Nova Scotia Scott

Turkey’s parliament has been in an uproar over the campaign for a public apology to Armenians for the atrocities of 1915. Uncivil language and threats of physical violence are increasing.

Last weekend, a brawl broke out after a Democratic Society Party (DTP) member stated that the World War I-era killings were planned by the sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The president of the session objected and was supported by members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Disputing members approached each other, shouting insults and abuse. A few fists were thrown, too.

This comment prompted a member of the AKP to walk toward DTP members and begin screaming at his fellow parliamentarians. Another parliament member intervened to stop what could have become a physical altercation.

“Should we not talk about the facts? There is not one Assyrian left,” screamed another DTP member during the commotion, which was followed by several DTP members leaving the parliament.
The unprecedented demonstration in Parliament came less one a week after 200 Turkish intellectuals launched an internet petition apologizing to the Armenians for what they called the “injustice” of the “Great Catastrophe” of 1915. The petition, which sparked controversy in Turkey, had garnered over 20,000 signatures by Monday, stirring a media storm on the topic and challenging long-held taboos on the Armenian Genocide. It has drawn the ire of Turkey’s ultra nationalists, provoking also Turkey’s powerful generals, former diplomats, the Foreign Minister, and the Prime Minister to denounce the campaign.

The photo was posted with the news report excerpted above at Asbarez.com, an Armenian daily newspaper. The photo’s caption did not individually identify the combatants, saying only “Turkish politicians from the Republican People’s Party and the ruling Ak Party fight during a debate in the Turkish parliament in Ankara.”

The apology campaign has sparked a huge and acrimonious controversy in Turkey. Campaign organizers have been threatened and the apology website has been hacked more than once. A news agency quoted unnamed Turkish hackers warning that they are prepared to shut down, not just the apology site, but every website in Armenia “if necessary”.

The apology website with names of some 200 Turkish intellectuals is available at the time of writing. Over 25,000 others have added their names to the original 200, and thousands more have joined on Facebook. The text of the apology in English:

My conscience does not accept the insensitivity showed to and the denial of the Great Catastrophe that the Ottoman Armenians were subjected to in 1915. I reject this injustice and for my share, I empathize with the feelings and pain of my Armenian brothers and sisters. I apologize to them.

At least two counter-campaigns have been launched online. One is styled “I do not apologise”; the other “I expect an apology” (for alleged atrocities committed by Armenians against Turks). Tens of thousands have joined one or both.

Simon Maghakyan at Global Voices has a round-up of reactions from Turkish and Armenian bloggers. Some Turkish bloggers support the apology, others vehemently denounce it. Some Armenian bloggers are grateful that leading Turks have endorsed the campaign; others see a signed statement alone as insufficient, insisting that an acceptable apology must be accompanied by reparations.

For his part, Mr Maghakyan is gratified that Turkey is publicly debating this issue at all. Not too long ago, a citizen of Turkey who even suggested that Ottoman Turks bore any culpability for the “Great Catastrophe” would have been universally vilified, ostracised, and prosecuted. That there are large numbers of Turks on the pro-apology side can be considered a victory in itself—a small step, perhaps, but a very important one.

What happened to make so many Turks suddenly willing publicly to sympathise with Armenians? The Irish Times thinks one reason is the events of January 2007, when Turkish-Armenian journalist and human rights champion Hrant Dink (at right) was gunned down in the street outside his Istanbul newspaper office by a teenage Turkish nationalist. Many Turks were horrified by the crime. Thousands spontaneously gathered at Dink’s office, chanting “We are all Armenians”. Over 100,000 mourners attended his funeral.

Hrant Dink was prosecuted and harassed for speaking up about the Armenian Genocide. He refused to knuckle under and paid the ultimate price. If his murder sparked a widespread recognition that Armenians were treated unjustly and brutally by the Turkish state, he did not die in vain.

Tags: Armenia, Armenian Genocide, Hrant Dink, Turkey