Opinion
Zarakolu: The Armenian Genocide as a Case of Preventing Self-Determination
The official attitude on the Armenian Genocide and the systematic practice of ethnic cleansing in Anatolia has reached a new stage with the recent statement by Vecdi Gonul, the former Turkish minister of national defense, to the effect that had these tragic events not occurred, the present-day Republic of Turkey could not have come into being. Repulsive as these words may be, we have to admit that they are much more honest than pure “denial,” and imply “admission” of what has happened.
Already a subscriber?Log in here
This story is FREE for you...
Create a free account to access this and four more articles, and get more sent to you with our e-newsletter.By submitting your email address you agree for Hairenik Association, Inc. to send you communication by email.
A great summary of the murderous motivations of the Young Turks to eliminate the Armenian people.
{…the entire Kurdish population has not been subjected to a kind of deportation that would leave only a handful of survivors}
There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that if Turkish fascists could, they would. By the time Kurds started demanding rights in Turkey they had grown too numerous for the Turkish state to try to wipe them out. It was simply not possible physically at that point. No credit is due to the Turkish state.
Great point Avery jan
Great article but it doesn’t take into account the fact that part of the “cleansing” was the desire to steal the wealth of the Armenians. Today, the biggest fear of admitting their crime is not the label, but the COMPENSATION they would be required to give. If the Armenian Genocide was merely a “relocation” then the Armenians would have been allowed to take their possession or be compensated, however we all know that did not occur. In fact quite the opposite..
In my opinion the Genocide was a knee jerk reaction to Turks losing their empire, needing someone to blame, needing land for the ousted Balkan Turks and an opportunity to steal the wealth of their victims for their endeavors and yes eventual nation building.
Last, that’s why it every Armenian’s duty to counter the false Turkish narrative, where ever it is found, and not allow them to escape justice..
I agree John. All Armenians need to support the efforts to counter the false Turkish narrative. The element of theft of Armenian wealth in order to brace the bankrupt Ottoman empire can’t be denied.
Coming from a man who bravely puts his life on the line to speak the truth and stand up for freedom of expression in a country that imprisons those who do, I found Zarakolu’s thesis very meaningful. Turks engaged in genocidal actions to prevent Armenians from achieving self-determination in order to secure their own; Azeris are trying to prevent Armenian self-determination today in Artsakh; and Armenians are still fighting to achieve justice. Zarakolu makes a realistic summary of the murder of the Armenian nation by the CUP/Ittihadists and sadly demonstrates little doubt that the modern Turkish nation is guilty of actions aimed at erasing all traces of our existence and deny the truth of the genocide. If the breaking of a heart made an audible sound, ours would be the cry heard around the world. But, besides the rare, brave journalist or publisher, who is listening?
Prevent self-determination. You guys have a country called Armenia. Be satisfied with what you have and asking for more means you are warmongering against your neighbors. The NKR province had 80 percent Armenian, 20 percent Azeri population and you forcefully expelled that 20 percent population and you know what you guys did was wrong. Greater Armenia is a racist, warmongering idea and you guys know it. If you guys masterbate to that idea, you guys want war. If you guys cease all racist territorial claims, you guys want peace. Which one will it be.
Regarding Kurds, certain Turkish intellectuals think that indeed, if it were possible, they would be eliminated too, and that the shooting of the smugglers at the Iraqi border was no accident but a test to see how the West would react to killings. Let’s not forget that Kurds were denied their language, their culture, their identity (they were Mountain Turks, and their name came from kurt-kurt, the noise of steps in the snow! and I think they are still not allowed to celebrated their new year as they wish) and that according to Fuat Dundar’s research, the 1.5 million Turks who had “also died” during WW2 – “proving” that there was no Armenian genocide – were actually Kurdish civilians marched West to their death during the winter while the villagers they met were preventing from selling them food or water. So there was an attempt at genocide during WW1. R. Zarkolu’s piece is remarkable but there is no knowing what the Turkish state would do today to remaining Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians as well as Hamshen, and to Kurds if the whole of Europe and Russia were steeped in a world war. Remember that but a few months ago Turkey’s Interior minister participated in the Taksim rally during which Turks promised to end the job their ancestors had left unfinished and to erase tiny Armenia from the planet. The current KCK trials are evidence of anti-Kurdish hatred too. Should a situation like Syria’s arise in Turkey, God – or the Devil – knows what would happen to minorities. Let’s hope that no war occurs, and that mine is a much too pessimistic and erroneous view…
Zarakoglu is very accurate in this article and makes the point very nicely. However, as we know, the Young Turks were actually Ottomans above all, and the key movers and shakers who planned the genocide were not even ethnic Turks. Some key factoids should be mentioned:
A guiding principle for the Young Turks was the transformation of their society into one in which religion played no consequential role. In this ultra-secular and somewhat materialistic structure, science was to replace religion. However, the Young Turks soon recognized the difficulty of spreading this idea and began suggesting that Islam itself was materialistic. As compared with later efforts by Muslim intellectuals, such as the attempt to reconcile Islam and socialism, this was an extremely difficult endeavor. Although some former members of the CUP continued to make efforts in this field after the revolution of 1908, they were severely denounced by the Ulema, who accused them of “trying to change Islam into another form and create a new religion while calling it Islam”
The Young Turks’ inclination toward authoritarian theories was by no means a coincidence. All the theories that the Young Turks developed and took particular interest in, such as biological materialism, positivism, Social Darwinism, and Gustave Le Bon’s elitism, defended an enlightenment from above and opposed the idea of a supposed equality among fellow-citizens.
What self-respecting Turk or Muslim would think like this – then or now? None of it sounds very Turkish to me. Unfortunately, this train of thought as developed by the CUP leaders was promoted and adopted by Ataturk and others who inherited and continued the CUP legacy in the republican era. Today’s Turks need to distance themselves from all of it and once they do (if that’s even possible at this late stage), then maybe there can be some change in how Turkey and ultra-nationalistic Turks view Armenians.
The Armenian Genocide summed up to appear as a result of turkish self determination is an insult to the victims of the Genocide and the survivors- US. The turkish fear of Armenian revolution similar to the Balkans was just another brick in the massive wall of hatred turks possessed and possess towards Armenians.
The author attempts to make the Armenian Genocide seem less profound by rationalizing it and making it seem as a byproduct of a natural phenomenon- Self Determination.
Genocides are not rational, they are not natural. Self determination is not achieved by Genocide. Trying to rationalize Genocide is like saying that Genocides are to happen. I was watching Schindler’s list lately and I realized how well the movie had been prepared; it emphasized on the fact that Genocides are not rational, they can not be justified and they are pure evil.
“Had there been no Soviet Revolution, Armenia would not have come into existence.” Really? is he trying to justify the Armenian Genocide as a basis for the existence of the turkish state or is he comparing a revolution to Genocide? turks never understood the fact that we-Armenians- are constructive people we will always re-build our home-Armenia. Whether there was a Soviet Revolution or a Mongol Invasion there will always be an Armenia.
No nation should commit Genocide even for self-determination. Armenians would never commit a turkish Genocide; even though, they are reasonably justified. turks on the other hand would draw their swords at any given opportunity. There a difference between the Good and the Evil.
“Armenians would never commit a Turkish Genocide, even though, they are reasonally justified.” Thank you for admitting that trying to kill Turkish civilians are totally justified. This prooves how you bloodthristy Armenian fanatic racist Dashnaks are at war with everything Turkish and are racist against everything Turkish. A Turkish person will say “ohh I am sorry about the 1.5 million dead” you are going to still be racist. Thank you for being honest about your racist objectives against all the people of Turkey and the Turkish nation. You don’t want peace but war and want to wipe your neighbors off the map. I used to be a humanist tolerance preacher, but, I am not going to be a humanist tolerance preacher and I will kept on fighting Armenian liars and racists till the day I die until you hateful racist bigots cease your expansionist land claims against your neighbors and until all you guys quit satanizing all things Turkish.