All wars end, eventually. But memories of atrocity never seem to fade, as the government-fanned anti-Japanese riots now taking place in China remind us. The 90th anniversary of the Armenian massacres of 1915, ordered by the ruling Young Turks of the Ottoman Empire and carried out by the Kurds, is another wound that will not heal, but one that must be treated if Turkey's progress toward EU membership is to proceed smoothly.
It is believed that the Armenian genocide inspired the Nazis in their plans for the extermination of Jews. However, in comparison with the Holocaust, most people still know little about this dark episode.
Indeed, it is hard for most of us to imagine the scale of suffering and devastation inflicted on the Armenian people and their ancestral homelands. But many members of today's thriving global Armenian Diaspora have direct ancestors who perished, and carry an oral historical tradition that keeps the memories burning.
It is particularly ironic that many Kurds from Turkey's southeastern provinces, having been promised Armenian property and a guaranteed place in heaven for killing infidels, were willingly complicit in the genocide. They later found themselves on the losing end of a long history of violence between their own separatist forces and the Turkish army, as well as being subjected to an ongoing policy of discrimination and forced assimilation.
Historically, the ancient Christian Armenians were amongst the most progressive people in the East, but in the 19th century Armenia was divided between the Ottoman Empire and Russia. Sultan Abdulhamit II organized the massacres of 1895 to 1897 but it was not until the spring of 1915, under the cover of World War I, that the Young Turks' nationalistic government found the political will to execute a true genocide.
Initially, Armenian intellectuals were arrested and executed in public hangings in groups of 50 to 100. Ordinary Armenians were thus deprived of their leaders, and soon after were massacred, with many burned alive.
Approximately 500,000 were killed in the last seven months of 1915, with the majority of the survivors deported to desert areas in Syria, where they died from either starvation or disease. It is estimated that 1.5 million people perished.
Recently, the Armenian Diaspora has been calling on Turkey to face-up to its past and recognize its historic crime. Turkey's official line remains that the allegation is based on unfounded or exaggerated claims, and that the deaths that occurred resulted from combat against Armenians collaborating with invading Russian forces during World War I, or as a result of disease and hunger during the forced deportations. Moreover, the local Turkish population allegedly suffered similar casualties.
Turkey thus argues that the charge of genocide is designed to besmirch Turkey's honor and impede its progress towards EU accession. There are also understandable fears that diverging from the official line would trigger a flood of compensation claims, as occurred against Germany.
For many politicians, particularly in the US, there is an unwillingness to upset Turkey without strong justification, given its record as a loyal NATO ally and putative EU candidate country.
But, despite almost half a century of membership in the Council of Europe -- ostensibly a guardian of human rights, including freedom of speech and conscience -- Turkey still punishes as a crime against national honor any suggestion that the Armenian genocide is an historic truth. Fortunately, this article of Turkey's penal code is now due for review and possible repeal.
Indeed, broader changes are afoot in Turkey. The press and government, mindful of the requirements of EU membership, are finally opening the sensitive Armenian issue to debate. Even Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, under increasing EU pressure as accession negotiations are due to begin this October, has agreed to an impartial study by academic historians, although he has reiterated his belief that the genocide never occurred.
In France, the historical occurrence of the Armenian genocide is enshrined in law, and denial of its occurrence is regarded in the same way as Holocaust denial.
The European Parliament is pressing for Turkish recognition of the Armenian genocide. It is also calling for an end to the trade embargo by Turkey and its close ally Azerbaijan against the Republic of Armenia, a reopening of frontiers, and a land-for-peace deal to resolve the territorial dispute over Nagorno Karabakh in Azerbaijan and safeguard its Armenian identity.
Armenia, an independent country since 1991, remains dependent on continued Russian protection, as was the case in 1920 when it joined the Soviet Union rather than suffer further Turkish invasion. This is not healthy for the development of Armenia's democracy and weak economy. Nor does Armenia's continued dependence on Russia bode well for regional co-operation, given deep resentment of Russian meddling in neighboring Georgia and Azerbaijan.
There is only one way forward for Turkey, Armenia, and the region. The future will begin only when Turkey -- like Germany in the past and Serbia and Croatia now -- repudiates its policy of denial and faces up to its terrible crimes of 1915. Only then can the past truly be past.
Charles Tannock is chairman of the European Parliament's Human Rights Committee.
Copyright: Project Syndicate
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