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Hürriyet, Turkey
Jan 31 2007
Ertugrul Ozkok:Those Armenians will never be men
I grew up with the following phrase, which my now-dead father used to
whisper often into my ear when I was a child: "My son, these
Armenians are incapable of being true men...."
Even when I protested, he would insist "You just don't know these
things." In France, when I was student, many of my friends held the
same views as my father. When I would say "Armenians have been
changed by the Armenian diaspora," my friends would reply "No my
friend, these people can never change. An Armenian is an Armenian."
I was naive. Very naive. Even when the father of one of my best
friends was killed by an Armenian terrorist in Madrid, I still held
onto my beliefs. Even when I saw that not a single Armenian tear was
shed for one of our many diplomats killed in Western capitals, I
still didn't sway from my naive beliefs.
When I learned that one of these Armenian killers wasn't even a full
adult yet, one of these same friends of mine said "You see, that's
it. Is the Armenian society as a full even adult?" He then went on to
add:
"The Armenians live in a society that has been prevented from
maturing. The time has come to ask this question: I wonder if the
Armenian society, which turns its own character problems into violent
acts against others, is a society which remains immature in order to
carry out these acts?"
I was always told this by those around me: "Of course some Armenians
can change, but the other Armenians? Never."
Yes, my whole life has passed hearing these things about Armenians.
******
OK, let's leave this idiocy behind and return to reality. My own
now-dead father in his whole entire life never said anything about
Armenians to me. And not just Armenians; he also never said a bad
word about the Bulgarians, despite the fact that he had escaped from
Bulgaria to Turkey with just his life. I never heard anything like
"Those Bulgarians will never be men. They are killers who will never
change" from him. This, despite the fact that we lost many many
relatives in the Balkan Wars. Also, my friend whose father was killed
by ASALA terrorists in Madrid actually never said anything bad about
Armenians either. To the contrary, he put extra effort into
strengthening the bonds between Turks and Armenians living in Turkey.
And we, as a society, when putting our murdered diplomats to rest
after their deaths, spoke only of "ASALA terror," not of the
Armenians.
******
But then where did I come up with the disgusting first part of this
column today? Well, I did not make it up. I read it in a column by
Zaman newspaper's Etyen Mahcupyan. In other words, in a column by the
new general editor of the Agos newspaper. Not only this, I read it
only days after one of the biggest funeral ceremonies this country
has ever participated in. After the most sincere songs ever sung for
someone for whom we mourned were sung. What I wrote above, in the
first part of this column, was exactly what Etyen Mahcupyan wrote in
his column, with one difference: instead of writing about Armenians,
he was writing about Turks. The main point of his article was that
"Turks can never change...." And so, I decided to write my today's
column just to show how incorrect this perspective is. I also
apologize to all the Armenian citizens of this country who I know
love this country as much as I do. I am sure they were made
uncomfortable by the tone of the start of this column. And for that
reason, I think it's necessary that the Armenian intellectuals in
this country use a more careful style from now on in their writings.
Jan 31 2007
Ertugrul Ozkok:Those Armenians will never be men
I grew up with the following phrase, which my now-dead father used to
whisper often into my ear when I was a child: "My son, these
Armenians are incapable of being true men...."
Even when I protested, he would insist "You just don't know these
things." In France, when I was student, many of my friends held the
same views as my father. When I would say "Armenians have been
changed by the Armenian diaspora," my friends would reply "No my
friend, these people can never change. An Armenian is an Armenian."
I was naive. Very naive. Even when the father of one of my best
friends was killed by an Armenian terrorist in Madrid, I still held
onto my beliefs. Even when I saw that not a single Armenian tear was
shed for one of our many diplomats killed in Western capitals, I
still didn't sway from my naive beliefs.
When I learned that one of these Armenian killers wasn't even a full
adult yet, one of these same friends of mine said "You see, that's
it. Is the Armenian society as a full even adult?" He then went on to
add:
"The Armenians live in a society that has been prevented from
maturing. The time has come to ask this question: I wonder if the
Armenian society, which turns its own character problems into violent
acts against others, is a society which remains immature in order to
carry out these acts?"
I was always told this by those around me: "Of course some Armenians
can change, but the other Armenians? Never."
Yes, my whole life has passed hearing these things about Armenians.
******
OK, let's leave this idiocy behind and return to reality. My own
now-dead father in his whole entire life never said anything about
Armenians to me. And not just Armenians; he also never said a bad
word about the Bulgarians, despite the fact that he had escaped from
Bulgaria to Turkey with just his life. I never heard anything like
"Those Bulgarians will never be men. They are killers who will never
change" from him. This, despite the fact that we lost many many
relatives in the Balkan Wars. Also, my friend whose father was killed
by ASALA terrorists in Madrid actually never said anything bad about
Armenians either. To the contrary, he put extra effort into
strengthening the bonds between Turks and Armenians living in Turkey.
And we, as a society, when putting our murdered diplomats to rest
after their deaths, spoke only of "ASALA terror," not of the
Armenians.
******
But then where did I come up with the disgusting first part of this
column today? Well, I did not make it up. I read it in a column by
Zaman newspaper's Etyen Mahcupyan. In other words, in a column by the
new general editor of the Agos newspaper. Not only this, I read it
only days after one of the biggest funeral ceremonies this country
has ever participated in. After the most sincere songs ever sung for
someone for whom we mourned were sung. What I wrote above, in the
first part of this column, was exactly what Etyen Mahcupyan wrote in
his column, with one difference: instead of writing about Armenians,
he was writing about Turks. The main point of his article was that
"Turks can never change...." And so, I decided to write my today's
column just to show how incorrect this perspective is. I also
apologize to all the Armenian citizens of this country who I know
love this country as much as I do. I am sure they were made
uncomfortable by the tone of the start of this column. And for that
reason, I think it's necessary that the Armenian intellectuals in
this country use a more careful style from now on in their writings.