SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (A.W.)—Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof told Michael Krasny, host of KQED radio’s Forum program, that Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told him in no uncertain terms that he did not believe what happened to the Armenians was genocide, during the show’s Oct. 7 broadcast.
Answering a question from a caller about the Armenian genocide, Krasny said, “It’s worse than denial—I had the Turkish ambassador on and he said there was no genocide, literally. Not only there was no genocide, it was trumped up, it was conspiratorial.”
Kristof, in turn, said, “President Erdogan has told me that to my face, invited me to look through Ottoman archives. The sense of denial is extraordinary.”
Kristof, who is also the co-author of A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunities, is partly of Armenian descent (his father was an Armenian from Romania), and has written on the topic of the Armenian Genocide in the past.
In 2010, in a column titled “Speaking Not as an Armenian,” Kristof wrote: “…I do think the evidence is clear that genocide is the right word for what happened, and that’s why I always refer to it as the Armenian genocide. It’s also true that Turkey has a problem acknowledging its brutality toward both Armenians and Kurds, although it has also gotten much better about this in the last decade. I’ve discussed the issue with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan a couple of times, and he is light years ahead of his predecessors (and still a few light years behind what is needed).”
Kristof’s aforementioned column argued against Congress passing resolutions on the Armenian Genocide, suggesting that instead, “We should be trying to nurture Turkey further along its path of conciliation toward Armenians and the Kurds. Smacking them—even for real historical sins—isn’t a great way to do that. Anybody who thinks that diplomacy is about telling the truth doesn’t know diplomacy.”
In his columns, Kristof focuses on human rights abuses and ongoing atrocities around the world, hoping to mobilize international, and particularly U.S. efforts to stop them. His advocacy surrounding the Darfur Genocide is especially noteworthy. He has cited the Armenian case, and the world’s inaction in the face of those atrocities, in his calls for action.
all Turks are brainwashed from kindergarten on, its in their textbooks
they only learn about the Genocide when they live or study abroad, so Erdogan is neither a scholar or historian, he wouldn’t last a day if he admits it.
What do we expect from a despicable person leading a despicale, reviled government. For him/the Turkish Government to admit/or partially admit the issue of Armenian Genocide, it would bring down their Government as well as bankrupt the Turkish Government. They have gone beyond the point of no return. What I find more disturbing are public statements by potential Presidential nominees — Hillary Clinton for one who now says that the claims of an Armenian Genocide are debateable from an historian perspective?! What planet is she on?
I think we ought to remember that Kristof wrote this and, like Erdoğan, he kind of apologized but he didn’t, making the exact same point. For those who will not read it, when the US Congress came very close to recognizing the Genocide, he urged lawmakers from his usually boring column in the NYT *not* to pass the resolution, saying it was none of their business. Worse, in that very same column, he revealed himself to be “partly Armenian”, or kind of, something probably very few Armenians knew.
http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/05/speaking-not-as-an-armenian/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
And his father was not from Romania, but Poland.
{Kristof, who ……. is partly of Armenian descent (his father was an Armenian from Romania),}
{Kristof’s aforementioned column argued against Congress passing resolutions on the Armenian Genocide, suggesting that instead, “We should be trying to nurture Turkey further along its path of conciliation toward Armenians and the Kurds. Smacking them—even for real historical sins—isn’t a great way to do that. Anybody who thinks that diplomacy is about telling the truth doesn’t know diplomacy.”}
Argued _against_ Congress passing…..
Is there any more we need to know about this confused individual ?
So what he is part Armenian ?
Would any Jew argue against passing laws, resolutions, etc against Jewish Holocaust denial ?
Any ?
“…nurture Turkey further along its path of conciliation toward Armenians….”
‘Conciliation’ ? What conciliation ?
When was the last time the crime victim was asked to reconcile with the criminal in your town, Mr. Kristof.
Sorry, guys: this man, partly Armenian or not, is an AG Denialist.
Worse than Turkish denialists, _because_ he is part Armenian.
Message to Kristof:
If not for Armenian genocide resolutions, Turkey would not even be discussing the issue.
Mr. Kristof, are you against the hundreds of Holocaust resolutions too? What is the purpose of THOSE?
How about Holocaust reparations, in the billions?
I was the caller to Kristoff on the show.
My question to him was first whether his father’s family’s experiences made him take an interest in crimes against humanity. He answered that his father came from Romania and did not live through the Genocide. He did recount that his father was a refugee from WWII.
My next question was what would he do to use his position to help Armenia and to expose the AG. No answer.
My last question was what would he do to confront denial ism and make it end. At this point Krasny and he recounted their experiences w denial by the Turks.
I think Kristoff is completely cut off from Armenians. If you live near him, invite him for your community’s events, lectures and Services. Not so much to make him an advocate but instead to
Give him a better life.
It is true he opposed the Resolution but a few weeks later he recanted
I was wrong. He didn’t recant . He instead suggested the US apologize for not helping the Armenians. This would actually be a great idea if the apology said explicitly it was a Genocide. But he did not recant.
Oh Yeah? Tell like it is! Let’s cut to the chase. Kristoff needs to “Man UP!” as they say…He can only salvage his credibility or self esteem by recanting in print, in the NYT! But he might step on a few toes? Otherwise, Kristoff, don’t waste our/my time about “like this like that” bull s__. he should quit playing morality “dodge ball” and stop taking out of both sides of his mouth— Konuşma giden iki ağzından! Tu capisci? aka Capish?!
I’m Armenian, and it’s my opinion that Turkey can legitimately weasel its way out of the genocide accusation. Although the extermination of Armenians started in Constantinople with the rounding up of intellectuals and leaders, the government spared the Armenian population there. Instead, it focused its killing machine on the strategic eastern provinces — the ancient Armenian homeland. If the Turks had wanted to kill all of us, the Armenians in Constantinople would have been an easy target. So let’s not get hung up on the G-word; it’s an exercise in futility. Turkey will never admit to having committed genocide. Instead, it was a brutal ethnic cleansing — just as deplorable as genocide because it essentially destroyed an ancient nation. Then they compounded the crime by illegally snatching half the territory of the new Armenian republic, followed by a century of denial and the rewriting of history. Frankly, I think the return of Kars and Ardahan (and Mt. Ararat) to Armenia is more important than a confession of genocide. Will it ever happen?
There was good reason for the CUP to go after Armenian leaders and thinkers in Istanbul…it was because they knew too much and were too familiar with the inner core of the Young Turks. So, by eliminating these key Armenian figures, the CUP severed this knowledge base, because those Armenians leaders had intimate knowledge about the CUP, its workings and its members. Once gone, those details were not passed down to us or to anyone not connected with them. The only reason for sparing the wealthy Armenians in the city was because they wanted things to appear normal to foreign diplomats, but these Armenians generated massive amounts of revenue that could be taxed, to fuel the Ottoman war and genocide machine. Think of this…those people in Istanbul kept working hard, supporting their government financially, even while that same horrific, racist government was killing Armenians every single day, to the tune of more than one million souls. It boggles the mind and people like Kristof really need to think of it in different terms, in order to come to grips with the nightmarish reality of the so-called ‘Young Turks’.
I understand. But I think Kristoff. (Whose middle name is Donabet) is isolated from us too
I had to read again to make sure I was reading right. An American with Armenian ancestry, opposed to the passing of Genocide resolution?
Passing a resolution based on facts and justice means… “smacking Turkey”? Unless one is a turanist Genocide denier, why on earth would they feel “smacked” when justice and human rights are being observed?
Forget justice. Forget crimes against humanity. Forget Genocide. Forget all the Armenians with missing family as a result of Genocide. But we can’t “smack Turkey”, because why Mr Kristof? Your sympathy is with Genocide perpetrators and deniers and not the offspring of their victims?
If one day you wish to be relevant in the Armenian community, and on the right side of history, you might actually first figure out that a people worthy of reconciling with would not continue their legacy of Genocide by being vile Genocide deniers.
You can’t blame the man for currying favors for his boss…..the new NYT. He needs to sell newspapers. What a better way than to bring in your own ancestry to deny a historical truth. That will stir up a hornets nest. He is unbelievable and lost all credibility. He should return his pulitzer prize.
Rajab Erdoghan is an expensive cute lapdog, who developed a wonderful abilities to scratch and leak his bottom, especially during his sightseeing tour on American soil!
Having some Armenian blood does not make one an Armenian. Kristof couldn’t careless about Armenia/Armenians. Kristof has ties to the Council on Foreign Relations. Kristof is part and parcel of the Western imperial establishment. As a representative of the Western global order Kristof cannot be trusted for he is one of Armenia’s enemies.