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A MOMENT OF RECOGNITION
By The Crimson Staff
Harvard Crimson, MA
http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=520040
Oct 15 2007
Turkey must acknowledge the crimes of its past
Amid the mire of ways, means, and appropriations, a history lesson
may seem out of place on the docket of the United States House of
Representatives. This month, however, a particularly vivid example
has materialized, and rightly so: The United States House Committee on
Foreign Affairs has approved and submitted a bill that would recognize
that neglected genocide of more than a million Armenian Christians
by Ottoman Turks from 1915 to 1917.
If the Congress was slow to recognize the great crimes perpetrated
nearly a century ago, one would hardly blame them: the Armenian
genocide was scarcely acknowledged for 50 years. Another one of
history's great criminals, Adolf Hitler, used the mass killing's
anonymity to justify his own violence towards the Poles in 1939,
saying: "Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the
Armenians?"
Much has changed since that dark moment in history, but modern Turkey,
beholden as it is to the Young Turk perpetrators and in spite of the
light of historical perspective, still refuses to admit the taint
on its history and clings to dramatic understatements of the death
toll. Turkey cannot continue to deliberately avoid dealing with the
disturbing facts of its history. Other countries have stared their
genocidal demons in the face, and the fact that they have done so is
a sign that they have moved past a dark era in their history.
Armenians around the world have lobbied for statements of recognition
from major powers in light of Turkey's frightful obstinacy, and have
won support in more than twenty nations. With Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi in control, it appears that the time has finally come
for America to join this group.
The White House and the Republican members of Congress, however,
warn that this abstract resolution will have no tangible effects
beyond alienating America's relationship with a key ally in the war
on terror. In particular, they are worried about the United States
military's mission in Iraq, in which neighboring Turkey has been a
critical ally. It seems there is some legitimacy to these claims,
as Turkish General Yasar Buyukanit has warned that his country's
"military relations with the United States can never be the same,"
and the Turkish ambassador to the U.S. has been ordered to return
from Washington.
But as Pelosi has pointed out, "there's never been a good time" to draw
Turkey's ire over this issue. Furthermore, a modern nation yearning
to join the European Union ought to make peace with its past. If
President Bush can claim that acts of genocide will never occur
"on his watch," surely he should not shy away from recognizing one
for the sake of political expedience. We are also disappointed that
leadership of the recognition of the Armenian genocide has largely
been left to politicians by academics. Academia aspires to question
all orthodoxies in the name of the truth; the Armenian genocide is
one area in which it has fallen woefully short.
So let Turkey rage. The tide has turned globally in favor of the
frank acknowledgement of all the horrors that took place in the chaos
of World War I. Even if this resolution serves as a mere symbol
of solidarity, one may hope that its weight might counteract the
indelible pain of almost a century of impunity and silence.
By The Crimson Staff
Harvard Crimson, MA
http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=520040
Oct 15 2007
Turkey must acknowledge the crimes of its past
Amid the mire of ways, means, and appropriations, a history lesson
may seem out of place on the docket of the United States House of
Representatives. This month, however, a particularly vivid example
has materialized, and rightly so: The United States House Committee on
Foreign Affairs has approved and submitted a bill that would recognize
that neglected genocide of more than a million Armenian Christians
by Ottoman Turks from 1915 to 1917.
If the Congress was slow to recognize the great crimes perpetrated
nearly a century ago, one would hardly blame them: the Armenian
genocide was scarcely acknowledged for 50 years. Another one of
history's great criminals, Adolf Hitler, used the mass killing's
anonymity to justify his own violence towards the Poles in 1939,
saying: "Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the
Armenians?"
Much has changed since that dark moment in history, but modern Turkey,
beholden as it is to the Young Turk perpetrators and in spite of the
light of historical perspective, still refuses to admit the taint
on its history and clings to dramatic understatements of the death
toll. Turkey cannot continue to deliberately avoid dealing with the
disturbing facts of its history. Other countries have stared their
genocidal demons in the face, and the fact that they have done so is
a sign that they have moved past a dark era in their history.
Armenians around the world have lobbied for statements of recognition
from major powers in light of Turkey's frightful obstinacy, and have
won support in more than twenty nations. With Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi in control, it appears that the time has finally come
for America to join this group.
The White House and the Republican members of Congress, however,
warn that this abstract resolution will have no tangible effects
beyond alienating America's relationship with a key ally in the war
on terror. In particular, they are worried about the United States
military's mission in Iraq, in which neighboring Turkey has been a
critical ally. It seems there is some legitimacy to these claims,
as Turkish General Yasar Buyukanit has warned that his country's
"military relations with the United States can never be the same,"
and the Turkish ambassador to the U.S. has been ordered to return
from Washington.
But as Pelosi has pointed out, "there's never been a good time" to draw
Turkey's ire over this issue. Furthermore, a modern nation yearning
to join the European Union ought to make peace with its past. If
President Bush can claim that acts of genocide will never occur
"on his watch," surely he should not shy away from recognizing one
for the sake of political expedience. We are also disappointed that
leadership of the recognition of the Armenian genocide has largely
been left to politicians by academics. Academia aspires to question
all orthodoxies in the name of the truth; the Armenian genocide is
one area in which it has fallen woefully short.
So let Turkey rage. The tide has turned globally in favor of the
frank acknowledgement of all the horrors that took place in the chaos
of World War I. Even if this resolution serves as a mere symbol
of solidarity, one may hope that its weight might counteract the
indelible pain of almost a century of impunity and silence.