I really cannot remember how many times I wrote that Turkey is a country full of paradoxes, where there is an unusually high number of questions you can neither say yes, nor no to. Furthermore, it generates paradoxes constantly.
For example, the government’s initiative to resolve the “Kurdish issue,” in its present form, is both acceptable and unacceptable. It is right and acceptable in aiming at peace, but unacceptable in its vagueness and the government’s contradictory practices.
The Ergenekon case, against the suspects charged of plotting against the government, is both approvable and disapprovable; it is deserves support for challenging the militaristic state tradition in Turkey, but it’s objectionable because of its doubtful final objective and lack of determination to really put an end to illegal formations within the state apparatus.
I support Islamic intellectuals in their struggle for democracy and their demand for true civilian rule, but I can’t possibly stand with them side by side as long as they continue with their anti-Semitism, using Israeli government policies and practices as a pretext.
I didn’t sign the famous “apology” petition initiated by a group of Turkish intellectuals, but would by no means campaign against the petition, knowing that thousands of people signed it with total sincerity in their protest against denialism and that the petition would, despite its drawbacks and deficiencies, ultimately serve as a step towards recognition of the genocide.
I can mention many more instances where one, in the very chaotic environment of Turkey, can say both yes and no to an initiative, a practice, or an undertaking of a political nature.
The detailed reasons for this inability to take an unconditional stand in major questions, the sociological, economic, cultural, historical factors playing part in this state of being always paradoxical, is a subject to be studied by academics. But looking at the big picture, it is easy to see that the change Turkey has been undergoing is generating a potential to move the foundation stones of the already- poorly built structure of the establishment, leading to shifts in certain balances and turning the traditional positioning of political wings upside down.
The signals of a normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia is one of such questions that I feel myself saying neither no, nor yes, to, or saying both yes and no at the same time.
The matter has many dimensions and many levels to discuss. It has many facets, all of which bear different significance and meaning. It is certainly not the same if you are an activist who has devoted his/her life to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide; or if you are a citizen of Armenia who desperately needs the border to be opened to earn a living; or if you are an Armenian but a Turkish citizen who has given all of his/her life to maintain and promote Armenian language, culture and educational, social and religious institutions in Turkey, a country where ethnic, religious, and cultural uniformity is constantly upheld; and it is surely a different case if you are a person in Turkey who sees his/her meaning of life in contributing— no matter how tiny the contribution might be— to the democratization of the country and to the defeat of a denialist culture.
On my part, I say yes to the normalization process because we in Turkey, who refuse Turkish nationalism, are desperately in need of anything that would weaken Turkey’s deeply rooted traditional way of seeing Armenia as a hostile country. I say yes because we cannot lead a decent life when our Armenian friends here are continuously harassed by such nationalism. I say yes because Turkish nationalism sees the protocols signed between the two countries as a threat to their existence. I say yes because erasing the name of Armenia from the maps at schools, including the Armenian schools, was among the first practices of the military dictatorship of 1980. I say yes because Delal Dink said if the border is opened, her father would rise from the sidewalk where he has been lying since the moment he was shot dead.
But at the same time, I say no to the protocols because the organizations of the Armenian Diaspora, the children and grandchildren of the genocide victims, were excluded from the process as a whole. In this way, the protocols, regardless of whether or not it was done intentionally, play in the hands of the Turkish public’s widespread “good Armenian” (Armenians of Turkey and to some extent Armenia) and “bad Armenian” (Armenians of the diaspora) pattern of thinking. I can’t applaud the signing of the protocols as long as the textbooks with which children in Turkey are raised contain expressions instigating feelings of animosity and hatred towards Armenians. I can’t possibly be happy with the so-called “normalization process “ as long as the websites of not only government institutions, but also semi-official and non-official organizations still embody a historiography full of lies and anti-Armenian propaganda, and as long as well-known academics, retired ambassadors, and popular opinion makers audaciously express views dishonoring the memory of genocide victims and damaging the dignity and honor of their grandchildren living in Turkey and elsewhere. I can’t support the protocols because it does not include a commitment on the part of Turkey to put an end to all of these and other manifestations of denial, not only of the genocide but also of the all-round suffering inflicted in this country on Armenians in the past and at present as well.
But I can’t possibly— even if I wanted—campaign against the protocols because I see this initiative as part of the process of change presently underway in Turkey. The official ideology has been for generations reinforcing the anti-Armenian feelings in Turkey. Even the declaration of a will to establish friendly relations with Armenia is in total contradiction with this ideology that has been internalized by the Turkish public. So it feels good to see the mainstream press publishing news items and articles in favor of the normalization process. But it still hurts and infuriates to know that the culture of denialism is as strong as ever.
Ayse Gunaysu
Latest posts by Ayse Gunaysu (see all)
- Fatih Altayli: Male Chauvinist, Owner of Usurped Armenian Property - September 24, 2014
- Gunaysu: Exhibition of Bitlis Armenians Held in Tatvan - March 27, 2014
- Turkey: An Action Movie without a ‘Good Guy’ - January 17, 2014
“…or if you are a citizen of Armenia who desperately needs the border to be opened to earn a living…”
There is no proof that an opened border will help any unemployed Armenian citizen “earn a living.” Those with businesses no matter how large or small who are able to exploit Armenian consumers by selling cheap, sub-mediocre, even dangerous Turkish goods (faulty electrical sockets are one case in point) on the Armenian marketplace are doing so very successfully with a closed border because transportation via Georgia is fairly easy and for the most part reliable. I have stressed time and time again in my own blog posts and articles printed in this paper that there is no shortage of Turkish products on the Armenian marketplace–Turkish clothing, domestic goods and construction materials are in ample supply. In fact, many store owners do not bother stocking anything else but Turkish products. So Armenian businessmen who choose to sell Turkish goods, and Armenian consumers who enthusiastically buy them because they are “Turkish and good” are doing just fine.
Even if the border is opened, no one can say how high the customs tarriffs will be set by the Turkish government. For all we know, they could be set higher than the fees the Georgians are already imposing on imports from Turkey, which means prices will obviously go up, not down asm many are probably hoping. There are no concrete studies or evaluations about how an opened border will affect someone living in a remote village who presumably “desperately needs the border to be opened.” Unless we are inferring here that the villager will cross the border on foot to find work in Turkey, let’s not get our hopes up that anything will change for him on his own soil. And it is naive thinking for anyone to believe that an opened border will magically bring hope and prosperity to those who have fallen victim to widespread, unregulated and unchecked Armenian capitalism.
Armenian citizens who need work, in the regions primarily, will get it only when industries are developed on Armenian soil. If diasporans or natives of Armenia are banking on Turkish businessmen to invest here because that is what the country needs, then let the protocols be signed. If Armenians do not want the Turks to control the Armenian economy and put their statehood in jeopardy, then the Armenian authorities should not be allowed to sign the protocols. The question is, what do Armenians really want?
Dear Ayse,
I hope you can remember me. We met in Istanbul in 2005. How was deeply touched with our meeting and how sensitiv you were to me and to my history. I can identificate myself so much with the article you write. You can’t imagine! I feel the same in every point you are depicting.
I feel very close to you! This are exactly the right words, sentences, way of thinking that I need to hear to heal my wounds.
Thank you!
Silvina Der-Meguerditchian
I have found a recent dichotomy between ‘normalisation’ and ‘reconciliation’ (possibly inspired by Hrant Dink) quite useful in setting the limits for a particular initiative, policy or protocol. In this way, we may view the scope for a normalising protocol: establishing diplomatic, economic and socio-cultural interaction. The clearance of public institutions from a language that perpetuates hatred towards the other can only belong to the sphere of ‘reconciliation’. That is, the normalisation of relations cannot perform the acts of reconciliation by itself, which are perhaps due to a long process of mutual understanding and ‘healing’. So I find Mrs. Gunaysu’s reason for saying ‘no’ as overtly perfectionistic, unrealistic and absurd! Before the accomplishment of what she mentions (the correction of the content of emnity-spreading textbooks etc) we (Armenians and Turks) must first start talking…
To Aysel Gunaysu ,
I just want to know how it is to be in such a mood that feels guilty in deep of heart for betray to the house where you were born , grown up , drink milk from its cows, eat yogurt , study at its schools , go to hospital when catch cold , drink its water, walk on the street , use public bus which were bought with my tax and forget all in order to gain some respect from some people ?
For Necati Genis (read it twice, please):
“Patriotism means unqualified and unwavering love for the nation, which implies not uncritical eagerness to serve, not support for unjust claims, but frank assessment of its vices and sins, and penitence for them” –– Alexander Solzhenitsyn (Great Russian novelist and internationally-acclaimed human rights activist, Nobel Prize Winner)
“Before the accomplishment of what [Gunaysu] mentions (the correction of the content of enmity-spreading textbooks etc) we (Armenians and Turks) must first start talking…”
Memik — Righting the wrongs of a murderer-nation does not depend on starting a dialogue with a victim-nation. Repentance for mass killings, mutilations, tortures, mass burnings, poisoning of children, rape, humiliation of Christian priests, forcible deportations, death marches, and theft must come from within the Turkish society. Only after the victim-nation realizes that the murderer-nation has actually repented will the dialogue be possible. Not before… Armenians have nothing to do with the content of enmity-spreading Turkish textbooks: we have not deliberately exterminated Turks as a race or forcibly deported your nation from its ancestral homeland in Central Asia. Your grandparents did this to us…
Necati Genis,
WHY is your first instinct to accuse Ayse of being a traitor? She loves the peoples and lands of Anatolia and Turkey, and she has her own viewpoint. It is different from yours, and it is far riskier to have and to discuss her views openly than yours, because so many people, like you, instantly accuse her of being an enemy. WHY instead do you not treasure her for her courage and compassion, even if you think that it is misplaced?
There are many advantages to you personally, and to the society in which you live, to accept a diversity of views, and to treasure diversity.
How, exactly has she harmed you that you should accuse her of being disloyal? Did she make the milk and yogurt spoil, or tear down the pillars of her school? Or did she use the mind and heart God gave her to say things that help your society become democratic?
Armenians are not, and have never been a threat to your society. Their absence is a loss to your society, and the mass state murder, viciously denied every day by the state, weakens you. It is also a sideshow, a distraction. The billionairres and Generals who tell you what to think use “the Armenian question” to distract you from their crimes and ambitions. They war against a ghost people ripped from your lands, accusing them, too, of being traitors.
Your disputes should be with them.
I am Necati Genis’s daughter. When i looked at the comments, i have realized the issue which i already know. Jda, you talk about “diversity of views”, but do you claim that everybody can say whatever he/she thinks, actual or unfounded things? Is it real diversity? Then, i could make an expression such that diversity in thoughts is to determine the subject in every sides, not to be stuck on ” a single issue” slavishly. In addition, the fact that a person can say her thoughts easily about a nation, a race, a religion shows that the nation, the race or the religion is tolerant enough, does not it? A Turkish poet, Can Yucel, says that ” the longest distance is the distance between two heads that do not understand each other”. I suppose, the real diversity is to decrease that distance.
Deniz, No, it is not enough that Ayse or anyone else may speak her mind and not be sued (Pamuk), imprisoned, or killed(Dink), although the hatred of diversity makes these threats real enough. We aspire in democratic society to allow unpopular speech to be as safe as popular. One risks nothing by proclaiming in your country “I am happy that I may be called a Turk”, or “the treatment of minorities is exemplary.”. When someone disagrees they risk safety and being hated, enen by family members. As was the case in my country until the 1960’s, public and private racism and anti semitism is acceptable in your country, and some of your countrymen think the bonds of Turkishness include casual hatred of minorities and others. If you doubt it, look at the recent Pew survey results – 73 per cent of Turks have unfavorable opinions of Greeks and Armenians and Jews. Why does your father post not merely that Ayse was wrong, but also thAt she is a traitor?
Deniz, daughter of Necati Genis: What unfounded things ? (“….actual or unfounded things?“) Please specify what you consider unfounded in the context of Ms. Gunaysu’s artcile.
Deniz, daughter of Necati Genis (big deal!): And, you know, I am the daughter of my father… Whose father was an inhabitant of Sebastia (Sivas) and whose maternal side relatives were burried alive by the “civilized” Turks in 1915…
JDA,
So, you show up again! Since the editorial board frowns on the possibility of opposiing views, I’ll try to make this as soft as possible. Since you have no credibility (I made sure of that by exposing your lies countless times on other sites), why do you even bother to post? As for the editorial board, is this better? If you go to the Turkish forum site, you’ll see that they always include articles from this and other Armenian sites openly and freely! Comments from hateful Armenians are posted WITHOUT censorship nor deletion. Why? Because we have nothing to hide nor to fear (unlike a certain other group who is terrirfied of the truth being revealed)! Go ahead and check for yourselves. Then hang your heads in utter and abject shame!!
Robert, please refer me to a post of mine with “lies” and your supposed expose of them. It looks as if you seek to assuage your isolation by antagonizing people.this might work if anyone noticed.