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Today's Zaman, Turkey
May 24 2013
An Armenian from Turkey in Los Angeles (2)
MARKAR ESAYAN
[email protected]
I mentioned earlier that I had visited Los Angeles to attend the
fourth Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival, held between May 15 and
19, at the invitation of the Pacifica Institute.
Due to time constraints, I didn't have the opportunity to visit the
associations founded by the Armenian community in Los Angeles. If I am
not mistaken, Hrant Dink traveled to that city twice. The US,
particularly the state of California, welcomed hundreds of thousands
of Armenians who survived the 1915 incidents and had escaped or were
driven out of their homeland. Armenia represents one of the few
nations in the world whose diaspora is larger than its own population.
In this sense, the US and Los Angeles have a special place in the
collective memory of Armenians. Even a cursory look at the lives of
famous Armenians, such as William Saroyan and Arshile Gorky, who fled
to this country after 1915 is enough to make one understand the price
paid and the dignified struggle fought. The ever-present images of a
mother and the province of Van in Gorky's work and the tragic death of
the painter are proof that a burden which was impossible to shoulder
had been placed on the shoulders of this nation.
I feel spiritually upset when I visit and return from two specific
locations: Anatolia and foreign countries where the Armenian diaspora
lives. I think I need to clarify this a little: Most members of my
family have been dispersed around the world. I have four sisters and
brothers in Europe and Australia. I have cousins in France, the US,
Germany, Switzerland, Greece and Argentina. And this is not just
specific to me. Nearly all Armenians are in the same situation. I
couldn't see my sister for six years because she lives in Melbourne,
at the other end of the world. It is really painful to be in this
situation. They aren't just those Armenians who were forced to leave
their country in 1915. That inauspicious door was not just opened and
closed once in 1915. The rationale of 1915, i.e., the bloody game
staged by the Community of Union and Progress (CUP), was inherited and
maintained by the Kemalists of the newly established Turkish Republic.
This game can be briefly defined as denial, impunity and
Turkification. In the republican era, those who were responsible for
the 1915 incidents continued to assume top positions in military and
civilian bureaucracies. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk purged the dissident CUP
members but integrated the rest into the state apparatus. The huge
wealth and property of Armenians was shared among the ruling elites of
the new republic. In particular, when it became clear that the West
wouldn't punish Turkey for the 1915 incidents and the whole world
would close their eyes to these crimes, Turkey started to pursue the
policy of denying these incidents. It is not only Armenians, but also
Kurds, Alevis and Muslims who have suffered greatly from this state
mentality.
This denial formed the leitmotif of the policy of banishing non-Muslim
minorities in the republican era. Non-Muslims' non-Turkish identity
was sufficient reason for being sent away but Armenians were also
subjected to the multiplier effect of the policy of denying the 1915
incidents. Their property was confiscated. Committees established in
every institution came up with plans on how to persecute the Armenian
community. These plans included the wealth tax and the vandalism of
Sept. 6-7. As a result, Armenians continually left the country until
the 1970s. But the biggest problem for the Armenians of Turkey was the
beginning of the sinister assassinations by the Armenian Secret Army
for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) in the early 1970s. The military
coup of 1980 was the peak in this regard. During this coup, leading
figures of the Armenian community were arrested and pressures on the
community increased. For instance, most members of my family left the
country in the wake of the 1980 coup. Even the most optimistic members
of the Armenian community felt that they had to leave the country,
thinking, `There is no possibility of us living in this country as
nothing will go right here.' Those who didn't leave the country were
mostly those who didn't have the financial means to do so or those who
didn't want to take this risk. My father had intended to migrate but
couldn't make it because of his health problems.
Nostalgia for their homeland
Naturally, I have been to numerous countries where Armenians live. I
have visited my sisters, brothers, relatives and friends there. Some
were luckier than others in terms of material means. For instance, Los
Angeles, the city I recently visited, is paradise on earth. I have
seen many countries where Armenians suffer no disadvantages in terms
of connecting to their identity. Still, I would feel sad and gloomy
when I returned from those places as well. At the very least, those
Armenians I saw would be troubled by feelings of nostalgia for their
homeland or by the fragmentation of their families. It was no longer
possible for them to return but parts of them had been left behind in
their homelands. Their happiness would never be complete. They would
appreciate their adopted countries but would still say, `It is not
like living in one's own homeland.' This feeling of being stuck in
limbo would sadden me very much. We were in our own lands where our
ancestors had lived and where our churches and cemeteries were
located, but we were not with our relatives. I couldn't see how my own
nephews or nieces had grown and matured. When I first saw my three
nephews and nieces, they were in their 20s. I have many close
relatives whom I have never seen.
My visits to Anatolian cities leave me equally saddened as well. I
would like to tell you about one of my memories. I was invited to
Çorum to attend a panel session to discuss the Kurdish issue. The
session was very effective with the participation of my dear friends
Hilal Kaplan and Bekir Berat Ã-zipek. Since I am Armenian, I
encountered questions about the 1915 incidents as well. The change
that Turkey has recently been going through about the 1915 incidents
is tremendous. Dink would say: `Our Turkish brothers and sisters don't
know the truth about 1915. If they knew, they wouldn't be insensitive
to this tragedy.' With the liberalization over the last 10 years in
Turkey, people are rediscovering their own past. They are asking the
simple question: `In the last 10 years, the crimes committed by the
state which are currently on trial have shown us that the official
version of history that was taught to us is wrong. Neither the coup of
Feb. 28, 1997 nor the Sept. 12, 1980 coup occurred as they taught us.
Many suspicious incidents and assassinations were later found to be
masterminded by the state. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an has
apologized for the Dersim massacre. So why should the official
narrative on the 1915 incidents be true? How could the non-Muslim
population, which accounted for 40 percent of the total population in
1914, decrease to 0.01 percent of the total population today?"
In Çorum, I received questions similar to this one, all indicating the
awakening and curiosity of the public. I answered them. Leaving the
panel session, we got into the car of the representative of the civil
society organization that hosted us. As we were traveling in the car,
I heard a sound that sent shivers down my spine. It was the chime from
the bell of an Armenian church, which was very familiar to my ears.
For a moment, I was lost in time and space. I was deluded in thinking
that there might still be an active Armenian church in Çorum. `Is
there an Armenian church here?' I asked my friends excitedly. The
simple-mindedness of my question and the naivety on my face made my
friends from Çorum feel sorry. After a brief hesitation, they told me
that the bell chimes was from the city's clock tower. The bell had
been salvaged from a ruined Armenian church and fixed onto the tower.
Looking at destroyed landmarks
It brings me pain to see the remains of destroyed landmarks of
Armenian history in my visits to various Anatolian cities. A
systematic operation to cleanse Armenian traces in this vast geography
was conducted by the state. In particular, in the run up to the 1980
coup, church towers were torn down by cannon balls. Akhtamar Church
was saved at the last minute thanks to great efforts by author YaÅ?ar
Kemal. It is hard to understand this hate. What is the name of this
ideology that didn't stop after sending thousands of people away and
insisted on destroying all traces of an ancient culture that dates
back thousands of years? You tell me.
In the last 10 years, Turkey has seen a tremendous change in the state
mentality. But society is still ahead of the state. That is a good
thing. But it is hard to say that the denial has ended. Turkey is just
slowly starting to recognize the existence and rights of its 15
million Kurdish citizens. It is heartwarming to see that change has
started. But there is still much progress to be made. The good news is
that this change will not take 90 years, but will be much quicker. It
is a remarkable development that in the festival held in Los Angeles,
Akhtamar Church was selected as the historic landmark that represents
the city of Van, Deputy Patriarch Archbishop Aram AteÅ?yan, as the
guest of honor, was able to deliver a touching speech there and that
such an environment was created in the first place. Indeed, civil
society is doing this with a great deal of desire and sincerity.
Turkey is searching for its past and wants to rediscover its ancient
wealth. It won't be long before this starts to guide state policies
and a more ethical and conscientious position is adopted with regards
to the 1915 incidents.
A major component of Turkey's official Armenian policy is the
demonization of the Armenian diaspora. This component is still alive.
The Hizmet movement, which has emerged as Turkey's representative in
the international arena, has been making serious efforts to compensate
for the damage done in this regard. Indeed, the volunteers of the
Hizmet movement have established close ties with their Armenian
neighbors in Los Angeles and conduct joint activities with them. The
best cure for prejudices and ideological myths is what I call
`muhabbet,' i.e., coming together and having a friendly conversation.
No one has to nurture the same views as us but this shouldn't prevent
us from establishing relations, working together or loving each other.
For about a century, the Armenian diaspora has been carrying the
burden of this sorrow alone. Just as Turkey is not monolithic, the
diaspora is not one single piece. It is our duty to dispense with our
old habits reciprocally. The risk of being stuck in the middle is
worth the reunion of two sister nations and starting to shoulder the
burden of mourning together.
I don't claim to tell everything correctly. As an Armenian from Turkey
who knows both sides to a certain extent, this is my position. I
cannot tell anyone to act in this or that manner. Based on my beliefs,
we are human beings first. People may not be able to choose their
identity, race or color but they can choose to be human beings. No
nation can be accused of being genocidal. Crimes are committed by
individuals or organizations. There were serious crimes involved in
the 1915 incidents. The perpetrators of these crimes are known. The
entire nation cannot be held responsible for these crimes. To say the
reverse is to end up in the worst position about one's justified
cause.
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnistDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=316422
From: A. Papazian
May 24 2013
An Armenian from Turkey in Los Angeles (2)
MARKAR ESAYAN
[email protected]
I mentioned earlier that I had visited Los Angeles to attend the
fourth Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival, held between May 15 and
19, at the invitation of the Pacifica Institute.
Due to time constraints, I didn't have the opportunity to visit the
associations founded by the Armenian community in Los Angeles. If I am
not mistaken, Hrant Dink traveled to that city twice. The US,
particularly the state of California, welcomed hundreds of thousands
of Armenians who survived the 1915 incidents and had escaped or were
driven out of their homeland. Armenia represents one of the few
nations in the world whose diaspora is larger than its own population.
In this sense, the US and Los Angeles have a special place in the
collective memory of Armenians. Even a cursory look at the lives of
famous Armenians, such as William Saroyan and Arshile Gorky, who fled
to this country after 1915 is enough to make one understand the price
paid and the dignified struggle fought. The ever-present images of a
mother and the province of Van in Gorky's work and the tragic death of
the painter are proof that a burden which was impossible to shoulder
had been placed on the shoulders of this nation.
I feel spiritually upset when I visit and return from two specific
locations: Anatolia and foreign countries where the Armenian diaspora
lives. I think I need to clarify this a little: Most members of my
family have been dispersed around the world. I have four sisters and
brothers in Europe and Australia. I have cousins in France, the US,
Germany, Switzerland, Greece and Argentina. And this is not just
specific to me. Nearly all Armenians are in the same situation. I
couldn't see my sister for six years because she lives in Melbourne,
at the other end of the world. It is really painful to be in this
situation. They aren't just those Armenians who were forced to leave
their country in 1915. That inauspicious door was not just opened and
closed once in 1915. The rationale of 1915, i.e., the bloody game
staged by the Community of Union and Progress (CUP), was inherited and
maintained by the Kemalists of the newly established Turkish Republic.
This game can be briefly defined as denial, impunity and
Turkification. In the republican era, those who were responsible for
the 1915 incidents continued to assume top positions in military and
civilian bureaucracies. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk purged the dissident CUP
members but integrated the rest into the state apparatus. The huge
wealth and property of Armenians was shared among the ruling elites of
the new republic. In particular, when it became clear that the West
wouldn't punish Turkey for the 1915 incidents and the whole world
would close their eyes to these crimes, Turkey started to pursue the
policy of denying these incidents. It is not only Armenians, but also
Kurds, Alevis and Muslims who have suffered greatly from this state
mentality.
This denial formed the leitmotif of the policy of banishing non-Muslim
minorities in the republican era. Non-Muslims' non-Turkish identity
was sufficient reason for being sent away but Armenians were also
subjected to the multiplier effect of the policy of denying the 1915
incidents. Their property was confiscated. Committees established in
every institution came up with plans on how to persecute the Armenian
community. These plans included the wealth tax and the vandalism of
Sept. 6-7. As a result, Armenians continually left the country until
the 1970s. But the biggest problem for the Armenians of Turkey was the
beginning of the sinister assassinations by the Armenian Secret Army
for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) in the early 1970s. The military
coup of 1980 was the peak in this regard. During this coup, leading
figures of the Armenian community were arrested and pressures on the
community increased. For instance, most members of my family left the
country in the wake of the 1980 coup. Even the most optimistic members
of the Armenian community felt that they had to leave the country,
thinking, `There is no possibility of us living in this country as
nothing will go right here.' Those who didn't leave the country were
mostly those who didn't have the financial means to do so or those who
didn't want to take this risk. My father had intended to migrate but
couldn't make it because of his health problems.
Nostalgia for their homeland
Naturally, I have been to numerous countries where Armenians live. I
have visited my sisters, brothers, relatives and friends there. Some
were luckier than others in terms of material means. For instance, Los
Angeles, the city I recently visited, is paradise on earth. I have
seen many countries where Armenians suffer no disadvantages in terms
of connecting to their identity. Still, I would feel sad and gloomy
when I returned from those places as well. At the very least, those
Armenians I saw would be troubled by feelings of nostalgia for their
homeland or by the fragmentation of their families. It was no longer
possible for them to return but parts of them had been left behind in
their homelands. Their happiness would never be complete. They would
appreciate their adopted countries but would still say, `It is not
like living in one's own homeland.' This feeling of being stuck in
limbo would sadden me very much. We were in our own lands where our
ancestors had lived and where our churches and cemeteries were
located, but we were not with our relatives. I couldn't see how my own
nephews or nieces had grown and matured. When I first saw my three
nephews and nieces, they were in their 20s. I have many close
relatives whom I have never seen.
My visits to Anatolian cities leave me equally saddened as well. I
would like to tell you about one of my memories. I was invited to
Çorum to attend a panel session to discuss the Kurdish issue. The
session was very effective with the participation of my dear friends
Hilal Kaplan and Bekir Berat Ã-zipek. Since I am Armenian, I
encountered questions about the 1915 incidents as well. The change
that Turkey has recently been going through about the 1915 incidents
is tremendous. Dink would say: `Our Turkish brothers and sisters don't
know the truth about 1915. If they knew, they wouldn't be insensitive
to this tragedy.' With the liberalization over the last 10 years in
Turkey, people are rediscovering their own past. They are asking the
simple question: `In the last 10 years, the crimes committed by the
state which are currently on trial have shown us that the official
version of history that was taught to us is wrong. Neither the coup of
Feb. 28, 1997 nor the Sept. 12, 1980 coup occurred as they taught us.
Many suspicious incidents and assassinations were later found to be
masterminded by the state. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an has
apologized for the Dersim massacre. So why should the official
narrative on the 1915 incidents be true? How could the non-Muslim
population, which accounted for 40 percent of the total population in
1914, decrease to 0.01 percent of the total population today?"
In Çorum, I received questions similar to this one, all indicating the
awakening and curiosity of the public. I answered them. Leaving the
panel session, we got into the car of the representative of the civil
society organization that hosted us. As we were traveling in the car,
I heard a sound that sent shivers down my spine. It was the chime from
the bell of an Armenian church, which was very familiar to my ears.
For a moment, I was lost in time and space. I was deluded in thinking
that there might still be an active Armenian church in Çorum. `Is
there an Armenian church here?' I asked my friends excitedly. The
simple-mindedness of my question and the naivety on my face made my
friends from Çorum feel sorry. After a brief hesitation, they told me
that the bell chimes was from the city's clock tower. The bell had
been salvaged from a ruined Armenian church and fixed onto the tower.
Looking at destroyed landmarks
It brings me pain to see the remains of destroyed landmarks of
Armenian history in my visits to various Anatolian cities. A
systematic operation to cleanse Armenian traces in this vast geography
was conducted by the state. In particular, in the run up to the 1980
coup, church towers were torn down by cannon balls. Akhtamar Church
was saved at the last minute thanks to great efforts by author YaÅ?ar
Kemal. It is hard to understand this hate. What is the name of this
ideology that didn't stop after sending thousands of people away and
insisted on destroying all traces of an ancient culture that dates
back thousands of years? You tell me.
In the last 10 years, Turkey has seen a tremendous change in the state
mentality. But society is still ahead of the state. That is a good
thing. But it is hard to say that the denial has ended. Turkey is just
slowly starting to recognize the existence and rights of its 15
million Kurdish citizens. It is heartwarming to see that change has
started. But there is still much progress to be made. The good news is
that this change will not take 90 years, but will be much quicker. It
is a remarkable development that in the festival held in Los Angeles,
Akhtamar Church was selected as the historic landmark that represents
the city of Van, Deputy Patriarch Archbishop Aram AteÅ?yan, as the
guest of honor, was able to deliver a touching speech there and that
such an environment was created in the first place. Indeed, civil
society is doing this with a great deal of desire and sincerity.
Turkey is searching for its past and wants to rediscover its ancient
wealth. It won't be long before this starts to guide state policies
and a more ethical and conscientious position is adopted with regards
to the 1915 incidents.
A major component of Turkey's official Armenian policy is the
demonization of the Armenian diaspora. This component is still alive.
The Hizmet movement, which has emerged as Turkey's representative in
the international arena, has been making serious efforts to compensate
for the damage done in this regard. Indeed, the volunteers of the
Hizmet movement have established close ties with their Armenian
neighbors in Los Angeles and conduct joint activities with them. The
best cure for prejudices and ideological myths is what I call
`muhabbet,' i.e., coming together and having a friendly conversation.
No one has to nurture the same views as us but this shouldn't prevent
us from establishing relations, working together or loving each other.
For about a century, the Armenian diaspora has been carrying the
burden of this sorrow alone. Just as Turkey is not monolithic, the
diaspora is not one single piece. It is our duty to dispense with our
old habits reciprocally. The risk of being stuck in the middle is
worth the reunion of two sister nations and starting to shoulder the
burden of mourning together.
I don't claim to tell everything correctly. As an Armenian from Turkey
who knows both sides to a certain extent, this is my position. I
cannot tell anyone to act in this or that manner. Based on my beliefs,
we are human beings first. People may not be able to choose their
identity, race or color but they can choose to be human beings. No
nation can be accused of being genocidal. Crimes are committed by
individuals or organizations. There were serious crimes involved in
the 1915 incidents. The perpetrators of these crimes are known. The
entire nation cannot be held responsible for these crimes. To say the
reverse is to end up in the worst position about one's justified
cause.
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnistDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=316422
From: A. Papazian