Academics’ Armenia apology to test taboos
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Reuters
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 15, 2008 00:00
ANKARA - A group of Turkish intellectuals and academics are planning to issue a public apology on the Internet in relation to the Armenian claims of genocide, testing one of Turkey's most sensitive taboos.
The campaign, which has drawn the ire of nationalists who regard it as an act of national betrayal, coincides with a diplomatic rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia to end almost 100 years of hostility.
Cengiz Aktar, a professor at Istanbul's Bahçeşehir University who also writes for the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, and one of the campaign's organizers, said the group plans to issue the apology Monday along with a non-binding Internet petition to gather signatures.
It will read, "My conscience does not accept the insensitivity showed to and the denial of the Great Catastrophe that the Ottoman Armenians were subjected to in 1915.
"I reject this injustice and for my share, I empathize with the feelings and pain of my Armenian brothers. I apologize to them."
Turkey accepts that many Armenians were killed during the waning years of the Ottoman Empire, but strongly denies the Armenian claims of genocide, saying that Muslim Turks also died in inter-ethnic conflicts.
Turks, including Nobel Literature Laureate Orhan Pamuk, have been prosecuted in the European Union candidate country for affirming that the 1915 incidents amount to a so called genocide.
The apology, which has been leaked to the media, threatens to re-ignite a controversy that challenges one of the ideological foundations of modern Turkey.
Aktar said the initiative was meant to allow Turks to be able to offer a personal apology and put an end to an official silence.
Individual apology
"We are not targeting anyone. It is an apology of an individual nature. We want to tell our Armenian brothers and sisters we apologize for not being able to discuss this issue for almost 100 years," he told Reuters.
He said the group included 200 writers, intellectuals and academics. Among the signatories are Germany’s Green Party co-chair Cem Özdemir, journalists Ece Temelkuran, Mine Kırıkkanat, Oral Çalışlar, Ertuğrul Kürkçü, director Barış Pirhasan, political scientist Baskın Oran, writers Murathan Mungan, Enis Batur, economists Ahmet İnsel, Ayşe Buğra, musician Aylin Aslım, actress Derya Alabora, and historians Halil Berkay and Selim Deringil.
President Gül became the first Turkish leader to visit Armenia in September as Turkey has sought to improve ties.
Cengiz Aktar, a professor at Istanbul's Bahçeşehir University who also writes for the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, and one of the campaign's organizers, said the group plans to issue the apology Monday along with a non-binding Internet petition to gather signatures.
It will read, "My conscience does not accept the insensitivity showed to and the denial of the Great Catastrophe that the Ottoman Armenians were subjected to in 1915.
"I reject this injustice and for my share, I empathize with the feelings and pain of my Armenian brothers. I apologize to them."
Turkey accepts that many Armenians were killed during the waning years of the Ottoman Empire, but strongly denies the Armenian claims of genocide, saying that Muslim Turks also died in inter-ethnic conflicts.
Turks, including Nobel Literature Laureate Orhan Pamuk, have been prosecuted in the European Union candidate country for affirming that the 1915 incidents amount to a so called genocide.
The apology, which has been leaked to the media, threatens to re-ignite a controversy that challenges one of the ideological foundations of modern Turkey.
Aktar said the initiative was meant to allow Turks to be able to offer a personal apology and put an end to an official silence.
Individual apology
"We are not targeting anyone. It is an apology of an individual nature. We want to tell our Armenian brothers and sisters we apologize for not being able to discuss this issue for almost 100 years," he told Reuters.
He said the group included 200 writers, intellectuals and academics. Among the signatories are Germany’s Green Party co-chair Cem Özdemir, journalists Ece Temelkuran, Mine Kırıkkanat, Oral Çalışlar, Ertuğrul Kürkçü, director Barış Pirhasan, political scientist Baskın Oran, writers Murathan Mungan, Enis Batur, economists Ahmet İnsel, Ayşe Buğra, musician Aylin Aslım, actress Derya Alabora, and historians Halil Berkay and Selim Deringil.
President Gül became the first Turkish leader to visit Armenia in September as Turkey has sought to improve ties.