A couple of journalists from Turkey are visiting Armenia to cover the events before and on April 24. They have asked my help in arranging interviews with high-ranking Armenian officials. According to them, a spokesman in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told them that Armenian officials will not be giving interviews to the Turkish media, because the Turkish media distorts their responses. The journalists from Turkey were complaining to me that if this is the Armenian government’s position, then how is it going to transmit its message to the Turkish public?
In the middle of this, on April 14, I was interviewed for a documentary on the Mountainous Karabagh conflict by two reporters from the Turkish newspaper Zaman, Selahattin Sevi (editorial photographer) and Servet Yanatma (diplomatic correspondent). On their way out of the building, Sevi asked me whether the Turkish flag will be burned this April 24. I responded to him: “No, why do you ask? Will you be here on April 24?” Yanatma gave the follow-up question: “Are you sure?” To which I responded: “To the extent that we can control the demonstrators.” They went to wait for their taxi and I returned to my office.
On April 16, the English-language Today’s Zaman ran a story with the headline: “ARF vows to prevent disrespect of Turkish flag on April 24.” Signed by Servet Yanatma, the story claims that I have “pledg[ed] […] not allow any disrespect for the Turkish flag during upcoming demonstrations in Armenia on April 24.” It even “quotes” me as saying: “I promise that no such thing will take place this time.” And then goes on to say: “‘Of course, if we can keep control [over the demonstrators],’ he added.”
Further down, the writer explains that “Last year, the Turkish Foreign Ministry reacted harshly to a Turkish flag being trodden upon during an official demonstration in Yerevan on April 24 commemorating the tragic World War I-era events that Armenians claim amount to genocide. News reports showed pictures of the demonstration, during which a Turkish flag was laid on the ground and participants of the commemoration stamped on it.”
“‘With the meaning that it carries, the Turkish flag symbolizes freedom and all the fundamental values and beliefs of the Turkish nation. The flag is accepted as synonymous with our nation’s existence. The importance attributed by the Turkish nation to these values and its flag is widely known. In this regard, the related news reports led to great sadness, upset and indignation in our society,’ the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at the time in a written statement,” writes Yanatma.
When I read this story, and saw how my simple and direct response was twisted, how my “no, [we are not going to burn the Turkish flag]” had been changed to a “promise” and a “vow [to prevent disrespect of Turkish flag],” I thought of what the Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman had told the Turkish journalists who wanted to interview high-ranking Armenian officials. Then I remembered my meeting with several Turkish journalists here in Yerevan in June 2005, after my first meeting with a Turkish member of parliament in the lobby of the Marriott Armenia. I stressed their role in the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations and emphasized the need for responsible reporting. Four years later, not much has changed in this domain and I would not have commented on this distortion had it not been for an article about the Today’s Zaman story in an Armenian newspaper.
On April 16, the Asbarez Armenian daily in the USA repeated the Today’s Zaman story with an even more twisted headline: “Giro Manoyan calls to stop disrespecting the Turkish flag.” I thought Today’s Zaman, a newspaper with close ties to the ruling AK Party in Turkey, had gotten its Armenian prey. The Turkish newspaper story had targeted the Armenian public and media, and an Armenian newspaper had fallen into the trap.
Of course now that I have written this, I can be asked: “So, does this mean you are going to burn the Turkish flag?” My response would be the same, but with a little elaboration: We do not plan on burning the Turkish flag, but we might not be able to prevent demonstrators from burning or “disrespecting” the Turkish flag. I am not promising, nor vowing, nor calling on anyone; I am just saying that we have no plans to burn the Turkish flag.
Regardless of how that response will be reported in the Turkish and Armenian media, this kind of willful distortion and unintentional self-entrapment by the Turkish and Armenian media respectively does not serve the cause of dialogue, direct and honest dialogue, between the Turkish and Armenian societies. Some may disagree whether such a dialogue is necessary. I believe such a dialogue is important for both societies. It is important for the Armenians in order to get their message across. It is important for the Turks to receive the Armenian message clearly in order to make the correct choices regarding their own past and future with their Armenian neighbors. For that, the Turkish media should stop being an agent of the Turkish government and a tool in the pursuit of its foreign policy, and the Armenian media should be more careful when using the Turkish media as a source.
I disagree with the decision not to give interviews to the Turkish media (if what the journalists told me is true and there is such a decision), even though I have no guarantees that the Turkish media will truthfully report the responses. At this juncture, it is worth risking being misquoted sometimes, than declining the chance to transmit our message all the time. If we value Armenian-Turkish civil society direct dialogue, accurate and responsible reporting is required from the Turkish and Armenian media.
Giro Manoyan
Latest posts by Giro Manoyan (see all)
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- Accurate and Responsible Reporting is Required from the Turkish and Armenian Media - April 18, 2009
I agree that there is a pressing need for Accurate and Responsible Reporting of interviews, and I would say more so in Armenia than Turkey. But there is a very simple means of solving that problem. When I gave interviews on my ‘Blowing the World Bank Whistle’ action, I did so on specific agreement that, whilst I did not limit the freedom of opinion or emphasis by the writer, I had the right to check the correctness of information given by me in the final statement prior to release.
Armenian opposition news organizations have always agreed to this condition, and as a result I have never had cause to complain about the published facts. State-sponsored news organizations have mostly refused, so I declined to give an interview. I recommend that all honest persons should follow this procedure when giving interviews.
Press conferences are more difficult to regulate in this manner, although it is possible, and as a general comment, the quality of reporting by most of the Armenian media (especially state-backed) is nothing less than disgraceful.