370) Is Yerevan Scared of History?

A young Turkish researcher, Yektan Turkyilmaz, is being held in custody since June 17 by the Armenian intelligence service under high security conditions. He was due to appear in court tomorrow, facing according to Article 215/2 of the Armenian Penal Code a jail sentence of four to eight years for allegedly “smuggling rare books� out of the country. We hope that the court will reach a decision that will repair the gross injustice inflicted on Turkyilmaz.

 

 

 

Who is Turkyilmaz? He is a scholar who after receiving after his B.A. degree at Bogazici University in Istanbul is working for a Ph. D. degree at the Duke University, a prominent university in the United States. In addition to Turkish and English, Turkyılmaz speaks French, Ottoman Turkish, Kurdish and Armenian. His general field of research concerns nationalist movements among Turks, Armenians and Kurds during the final period of the Ottoman Empire. His colleagues believe that Turkyilmaz’s research will make a significant contribution to the debates concerning this period since it is based on Turkish, Kurdish and Armenian sources. Having good relations with Armenian colleagues, Turkyilmaz became the first Turkish scholar to be allowed to work in the Armenian national archives. According to Orin Starn, his thesis instructor at Duke University, “Turkyilmaz is brilliant and widely respected young scholarâ€� who has receieved numerous awards and fellowships.

 

 

 

What then is Turkyilmaz’s crime? Turkyilmaz was taken to custody soon after he embarked the plane to return to Turkey after having completing his research in the Armenian national archives on his fourth visit to Yerevan. It was reported that Turkyilmaz was found guilty of “smuggling� old books out of Armenia which require official permission to be taken out of the country according to a law which dates from the Soviet times. Since there are no diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia, Turkish officials merely demanded Turkyilmaz’s release. Armenian intelligence service interrogated him about his research and his theoretical orientations, and confiscated the copies of his archival research. More than 200 Turkish, Armenian and American academics sent a letter to the Armenian President Robert Kocharian on July 29, calling for his intervention for the immediate release of Turkyilmaz and his notes to be returned. In brief, they said the following:

 

 

 

We care deeply about improvements in Armenian – Turkish relations and consider the unimpeded work of independent scholars to be vital steps in the right direction… None of the books he had with him were forbidden from being taken out of the country, but only required permissions… While it may be appropriate to impose a fine for the unknowing violation of customs regulations, prison terms of 4 to 8 years is grossly disproportionate... The political implications of his detention cause grave concern. The dialogue which has recently been opened up between Turkish and Armenian scholars is put to risk. “This arrest would also raise serious doubts as to whether Armenia encouraes independent scholarly research into history.�

 

 

 

US Senator Bob Dole also sent a letter to President Kocharian on August 2 in which he said: Human Rights groups do not rank Armenia as a democracy, and define it only as a “partly free� country due to your governments mistreatment of opposition leaders and supporters. Your detention of Yektan for seven weeks Yektan being in detention for seven weeks confirms the shortcomings of democracy in Armenia. I urge you to intervene for the immediate release of Yektan, and also for the amendment of this strange law which is not compatible with a free society.

 

 

 

The Turkyilmaz case underlines two basic questions: Is the Soviet regime still continuing in Armenia which is a member of the Council of Europe? Is the Armenian administration, which has grossly violated academic freedom, scared of shedding light on its history?

 

 

Sahin ALPAY

s.alpay@zaman.com.tr

Zaman Newspaper