899) Birthday Issue Special by Hrant Dink : The "Turk" of the Armenian

The "Turk" of the Armenian

Special for : http://armenians-1915.blogspot.com/

In our age when global and universal values dominate over local values, let alone living one's cultural identity in its real sense, even for keeping the identity alive, Diaspora has to reveal special effort.
This special effort needs always special reasons and tools. Armenians and Jews are two classical examples of Diaspora who possess these special reasons.
The special reason of both is the same... Having suffered genocide.

Thus the right recognized to them by whole humanity to protect their identities has been a little bit discriminative and positive.
Indeed, Jews have been able to make use of this positive right properly and utilizing the tolerance granted to them to protect their identity very well, they carried the title they took from their religious belief of "privileged people of God" to the level of "privileged people of the earth" they gained from the world.
But the same has been not true for Armenian people.

***

The world has begrudged the sensitivity revealed to the Jewish genocide from the Armenians and this in return led to the greatest damage in Armenian identity. "Armenians of begrudged rights" have then tried to live their identity with a "persistence to demand the truth" and this persistence reached a point to turn to the basic principle of Armenian identity.

While this persistence meant for the first generations of Diaspora to survive and not to exhaust, with the third and fourth generations it turned to a persistence of letting the world acknowledge the truth.
And the collective version of this persistence reflects the psychological position of the Armenian Diaspora.
Keeping this psychology alive though, is the fundamental means to last the Armenian identity.

***

Let alone the fact that world has not acknowledged the truth, the main factor causing damage to Armenian identity is the fact that Turks are in a position of not to turn a hair concerning this issue.
Indeed when compared, it will be obvious that the main factor leading Jews to their present position is, rather than the result of their own merits, the compassionate role the German people played afterwards.

This people have been able to overcome the trauma and recover psychologically when Germans begged for apology from them by accepting the responsibility of genocide and only then the Jews could be able to make the right ascensions for their cultural identity.
However the traumatic disease of Armenian people is still continuing and the main thing gnawing and exhausting the identity is this unhealthy psychological state.

***

While analyzing Armenian identity, one should admit the importance of the role "Islam" and "Turk" factors play on this identity.
In the end, Armenians have a common past of more than a millennium with Islam and Turks.
So much so that the main quality distinguishing Armenians from Western Christians, is the fact that they have been living together with Muslims heretofor. While Western Christians have more lived Christian to Christian, Armenians have had another experience by living side by side and sometimes within the Muslims.

As it is frequently mentioned in recent actual discussions, while European Christians are only newly getting adapted to a multicultural lifestyle where also Muslims take place, Armenians like other Christian nations of the East (Assyrians, Keldanis etc.) have experienced this reality with its good and bad sides for a long time.
Thus this togetherness of centuries had of course have an undeniable role in the formation of Armenian identity but the main factor shaping the present form of Armenian identity and functioning like a cancerous tumor in Armenian identity is the "Turk".

***

The relation of Armenians and Turks and their interaction is not so ordinary as to pass over with a few words. In their centuries-old relation, they have reciprocally taken so much good and bad pieces of identity that it is sometimes so difficult to separate their ways of behavior from each other.
Their togetherness is so deep that it has turned to a mutual argument for both sides to define the deterioration of it as treason. Opposite to the Turkish view naming Armenian nation "loyal nation" and then claiming that they have betrayed, Armenians regard the events of 1915 not only as the collective extermination of a nation but they also stress that this act also includes a betrayal to the centuries-old relation.

The point Turkish-Armenian relation has reached today is the following: Armenians and Turks are a clinical case in their view towards each other. Armenians with their trauma and Turks with their paranoia.

As long as they are not saved from this unhealthy state they desperately struggle in, -it is maybe not valid for Turks but- Armenians seem to be unable to reshape their identity in a healthy way again.
Especially as long as Turks do not accept an emphatical approach towards 1915, the great suffering of Armenian identity will go on.

***

Finally it is obvious that "Turk" is both the poison and the antidote of Armenian identity.
The main problem however is whether or not Armenians will be able to free themselves form this "Turk" in their identity.

To be liberated from the "Turk"

There are two apparent ways for the Armenian identity to free oneself from the "Turk". One of them is that Turkey (as a State and society) gets into an emphatical approach towards Armenian nation and as a consequence reveals an understanding of sharing the sorrow of Armenian nation.
Such an approach can lead to the fact that though not immediately but still in the course of time the factor of "Turk" becomes distant to Armenian identity. However the emergence of this alternative seems to be a difficult possibility at present.

The second way is that the Armenians themselves discard the impact of the "Turk" factor from their identity.
As compared to the first way, the probability of realizing this second alternative seems to be higher as it is bound to one's own will and initiative.
It is also the way that should be actually preferred.

***

As to how Armenian world can accomplish it, is bound to look at the present situation with a new understanding.
Looking at 1915 for instance...
Armenian world is well aware of the reality and this reality will not change according to whether the countries of the world or Turkey accept it or not. Even if they do not accept, the name of what has happened is scratched on the conscience of the Armenian nation right from the start. Thus it cannot be the sole aim of the Armenian world to expect the reality to be admitted by the world or by Turkey.
Henceforth the time has come to let everyone alone with his or her own conscience.

***

In fact whether or not to accept the reality is everybody's own problem of conscience and this conscience itself is actually based on our common ground of humanity, on our identity of "human being".
Thus those who accept the truth actually purify their own humanity. It is a mistake of the Armenian world to make the healthy condition of Armenian identity be bound to whether or not the French, German, American and by all means the Turkish people recognize the genocide and this mistake should be left behind by now. Henceforth the time has come to remove oneself from this mistake and to get the "Turk" distanced from this active role within the Armenian identity.
All the pain suffered by the Armenian identity is more than enough and this pain should be left a little bit to the world of humanity from now on.

***

Unfortunately it is nothing else than a waste of time for the Armenian world to make its peace of identity dependent on the negative and indifferent stance of the "Turk" and to spend all its collective energy for letting the world countries carry out pressure to Turkey to recognize the genocide. Moreover, this waste of time is also postponing the revival of the Armenian identity.

From now on Armenian world should add such concepts for the future of its identity so that these concepts should be able to push the production capacity of this nation, which has been blunted.

For this reason it should be the main orientation to make such an attitude dominant over Armenian identity as to "carry its own pain and when necessary carry it on its shoulders until the end of the world."
Otherwise Armenian world will enchain itself to the sense of fairness of others to accept or not to accept the truth and this is then a real captivity in its own.

***

Those who believe that Armenian world will experience emptiness when it frees oneself from the "Turk" and that especially the disunion of the identity of Armenians of Diaspora will be accelerated are mistaken.

There is a much more vital factor that can be fill the gap of the "Turk" and this is the existence of the independent State of Armenia.
This new enthusiasm that didn't exist 15 years ago, is expected to play a much greater role about Armenian identity than any other impact or factor. The fact that Armenian world relates its future to the prosperity of this little country and to the happiness of those living there, will also be a sign of liberation from all the pain causing uneasiness.

***

For the Armenian identity the way of being freed from the "Turk" is simple:
Not to fight with the "Turk" anymore.
The new area where Armenian identity will look for its new sentences is also present:
To struggle for Armenia now.

Becoming acquainted with Armenia

The clean blood that will fill the vacuum of poisonous blood emerging through the lack of the "Turk" is present in the noble vein that will be established by the Armenian with Armenia.
It is only necessary to be aware of this existence.

Those responsible of this awareness are the administrations of Armenia rather than the Armenians spread to Diaspora.
It is of great importance that governments of Armenia are conscious of their responsibility and fulfill it.

***

However within the 12 year long period of independence, when we look at the relation between Diaspora and Armenia, it can be seen that Armenian governments are still unaware of the importance of this responsibility. Even a functional mechanism of "Diaspora-Armenia meeting" could not be established apart from a few showy "Pan Armenian Meetings".

The relation of Armenia and Diaspora has been hardly carried out, sometimes through the initiative of Diaspora and other times of Armenia but a permanent, moreover Armenia-based institutionalization has been not achieved.

***

However Armenia should have already established a special and very powerful Ministry of Diaspora. With this Ministry the problematic of how to reach every single Armenian individual who has been or will be spread to the most remote corners of the world, would turn to a common concern and then projects could be developed accordingly.

The fact that this could still not be done seems to be a great failure. With this lack of interest Armenia seems to be unaware of how a main root it is and Armenia is also thus unable to let this importance be felt by Diaspora.
This again shows that Armenia of course is worthy of the people of Diaspora but the same is not true for administrations of Armenia.

***

The role that a direct relation of Armenia with the individuals of Diaspora will play in the identity of Armenians of Diaspora and in the formation of new sentences of this identity is very great and indisputable.
Today the main aim of all the Armenian schools, language courses, social and cultural institutions and all other common activities is to carry on Armenian identity further to new generations, to protect it and if possible to improve it. For this aim millions of dollars are spent. What is reached as a consequence is a language that is known but is unable to be spoken and an identity deeming it sufficient to visit the church now and then.

However there is such an other reality and it is inevitable to do what is necessary for it. And this is the fact that the moral dialogue of Armenia with people of Diaspora itself is the most natural school.

***

For the identity of young people of Diaspora who have not visited these schools and churches, getting acquainted with this natural school called Armenia for a single time means a lot of things.
The root of the identity of young people is deeper when achieved through a single visit to Armenia rather than an Armenian identity given to these young people through education and by church for decades.

To test the validity of our thesis is not that much expensive. By saving some money it can be easily provided that young people spend 15 days of their annual holiday in the streets of Armenia.

***

It will be seen how these young people absorb deeply from the root their identity by this period of 15-20 days who before this visit to Armenia have been rather distant to Armenian identity.
From that moment on, it is impossible for these young people to forget their identity anymore regardless of where they live.

This identity has been injected directly into the vain...
Thus organizing special tours to Armenia for the youth is of great importance as an activity to earn an identity. Therefore such activities should be the top of the agenda of every annual program.

***

The sentences an identity receives directly from Armenia are an unexplainably rich gain. This situation resembles to give a sensitive plant, which has grown in a flowerpot back to its soil, water, and sun.

Trying is gratis and recommended to all.

Hrant Dink
Editor of the Armenian-Language Weekly Agos

31st July 2006

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898) Birthday Issue Special by Recep Guvelioglu : What Can Be Achieved In The Armenian Question

Exclusive for : http://armenians-1915.blogspot.com

Armenian and Turkish claims are still on both nations’ agenda. The Armenian Diaspora is pushing the leaders of their countries to recognize the events of 1915 as ‘genocide’ if they haven’t done so yet. Turkey claims that it was not ‘genocide’. People in Armenian Republic who are struggling with severe economic problems try to contribute to the Diaspora’s work.

There are two aspects of the problem:

1. What happened in the past?


2. What will happen in the future?

In terms of the past there are claims, accusations, cover-ups, deceptions, disinformation and falsifications on both sides. Even though digging out the ashes of history is basically the historians’ job- this is what Turkey says-, we should at least admit that the Armenians were massacred in 1915.

The problem lays on the legal definition of the crime. Genocide briefly means a deliberate, planned act to totally liquidate a race or a nation. Were those massacres “genocide” or not? This is the bottom line of the question.

Some of the evidences presented by the Armenian side in order to prove the “genocide” are untrue. To gain support of the public some falsifications have been created like number of victims or the Andonian letters…Armenian side in last two years started to include “the period of the Turkish independence war and Atatürk era” into the timeline of the relocation or deportation. These kinds of falsifications do not serve any purpose but weaken the claims.

Turkey’s one of the biggest faults is not publishing the catalogs of the documents of the General Security Directorate (Emniyet-i Umumiye) and the Political Crimes Department (Birinci Sube). Without these catalogs, Turkish Archives cannot be considered as completely open. All of the governments that came to power in Turkey after 1980 stated that they opened the archives, but they did not. This ignorance or deliberate lies gives the impression that something is hidden. Another is the rejection of massacres committed for example in Kütahya far from the Russian front.

Genocide briefly means a deliberate, planned act to liquidate a race or a nation totally.

The leaders of the Union and Progress Party (Ittihad ve Terakki) drafted the relocation law they gave the orders to enforce it. The same group sent 90.000 Turkish soldiers to the Allahuekber Mountains to assault on the Russian troops. Approximately 40 thousand of them died because of typhus and cold without firing a single bullet, due to the fact that they did not get enough reinforcements. Was this not a crime against Turks?

At that time there was only one medical school in Turkey, which was the Military Medical School in Istanbul. They sent all the med students to Gallipoli and all of them died there. There were no doctors in Turkey for 10 years.

In the four years they were in power, five thousand laws were passed in the parliament and none of them were seriously put into effect.

The leaders of the Union and Progress Party were not able to plan anything, even the genocide. If you look at the number of Armenians who were not relocated (from Izmir and Istanbul for instance) and the Armenians in the high posts of the Union of Progress Party, the genocide claims can not be realistic.

Actually the biggest problem is not what happened in the past. It is what will happen in the future…

With growing hate between the two nations we cannot go anywhere. Hate is blocking the road to tranquility, peace and possibly prosperity. The population of the Republic of Armenia is decreasing every year. People are fleeing from their own country because of poor living conditions. Will the recognition of “ genocide” make them prosperious?

Let’s say that Turkey recognizes the genocide. What will happen afterwards? Most of the Armenians would take a deep breath and say, “We got our ancestors’ revenge”. Yet, it would not have any effect on their lives. Some Armenians, mostly Armenian - Americans, would file suits against the insurance companies of 1915. They would get a good compensation from the companies, then those insurance companies would revoke these fines to Turkey and Turkey would pay it.

So, let’s say that the grandson of Andon who died during the relocation campaign of the Ottomans gets a good sum of money. The grandson of Khachatur who also died in the same era doesn’t get anything and would carry on the hate to his grandson. This is a vicious cycle… There would be no way out of it.

Recep Guvelioglu
29th July 2006

---

Recep Guvelioglu

Short Biography

I was born in Trabzon in 1947 and graduated from the Ankara University Law School. I have been a journalist for 35 years. I worked at the Turkish Radio and TV Corporation (TRT), the Anatolian Agency, Gunaydin newspaper, Voice of America and various magazines. Currently I am the Istanbul representative of The New Anatolian, one of the two English newspapers published in Turkey.

In 1973, two Turkish diplomats were killed by an old Armenian in Los Angeles. It was the first time that our generation - born and raised in Anatolia- started learning about what happened in the past. People living in Istanbul might have known something about the events occurred in 1915, but having been raised in Trabzon, I had known almost nothing on the Armenian Question.

After then I started my research, read many books and articles on the subject, listened to mostly second generation Armenians’ and Turks’ stories and discussed this issue with many people. Also since I lived in the United States for 7 years, I have had the opportunity to look at the other side of the coin. Many people in Turkey didn’t have the chance to read the books and articles that I was able to.

I am not going to get into the relationship between Armenian and Turkish citizens of Turkey in this article. Armenian citizens of Turkey are treated as equally as the others. I support them in their struggle to obtain religious foundations again and if they are being oppressed, they can count me in on their legal struggle.

Two nations that lived together for 700 years had become enemies due to the extreme nationalist movements and the superpowers’ intrigues. The struggle still continues in many forms. Turks and Armenians did not obtain anything else but hate. Without hate, these two nations can be together again, for the sake of future generations. In the article I’ll write my personal views on the issue I have to confess that no one who has been dealing with that kind of a bloody event can completely be unbiased.

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897) Birthday Issue Special by Baskin Oran** : The Reconstruction Of Armenian Identity In Turkey And The Weekly Agos*

Special for : http://armenians-1915.blogspot.com

Introduction: The Road to the Birth of Agos

Almost since ten years now the Armenian identity in Turkey has been going through a very radical process of reconstruction.

This non-Muslim minority, to use the terms of the Lausanne Peace Treaty of 1923, has started to participate to the country’s politico-cultural life very actively.

Every other day one of the community members writes in the newspapers or speaks at the TV channels.

Bookstore shelves are full of story books or novels by some twenty Turkish-Armenians writing in Turkish.

Armenians are running in municipal elections and one of them is now vice-mayor of Sisli, Istanbul.

Since a few years, the Armenian Patriarchate has been servicing e-mail news to a growing list of intellectuals.

Nowadays no CD with a title like “Anatolian Folk Songs” is recorded without one or more song in Armenian. A folk song group called “Knar” that started as a church choir has produced two CDs, “Anadolu Ermeni Türküleri” (Armenian Songs of Anatolia) and “Anadolu’dan Kafkasya’ya Ermeni Müzigi” (Armenian Music from Anatolia to the Caucasus). As much important was the fact that a joint album by Gasparian (the most famous “duduk” player, Armenian national instrument) and Erkan Ogur (the most famous “kopuz” player, Turkish national instrument from Central Asia) made it to the best selling list; music critics unanimously felt that it was a “must”.

In a recent movie about the notorious Wealth Tax of 1942 (“Salkim Hanim’in Taneleri”) a folk song called Sari Gelin (The Blond Bride) was sang in both languages, and the high level of the discussion that followed about the ethnic origin (Turk or Armenian?) of the song could not even be dreamed of just a few years ago.

One most surprising case is about Eddie (“Edi” in Turkish), an Armenian boy about 20 years of age. Crossing his heart and speaking in Armenian to himself in difficult moments during the entire program, Edi was declared by the public jury the winner of the very popular TV program “Biri Bizi Gozetliyor” (Someone’s Watching Us), the Turkish version of “Big Brother” in the US or the “Loft Story” in France..

These developments that would be sheer dream just a while ago have three important qualifications: First, the Community is entering the socio-political scene of Turkey, openly, with its own identity[1], and in a way to influence the national agenda strongly when the political atmosphere is rather unfavorable. Second, this process is making a vital contribution to Turkey’s democratization process mainly under EU’s influence. Third, this change of skin is paralleling to the recent developments of international human and minority rights.

The weekly Agos (in Armenian: trace of the plow) that started this process and that now plays the role of both its steering wheel and engine has been the outcome of certain particular needs, which should be examined carefully.

* * *

Students of the subject minorities know it well: Minorities formed by immigration easily integrate to their new country and even get assimilated. This is the position of Pomak, Bosnian, Circassian, etc. communities in Turkey. Those who resist to the dominant culture of the country are those autochthonous populations, peoples living on the land since time immemorial and getting their strength from being on their historical territory; this is the position of the Rum (=Hellenes of the Ottoman Empire and of Turkey) and Kurds of Anatolia.

Although Armenians were one of these few autochthonous peoples, they perfectly integrated. The reason was twofold:

One, unlike the Rum, the Armenians were not the heirs of a universal empire; they were also somehow isolated as a result of having seceded from the Orthodox Church at the Khalkedon Council of 451 and their particular alphabet also separated them from the rest of the Christendom. Consequently they perfectly integrated to the Ottomans, generally spoke Turkish at home, took Turkish family names by adding “ian” (son of) to it, gave innumerable artists, scientists, and administrators to the Empire, and very actively contributed to its modernization[2]. As a result, in an Empire where the Turks (Turcomans) revolted very frequently, Armenians never caused any problem well until the second half of the 19th century (after 1821 they were called Millet-i Sadika – The Faithful Nation).

Second, as a result of living on Silk and Spice roads, the Armenians had dwelled in handicrafts and trade, and the Ottomans encouraged them to go and settle in Istanbul to counterbalance the all-powerful Rum community and also let them set up an autocephalous Patriarchate in Istanbul in 1461.

In time, mainly four factors destroyed this harmony:

1) Oppression and exploitation of the administrators and of Kurdish/Circassian tribal leaders (suzerains) became unbearable as a result of the weakening of the central government in a period where the industrial goods of the West invaded and impoverished the market, slowly killing the handicrafts; 2) Great impact of 1789 ideas on the emergent Armenian petty bourgeoisie of Anatolia and of Diaspora; and also the class conflict between this rising petty bourgeois intellectuals and the Amira, Armenian aristocrat-grand bourgeois class; 3) Provocations by the Great Britain and Russian Empire among the Armenian petty bourgeoisie with a view to use the latter in the European power struggle called the Eastern Question; 4) The grudge of the Ottomans unable to accede to mercantilism against those who did (the non-Muslims), and also the matching grudge that Muslims (Millet-i Hakime, the Dominant Nation) started to feel against the non-Muslims when the latter became their theoretical equals by virtue of Tanzimat (1839) and Islahat (1856) firmans.

These four factors created a milieu in which Armenians of Anatolia started armed organizations in a view to obtain territorial autonomy; hence the start of mutual killings in Anatolia.

This created panic and reaction in Istanbul. A syndrome of disintegration slowly developed because unrest in the Balkans had now spread to the eternal enemy (Russian) border and also because the actor was now the Faithful Nation, which was confessionwise very close to the Russians. In this atmosphere, Abdulhamit II set up the notorious Hamidiye Regiments to curb the Armenian uprisings.

The dramatic drop of the curtain took place in the chaos of the First World War. For the Ottomans, who after the loss of the Balkans immediately faced the shocks of Sarikamis (Caucasus) and Dardanelles, the terrible feeling was that the Empire would soon be driven back to its cradle, Anatolia where the Armenian revolutionaries now cooperated with the advancing Russians. This chaotic socio-psychological atmosphere created an ideal milieu of relative administrative autonomy for a nucleus among the pan-Turkist Ittihat ve Terakki Party to get rid of the Armenians who were also blocking the road to Turan, Central Asia; hence the notorious Tehcir (deportation) of 1915[3].

* * *

The Armenian population in the Republic of Turkey in 1923 was 300.000, 170.000 of which in Anatolia and 130.000 in Istanbul. This figure is around 50.000-80.000 now. This dramatic fall points to a large scale migration from Anatolia to Istanbul and from there to the West.

Aside from the fact that material conditions were far better in the West, the real reason of this exodus was the negative impact on the Community of certain braking points. Although the Ataturk period (1923-38) was relatively peaceful, these major braking points, such as the notorious Varlik Vergisi (Wealth Tax) of 1942, Yirmi Kura Askerlik (Work Battalions), 6-7 September 1955 riots and the 1964 deportation of the Greeks[4], caused serious unrest among the Armenian community.

In this atmosphere the Community isolated itself from the majority and started a secluded life to protect its identity. But incidents of the next three decades were to prove that this self-isolation was no remedy for the protection of communal integrity.

As a matter of fact, in the 70s the Armenian nationalist organization ASALA started to kill Turkish diplomats, which yielded two important results: First, a very strong reaction in Turkey against ASALA, which was generalized as “Armenian terror” without distinction as to who the “Armenian” was. Second, the Armenians of Turkey who had absolutely nothing to do with this terror entered in a depressive mood, which greatly augmented their self-isolation. One of the dramatic outward expressions of this psychology was the self-cremation of a member of the Community, Artin Penik, in Taksim, the main square of Istanbul.

80s witnessed the intensification of this atmosphere when the notorious 12 September military coup strongly backed the “Turkish-Islamic Synthesis” to replace the Leftist ideology. Shaken by the ASALA terror, Turkish State and media went to the search of “Armenian Lackeys” behind the Leftist organizations, never qualifying the expression “Armenian”. What’s more, immediately after ASALA quitted the stage because its last bombing in the Orly airport in Paris (July 1983) created strong European reaction as it killed Europeans also, the Kurdish nationalist organization PKK started the terror in 1984. This was inevitably interpreted by everyone in Turkey as the Leftist, Armenian, and Kurdish organizations taking a coordinated row in a race to split Turkey. In this fight, soon degenerated into an undeclared civil war, the State and the media did not want to identify PKK with Turkish citizens of Kurdish origin and started to declare that the PKK leader Ocalan (“Apo”) was no Kurd but Armenian. We even know that at the time, an academic from Ankara was commissioned to search the family tree of Ocalan (apparently, with no positive result). The capture of some non-circumcised PKK militants was enough to spread the contention that “Armenian militants” were fighting in the PKK[5]. The photo of Ocalan with a cleric declared to be an Armenian priest and published in the large selling daily Sabah completed this picture.

Finally, in the 90s, the Armenian community of Turkey was shaken by a brand new problem. USSR had disintegrated, Armenia declared its independence and soon after invaded Nagorno Karabag, an Armenian-majority region of Azerbaijan. At this time Turkey had recognized the Republic of Armenia along with other ex-Soviet republics and was even giving this country electric power and wheat. But after it became clear that the invasion was not temporary, a strong reaction came to settle in the Turkish public opinion, and relations were severed as a result pressures from the public opinion and Azerbaijan. This meant more enmity towards the “Armenians”.

In all these cases, the term “Armenian” was used without any qualification and therefore Armenians of Turkey felt accused. This term soon became an insult in the media and was also used by the Minister of Interior herself as Ermeni Dölü (the Armenian Sperm).

Every time this happened, the self-isolation of Armenians of Turkey was further accentuated. Some militants of the “Turkish-Islamic Synthesis” in the Ministry of National Education found this milieu very profitable and went so far as to abolish the use of Armenian language in Armenian minority schools (Lausanne Treaty, art. 40). However, the democrat circles in the media strongly reacted and the right was restored a week later[6].

* * *
I) Agos: Its Publication, Objectives, Structure, Content, and Style
Publication

On 22 April 2001 the daily Cumhuriyet published, on the sixth anniversary of Agos, an interview with the latter’s redactor-in-chief, Hrant Dink, who tells about the story of this publication:

“Everything started when the Patriarch Karekin II invited a few friends over. It was the years 1994-95. There was something that bothered him a lot. Certain false news in the Turkish press were linking Armenians of Turkey with the PKK. The picture of Ocalan with an Armenian priest published in the front page of Sabah was presented as the proof of this cooperation. The reporting was fabricated, the Patriarch was helpless, and the note he sent to the newspaper had not been published. He asked us what should be done. (...) We all pointed out the following: The fact that the Community was closed to outside world and therefore was unable to express itself to the greater society was a great handicap. This could not go on like this. This secluded life was unable to save the Community from melting. There should be some kind of opening. The method should be setting up a dialogue with the Turkish press”.

In other words, the start of Agos took place in a totally negative atmosphere. On the other hand this showed how “dialectics”, in that sense that everything bears within its very negation, was meaningful: The Armenians of Turkey had to really be in trouble to destroy the shell that imprisoned them.

Objectives

After the meeting, the group organized a press conference and explained that the priest on the photo was not an Armenian cleric. The press was very interested and the group decided to hold monthly meetings with the media. The final decision was to found a newspaper in Turkish. In the same interview H. Dink explains the reasons:

1) The need to defend the Community point of view when needed, and also introduce the Armenians of Turkey to the national public opinion.

2) The younger generation and those who came to Istanbul from Anatolia don’t speak Armenian and we can overcome this only with a newspaper in Turkish.

3) It’s very difficult to raise intellectuals in a Community that uses Armenian only and we need a “kitchen” to open the channels.

These considerations found their reflection in the zero issue of Agos published on 25 February 1996. The first issue appeared on 5 April 1996. This date was also the Armenian Easter known as Surp (“Saint”) Zadik; it symbolized the rebirth of the Community, and the Patriarch Karekin II had saluted the publication as “a gift of Surp Zadik” in this first issue.

Structure
Careful about their autonomy, the founders of Agos did not look for a sponsor and founded the paper by contributing each 3.000-5.000 dollars and thus collecting some 18.000-20.000 dollars for a start; they also got about the same amount in credits. The publication was started thanks to the voluntary help of a few Turkish professionals as the group originally had only one professional journalist among them. As a non-profit organization, the weekly can currently stand on its feet with the revenues of subscription, sale and advertisements.

Agos started with 8 pages and sold 1.800 copies. It is now 12 pages, 3 in Armenian and 9 in Turkish, and sells 6.000. Of these, 1000 copies are sold to non-Community circles in Turkey, 2000 in various foreign countries, and the rest to the members of the Community and also at newspaper stands in various cities. It can also partly be read on the Internet (www.agos.com.tr). In the same interview, H. Dink says the best readers of Agos are “those who burn in the Diaspora with the Anatolian nostalgia”, as a result of which the weekly has subscribers in all continents.

The founders of Agos are between 30 to 60 years of age. All of them are university graduates, left (in US terminology: liberal) wing intellectuals who mainly are critical both of the Community and the State.

The personnel of Agos which includes two most senior journalists of the Community, Yervant Gobelyan and Hagop Ayvaz, is composed of about 30 salaried people, except the editor-in-chief who doesn’t get paid. Its columnists include three non-Armenians. The personnel is mostly composed of college students and also youngsters studying journalism. Since the foundation some 90 of them worked for Agos and are now working in various publications of the national press.

Content and Style

The following is a list of the main subjects treated on first page:

1) News depicting and answering any accusations against the Community, whichever source these may come from (the State, media, individuals, etc.). Main examples of these are those news, reports, etc. criticizing the State’s unfair treatment of Armenian foundations (waqf) and especially those pertaining to the “1936 Declaration”[7].

2) Human rights violations and problems of democratization in Turkey.

3) Main developments in the Republic of Armenia and in Caucasus, especially those pertaining to Turkey-Armenia relations and more particularly to the dialogue between the two countries.

4) The current situation of Armenian cultural heritage that contributed to the Ottoman Empire and Turkey, its importance, and any mistreatment these may encounter. Serials like “Bir Zamanlar” (Once Upon A Time) and “Ermeni Kadim Tarihi” (Armenian Ancient History) are cases in point which detail the Armenian existence in Anatolia before the First War.

5) Malfunctions in Community institutions and the non-transparency of their administration.

Agos is treating these subjects in a mild but determined style, and criticizes them by offering alternatives. The Patriarchate is not spared in these critics. Agos is generally critical of the current state of affairs in the Community and thinks it is not transparent enough. It strives to put an end to the isolation of the Community and it wants the Community to open to Turkish society with self-confidence.

Agos, which follows very closely all acts unfair to the Community, keeps its cool when the media overacts “in defense of the Armenians”. For instance, it carefully examines a media news about a “Senior citizen unable to get a free bus pass from the municipality because he is a non-Muslim” and writes that it is an “asparagas” (intentional false news). In fact, we learn that the false news was spread by the mayor of another municipality[8].


II) Main Observations, Theses, Methods, and Objectives of Agos

Up till now Agos had many observations and theses that did not coincide with those of the Community and of the Diaspora, and were even contrary to them. These can be summarized as follows:

1) Turkish language should be preferred to Armenian for many reasons. Because the majority of the Community doesn’t know enough Armenian to follow newspapers in this language and is therefore isolated from the Community. On the other hand, not using Turkish isolates him from the national majority.

2) The future of the Community is not promising, because the self-isolation that pushes it away from the majority cannot protect its identity. With the effect of globalization youngsters suffer slow and natural assimilation. The Community must open itself to the national society.

3) The main issue is to be able to get rid of the fear of assimilation. Once free from it, members of the Community will be more realistically able to protect their identity and make themselves accepted by the majority. The contemporary tendency is anyway towards integration with the society at large without getting assimilated into it.

Agos is trying to materialize this courageous observations and theses by publishing both in Armenian and Turkish. The 12-page weekly’s 3 pages in Armenian symbolize: “We’ll not be assimilated”, and the 9 pages of Turkish: “We want to get integrated”.

4) To reach this important and delicate objective, two main prerequisites must be realized:

First, to underline the important contributions of the Armenian heritage to the common Anatolian culture at the same time with opening to the Turkish society at large. This aim is being materialized also by publications other than Agos nowadays. In the last five years or so over 60 books are published about the Armenians of Turkey by Turkish writers and the Aras Publishing House, run by Armenians. The most recent of these is a 865-page book in very large format, written by Arsen Yarman on “Osmanli Saglik Hizmetlerinde Ermeniler ve Surp Pirgiç Ermeni Hastanesi Tarihi” (Armenians in Ottoman Health Services and the History of Saint Pirgiç Armenian Hospital) and published by the said Hospital.

Second, Armenians should be able to get rid of the residues of the past and look at the problems through the eyes of the other side (the majority) as well. In other words, Armenians should be able to display empathy. This will incite the majority to act the same.

This second observation, which H. Dink expressed by saying “Turkish-Armenian relations should be taken out of a 1915 meters-deep well”[9], is of great importance, because it is a hundred per cent against the genocide thesis of the Diaspora and the Republic of Armenia. In this context empathy has nothing to do with accepting or refusing the genocide.

According to Agos, the genocide discourse is not a historical term but a political one. It is cherished by the Diaspora for two important reasons: First, it is a “national cause” that hinder its assimilation; second, it increases its political influence in the host State. But the same discourse is blocking both the Turkish-Armenian dialogue and the integration that is in the good interest of Armenians in Turkey. What’s more, this blocking is being made while the Turkish intellectuals have started questioning 1915 in every way. Everyone should abstain from blocking a dialogue that would for sure be beneficial to everyone (the Diaspora, Republic of Armenia, Turkey).

5) The main methods to be used to get integrated without getting assimilated should be as follows:

First: To criticize the wrongs done by the State and underline the fact that a strong Turkey would be achieved if discrimination is eliminated. This should be done with seriousness, and a very careful and legally clear style.

Second: To criticize and therefore strengthen the Community. This will be made possible by criticizing three groups of individuals or groups: 1) Those who mismanage the Community institutions; 2) Those who don’t care to struggle to obtain rights by legal ways (“They can’t take away your rights as long as you don’t surrender them”[10]); 3) Those for whom nothing seems enough. That is to say, those who are never happy with the rights that the Community obtains and who are rather inclined to refuse its non-perfect gains. After all, this is a country that is very reluctant to concede rights to its majority as well.

Third: In order to continue to be influential and constructive, Agos should be very careful not to take sides between conflicting parties, i.e. between the Community and the State, between various institutions of the Community, between the State on one side and the Diaspora and the Republic of Armenia on the other. A good example of this is H. Dink’s article entitled “23,5 Nisan” (23,5 April)[11].

Four: Armenians of Turkey should rely on internal dynamics instead of external dynamics[12]. In history, Armenians have been used and abused over and over again, and have always been left to themselves by the big powers when calamity arrived. Internal dynamic (democracy) works much slower in this country and is much more painful, but it’s much safer and lasting.

Five: The rights of the Armenian community should not be constructed on the axis “Protection of Minorities” as expressed in articles 37-44 of the Lausanne Peace Treaty (=positive rights under international guarantee), but on “Prevention of Discrimination” (=negative rights=democracy). And this is so, for the simple fact that positive rights approach founded on international guarantee isolates the minority, sterilizes it in a milieu where it cannot protect its identity either, and identifies them as a target. Democratic rights founded on the “guarantee of Turkish public opinion” are more secure[13].

As to the founding objectives of Agos, H. Dink says in the same Cumhuriyet interview: “We reached well beyond our objectives in proportions we themselves have not expected” and explains:

1) Communication in the Community has developed considerably. For instance, 16.000 participated to the last Patriarchal elections while 5-6.000 had voted in the previous one.

2) Agos has succeeded to build a “kitchen” and has even raised many journalists.

3) It successfully introduced the Community to the Turkish society. Nowadays when any information about the Community is needed, it’s Agos that people come to. So much so that, now there is a real need for an Institute of Armenian Studies.

4) We set up links with many Turkish writers. Now we have many friends. They automatically speak in defense of us any time the need arises.

5) We can even say that an unpredicted mission has fallen upon us: The setting up of a dialogue between Turkey and Armenia, between Turkish and Armenian peoples. We are most pleased to try to work for it.


Conclusion

The weekly Agos is published with an approach very different from what the Armenian community had shown earlier. It has applied mild but determined methods to solve the chronic problems accumulated during the self-isolation days of the Community.

During its publication life so far, Agos has followed a neutral line that criticize both the Turkish State and the Diaspora.

It has not feared the Turkish State when it openly criticized its unfair policy of discrimination and resolutely defended its identity in an undemocratic atmosphere. As a matter of fact the newspaper was twice banned from circulation, as the State was not used to and/or prepared for such a different and determined approach[14].

On the other hand Agos has not feared the possibility of being considered by the Diaspora as a “Fifth Column” either, for resolutely refusing to accept the genocide approach, and for opting for a voluntary integration into the Turkish society.

In this picture, Agos is perfectly in line with the contemporary approach to human and minority rights and thus greatly contributes to the democratization process of Turkey. But its most important contribution to its host State resides in the fact that it brings, without knowing it, the only possible solution to Turkey’s greatest problem, the Kurdish Question, by offering a model founded on resolute insistence on its lower identity while voluntarily accepting the country’s upper identity.

---

* The title of this paper was inspired by a seminar paper in French prepared by Mehmet Timucin Hastas, student at Marmara University in Istanbul, for the academic year 1997-98, under the direction of Associate Professor Fusun Ustel: Agos ou La Reconstruction de l’Identite Armenienne.

** Professor of International Relations, Faculty of Political Science, Ankara University. oran@politics.ankara.edu.tr

[1] Armenians had always been on the artistic and scientific scene but with Muslim-Turkish names, not with their own identity.

[2] For example Ohannes Odyan Efendi was Prime Minister Mithat Pasa’s council in the preparation of the first constitution in 1876.

[3] This nucleus can be translated in the terms of contemporary Turkey as the “Derin Devlet”, the Deep State usually identified as “Gladio” in Europe (see interviews by Halil Berktay in the newspapers Radikal, 09 October 2000 (www.radikal.com.tr) and Milliyet, 20 October 2000 (www.milliyet.com.tr) . On the other hand, because it was conducted by this “Deep State” and not by “the State”, the Deportation did not follow a standard model. In some vilayets it was not applied. In some places people backed it up, in some they hindered it. But the fact that Armenians owned big properties that local notables and tribes could plunder has been detrimental. The fear that Armenians would return and retake their property according to Sevres Peace Treaty art. 144 was also the strongest reason why these same notables and tribes in eastern Anatolia sided with Ankara against the Allies and Greeks during the Turkish war of independence. See B. Oran, ed., Turk Dis Politikasi, Kurtulus Savasindan Bugune Olgular, Belgeler, Yorumlar (Turkish Foreign Policy, Facts-Documents-Comments, 1919-2001), Vol. I, Istanbul, Iletisim Publishers, December 2001, p.133-134.

[4] The first two of these regrettable incidents were acts of open discrimination against non-Muslims, the last two had targeted the Rum in an unfair endeavor to influence/punish Greece because of the Cyprus affair.

[5] See my Devlet Devlete Karsi (State vs. the State), Ankara, Bilgi Publishers, 1994, p.23-26.

[6] Ibid., p.13-22.

[7] This document which is an accomplished specimen of economic discrimination against Armenian foundations in Turkey is abundantly treated in many issues of Agos. See for instance my “Dinsel Ayrimcilikta Evelallah Kararliyiz” (Thanks God We Are Resolutely Decided in Religious Discrimination), Agos, 04 January 2002 (www.baskinoran.com).

[8] “Paso Haberi Dogrulanmadi” (The Bus Pass Incident Is Not True), Agos, 07 January 2000.

[9] H. Dink, “Diaspora’nin Koyu-2” (Diaspora’s Village-2), Agos, 14 April 2000.

[10] H. Dink, “Ne Yapmali?” (What’s To Be Done?), Agos, 23 November 2002.

[11] Agos, 26 April 1996. 23 April is Children’s and National Sovereignty Day in Turkey, while 24 April is taken as the symbol of Armenian massacres.

[12] “Dear Mr. President”, ibid.

[13] “Haydi Turkiye Birligine” (Let’s Walk to the Union of Turkey), Agos, 17 December 1999 (this is an editorial published after Turkey was declared a candidate to the European Union).

[14] Agos was finally acquitted in both cases. The first of these articles is Yervant Ozuzun’s “Aci Bir Kilometre Tasi ve Kultur Kirimi” (A Regrettable Milestone and a Cultural Massacre), Agos, 13 November 1998; it was an article on the Wealth Tax of 1942. The second is H. Dink’s “Bir Gun... 24 Nisan” (One Day... 24 April), Agos, 20 April 2001; it said that Armenian genocide discourse would no longer be a problem the day when it would be possible for the Armenians of Turkey to commemorate 24 April.

---

Baskin Oran
Professor of International Relations,
Faculty of Political Science, Ankara University.

CURRICULUM VITAE and LIST OF SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

PERSONAL DATA
Born July 26, l945, Izmir, Turkey. Turkish citizen. Male. Married, three children. Fluent in Turkish, French, English.

oran@politics.ankara.edu.tr

HIGHER EDUCATION AND DEGREES
- Ph.D, Faculty of Political Science (SBF) (1974).
- BA., SBF, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey (1968)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Lecturer (part time), Academy of the Turkish Foreign Ministry (since 1997).
Lecturer (part time), European Community Research Center, Ankara University (since 1991);
Lecturer (part-time), Faculty of Communications, University of Ankara (1997-2003);
Full Professor of International Relations at Faculty of Political Science (SBF), Ankara University (July 1997);
Visiting Associate Professor, University of Dokuz Eylul, Izmir, (1994-95);
Associate Professor, SBF, Ankara University (1991);
Returned to the SBF, Ankara University (upon the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court in September 1990);
Redactor, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Turkish Edition (1983-1990);
Research Associate, Institut Universitaire de Hautes Etudes Internationales (IUHEI), Geneva, Switzerland (1974-75);
Assistant Professor, International Relations Department, SBF, Ankara University, 1969-82. (Dismissed from the university, along with 72 other scholars throughout Turkey, on the order of the military government in November 1982);

OTHER POSITIONS
“National Liaison Officer” to Council of Europe’s European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) (since 1999).
Head of the Minority and Cultural Rights Sub-committee, Consultative Committee on Human Rights, State Ministry for Human Rights (since 2003).
Head, International Relations chair, SBF, Ankara University (since 1998).
Political Commentator, Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) Turkish Edition, Australia (1999-2006).
Political columnist in Agos, weekly newspaper published by the Armenian community in Istanbul (since February 2000).
Political columnist in Birgun, daily newspaper (2004)-2006
Political columnist in Hayvan, monthly magazine (since 2005)
Political columnist in the weekly magazines/newspapers Buyuk Meclis, Yeni Gundem, Ikibin'e Dogru, Tempo, Aydinlik (1985-2000);

MAIN FIELDS OF INTEREST
Nationalism,
Minorities,
Globalization,
Turkish foreign policy,
Religion-State relations.

COURSES TAUGHT (last three years):
BA level:
Turkish Foreign Policy-1, 1919-45 (2nd year);
Turkish Foreign Policy-2, 1945-1980 (3rd year);
Turkish Foreign Policy-3, (1980-2001) (3rd year);
Nationalism, Globalization, and Minorities (2nd year);
Current Issues in International Politics (4th year);

MA and Ph.D level:
Multiculturalism;
Theories of Nationalism;
Kurdish Nationalism in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey;
The Armenian Problem in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
BOOKS
(All the published books by B.Oran; in order of first publication; titles translated into English in bold characters, annotated between parentheses when title is not self-evident)

Azgelismis Ulke Milliyetciligi - Kara Afrika Modeli, Ankara, Faculty of Political Science Publications, 1977. 372 p. (“Nationalism in Underdeveloped Countries-The Black African Model”. The author’s Ph.D. thesis. Enlarged second edition in 1980, updated third edition in 1996).

Turk-Yunan Iliskilerinde Bati Trakya Sorunu, Ankara, Faculty of Political Science Graduates' Association Publication, 1986; 349 p. (“The Western Thrace Minority Question in Turco-Greek Relations”. Enlarged second edition in 1991).

Ataturk Milliyetciligi -- Resmî Ideoloji Disi Bir Inceleme, Ankara, Dost Publishers, 1988. 309 p. (“Kemalist Nationalism – A Non-Official Interpretation”. Enlarged editions in 1990, 1993, 1997, and 1999 by Bilgi Publishers).

Kenan Evren'in Yazilmamis Anilari, Ankara, Bilgi Publishers, 1989. 287 p. (“The Unwritten Memoirs of General Kenan Evren”. A documentary political satire of the 12 September 1980 coup d’Etat). Reprinted 8 times by the same publisher, re-published by Iletisim Publishers in 2006).

Kenan Evren'in Yazilmamis Anilari-Son Defter, Ankara, Bilgi Publishers, 1990. 206 p. (“The Unwritten Memoirs of General Kenan Evren, The Last Notebook”. Same political satire, volume II. Reprinted 3 times by the same Publisher, also re-published by Iletesim Publishers in 2006).

Nerde O Eski Mapusaneler, Ankara, Bilgi Publishers, 1991. 232 p. (“Diary of a Political Prisoner”; story of the 12 March 1971 military coup d’Etat. Re-published by Iletisim Publishers in 2005).

Devlet Devlet'e Karsi, Ankara, Bilgi Publishers, 1994. 239 p. (“The State Against Itself”. Author’s articles criticizing the State behavior concerning: the non-Muslims, the Kurds, the Muslim religion, foreign policy, the universities, and the press).

Kalkik Horoz - Cekic Guc ve Kurt Devleti; Ankara, Bilgi Publishers, 1996. 277 p. (“Operation Provide Comfort and the Kurdish State”. Kurdish, Turkish, and American policies in northern Iraq. Enlarged edition in 1998).

(ed.) Dunya ve Turk Politikasinda Karsilastirmali Zamandizini-1 and 2, 1919-44 and 1945-96, Ankara, FPS polycopied editions, 1996, 37 p. and 82 p. (“Comparative Chronology of Turkish and World Politics-1 and 2, 1919-44 and 1945-95”, polycopied text prepared under the direction of B.Oran).

Kuresellesme ve Azinliklar, Ankara, Imaj publishers, 1998. 180 p. (“Globalization and Minorities”, enlarged editions by the same publisher in 1999, 2000, and 2001).

Yunanistan’in Lausanne Ihlalleri, Ankara, SAEMK publications, 1999. 96 p. (“Greece’s Violations of the Lausanne Treaty”. The author is currently preparing a comparative edition of this book under the title of: “The Lausanne Violations: A Comparative Study of Greek and Turkish Policies since 1923”).

(ed.) Turk Dis Politikasi-Kurtulus Savasindan Bugune Olgular, Belgeler, Yorumlar, Istanbul, 2 Volumes, Istanbul, Iletisim Publishers, 2001. Vol I: 900 p., Vol.II: 637 p. (“Turkish Foreign Policy - Facts, Documents, Comments Since 1919” This collective work is currently being used as textbook by twenty-one international relations departments in Turkish universities. Its translation into English is expected to be completed mid-2006).

Dalavera Memet’in Bodrum Tarihi, Istanbul, Iletisim Publishers, 2004, 188 p. (“History of Bodrum as told by Dalavera Memet” This is a local and oral history book about the well-known town, reprinted twice)

Eniste Gozuyle Bodrum, Istanbul, Ilesitim Publishers, 2004, 271 p. (“Bodrum from the Eyes of a Bodrum Bridegroom”; a collection of the authors articles about Bodrum, reprinted twice).

Turkiye’de Azinliklar, Kavramlar – Teori – Lozan – Ic mevzuat – Ictihat – Uygulama, Istanbul, Iletisim Publishers, 2004, 253 p. (“Minorities in Turkey, Concepts – Theory – Lausanne – Legislation – Jurisprudence. Reprinted twice).

M.K. Adli Cocugun Tehcir Anilari – 1915 ve Sonrasi, Istanbul, Iletisim Publishers, 2005, 160 p. (Deportation Memories of a Child Named M.K. – 1915 and Aftermath, reprinted twice).

Turkiye Insan Haklari Bilancosu – 2005 Izleme Raporu, Istanbul, TESEV Publications, 2006, 96 p. (Human Rights Balance-sheet of Turkey – 2005 Progress Report)

BOOKS TRANSLATED
Hans Morgenthau, Uluslararasi Politika, Guc ve Baris Mucadelesi Ankara, Turkish Association of Political Science Publication, 1970. (with Unsal Oskay). (“Politics Among Nations-The Struggle for Power and Peace”), in 2 volumes).

George Homans, Insan Grubu Ankara, TODAIE Publication, 1971. (with O.Onaran and U.Oskay). (“The Human Group”).

SELECTED ARTICLES
(In order of publication; articles published in languages other that Turkish highlighted in red; titles of articles in Turkish translated into English in bold characters):

"Ic ve Dis Politika Iliskisi Acisindan Ikinci Dunya Savasinda Turkiye'de Siyasal Hayat ve Sag-Sol Akimlar" Siyasal Bilgiler Fakultesi Dergisi (SBFD), Cilt XXIV, no.3 (Eylul 1969), s.227-275. (“A Study on the Interaction between Foreign and Domestic Politics: Political Life and Ideological Currents in Turkey during WW II”, in Review of the Faculty of Political Science - SBFD).

"Turkiye'nin 'Kuzeydeki Buyuk Komsu' Sorunu - Turk-Sovyet Iliskileri, 1930-1970" SBFD, XXV, no.1 (Haziran 1971), s.41-93. (“ ‘The Big Neighbor in the North’: Turkey-USSR Relations, 1930-70”, in SBFD).

“Birlesmis Millletler’de Cin Sorunu”, SBFD, XXVI, no. 2 (June 1971), s.19-35. (“The Problem of Chinese Representation in the United Nations”, in SBFD).

"On Minority Terror and State Terror", Istanbul University International Law and International Private Law Bulletin, no.1 (1982), pp.8-14.

"The Inhanli Land Dispute and the Status of the Turks in Western Thrace". Journal, Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, V, no.2 (July 1984), London, 1985, pp.360-370.

"Occidentalisation, nationalisme et 'Synthèse turco-islamique'", Cahiers d’Etudes sur la Méditerranée Orientale et le Monde Turco-Iranien (CEMOTI), no.10 (Juin 1990), pp.33-53.

"La Minorité turco-musulmane de la Thrace occidentale", in Le Différent Gréco-Turc (Ed. Semih Vaner), Paris, Harmattan, l988, pp.145-161.

"Religious and national identity among the Balkan Muslims: A Comparative Study on Greece, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Kossovo", CEMOTI, no.18, 1994, pp308-323.

"Lozan'in 'Azinliklarin Korunmasi' Bolumunu Yeniden Okurken”, SBFD, Cilt 49, no.3-4 (1994), p. 283-301.(“Lausanne Treaty's "Protection of Minorities" Section Revisited” in SBFD).

"La Politique Turque dans les Balkans et le Caucase", Le Rôle Géostratégique de la Turquie, Didier Billion (ed.), Paris, Iris Presse, 1995, pp. 29-37.

"Azgelismis Ulkelerde Aydin ve Milliyetcilik”, Turk Aydini ve Kimlik Sorunu (Ed. S. Sen), Istanbul, Baglam Publishers, 1995, p.385-393. (“Intellectuals and Nationalism in Underdeveloped Countries”, in Turkish Intellectuals and the Identity Problem).

"Uluslararasi ve Ic Hukukta Cekic Guc'un Yasal Dayanaklari Sorunu," Ankara
Universitesi Siyasal Bilgiler Fakultesi, Cilt 50,No 3-4, Haziran-Aralik 1995, s.257-270. (The Legal Basis Question of the Operation Provide Comfort in Turkish and International Law” in SBFD).

"Teoride Milliyetcilik ", Turkiye'nin Kurt Sorunu, Istanbul, TUSES, 1996, p.21-28. (“Nationalism in Theory” in Kurdish Question in Turkey).

"The Sleeping Volcano in Turkish-Greek Relations: The Western Thrace Minority", Turkish Foreign Policy, Recent Developments (ed. Kemal Karpat), Madison, Wisconsin, 1966, pp.119-138.

"Kurt Milliyetciligi: Dogusu ve Gelismesi", Turkiye'nin Kurt Sorunu, Istanbul, TUSES, 1996, p.33-46. (“The Genesis and Development of Kurdish Nationalism in Turkey” in Kurdish Question in Turkey).

“Thoughts on the State and Kurdish Identity in Turkey”, Contrasts and Solutions in the Middle East, (Ed. by Ole Hoiris and S. Martin Yurukel), Aarhus University Press, 1998, pp.489-499.

“Turkish Approach to Transcaucasia and Central Asia”, Contrast and Solutions in the Caucasus (Ed. By Ole Hoiris and Sefa Martin Yurukel), Aarhus University Press, 1998, pp.455-467.

“Bedeutet Globalisierung Imperialismus”, Globalisierung, Migration und Multikulturalitat, Hannover, IKO-Verlag fur Interkulturelle Kommunikation, 1999, pp.49-60.

“Kuresellesme Ortaminda Turkiye’de ‘Birlik ve Beraberlik’, Kurt Kimligi ve Gelecek Uzerine Dusunceler”, Tarih ve Milliyetcilik, I. Ulusal Tarih Kongresi, Bildiriler, Mersin Universitesi, 30 Nisan-2 Mayis 1997, Mersin, 1999, s.23-33. (“Thoughts on National Unity and the Kurdish Identity in Turkey”, in History and Nationalism).

“Linguistic Minority Rights in Turkey”, The Kurdish Conflict in Turkey, Obstacles and Chances for Peace and Democracy (ed. By Ferhad Ibrahim and Gulistan Gurbey), New York, St. Martin’s Press and Munster, Lit Verlag, 2000, pp.151-158.

“Kemalism, Islamism, and Globalization: A Study on the Focus of Supreme Loyalty in Globalizing Turkey”, Journal of Southeastern European and Black Sea Studies, Vol. 1, no.3 (September 2001), London, Frank Cass, pp.20-50.

“Bir Insan Haklari ve Cokkulturculuk Belgesi Olarak 1923 Lausanne Baris Antlasmasi”, Kopenhag Kriterleri (ed. by I.Kaboglu), Istanbul, Istanbul Barosu Yayini, November 2001, s.210-219. (“1923 Lausanne Treaty as a Document of Human Rights and of Multiculturalism”, in Copenhagen Criteria).

“Kurt Milliyetciliginin Diyalektigi”, Milliyetcilik (ed. Tanil Bora-Murat Gultekingil), Istanbul, Iletisim, 2002, s.871-880. (“Dialectics of Kurdish Nationalism”, in Nationalism, ed. by Tanil Bora and Murat Gultekingil)

“ABD’nin ve Turkiye’nin Irak ve Kurtleri Politikasi”, Birikim, no.168 (Nisan 2003), s.10-25. (“US and Turkish Policy on Irak and its Kurds”)

"The Story of Those Who Stayed, Lessons from Articles 1 and 2 of the 1923 Convention", Crossing the Aegean: An Appraisal of the 1923 Compulsory Exchange of Populations between Greece and Turkey, (ed. by Renee Hirschon), Berghahn Books, Oxford, New York, 2003.

“1936 Beyannamesi”, Cemaat Vakiflari, Bugunku Sorunlari ve Cozum Onerileri, Istanbul, Istanbul Barosu Insan Haklari Merkezi Azinlik Haklari Calisma Grubu Yayini, 2002, s.22-27, 52-54, 59, 71-72. (“Problems of non-Muslim Foundations in Turkey”)

“Ulusal Egemenlik Kavraminin Donusumu, Azinliklar ve Turkiye”, Anayasa Yargisi, Anayasa Mahkemesinin 41. Kurulus Yildonumu Nedeniyle Duzenlenen Sempozyumda Sunulan Bildiriler, 25-26 Nisan 2003, Ankara, Ankara Universitesi Basimevi, 2003, s.61-93. (“Evolution of the National Sovereignty Concept and Minorities in Turkey”, in Constitutional Jurisdiction, published by Turkish the Constitutional Court).

“Turk Dis Politikasinda Ulusal Bagimsizlik”, Ozgurlesme Sorunlari, Mehmet Ali Aybar Sempozyumlari 1997-2002, Istanbul, Turkiye Ekonomik ve Toplumsal Tarih Vakfi Yayinlari, 2003, s.261-271. (“National Independence Concept in Turkish Foreign Policy”, in Problems of Independence).

“Insan ve Azinlik Haklarinin Disaridan Dayatilmasi Sorunu”, Insan Haklari ve Guvenlik, Turkiye Barolar Birligi Yayini, Ankara, Sen Matbaa, [2003], s.80-88. (“The Problem of Foreign Imposition of Human and Minority Rights”, in Human Rights and Security, published by Union of Bar Associations of Turkey).

“Kuresellesme-Bagimsizlik Iliskisi ve Ikilemi”, Sekseninci Yilinda Turkiye Cumhuriyeti Sempozyumu, Ankara, 31 Ekim-1 Kasim 2003, Turkiye Barolar Birligi Yayini, 2004, s.94-103. (“Globalization-Independence Relation and Dilemma” in symposium proceeding published by Union of Bar Associations of Turkey).

“The Meeting Point: Thoughts on a Potential Geostrategic Interaction Between a ‘Challenger’ and a ‘Strategic Medium State’ “, Turkey and the EU, From Association to Accession?, 6 and 7 November 2003, Record of the High-Level Round Table Conference, Amsterdam, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Netherlands, [2004], pp.183-188.

“1999 Elections in Turkey: Nationalists and Globalization”, Elections in the Middle East, What do they mean? (ed. by Iman A. Hamdy), The American University in Cairo Press, Cairo Papers in Social Science Vol. 25, no.1-2, 2004, pp.124-131.

“National Sovereignty Concept: Turkey and Its Internal Minorities”, Cahiers d’Etudes sur la Mediterranee Orientale et le Monde Turco-Iranien (CEMOTI), no.36, Juillet-Decembre 2003, pp.33-62.

“Les Consequences de l’apres-11 Septembre sur les Relations UE-Turquie”, Didier Billion, ed., La Turquie vers un Rendez-vous Decisif avec l’Union Europeenne, Paris, IRIS, 2004, pp137-146.

“Etat et Religion en Turquie”, Multitudes, no.9, Octobre 2005, pp.12-16

Articles in print:
“Son Tabunun Kokenleri: Turkiye Kamuoyunun Ermeni Sorunundaki Tarihsel-Psikolojik Tikanisi” (The Origines of the Last Taboo: Historical/Psychological Problems of the Turkish Public Opinion concerning the Armenian Issue), to be published in Ankara, Turkey by Gazi University.

“Minorities in Turkey: Concept, Rights, Legislation, Implementation, and Jurisprudence / with special emphasis on 1923 Lausanne Peace Treaty Section III)” to be published in N.Y., USA in Zehra Arat (ed.), Human Rights in Turkey

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896) Birthday Issue Special by Ergun Kirlikovali : Happy Birthday armenians-1915.blogspot.com !

Exclusive for http://armenians-1915.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday !

If you are reading these lines, then you are witnessing a tremendous success story. A website inspired, designed, and put in service by a small group of dedicated individuals "down-under" only 12 short months ago, http://armenians-1915.blogspot.com , has already become a vast resource on the history of the Turkish-Armenian conflict of World War One as well as Turkish-Armenian relations today. My heartfelt congratulations go to Lara Kaplan and her volunteer team whose enthusiasm, selfless dedication, and hard work are going a long way in leveling the playing field for all Turks by bringing to the attention of the world much ignored flip side of a controversial issue.

How little is "the other side of the story " known? Let us look at some statistics:

• If you do a Google search on the word "genocide", you get 43.6 million entries;


• If you then add the word "Armenian" before it, the number of entries drops to 2.36 million.


• If you further add the word "alleged" to the front of your search, the number of entries dwindles to 163,000 entries.

It is safe to assume, within reason, of course, that the word "alleged" is written in response to the Armenian claims and, therefore, probably reflects the Turkish views.
These quick numbers, with all of their defects, repetitions, assumptions, and other deficiencies, still tell us a lot about how the Armenians have managed to cultivate the Turkish-Armenian conflict of World War One into a bogus genocide and how weak the Turkish response has been.

Here are some of the topics to ponder in the light of the above statistics:

1. A whopping 5.4 % of world literature on this topic seems to have been generated by the Armenians. Not bad for a land-locked, poverty stricken, war-mongering, tiny dictatorship with about 2 million inhabitants whose major exports are illegal aliens, international terrorism, military aggression, and ethnic cleansing, and whose major imports are foreign aid, Russian weapons, and embargoed Turkish consumer goods.



2. Roughly 6.9 % of those bogus Armenian claims are responded to by the Turks and/or friends of Turks. Not good at all for a great country of 75 million who enjoy the 16th largest economy in the world with a landmass larger than California and Texas, surrounded by four picturesque seas, four wonderful seasons, endowed with a generous array of natural resources, has been home to 29 past civilizations, and bursting at the seams with universities and colleges.

Now if you key in the term "ethocide" - which I had coined in 2003 in response to the alleged Armenian genocide - the number of entries drops down to 440. Ethocide , coined from "ethics" and "cide", means "extermination of ethics via deliberate, malicious, and systematic mass deception for political gain" (This is the short definition anyway; for longer definition, please see the archives in my column at www.turkla.com ) The way I intended, our children will have an easier time refuting the baseless Armenian claims with a simple remark: "ethocide, not genocide". They will not have to tackle intimidating debates, remember books full of facts, write lengthy letters, talk endlessly to make their point. For this plan to work, though, the word ethocide must be used often and popularized by every Turk and friend of Turk, so that when a disinterested third party hears it, s/he will know its meaning instantly. But 440 entries in Google is woefully insufficient to achieve this objective. It is up to our global community of Turks, Turkish expatriates, and friends of Turks now, to breathe life into the term ethocide. I created it for you, for us, for our children, so help us turn it into a functional and effective tool by using it in your letters and chats!

As the above statistics clearly show, Armenians get read and heard more than Turks and Turkish responses are few and far in between. This creates a lopsided coverage of the Turkish-Armenian conflict in the media. It is against this backdrop that I made the above comment about "leveling of the playing field" by the resourceful Lara Kaplan and her wonderful team . Now, it is easier for any reader to find a wealth of information on any specific Armenian claim. And that, I am sure you will agree with me, is no small achievement by any measure.

Just look at this impressive list to appreciate what Kaplan et. al. have been able to achieve in just a year:

They created a searchable article site of 5000 pages about the Falsified Armenian Genocide by Prof Mc Carthy, Samuel Weems, Edward Tashji, Davis, Gen Mayewski, Dr Barton, Dr Mango, Morgenthau, Lerner, Balakian, Pataki, Henze, Prof Heath Lowry, Dixon-Johnson, Pierre Loti, AU Amb Peters, Prof. Salahi Sonyel, Prof. Guenter Lewy, Katchaznouni, Keresteciyan, Wolfowitz, Fein, Feigl, Albert Amateau, Prof Yapp, Dewey, Prof Bernard Lewis, Graves, Adm Bristol, Egoyan, and more.

They gave easy access to massive archives on Armenian Diaspora related topics:

• www.tallarmeniantale.com ( An equally fantastic job by one my heroes, Holdwater, is mirrored here, with his kind permission, of course.)


• Excerpts of rare books by resourceful researcher Mr Sukru Server Aya


• Ara Baliozian's friendly views promoting tolerance,


• Assoc Prof Dr Sedat Laciner's works from turkishweekly.net,


• Mr Dogu Perincek's vast series of striking articles,


• Timely articles from www.ermenisorunu.gen.tr ,


• Turkish University Conference Notes,


• Turkish, British, American, German, Russian Archives,


• News articles from Turkish, Armenian, American, and European media


• Others…

In addition, they made available by visit or free downloads the following resources:

• RSS feeds : For offline reading (full articles without you actually visiting the site)


• E-Book : For downloading the entire site for future reading


• Translations: Into 5 languages Italiano, Francais, Deutsch, Espanol, Portuguese


• "E-Mail this article" : mailing the articles to friends using blogger post by simply clicking at the end of each article

Congratulations are in order but not nearly enough. We all have got to do more. You, the reader, for example, can share your thoughts and feelings with this site which might start a debate which, in turn, might pull in more users with new information and resources. That's how websites grow. That's also how our databanks will grow and our movement to enlighten the world will grow with it…

Will you do your part friend?

For a little motivation for you, I would like to quote from a sincere letter written by a Professor Thomas Goodrich who was one of the brave signatories of the famous declaration of May 19, 1985 by "69 Scholars", drawing intimidation from Armenian falsifiers and a smear campaign from some Turk haters calling themsleves genocide scholars (This letter appeared in 1980s in PTAA Digest , a periodical publication by Pennsylvania Turkish American Association - I got it from www.tallameniantale.com.)

"… As a historian I have come to realize that the events in the headlines of newspapers are usually not so important as the small changes that come to fill our lives… It is not insightful or scholarly articles and books or even the meetings of presidents of countries that make difference so much as what PTAA and similar organizations actually do.

What to do? Just living in the United States and being known as Turk makes an impression. You are obviously not a wild horseman riding a ragged pony from the Siberian steppes nor are you an ignorant peasant off the rocky fields of Anatolia, mush less a professional wrestler known with the alternative name of The Terrible Turk.

There are more specific steps to take as well. Correct errors in fact and in assumptions. Read the books used in local schools and let both teacher and publishers know what you think. Ethnic studies in the spirit of a pluralistic nation and world are growing in this country. …Make sure that the study of the issue is open minded, with more than one viewpoint expressed…

Correct other facts and opinions in all media: magazines, newspapers, and television. Most people would like to learn and correct errors about Turks and Turkey and are quite open. This leads to the problems more difficult than errors - ignorance and lack of interest… As Turks, you need to be available for any group interested in learning… Present activities in schools, Rotary, Elks, Junior Chamber of Commerce, local photography club, etc. Public relations is tiring yet can be effective.

Finally find out what others are doing, not only other Turkish-American associations but similar ethnic groups to determine what works. There are types of activities that are successful. There are organizations that have advice. Be in touch with Turkish Studies Association, The Institute for Turkish Studies, and the Middle East Centers in universities such as Pitt, Ohio State, Penn State, Texas and UCLA.

PTAA is already recognized as a dynamic active association. Continue to grow and be a dynamic pressure in improving the image of Turks and Turkey in Western Pennsylvania, the Tri-State region, and beyond.

Kolay gelsin…"

Thank you Professor Thomas Goodrich, for that timeless and priceless letter…

And thank you Lara Kaplan and her dedicated volunteer team for creating http://armenians-1915.blogspot.com …


Ergun KIRLIKOVALI
www.turkla.com'
Los Angeles, USA
July 29, 2006

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895) Birthday Issue Special by Sukru S Aya : A message to esteemed readers of Armenians-1915

Exclusive for: http://armenians-1915.blogspot.com

Although I am not a scholar or preacher but just an ordinary person, I take pleasure in following this Web site, which I find very balanced, educative, and polite. Hence, when asked to write something on occasion of the first anniversary of the site, I felt honored and willing to share our joint effort to establish a common logical understanding, amidst this fight of you did, you deny, you criminal, me superior Arian, you inferior Mongol raceand similar nonsense.

Since I was away for a while, it took me some time to read the bulletins, which were edited in my absence, and I find nearly all of them, very informative and current.

I spent considerable time in going through the exchange of letters between Mrs. Maral Ohanesian and Dr. Sedat Laciner, both of whom I have not met, but know from their writings. I had some sort of sympathy for persons like Maral or Ara Sarafian, who frankly tell what is disturbing them and which is a positive step towards dialogue. Plus the fact that we learn some other viewpoints!

I was saddened to note the escalating temper of Mrs. Ohanesian, and in particular her insults towards the phantom of truth Hold-Water and calling such (rightly cautious) person a coward, and the distinguished Professor and my close friend for more than 65 years, Turkkaya Ataov a charlatan Although I do not want to be any part of such correspondence between the two, I regret to note that the Diaspora speakers have no serious interest in any pacification for this conflict they created, and they must keep the show or feud going on. Since the correspondence has been made public, I will comment on other bulletins separately, later.

In light of some additional references I have found, I will be writing another short commentary about some of the bulletins. As much as I want this nonsense to stop at once and forever, I suspect that I will not be able to see this happening in my lifetime because of strong prejudices, fanatic brainwashing, and conflicts of interest.

What I have started to be afraid of, is the fact that Diaspora Armenians are increasing their involvement in the Turkish Armenian community, taking advantage of existing freedom and tolerance, and are trying to invent frictions between Armenians of Turkey and the majority population of the country they are citizens of. Despite the provocative writings of Hrant Dink, who was recently in California and possibly got directives from ANCA, Patriarch Mesrob II has the full confidence of the whole community and Turks and is an important safety valve in avoiding the occurrence of hundred year old agitations or salvage of Armenian brothers in Turkey. I know several friends within the Turkish Armenian community, whom I love and trust for their sense of humanity, equality, love for all and share of joy or sorrow. All of them are people that can be fully trusted on all matters. May be it is this sense of obligation that has inspired me to write these lines.

Of course, there have always been some traitors (mostly infected from outside sources) but on the other hand there have been too many citizens who not only served, but also died for their country. I know of Turkish families having adopted Armenian children and a close (Turkish Armenian) friend of mine had adopted a Turkish girl despite the fact that they had their own children. There were even hearsays that my mother in law, was one of the converted Armenian girls! The love between Ali and Haiganush or Hagop with Ayse is absolutely normal...if you have the same feelings and sentiments!. I sometimes wonder, in appreciation of the Armenian talent and ability in all phases of art (music, painting, literature, etc.) as well as all types of craft, architecture, jewelry and name it all... Then how come the second or third generation of Armenians, who have never lived or known the group of people called Turks(simply because they all speak the Turkish language, and accept to be called TURK, although they come from too many ethnicities) can be so much goaded with feelings of hatred, vengeance and animosity, wishing the bad for some people they never had anything to do with, other than hearsay.

Let some stupid Armenian child, reject to eat a biscuit because it came from Turkey, or let columnistsand strange scholars stripped off love and compassion, spill their hatred over papers and satisfy their anger of fantasies... I will still love my friends in Turkey, and abroad, I will still trust Surp Prgic Armenian hospital and joke with my dear frienddoctor Yetvart and entrust my life without any concern of any kind...
I know that our friends and community of Armenians in Turkey for over 100.000, think, or feel affectionately, like I do... Who cares if you are baptized or circumcised, if you go to a Church or Mosque or Havia, or none of them! Only weak characters need to be preached by leaders or clergy, who do not trust the intelligence and goodwill of their own people.

I do not know, if I need to compliment the Armenian Diaspora and Tashnak ideology, for being so successful in indoctrinating (or goading) such a large community and keeping them united under the identity, first being of noble Armenian (Aryan) race, Secondly being Christian, and lastly of the nationality of the country each live.

Those who read Heather S. Greggs paper (http://web.mit.edu/cis/www/migration/pubs/rwp/13_divided.pdf) may be surprised, even proud of the size and coordination of such an extensive mechanism, whose only duty is to degrade Turks and Turkey whenever possible and find sources of restitution... and actually this is the main reason, as regards why the show must go on...

Who is auditing the large flow of cash for the sacred cause of helping Armenia... But how many have invested there, how many would visit their home country or even support one orphan child through life? Instead of acting personally it is easier, safer to make your donation and pray for salvation or beg superpowers to give or protect Armenians at all times. Everywhere!.. There are only 2.5 million Armenians left in Armenia; living in economic hardships and only 4% of these endorse the genocide mirage.! And there are at least 5-6 million well-to-do-Armenians in the World, marketing the poor-victims-needy dramatization!... The bitter truth is that some rich ones, become richer selling this ideology and entrust the church prayers for salvation instead of using their own intelligence and initiative.

Just compare how much the tiny Armenia is losing, just because of her militarist claims of land from Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and even Iran, by being pushed aside in large projects such as pipelines, railway connection, etc. ... The US Congress or words of this or that parliament, does not bring any bread to the stomach of the industrious, clever but continuously brainwashed people of Armenia.

Who are the most commercial and artisan people of the region for centuries? Of course Armenians... but instead of taking the money out of the pockets of their neighbors wisely by trading andserving, they preferred to do it by force.. . If Hitler could have mobilized that industrial power to trade with the World instead of trying to conquer it...by now the whole world would have become the bee hives of Hitler! Tashnaks have done that error in the past, and are repeating it this very day, giving `bullets and hopesfor their people, feeding them with grudge and vengeance instead of bread and butter! If Tashnaks think that the super powers; which used Armenians as pawn in the past (and today), will provide tangible results for them... they can keep on hoping and begging forever!

Addressing to the Diaspora leaders, I invite them to be positive about the whole issue and mobilize their efforts (not empty propaganda) for a better understanding between all humankind...I could have been a Buddhist or Hindu and that would have had no difference... It is a complete waste of time and life for some people to expect awards in the afterlife, and live this short life, miserable or unhappy...

Happiness, joy,sorrow, grudge, love, pity, compassion and similar feelings are all within the scope of your intelligence and private life of imagination, where no one can intrude, unless you let him/her... Forget about the nonsense, such as royal blood (they look only at Rh at transfusions) or Salvation or Huris in paradise... and dont make them part of your true life; you live but only once, and therefore you should make it as pleasant and as happy as possible. I leave those who are scared to use their own intelligence and prefer to be goaded by leaders of diverse types to their own preference.

Ataturk said, The truest preacher is knowledge. . Every one can make his/her own choice.
And dont forget that obsessions full of grudge and revenge, is a much too heavy burden of simplicity if not of stupidity, to carry through life, for comfort or discomfort, of those who want to be part of the flock or own-self.

P.S. There are much worse current dramas going on in the world, which is not stopped by the superpowers, and I think it is totally absurd or paradoxical, not to see these very days and argue for some dramas hundred years old. Love, patience, compassion, and best wishes for all...

Sukru S. Aya
Istanbul. 27.7.2007

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Birthday Messages

Happy Birthday !
If you are reading these lines, then you are witnessing a tremendous success story. A website inspired, designed, and put in service by a small group of dedicated individuals “down-under” only 12 short months ago, http://armenians-1915.blogspot.com , has already become a vast resource on the history of the Turkish-Armenian conflict of World War One as well as Turkish-Armenian relations today.

My heartfelt congratulations go to Lara Kaplan and her volunteer team whose enthusiasm, selfless dedication, and hard work are going a long way in leveling the playing field for all Turks by bringing to the attention of the world much ignored flip side of a controversial issue.

Thank you also for creating one of the most impressive databanks on the Turkish-Armenian history your very first year.

Best wishes,
Ergun KIRLIKOVALI

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Dear Lara,
Let me first to congratulate you all. You are doing a wonderful good to both sides. I myself saw with my own eyes how Armenians of Turkey in Australia were keen on bringing an understanding between these two people when I and my wife were in Sydney and Melbourne a few years ago.

Love to you all,
Baskin Oran

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A Big Congratulations And Well Done Indeed.

Enjoy The Party!
From The British European Turks

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Dear Lara
I congratulate you on your first year. Wish you more success.

Best wishes,
Dogu & Mehmet Perincek

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894) Birthday Special : Thank you for your encouraging thoughts, valuable contributions and continual support

Birthday Messages Happy Birthday !
If you are reading these lines, then you are witnessing a tremendous success story. A website inspired, designed, and put in service by a small group of dedicated individuals “down-under” only 12 short months ago, http://armenians-1915.blogspot.com , has already become a vast resource on the history of the Turkish-Armenian conflict of World War One as well as Turkish-Armenian relations today.

My heartfelt congratulations go to Lara Kaplan and her volunteer team whose enthusiasm, selfless dedication, and hard work are going a long way in leveling the playing field for all Turks by bringing to the attention of the world much ignored flip side of a controversial issue.

Thank you also for creating one of the most impressive databanks on the Turkish-Armenian history your very first year.

Best wishes,
Ergun KIRLIKOVALI

---

Dear Lara,
Let me first to congratulate you all. You are doing a wonderful good to both sides. I myself saw with my own eyes how Armenians of Turkey in Australia were keen on bringing an understanding between these two people when I and my wife were in Sydney and Melbourne a few years ago.

Love to you all,
Baskin Oran

---

A Big Congratulations And Well Done Indeed.
Enjoy The Party!
From The British European Turks

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Dear Lara
I congratulate you on your first year. Wish you more success.

Best wishes,
Dogu & Mehmet Perincek

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Dear Readers,

We are celebrating our first birthday on the Net, and would like to thank you for your encouraging thoughts, valuable contributions and continual support.

What Has Been Done in the First Year:

A searchable article site about the Falsified Armenian Genocide & Diaspora by Prof Mc Carthy, Weems, Taschi/Tashji, Davis, Gen Mayewski, Dr Barton, Dr Mango, Morgenthau, Lerner, Balakian, Pataki, Henze, Prof Lowry, Dixon-Johnson, Loti, AU Amb Peters, Sonyel, Gunter, Katchaznouni, Keresteciyan, Wolfowitz, Fein, Feigl, Amateau, Prof Yapp, Dewey, Prof Lewis, Graves, Adm Bristol, Egoyan, and many more, amounting to over 5000 pages.

You're welcomed to utilise and share one of the largest archives include:

• www.tallarmeniantale.com (Special thanks to Holdwater for his sincere and comprehensive work, and allowing us to mirror his vast resources. Please do visit his site often, to catch up with the latest items, as well as image and sound files, we didn't include),


• Mr Sukru Server Aya's valuable Book Excerpts and his dedicated research,


• Mr Ergun Kirlikovali's Articles,


• Mr Ara Baliozian's friendship and tolerance Notes,


• Assoc. Prof. Dr Sedat Laciner's Articles from www.turkishweekly.net,


• Mr Dogu Perincek's Collection,


• Armenian Issue Related articles from www.ermenisorunu.gen.tr ,


• Turkish University Conference Notes,


• Turkish, British, German, Russian Archives, Articles from Turkish, English, French, Canadian and Armenian Media and many more...

Our resources are also accessable (other than a regular visit of the site) : :

• By OFFLINE READING... RSS FEEDS...(Browser like Opera or standalone free RSS Readers can download the full articles for you without you actually visiting the site)


• By By Downloading The Whole Site as an E-BOOK


• As TRANSLATED VERSIONS in Italiano, Francais, Deutsch, Espanol, Portuguese


• By Emailing The Articles Using BLOGGER POST...

What Else Need To Be Done :
All the above work is a result of a team work.
We need You,
as individuals, to inform/discuss/share your resources.

Please contribute whatever you can by way of keeping an eye on the information where we may have missed (You don't need to search whether we have it or not, just send it anyway, -We rather have it than miss it) for further dissemination through our network since each of us has access to infinite variety of different resources.

We value your contribution and appreciate your input very much.

Let's join our forces . . .


All the Best
Lara Kaplan (NSW, Australia)
On Behalf Of The Team

http://armenians-1915.blogspot.com

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893) U.S. House Backs Funding Ban On Turkish-Georgian-Azeri Rail Link

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation banning U.S. government assistance to controversial plans for the construction of a railway that would link Turkey with Georgia and Azerbaijan and bypass Armenia.
A resolution approved by legislators late Tuesday contains a provision which says that the U.S. Export-Import Bank can not finance or promote “any rail connections or railway-related connections that do not traverse or connect with Armenia, and do traverse or connect Baku, Azerbaijan, Tbilisi, Georgia, and Kars, Turkey."

The provision was unanimously backed by the House Financial Services Committee last month under pressure from Armenian-American lobbying groups. Its main sponsor, Congressman Joseph Crowley of New York, said the ban will “assist in promoting stability in the Caucasus region, help in ending long standing conflicts, and save U.S. taxpayers the responsibility of funding a project that goes against U.S. interests.”

Bryan Ardouny, executive director of the Armenian Assembly of America, also welcomed the measure, saying in a statement that it “helps ensure that the U.S. will not be party to the flawed policies of Armenia's neighbors.”

The administration of President George. W. Bush did not voice objections to the bill, indicating its opposition to the railway project currently discussed by the governments of Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan. “The proposed railway would bypass Armenia and thus not be beneficial to regional integration,” Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said earlier this year.

Similar legislation is due to be debated in the U.S. Senate soon. If passed, it will effectively block participation of U.S. companies in the $400 million project that has prompted serious concern from Armenia’s government.

However, Turkish and Azerbaijani officials have already downplayed the impact of U.S. funding restrictions. “I think the three countries have enough funds to finance [the project] in one way or another,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman, Namik Tan, told RFE/RL on June 21.

The Armenian government argues that there already exists a railroad connecting Turkey to the South Caucasus via Armenia and that the regional countries should reactivate it instead of spending hundreds of millions of dollars on building a new one. The Kars-Gyumri rail link has stood idle more than a decade as part of the continuing Turkish economic blockade of Armenia. Tan said it could be reopened only after a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.


By Emil Danielyan
27.7.2006
ArmeniaLiberty.org

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