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ALLEGED SCHOLAR TANER AKCAM -AND HIS VIEWS<\/p>\n
AN ANALISIS BY HARUT SASSONIAN<\/p>\n
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From:<\/span><\/strong> Harut Sassounian [mailto:sassoun@pacbell.net] \n Turkish Scholar Exposes Ankara\u2019s Vain<\/p>\n Attempt to Split Armenia from Diaspora<\/p>\n \n By Harut Sassounian<\/p>\n Publisher, The California Courier<\/p>\n \n In their persistent efforts to distort the facts of the Armenian Genocide, Turkish denialists resort to all sorts of tricks. Their latest scheme is trying to drive a wedge between Armenia and the Diaspora by claiming that authorities in Yerevan are all too willing to forget about the Genocide and reconcile with Turks, were it not for the \u201csinister influence\u201d of Diaspora Armenians who constantly undermine all attempts at reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey.<\/p>\n Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, during a press conference in Ankara last week, claimed that \u201cthe Armenian Diaspora is plotting. We can see very clearly and sharply that their efforts are aimed at utilizing [the Armenian Genocide issue]. This is so obvious. But I also see that the current administration in Armenia doesn\u2019t take part in this.\u201d<\/p>\n Significantly, it was Turkish scholar Taner Akcam who exposed the false arguments of all those who share Prime Minister Erdogan\u2019s false notion that Armenia and the Diaspora are split on the issue of recognition of the Armenian Genocide. In a recent issue of the Turkish newspaper Taraf, Prof. Akcam wrote a lengthy analysis of Turkish misperceptions and misrepresentations on this issue. He argued against the view that \u201cgood neighbor\u201d Armenia and the \u201cbad\u201d Diaspora have opposing views on the Armenian Genocide. Prof. Akcam correctly stated that Armenians everywhere agree that what occurred in 1915 was genocide and feel that it needs to be acknowledged by Turkey. He noted, however, that there are differences among Armenians (regardless of where they live) about the consequences of such an acknowledgement.<\/p>\n Prof. Akcam dismissed the Turkish claim that \u201cthe Armenian state has not been very insistent on the subject of \u2018recognition of the Genocide.\u2019\u201d Most Turkish analysts wrongly allege, according to Akcam, that Armenia is a very \u201cgood\u201d neighbor to Turkey and that it reflects its \u201cgoodness\u201d by \u201crefraining from use of the word \u2018Genocide\u2019 and by not demanding \u2018recognition\u2019\u201d during the course of Pres. Gul\u2019s visit to Armenia last September. Turkish analysts further claim that \u201cthe Armenian state is seriously in the grip of and under the influence of the \u2018bad\u2019 diaspora.\u201d They conclude that \u201cin order to relieve Turkish-Armenian tension, \u2018our good neighbor Armenia\u2019 must be saved from the \u2018bad\u2019 diaspora.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n According to Prof. Akcam, Turkish analysts falsely claim that \u201cthe biggest reason why Armenia has fallen under the influence of the \u2018bad\u2019 diaspora\u201d is \u201cpoorly conceived Turkish policies. As a result, in order to save Armenia from the diaspora, Turkey must relinquish its bad policies and foster \u2018good\u2019 relations with Armenia. Consequently, Armenia will be able to distance itself from the bad policies of the diaspora, policies like \u2018insisting on recognition of genocide.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Prof. Akcam categorically refuted those allegations by stating that \u201cwhen it comes to acknowledging the genocide, Armenia and the diaspora are on the same page. It is improper to draw a distinction between the sides on an axis of \u2018those who insist on recognition and those who do not.\u2019 It needs to be emphasized right here, right now, that Armenians everywhere agree that what occurred in 1915 was genocide and they feel that it needs to be acknowledged by Turkey.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Prof. Akcam then acknowledged that there may be legitimate differences among Armenians, regardless of whether they live in Armenia or the Diaspora, on such complex subjects as \u201cwhat does it mean to recognize the genocide?\u201d and \u201con the issue of addressing an historical injustice, what steps Turkey might take that will be considered sufficient?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Prof. Akcam then wondered which option Turkey should pursue<\/span><\/strong> — the Japanese or German model — in confronting its history? The Japanese model, he explained, would entail a \u201chalf-hearted expression\u201d of apology. The German model, on the other hand, constitutes \u201cacceptance of all consequences that arise from that acknowledgement, including providing reparations if necessary, would be required. To follow in Germany\u2019s footsteps, Turkey would have to identify the events of 1915 as genocide and make serious effort to compensate all who were injured by those events both emotionally and materially.\u201d He thus raised the serious issue of bringing \u201crestorative justice\u201d to the victims of the Armenian Genocide.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n It is high time that Turkish denialists face squarely the brutal history of their nation and focus their attention on making amends to heal the wounds of the past rather than seeking to blame the descendants of the victims of the Armenian Genocide, be they in Armenia or the Diaspora!<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ALLEGED SCHOLAR TANER AKCAM -AND HIS VIEWS AN ANALISIS BY HARUT SASSONIAN From: Harut Sassounian [mailto:sassoun@pacbell.net] Sent: Monday, February 02, 2009 6:54 PM Turkish Scholar Exposes Ankara\u2019s Vain Attempt to Split Armenia from Diaspora By Harut Sassounian Publisher, The California Courier In their persistent efforts to distort the facts of the Armenian Genocide, Turkish denialists […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":774856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-armenian-question"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8896"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8896\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/774856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nSent:<\/strong> Monday, February 02, 2009 6:54 PM
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