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  • Turkey, Armenia must let bygones be bygones

    Arab News, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
    May 1 2014

    Turkey, Armenia must let bygones be bygones

    Harun Yahya


    Last week Turkish Prime Minister Recep Teyyip Erdogan expressed sorrow
    over the incidents involving Armenians that took place in April 24,
    1915 during the Ottoman rule. This was the first time in the history
    of the Republic of Turkey that any top official offered condolences to
    the Armenians. This move has elicited a mixed response. On one hand it
    has raised some eyebrows and on the other the Turkish-Armenian
    community, the United States and the European Union welcomed the
    gesture.

    Let's go back to 1915 to paint an accurate picture of what had really
    happened. There were various reasons, known and unknown, for the
    discontent among the Armenians who had been living in complete harmony
    with other communities in the Ottoman Empire.

    However, a careful study would reveal that the materialistic
    worldview, which is also responsible for the sorry state of affairs
    around the globe, had penetrated the Ottoman lands and benefitting
    from the weakening of the empire, racist tendencies grew stronger.

    A kind of a chain reaction kicked off and pitted sister nations
    against each other. Surely, there were sensible people in all
    communities who urged calm. Indeed, Armenian President Sargsyan said,
    "We would like to express our gratitude to the Turks who extended a
    helping hand to their Armenian neighbors. We bless the memories of
    those people who risked their lives and their families' lives to help
    our citizens."

    Interestingly enough, there are attempts to portray 1915 as a year of
    hostility merely between the Turks and the Armenians. However, those
    with such thoughts tend to forget that 1915 was the peak of the WWI.
    The Ottoman lands were under occupation and Ottoman soldiers were
    fighting against multiple enemies on multiple fronts in every part of
    the empire.

    >From east to west, north to south, the entire country was under
    western occupation and the Turkish army lost 230,000 troops in
    Gallipoli, 90,000 in Sarikamis and 40,000 in the then-Ottoman Arab
    lands. Today, the graveyards of Turkish soldiers are located right
    next to the graveyards of the occupying forces' soldiers and every
    year, commemoration ceremonies are held together with representatives
    of respective countries.

    Neither the leaders of the Republic of Turkey nor the Turkish people
    ever thought about holding those countries responsible for tearing up
    their lands and causing the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives.
    They know that the tragic picture is a result of the horrible war that
    no one wanted.

    That's how the Armenian issue should be approached. Just like the
    Armenians, the Turks lost many people during those horrible days of
    the Armenian-Turkish conflict. Therefore, it would be a grave mistake
    on part of some lobbies to take the well-intentioned condolences of
    the Turkish premier out of context and interpret it to mean, "Turks
    are the only party responsible for those crimes." Considering the fact
    that both sides sustained heavy losses, it would be only appropriate
    for the Armenian administration and the Diaspora to return the favor
    and issue a message of courtesy along the lines of "we offer our
    condolence for your losses, too." Otherwise, it would only serve to
    offend the future generations of Turkey, seeing that only one side
    expressed their regrets over the incidents while the casualties on the
    other side were ignored. Singling out one party and holding it
    responsible for everything would only hurt the peace process. Indeed,
    Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu expressed the same concern
    and said, "This is not a statement made under pressure. I hope our
    peace-offering hand will not be left hanging in the air."

    Armenians are a clever, honest and decent people. They will always
    remain as one of the most prized communities of our nation. They have
    always been known for their reliable, artistic and intellectual
    nature.

    It is a clear fact that there are some internal and external forces
    that seek to separate this beautiful nation and our valuable neighbor
    Armenia from us and it is also clear that they are trying to achieve
    their goals by using the Armenian incidents as leverage.

    Therefore it is imperative for Turkey and Armenia to lay greater
    emphasis on their peace-loving, friendly and unifying recourse so that
    such attempts prove futile.
    To further strengthen ties, both countries should consider opening of
    Armenian-Turkish borders and visa-free entries for their respective
    citizens.

    This is a transit system that both Turkey and Georgia currently apply
    and with the inclusion of Armenia into this system, these three
    countries will turn into one that are bound culturally, commercially
    and in terms of human factors. As love grows between these three
    nations, it is inevitable that Azerbaijan will eventually join it as
    well.

    If things go in this direction, it will not take much time when there
    will be no land dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Karabakh
    and the only thing left will be brotherhood.

    We need to have more Armenians in our Turkish lands and they should
    open schools in Turkey, spread their culture and contribute to our
    common heritage. This will be the best answer to those who are trying
    to provoke hostility between two nations.

    We should not allow the mistakes of the past to prevent this beautiful
    and strong union. The losses on both sides should be remembered
    together and the past should be left behind to set an example for the
    rest of the world where two countries build peace together.

    - The writer has authored more than 300 books translated into 73
    languages on politics, religion and science.

    http://www.arabnews.com/news/563751


    From: Baghdasarian
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