagine Hitler, Himler and other Nazi mass murderers receiving such treatment in Turkey!!
Difficult even to imagine isn’t it? And now understand how far Turkey/Ostrich is from European/human/liberal/democratic/civilised values!!! The Kurds and even the Arabs and especially the Iranians know what Turkey represents as they were at the receiving end of Turkey/Ottoman aggression, expansion, brutality and occupation for centuries; so this current mask of Turkey will not fool them for very long. I don’t even need to refer to the Greeks, the Bulgarians, the Serbs and others in the Balkans who have no time for Turkey whatsoever.
The only place in the world where Deep State racist-nationalist Turkism is easily dominant is Sultan Ilham Aliev’s utterly corrupt sultanate of “Azerbaijan” which is getting ready to start another war against the Armenians and losing even more of its Armenian occupied territories such as Shahumian, Gandzak and Nakhichevan very shortly.
APOLOGIES FOR AN UNFORTUNATE MISTAKE AND AN OMISSION AT THE END OF PAR 2 AND BEGINNING OF PAR 3. CORRECTED VERSION IS POSTED HERE.
LT what happened to your fake idea – you know about a ‘historians commission’ ??!! With all your alleged Turkish “power, ability, courage and knowledge”, etc. etc., how come you still behave like an OSTRICH, stick your head in the sand an evade the issue?
The real problem with Turkey is the Deep State and its terrorism and totalitarian rule. Erdoghan and his AKP’s proposed alternative to this Midnight Express nightmare Turkey (for decades beefed up and supported by Anglo-America-Israel) is not democracy as we know it in Europe and the rest of civilised world – as evidenced by Europe’s rejection of Turkey to join it due to its deeply undemocratic ways – but islamisation! In other words combining the worst aspects of Kemalist totalitarian racist nationalism, i.e. state supported, sanctioned and manufactured false ideology (racist nationalism) and history with Ottomanist ideology asserting the religious aspect of Turkism without getting rid of the racist nationalist elements – i.e revival of the genocidal Young Turk ideology as championed by the mass murderers Talaat, Enver and Jemal. By the way all these murderers have always been worshipped as heroes in Turkey with many streets and avenues named after them in Ankara, Istanbul and other cities and their graves have always been receiving state honours on regular basis – just imagine Hitler, Himler and other Nazi mass murderers receiving such treatment in Germany!!
Difficult even to imagine isn’t it? In Germany that sort of thing is not just unacceptable but a prosecutable crime. And now understand how far Turkey/Ostrich is from European/human/liberal/democratic/civilised values!!! The Kurds and even the Arabs and especially the Iranians know what Turkey represents as they were at the receiving end of Turkey/Ottoman aggression, expansion, brutality and occupation for centuries; so this current mask of Turkey will not fool them for very long. I don’t even need to refer to the Greeks, the Bulgarians, the Serbs and others in the Balkans who have no time for Turkey whatsoever.
The only place in the world where Deep State racist-nationalist Turkism is easily dominant is Sultan Ilham Aliev’s utterly corrupt sultanate of “Azerbaijan” which is getting ready to start another war against the Armenians and losing even more of its Armenian occupied territories such as Shahumian, Gandzak and Nakhichevan very shortly.
I just wanna mentıon a few poınts: Turkey ıs not beıng ıslamıcısed, ıt ıs western analysts’ false ıdea. AKP ‘s fırst prıorıty was enterıng the EU, ıt was always more western orıented..Turkes ıs more European than Romanıa Bulgarıa etc. AKP ıs not a racıst or natıonalıst party. The racıst partıes are CHP , MHP and the kurdısh one BDP. AKP ıs a centre rıght party. I can say ıt ıs not racıst because they gave the kurds theır many rıghts, state tv broadcasts ın kurdısh now. I guess you haven’t heard of kurdısh ınıtıatıve… Jemal and Talat were 2 ıdıots only a mınorıty of Turks lıke them but Enver has a dıfferent place ın theır heart. Brutal occupatıon of Balkans by Ottomans are dreams you have when you hibernate. Everyone knows Ottomans brought justıce and cıvılısatıon to the Balkans. The area from Hungary to Bulgarıa was stable tıll 19th century. Btw you are rıght to be afraıd of Azerıs sınce they wıll soon get theır “brutally occupıed” lands back.
LT
“AKP’s first priority was entering the EU” fine but why did the AKP and its supporters think, as they still do, that the EU was desperate for Turkey to “enter” it?! Was the EU some sort of a whore house for just any entity to “enter”? Didn’t the EU point out its specific “entering” criteria involving democratisation, minority rights (especially for the Kurds but also ‘the Armenian issue’, and others, withdrawal from occupied Cyprus, a strong independent civil society, freedom of speech and publishing…? The AKP hardly made any advances on any of these issues – from 2004 to now just like 150 years earlier from the ‘Tanzimat Reforms’ to Hamidian constitutional period. As before, AKP’s Turkey likewise started Turkish belly dancing paper exercises in “democracy and reforms” while nothing changed in reality: Turkish Deep State is still arrogantly occupying Cyprus, an EU territory, without a blink! Imagine wanting to join a club and before they have even let you pass the entrance you start breaking the tables and chairs in the club and setting fire to a corner of it! Only Turkish arrogance, or stupidity – or both – cannot see the idiocy or irony of this!
And the Kurds gained a TV which broadcasts a couple of hours of Turkish/AKP propaganda in Kurdish to humiliate them in Kurdish while they are still not allowed to have their own schools and education in Kurdish. Kurdish is still banned in public. In any case the Kurds have tens of very good satellite TV stations and AKP hardly did the Kurds any favour by “many rights, state tv broadcasts” as you put it. In fact in official mentality still the Kurds remain “mountain Turks” and need to be treated like second or third class hardly better than gyavours or Armenians – which is 100% consistent with the official Turkish ideology of Turkish racist nationalism. (btw Turkey is constantly insisting on language and cultural rights for the less than 0.5% Turks in Germany which is another pointer to its arrogance and official racism – i.e. 0.5% Turks of Germany must have the very rights that AKP and the Deep State terrorism deny the 15% Kurds of Turkey! And that entity’s “first priority was/is to join EU”!!!!!! Middle ages mentality wants to suddenly join the 21st century and do it by breaking the gates of Europe and setting fire to its values! One wonders if Turkey/AKP thought it was joining Europe or did it think Europe was going to join Turkey in toning down its democratic values and become Turkified or turn into an ostrich or something!
I’ve already referred to the plight of journalists and academics and general freedoms. Although some very limited progress was made in these areas remember Hrant Dink was murdered in Jan 2007, Orhan Pamuk convicted of “insulting turkishness” soon after and Zarakolou and hundreds of other journalists, academics and publishers, especially Kurdish ones, are daily harassed and convicted or are rotting in Turkish dungeons; Hrant Dink’s lawyer was found hanged/dead in his flat only last week (obviously “suicided” by the Deep State) and several catholic and other Christian clergy and priests have been murdered in cold blood, including one last week! And as the evidence from the many Turkish contributors on this very site proves conclusively, no progress whatsoever has been made in stopping the denial of the Armenian Genocide and facing up their own history. Not one nice word about a people (the Armenians) who made such massive contribution to Ottoman society, economy and culture as the best architects, stone masons and builders, bankers, industrialists, painters, composers, doctors ans as simple industrious hard working producers of wealth by all accounts. Instead of celebrating this intelligent, bright and hard working people’s existence and contribution to Turkish/Ottoman history and society they are denigrated and put down, insulted and, at best patronised, like “for 500 years Armenians ‘enjoyed’ peaceful existence…”. The best view of the Armenians the Turkish racist narrative has is a mass of sheep or raya/gyavour for 500 years and as soon as they started demanding any rights, as soon as they started rejecting “the sick man of Europe” and its unimaginable brutalities towards “their own many sheep/gyavours”, including the Armenians, then they had to be ‘deported’ without a trace and all their property and belongings and churches, schools, culture looted and destroyed! And to this day they 50,000 or so Armenians remaining in Turkey have to live in constant fear of their lives. And while Enver Talaat and Jemal and other mass murderers are CELEBRATED the Armenians to this day are not allowed to publicly mourn their own greatest tragedy in Turkey – the only place in the world where 24 April commemorations are banned! And this mentality thinks its “first priority is to join the EU”!!!! And when it is told, hold on, start adopting European/democratic/civilised/human… values and practice them before we will consider your membership it gets the hump and starts doing Islamic-Turkish belly dancing ala Enver, Talaat and jemal…and wants to restore the Ottoman sickness and thinks it can fool the Arabs in the Middle East and become their master and overlord once again !!!!!
BTW believe me Enver was even a bigger idiot – and criminal – than Talaat and Jemal by all accounts – read in particular Liman von Sanders FIVE YEARS IN TURKEY – as he single handedly caused the destruction of 100,000 Turkish troops in mid winter on the Russian front in the Armenian Highlands and lost many more armies eventually dying in the Central Asian deserts – actually killed by an Armenian Bolshevik commander for your information!
Finally as regards Sultan Ilham Aliev’s forthcoming war let me make myself clear: Azerbaijan, especially under Elchibey and others attempted 3 very aggressive and genocidal wars against the Armenians of Artsakh/Nagorno Karabagh from 1989 to 1994 (see Caroline Cox and John Eibner’s ETHNIC CLEANSING IN PROGRESS IN ARTSAKH) and in the process caused the destruction of a lot of life and property, including Azeri ones, but also the loss of big chunks of territory gifted to it (Soviet ‘Azerbaijan’) by Stalin and the Soviets in 1920s due to the deals Stalin and the Soviets had with Ataturk. When Sultan Ilham starts another aggressive war soon it will lose more of these Armenian territories that Staling and the Soviet regime so generously gifted to ‘Azerbaijan’ – such as historic Armenian territories of Nakhichevan as well as Gandzak and the Shahumian region currently under the occupation of Sultan Illham’s sultanate of Baku.
Yes I personally thınk Enver Pasha was an ıdıot too. He took the power by a coup when he was just a colonel and pursued hıs ambıtıons wıthout any superıor knowledge and experıence. Hıs maın mıstakes were: To sıde wıth Germany ın the WW 1 and Sarikamish operation during whıch around 90,000 Turkısh troops froze to death wıthout a fıght. Young Turks’ mıstakes led Ottomans to a dısaster.
Cyprus ıs a very complıcated ıssue but I belıeve Turks are rıght here. After Brıtısh wıthdrawal from Cyprus, settlers of the ısland were kıllıng each other. A coup by Greek junta led by Nıcos Sampson agaınst Macarıos was too much to bear for Turks. So they ıntervened and dıvıded ıt ınto 2 areas. Thıs happened ın 1974. 3 decades later Greeks rejected a referendum ın the ısland. Although Turks accepted ıt, Greek Cyprıots were granted entrance ınto EU. I cannot see any justıce here. EU punıshed the sıde that agreed wıth Annan plan and rewarded Greeks despıte the fact that they refused the UN plan. The only reasonıng behınd thıs was preventıng Turkey’s entrance to the EU by brıngıng forward such a controversıal and dıffıcult ıssue. Thıs ıs hypocrısy ın my slıghtest words. Apologies I need to leave now, ll contınue later.