Open letter denounces plan to name border crossing after Talaat Pasha
We express our deep concern and disappointment regarding the recent proposal introduced in the Turkish Parliament to rename the border crossing between Turkey and Armenia after Talaat Pasha, the principal architect of the Armenian Genocide. As Minister of the Interior of the Ottoman Empire, Talaat Pasha played a leading role in orchestrating the planned extermination of over 1.5 million Armenians, alongside the destruction of more than 2,000 churches, the erasure of entire communities and the forced displacement of millions from their ancestral homeland.
Naming a place of passage and potential reconciliation after a figure so closely associated with the organized mass killing of a people is not only profoundly insensitive—it is an affront to the values of human dignity, historical truth and moral accountability. Such an act risks legitimizing the crimes of the past, further deepening wounds that have never fully healed.
In contrast, we urge Turkish leaders and the broader public to consider an alternative—one rooted in hope, truth and shared humanity. Why not name the crossing after a figure of conscience: Hrant Dink? Hrant Dink was a Turkish citizen of Armenian origin who stood against ethnic violence. He was someone who symbolized unity among Armenians, Turks, Kurds and all peoples of Anatolia—a name that promotes remembrance, reconciliation and the belief that the horrors of the past must never be repeated.
We call upon Turkish academics, civic leaders and elected officials to remember that progress is not made by obscuring history but by confronting it with courage and integrity. Germany has publicly acknowledged the crimes of the Holocaust; Canada has confronted the truth of its actions against Indigenous peoples. It is time for Turkey to take a similar step—to recognize the genocide against its Armenian, Pontic Greek, Assyrian and other minorities, which saw the death and expulsion of over 4.5 million people from the lands they had inhabited for millennia.
True national strength lies not in denial but in the ability to face history honestly. We remain hopeful that this proposal will be reconsidered in the spirit of mutual respect, dignity and the shared values of humanity.
– The International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights (A division of the Zoryan Institute)
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If Turkey indeed renames its part of the border crossing after this bloodthirsty Armenian Genocide perpetrator, then Armenia should never open its land border to Turkey and should rename its part of the border crossing after Soghomon Tehlirian, who got rid of that pest. Simple as that. Armenia doesn’t have to tolerate the incessant threats, provocations and humiliations by Turkey and Azerbaijan, which it is enduring for years, just because these two Armenian Genocide perpetrators have much bigger populations and militaries.
Can you please provide a link to a source which claims this has been proposed by the Turkish Parliament?
Any Armenian who agrees with this and uses this ‘entry’ belongs in the same place as the heartless souls of the Young Turks.
To usher in a new era of cooperation between Turkey and Armenia, it is important to avoid using historical figures, who evoke deep negative emotions, as names to connect the two countries border. The goal should be to promote mutual respect and collaboration, not to deepen existing tensions or hatred.
Quite so and not deliberately using coincidental dates either for important events