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LRAPER - Opinion re Turkish Armenians (2)
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CONTENTS
1) Opinion of Mons Dr Nicholas Wyrwoll, Regensburg, Germany
2) Opinon (#3) of Dr Armen Atkinian, Yerevan, Armenia
3) Opinion of Mr Masis Zarali, Istanbul, Turkey
-----Original Message-----
From: niko.wy@t-online [mailto:niko.wy@t-online.de]
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2000 10:48 AM
My opinion that His Beatitude is completely right in his logical Christian
statements. No condemnation helps anybody outside or inside Turkey. Even
more: condemning Turkey some nations seem to deny their own trespasses in
having done nothing to avoid the genocide. We continue our strong prayers
that the Holy Spirit might strengthens His Beatitude in his peaceful work.
We would like to express to His Beatitude the Christan solidarity of the
Catholics in Germany.
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-----Original Message-----
From: ATKEN ARMENIAN [mailto:aarmenia@aua.am]
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2000 12:06 PM
Subject: RE: Turkish Armenians
I am also a Christian and I know the value of forgiveness and moving ahead
in life without the heavy baggage of history, rancor, and hate. I do think,
however, that forgiveness by one side without contrition from the other is
meaningless. It makes a mockery of Christian values that also include both a
love for truth and a loathing of evil.
I am not nearer to God by sticking my head in the sand, waiting for the turk
to come by (at his leisure and convenience) with a sickle. I do not think it
is a proud, Christian, characteristic of an Armenian's destiny to be fodder
for turkish barbarity. There comes a time, after one hundred years of
persecution and murder (up to and including the 1990's), that Armenians --
as good Christians -- have the right to say "enough, that is just not
right!"
I am not for revenge. I am not for violence. Simply stated, turkey must show
contrition. Instead, it is arrogantly contemptible of Armenians and their
human rights. It is this contempt that has passed down from one generation
of turk to another. With this perpetuation of arrogant contempt, comes the
perpetuation of guilt. Today's generation of turks can put a stop to that
guilt only through an act of contrition. Today's Germans cannot be blamed
for the sins of their ancestors because their act of contrition has made us
forgive them. The page is turned and we start afresh. We forgive and are
reconciled as good Christians ought to act.
If, however, today's turks insolently claim that there is no page to turn,
then they are as guilty as those who organized the Genocide. They give me no
opportunity -- or cause -- to forgive and be reconciled. There must be
something to forgive. There must be some event after which reconciliation
takes place. I cannot be alone in my forgiveness or reconciliation. Today's
turk says that there is nothing to forgive. That is not my fault and I am
not to blame, therefore, if I do not forgive. Furthermore, I cannot be
reconciled if I am not given the opportunity to forgive.
Armenians should have enough dignity, pride, and honor, however, to state
the truth. The truth is that a Genocide took place. The truth is that
Genocide is wrong. The truth is that turkey does not recognize this. The
truth is that today's turk brazenly enjoys the fruits of the misdeeds of his
ancestors. I just ask that the truth be stated and publicly acknowledged.
That is a positive and Christian thing to do.
If it is wrong to say something as silly (immoral would be a better word) as
"Auschwitz was not a death camp for Nazi Germany, and even if it were, well
never mind, the past is past, let the historians figure it out.", why am I
being lambasted when I say that the "patriarch" is immoral? Was he not
mealy-mouthed about the statement he should be making to the effect that "A
Genocide took place, now what is to be done about it (keeping in mind that
as good Christians we do not want to spill even more blood)?" If he cannot
state that truth because he is afraid to do so, (afraid of what? one might
ask, if everything is so rosy in turkey ...) then he should resign.
Leadership has a price and he must be willing to pay it, having accepted
that position of his own free will. That price includes both speaking the
truth and challenging evil. It is even more of a requirement from a "cleric"
in a position of "leadership". The moral dimension cannot be ignored. I
repeat. It is a positive and Christian thing to do.
Armenians who chose to live in turkey (and who even consider turkey to be
"their" country), have no right to dictate terms of reference to the rest of
the Armenians in the world -- especially ones set by the government of
Armenia. If they choose, freely, and perhaps even with emotional
satisfaction, to live in turkey, they should accept the consequences of
their decision without making demands on the rest of us who chose to live
elsewhere.
As for those who have written to me to the effect that "if I'm so "brave"
why don't I repeat these things in turkey", all I can do is quences of
suffering, brutality and revenge which follows each snuffing out of a
precious human soul before its appointed time. The brutality has only
engendered brutality; the insensitivity has numbed sensitivity; revenge has
merely bred remorseless retribution.
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-----Original Message-----
From: Masis Zarali [mailto:masis@altavista.net]
Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2000 9:12 AM
Subject: Do not hate. Discern.
It's Time for Discernment Not Hatred
In recent weeks individuals in Armenia and the Diaspora have showered the
Armenian Patriarch and the Armenian community in Turkey with private and
public criticisms and, at times, with obscene pronouncements. One of the
most disturbing examples of such a hateful attitude toward the Armenians in
Turkey came in a statement made by an academic in Armenia, who wrote to His
Beatitude Patriarch Mesrob of Istanbul: "You deserve to be killed like the
black cockroach that you are."
I must confess, as a young Istanbul Armenian, I am disgusted and shocked at
such racist and ill-informed outbursts, especially at this most difficult
juncture in the life of the Armenian Patriarchate and the Armenian
Community in Istanbul.
Such individuals in the Diaspora and Armenia sit comfortably in armchairs,
smoking their pipes and cigars, pontificating to the Turkish Armenian
community about morals, whilst citizens of Armenia starve or wait in a line
for visas in order to escape the country.
I am not a practicing Christian, but I support our Patriarch wholeheartedly.
He is a Patriarch, a high level church official, and it is only proper that
he should urge the people to heal past enmities and bitternesses and call
for a reconciliation and peace amongst peoples.
What is wrong with that? He is the Patriarch of the Armenian Community in
Turkey. His followers are all Turkish citizens. It is only proper for
Armenians, Turks and the international community to expect to hear the
Patriarch's voice whenever there are issues concerning Turkish-Armenian
relations.
Whatever the Patriarch officially states reflects the thinking of the
majority of the Armenian community members in Turkey. And I know for fact,
as it is openly published in the Armenian press, that he prepares his public
statements on non-religious issues, only after consulting the lay leaders of
the community.
Those in Armenia and the Diaspora who call for our Patriarch's resignation
or slander him because he represents a different vision of Armenian life
than theirs, should know that any responsible Armenian church leader would
not think any differently. As for those who call for silence, one should ask
whether it is possible to remain silent when more than 50 Turkish, Armenian
and foreign newspapers and more than 20 TV channels knock at the
Patriarchate's door asking for comments on the latest developments directly
related to Armenians who are citizens of the Republic of Turkey?
It seems that those who are attacking or criticizing the Patriarch and the
Patriarchate are either ignorant of what he has publicly stated or are out
to impose their opinions on others. In his public statements, the Patriarch
has clearly said:
a) A very grave and painful event occurred in 1915. Whatever the reason --
whether a "wartime punishment," racism, nationalism, or deportation --
Armenians were killed and they died in massive numbers. And numbers, whether
250,000 or 1,5 million, are not important, even the killing of a
few people is unacceptable. Killing is a sin. Evil is evil.
b) It was wrong for the Ottoman Turkish government to punish ALL Armenians
living in Turkey by ordering their "deportation" because some Turkish
Armenians had reportedly joined the ranks of the Russian army.
c) Because of the diplomatic problems facing Turkey overseas, it is wrong
for the Turkish Government today to make life more difficult for its
citizens of Armenian descent. The problems that the Turkish Armenian
community faces presently in the administration of its Patriarchate,
hospital, schools and churches must be solved as soon as possible.
d) The Turkish and Armenian peoples, states and governments will have to
live side by side till the end of time. Therefore, it is important that they
make efforts to befriend one another, to understand each other, to confess
sins and to forgive each other. This is not possible through
third-party parliamentary acts. A genuine effort must be made to launch a
process of dialog. Any form of Armenian or Turkish nationalism/racism is
dangerous and will hinder that process.
It is true that no sensible person in Turkey could use the term "Armenian
genocide" to refer to the great tragedy in 1915. Why? Because, in Turkey,
the expression is prohibited by a law. Moreover, isn't this characterization
a new term coined by a Jewish scholar (Raphael Lemkin)? And wouldn't it be
too ambitious for a church leader, as well as lay members of a community, to
decide whether a historical event was genocide or not? Aren't there Armenian
books written by former "heroes" who boast about how many Turks they
slaughtered? Isn't it more like one of the larger communities of the Ottoman
Empire following in the footsteps of the Balkan, Arab and African peoples
rioting against the central Ottoman government in order to create an
independent Armenia for themselves? Did they really think, and should we
think today, that any central government would not have retaliated by force?
Is there a government on earth that doesn't have a system of defense?
I am certainly not saying the Armenians did not have the right to have their
own free and independent state. But as in all times and at all places in
history, there is always a price to pay. And what about the Romans? The
Persians? The Arabs? The Egyptian Memlukes? The Byzantines? Didn't all these
people slaughter large masses of Armenians in order to keep their authority?
How about the Red Indians slaughtered in the history of the United States?
Was that a genocide or not? How about what is happening today in Chechnya?
In former Yugoslavia? Aren't these ethnic cleansing and genocide? Aren't
they cases of states trying to preserve their sovereignty?
And what are these "moral" Armenians after by pushing genocide bills through
third-country parliaments? Is it the recognition? There are myriads of press
reports and other documentary evidence, and noone needs a congressional
resolution to verify the tragedy. Is it self-preservation? The huge some of
money paid to the congressmen could have been used to open ten new schools
in America where the new generation could learn Armenian; instead a crime is
being committed: the new generation is being taught that perpetual hatred
helps self-preservation. Is it money? Who will pocket it and why, may I ask?
If it is land, who will come and get it and live there? And what will happen
to the 10 million Turks and Kurds living in the provinces claimed by
activist revolutionary Armenians? Will you kill them? Will you deport them?
Or will they become your "minority"? Will it be a new Israeli-Palestinian
problem this time in the Caucasus? A never-ending war? Generations and
generations of Turks and Armenians full of hatred? Is this something that
the vast majority of the Armenian people want? No, I don't think so.
The other question is, do you really think that a genocide resolution passed
by the American Congress will bring about peace with Turkey? Don't you think
that it will hinder the process of dialogue?
People living in Armenia and the Diaspora should not spill venom on the
Armenians living in Turkey, but rather they should think about their
attitudes concerning these questions and issues.
I am happy I was born in Istanbul. I have studied in Armenian schools. I
actively attend Armenian sports clubs. With great interest, I try to be
present whenever there are cultural events organised by our fifteen cultural
associations. Whenever I feel the need, I have the services of the Armenian
Church. I am happy I live here. And I do not need others to tell me how to
live, where to live and what to think.
(Special thanks to Hrach and Jonathan for their help with English.)
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