Prof. Taner Akcam dropped a bombshell during a lecture at the Glendale Public Library last month, when he revealed that a confidential source in Istanbul had informed him about the Turkish government’s scheme to bribe American scholars to deny the Armenian Genocide.
Akcam, the holder of the Kaloosdian/Mugar Chair in Armenian Genocide Studies at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., stated, “the Turkish government is following a very systematic and aggressive policy in the U.S.” by attempting to cast doubt on the veracity of the genocide. Ankara’s grand scheme is to make Turkish denialist claims as widely acceptable as the belief that the events of 1915 constituted genocide. Moreover, through a series of lawsuits in U.S. courts, Turkey and its proxies are trying to present any criticism of denialist scholars and exclusion of revisionist materials from university programs as suppression of “academic freedom.”
Akcam, one of the first Turkish scholars to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, related to his audience that during his visit to Istanbul last December, he had a private conversation with a person who had “inside information” regarding the Turkish Foreign Ministry’s activities in the United States on the subject of the Armenian Genocide. Akcam’s confidential source told him that sometime in 2004-05, an American university professor had met with “authorities connected with the Turkish Foreign Ministry.” At that meeting, the professor told his Turkish hosts that “Turkey didn’t have a systematic program on the academic level with which to counter the claims of an Armenian Genocide,” and that “the genocide claim is well established at this point,” telling them that “there’s very little” they can do “by trying to confront it head on.”
Akcam was privately informed that the American professor made the following recommendation to Turkish officials: “The thing you need to do is to dig a ditch in front of all the genocide claims; you need to create doubt by writing scholarly works which will awaken that doubt.” Akcam interpreted these words to mean that “by producing and encouraging new academic works,” American scholars could “normalize the idea that 1915 was not genocide, just as the belief that it was genocide has become accepted.”
While it is commonly assumed that the Turkish government provides financial incentives to scholars worldwide to publish articles and books denying the Armenian Genocide, this is the first time that a knowledgeable Turkish insider has confirmed these assumptions. The confidential source told Akcam that the Turkish Foreign Ministry accepted the American scholar’s proposal and “transferred large sums of money to the U.S.” The informant revealed to Akcam the names of American academics who received funds to write books denying the Armenian Genocide, and disclosed that “there are documents signed by their own hand and that these receipts are now in the files of the foreign ministry’s records.”
In his lecture, Akcam stated that he did not want “to put any academic under a cloud of suspicion.” However, when he connected the information received from his Istanbul source to some recent publications, “a disturbing picture emerges as far as Armenian Genocide research is concerned.” Akcam then referred to Michael Gunter’s recent book, Armenian History and the Question of Genocide as a possible “example of this approach.” The website of the book’s publisher, Palgrave Macmillan, stated: “Although as many as 600,000 of them [Armenians] died during World War I, it was neither a premeditated policy perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish government nor an event unilaterally implemented without cause. Of course, in no way does this excuse the horrible excesses that were committed.”
Akcam further observed that the four academics—Hakan Yavuz of University of Utah, Guenter Lewy of the University of Massachusetts, Jeremy Salt of Bilkent University, Ankara, and Edward J. Ericson of Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Virginia—who praised Gunter’s book “are well known for their denialist position and works regarding the genocide of 1915.” Although Akcam did not wish to make “an accusation against the book’s writer,” he stated, “the strange similarities between what I was told in confidence in Istanbul and what appears on the jacket cover of that book gave me pause, that’s all.”
While no one should accuse academics of receiving funds from the Turkish government or its proxies without solid evidence, it would be enlightening if any of them would voluntarily come forward and disclose whether they have been funded by Turkish sources.
Harut Sassounian
What’s the bombshell? The Turkish Government has more or less openly announced that continued funding of Institute for Turkish Studies grants is contingent on the people running it (and presumably receiving the grants) toeing the denialist line.
Turkey, via ex-USA Congressmen/lobbyists, handsomely paid for their allegiance to the Turkish stance as Turks insist they never committed any Genocides!! Genocides which still today have continued – copying the Turk stance… and why not?
Too, advancing funds to current USA congress persons… too, seeking to build a moslem site (an in your face to the USA) in the midst of the USA New York City financial district… all indications that the Turkish aggresiveness knows no bounds! Imagine any Americans doing such in a Turkey!! Turks having gotten away with Genocides… now, are brazen enough to believe that Turks have the ability to accomplish any goals – no matter what their mode/direction!! And with the support and the ignorances that abound – the Turks shall have accomplished – with out warring – that which they are due and worthy to desire/gain, to do – since none oppose the Turk… Today, they have come to believe that the Genocide mode of eliminating Christians from their own lands – which Turkeys decided would become as their own! Armenians lands of nearly 4,000 years – stealing properties, cultures, all that was of the Christians.. as Turks have to date accomplished – via Genocides, unopposed – and so the Genocides too, continue… unopposed by the perpetrators – the winners… but victims and civilized nations – losers!!
Thank you Prof. Taner Akcam for providing us with this important news and Mr. Sassounian for writing it.
The entire Turkish government is a wolf in sheepskin. Why am I not surprised for this news and the dirty tricks the Turkish gov’t. keep on playing by buying politicians, oil companies and their CEO’s, and now the scholars to put doubts in peoples’ minds about the AG. What else they are about to do with their monies to further deny the Turkish Genocide of the Armenian race? It is mind boggling how much further they’ll go to deny the Genocide of the Armenians. The Turkish government is no different than their Azeri brothers. After all, the Azeris with their oil rich monies are buying very expensive warfares against the liberated Artsakh and they are paying huge amounts to politicians all around the world to take over our Artsakhian lands: but it ain’t happening. After all, the millet of the Azeris and the Turks are the same: Osmanle Turke and Tatar Azeri, the same milletle.
These types of mercenary scholars need to be exposed and confronted at every turn for what they are, whores and frauds.. Period!
They deserve no respect. Every blog needs rebuttal. every lecture needs counter views in attendance exposing the true nature of their denials.