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TURKS DEGRADE GENOCIDE VICTIMS, AGAIN
by Ara Khachatourian
asbarez
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011
The 10 writers
An Ankara-based group calling itself the Contemporary Journalists'
Association (CGD) is planning a ceremony on April 24, during which
the names of 10 Armenians, among them Siamanto, Daniel Varoujan,
Krikor Zohrab and Rouben Zartaryan, will be added into the list of
slain journalists in Turkey.
In reporting this news, the Turkish Hurriyet Daily News, identifies
these pillars of Armenian literature as "journalists of Armenian
origin who were killed in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire."
The truth of the matter is that the aforementioned individuals,
whose writings defined a generation and became, perhaps, first-person
accounts of the Sultan Hamid Massacres in the tale end of the 19th
century, were rounded up by the Ottoman Turkish government, and on
April 24, 1915 were massacred as the beginning sparks of the Armenian
Genocide.
To bundle these first victims of the Genocide, along with other
journalists who were killed as part of Turkey's intolerant attitude
toward journalists is an affront to their legacy. They were not
killed for being "journalists," but rather were part of the first
wave of murders of intellectuals, writers and leaders, which was part
of the systematic plan to eliminate the Armenians' leaders in order
to gain easy access to the rest of the Armenian population and carry
out Genocide.
CGD's leader, Ahemet Abakay, claimed that the inclusion of the names
was long overdue and explaining to Hurriyet that the omission was
inadvertent, since they did not possess the necessary information.
"I wish we had the information before and had taken this radical step
before. We, the Turkish people, unfortunately do not know anything but
what the official history has told us. The truth was hidden from us,"
Abakay told Hurriyet.
Whether Abakay and his group are part of a newly-formed movement in
Turkey that believes the recognition of the Genocide is important,
or whether this is a ploy to whitewash the Genocide, the fact remains
that the aforementioned individuals cannot be compared to other
Turkish journalists-among them Hrant Dink-since they were, for all
intents and purposes, the first victims of the Armenian Genocide.
Classifying them in any other category is an insult to their memory
and the perpetuation of the Turkish government's efforts to deny the
Genocide and take responsibility for the actions of the Ottoman Empire.
The Armenian community in Turkey has a responsibility to address
this injustice and not allow a group to destroy the legacy of such
pioneers as Siamanto, Varoujan and others.
From: A. Papazian
by Ara Khachatourian
asbarez
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011
The 10 writers
An Ankara-based group calling itself the Contemporary Journalists'
Association (CGD) is planning a ceremony on April 24, during which
the names of 10 Armenians, among them Siamanto, Daniel Varoujan,
Krikor Zohrab and Rouben Zartaryan, will be added into the list of
slain journalists in Turkey.
In reporting this news, the Turkish Hurriyet Daily News, identifies
these pillars of Armenian literature as "journalists of Armenian
origin who were killed in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire."
The truth of the matter is that the aforementioned individuals,
whose writings defined a generation and became, perhaps, first-person
accounts of the Sultan Hamid Massacres in the tale end of the 19th
century, were rounded up by the Ottoman Turkish government, and on
April 24, 1915 were massacred as the beginning sparks of the Armenian
Genocide.
To bundle these first victims of the Genocide, along with other
journalists who were killed as part of Turkey's intolerant attitude
toward journalists is an affront to their legacy. They were not
killed for being "journalists," but rather were part of the first
wave of murders of intellectuals, writers and leaders, which was part
of the systematic plan to eliminate the Armenians' leaders in order
to gain easy access to the rest of the Armenian population and carry
out Genocide.
CGD's leader, Ahemet Abakay, claimed that the inclusion of the names
was long overdue and explaining to Hurriyet that the omission was
inadvertent, since they did not possess the necessary information.
"I wish we had the information before and had taken this radical step
before. We, the Turkish people, unfortunately do not know anything but
what the official history has told us. The truth was hidden from us,"
Abakay told Hurriyet.
Whether Abakay and his group are part of a newly-formed movement in
Turkey that believes the recognition of the Genocide is important,
or whether this is a ploy to whitewash the Genocide, the fact remains
that the aforementioned individuals cannot be compared to other
Turkish journalists-among them Hrant Dink-since they were, for all
intents and purposes, the first victims of the Armenian Genocide.
Classifying them in any other category is an insult to their memory
and the perpetuation of the Turkish government's efforts to deny the
Genocide and take responsibility for the actions of the Ottoman Empire.
The Armenian community in Turkey has a responsibility to address
this injustice and not allow a group to destroy the legacy of such
pioneers as Siamanto, Varoujan and others.
From: A. Papazian