Impartiality of the state, tragic events of 1915

TUĞBA AYDIN
TUĞBA AYDIN


Date posted: April 24, 2013

MERVE BÜŞRA ÖZTÜRK

Turkey commemorated the 98th anniversary of the tragic events of 1915 — the killings of Anatolian Armenians during World War I — on Wednesday.

April 24 is the date chosen to recognize the events of 1915 when close to 200 Armenian religious and intellectual leaders were rounded up in İstanbul and later imprisoned and summarily executed. As Turkey refuses to term the killings of Armenians as genocide, columnists ponder whether Turkey should apologize for the unfair treatment of Armenians in 1915 in order to restore ties with Armenia.

We are commemorating the victims of the tragic events of 1915 and discussing how we can mend the ties between the two countries on another anniversary of the events, Bugün’s Gülay Göktürk writes. The columnist says we have long relied on historians to clarify what took place and whether or not there was a genocide. But that was the wrong approach. Just like historians can never give one definite answer to any question about history, there can never be one definite answer to “What really happened in 1915?” Then we thought that coming up with a name for what happened in 1915 could perhaps be the job of law professors if not of historians or politicians. But then we changed our mind as the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights could not determine what took place in 1915. Therefore, we cannot rely on the law, either, to name the 1915 events. So how are we going to settle this issue now, Göktürk asks.

Today the majority of the Turkish public believes the problem with relations between the two countries could be solved with an apology from the Turkish state. “I personally was thinking the same too for a long time,” Göktürk says. “But lately I have been questioning whether it would be right for a state to apologize on such a controversial issue. Just like some citizens are disturbed by the fact that the Turkish state does not recognize the ‘Armenian genocide,’ some citizens will also be disturbed if the state apologizes for the 1915 events. Either move from the state will end up representing one group of citizens and disturbing another group. Thus, I have started to think that the state should remain objective, impartial and non-ideological on this issue as well as on any other issue,” the columnist notes.

Nongovernmental organizations, political parties, the ruling party and individuals can have their own views, but the state, which is basically tasked with serving all the people of the country, cannot have an official view on historical incidents. As for what should be done now, Göktürk suggests that the state should no longer involve itself in the discussion of what happened in 1915 and that the discussions should be carried out only by historians, sociologists and law professors from the two countries. A clear conclusion will likely never be reached in these discussions and everyone will decide for themselves, but this is the way it is supposed to be, the Bugün columnist says.

Star’s Hakan Albayrak, on the other hand, says Turkey should apologize for the unfair treatment of Armenians, but not for genocide, in order to clear our conscience and prevent this issue from damaging the image of Turkey as a just country.

Taraf’s Roni Margulies is of the same view as Albayrak. Showing a photo on which is written “Happy is he who says I am a Turk” above an Armenian school’s signboard, Margulies says: “It is not only about genocide. There are many things to apologize for.”

Source: TodaysZaman, 24 April 2013


Related News

Gülen’s lawyer: a civilian structure demonized by fictitious slurs

Nurullah Albayrak, the lawyer of Muslim scholar Fethullah Gülen, rejected the Sabah daily’s headline story on Monday titled “Parallel Council,” saying pro-government outlets aim to distract attention from anti-government corruption assertions by making false claims about the Hizmet movement.

Closing prep schools as a new form of official tyranny

Thanks to the prep school system, with reasonable payments, the children of the “Black Turks” or “Mountain Turks” gain the chance to compete with the children of “White Turks” under equal standards. They, after graduating from good universities, become judges, teachers and academics and act as a catalyst in undermining pathological ways of thinking like labeling people as reactionary.

Fethullah Gulen’s new book “The Struggle for Renewal” sold 200,000 in 20 days

Fethullah Gulen’s new book [written in Turkish] “The Struggle of Renewal,”* the last of Broken Pot series published by Nil Publications, sold 200.000 in 20 days in Turkey. Gulen’s books are guiding ones, which address to and suggest solutions for the needs of society”. Yilmaz Simsek, NT Stores director of Book Category, said the book […]

Scores of students march to Pristina airport after learning Gülen teachers not yet deported

Scores of students marched to Pristina airport after finding out that six Turkish nationals who were arrested early on Thursday had not yet been deported.

Fethullah Gülen calls for ‘bridges of peace’ in Eid al-Fitr remarks

“Bridges of peace should be built,” said Gülen, adding that occasions such as Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha could be used for such a purpose. “We need to show that we have no prejudice against anyone. We ought to respect all,” he said, emphasizing that this is an obligation under Islam.

Ergenekon’s coup-lovers owe an apology to the Hizmet movement

Since the start of the Ergenekon trials, some of the suspects and their supporters constantly, steadfastly and fiercely argued that the Ergenekon cases were based on fabricated evidence prepared by the Hizmet movement, claiming that the defendants were actually innocent. They now owe an apology to the Hizmet movement.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Turkish school in Afghanistan opened

Gülen’s relatives dismayed over smear campaign against Islamic scholar

Erdogan Changes Tactics On Attempt To Shut Turkish Schools

Terrorist organization seeks to fill void in Southeast after closure of prep schools

Turkish doctors leave country to volunteer at Uganda’s Nile hospital

Woman miscarried twins in prison, dead bodies not returned to family

Albanian Speaker of the Parliament: Schools of “Gulen” Movement will not be closed

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News