Opinion
My Hrant, or Historian’s Guilt
The article below is based on a speech delivered by Dr. Oktay Ozel during a panel discussion on the legacy of Hrant Dink, held at MIT on Feb. 1.
I am a historian, studying Ottoman history in Ankara, Turkey; a professional in the academia of social sciences. And, Hrant Dink was a journalist, a political activist, a defender of human rights. He was also a member of the tiny Armenian community in Turkey. He was a neighbor in Istanbul.
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A very powerful piece! I really appreciate the great work the Armenian Weekly is doing. You are bridging the Turkish Armenian divide by serious and honest dialogue…
Powerful piece indeed. So much is changing in Turkey thanks to scholars that are brave enough to confront the official history.
I agree. I hope Turkish historians listen to professor Oktay’s voice of reason: “In short, to me, this is the bitter legacy Hrant left behind for historians. It is now in our hands to show respect, by simply doing our job properly. Hrant’s whole life and his tragic death should not be in vain! To the contrary, the community of historians in Turkey as a whole owes him and his people a belated but sincere apology, not only for their indirect contribution to the very process that ended with Hrant’s death. Such an apology is also needed for the still-continuing ignorance of the ethics of the historical profession. All we need is to remember these basics all over; and, of course, a bit of decency.”
True that this is avery telling speech, I met and enjoyed talking with Hrant, he was talkable. Nevertheless, most of the Armenians colleagues are not talkable, akşnd of dictators in their capacity and they want to hear such voices as theirs. I would love to hear from Oktay some reference to Erman Şahin who demonstrated the academic capacity of Taner Akçam.