Bruce Fein
The Quest for Change
By all accounts, the 2008 presidential election is about "change," yet it is politics as usual when it comes to the ongoing Armenian dispute with Turkey. The quarrel over World War I history in Anatolia -- which many have difficulty even finding on a map -- has been turned into a special interest issue by the Armenian lobby. Political calculations prompted Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to release presidential campaign statements supporting a congressional resolution to mischaracterize tragic events which unfolded during the waning years of the Ottoman Empire as genocide. The two White House aspirants are aping the Armenian resolution initiative of the House of Representatives in the previous Congress, whereby Members would hijack the role of both historian and the World Court in deciding the genocide question; this resolution was derailed by the then House Speaker. The Obama-Clinton pandering to the Armenian lobby betrays the signature Washington habit of making promises now and thinking about them later. It speaks volumes that Senator John McCain, arch enemy of earmarks and sister special interest money, refrained from bowing to Armenian campaign contributions and votes.
For several decades, some outspoken Armenian-Americans have politicized the events of 1915 in lieu of seeking the full truth. By playing their game, Obama and Clinton wander from history, fan the flames of division, and stray ever farther from what they purport to be about: change from past myopia, folly, or pettiness.
Turkey opened the Ottoman archives for academic research many years ago. Armenian archives that remain closed, including those in the United States, should be opened for examination by scholars. Openness would foster constructive change by creating an impartial forum free from the influences of domestic electoral politics to establish a more comprehensive narrative of the events of 1915. Genocide questions are too important to be entrusted to amateurs. They should be addressed by objective experts in the proper forum un-distracted by political calculations.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul responded to the recent Armenian presidential election results by calling for "normalized relations" between Turkey and Armenia and urging increased cooperation. His remarks highlight Turkey's commitment to change from a political landscape reminiscent of a petrified forest. Our nation's leaders, both current and prospective, should follow President Gul's instruction.
Reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia is no pipedream. Who ever thought Germany and France would reconcile in the short decades after World War II? At issue are not only the grim events of 1915, where innocent life was tragically lost on both sides during the war, but also Armenia's occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh, territory belonging to Azerbaijan. Turkish-Armenian reconciliation may need the catalyst of leaders who care not only about geostrategic maneuvering, but the people whose lives would be directly implicated. To play the role of facilitator, a United States leader would need to harmonize the disparate voices of domestic constituencies, without neglecting strategic allies such as Turkey.
A leader who promotes reconciliation and peace among peoples and nations is the architect of change.
America deserves that kind of leader.
Response:
Michael van der Galien on March 13, 2008 @ 12:02 pm CET
Publish Post
Political calculations prompted Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to release presidential campaign statements supporting a congressional resolution to mischaracterize tragic events which unfolded during the waning years of the Ottoman Empire as genocide. The two White House aspirants are aping the Armenian resolution initiative of the House of Representatives in the previous Congress, whereby Members would hijack the role of both historian and the World Court in deciding the genocide question; this resolution was derailed by the then House Speaker. The Obama-Clinton pandering to the Armenian lobby betrays the signature Washington habit of making promises now and thinking about them later. It speaks volumes that Senator John McCain, arch enemy of earmarks and sister special interest money, refrained from bowing to Armenian campaign contributions and votes.
For several decades, some outspoken Armenian-Americans have politicized the events of 1915 in lieu of seeking the full truth. By playing their game, Obama and Clinton wander from history, fan the flames of division, and stray ever farther from what they purport to be about: change from past myopia, folly, or pettiness.
He goes on to write that Turkey open its archives (for research) years ago. The Armenian archives, on the other hand, remain closed. Why don’t Armenians open their archives? Well, the reason is simple: Armenians misbehaved tremendously before, during and after the first World War. The world doesn’t have to know that, of course. Those who want to spend time investigating this matter know so nonetheless, but if the Armenian archives contradict the Armenian claims (and propaganda), well, they’ve got a problem.
So, that’s why many people who know a bit about this issue think the Armenians refuse to open their archives (interestingly enough, they continue to say that Turkey has to open its archives, even though Turkey has opened them; it’s all part of the propaganda war).
Fein also writes that if Armenians want reconciliation, they should open up the archives. The problem with this kind of reasoning is, of course, that Armenian lobbyists don’t want reconciliation. They want money and lands.
However; at the moment that Armenia understands that this isn’t going to happen, then - and only then - they might be willing to reconcile with Turkey. In order for that to happen, Fein writes, the US should stop functioning as a mouthpiece for Armenian propagandists. The US shouldn’t be an activist, it should play “the role of facilitator.”
The next president, he writes, should be a person who understands that. Not a person who’s willing to condemn Turkey for something that happened before Turkey existed and who doesn’t understand the difference between a tremendous tragedy with many deaths (on both sides) and genocide.
Well said Bruce.
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6 Comments
1.
1 Harb
March 13, 2008 @ 2:08 pm CET
The issue of whether or not a genocide was committed by the Ottoman Empire against their Armenian Citizens has been decided. The International Association of Genocide Scholars has determined it to be a genocide. It seems that Clinton and Obama are courageously standing against genocide denial despite the fallout with Turkey.
2.
2 raffi
March 13, 2008 @ 3:23 pm CET
i don’t think that for obama and clinton, it’s an issue of courage, but rather of votes. either way, the content of this article is total bullox. it is true that the turkish archives are open, no one disputes this, however, it is a question of ‘what’ is open. though technically you may enter through the doors, the number of articles that one may read are quite restricted, mostly because turkish scholars must go over them first. now, about the armenian archives of 1915, i find it rather difficult to see how mr. fein wants them open. he must not have realised that in 1915, armenia did not exist, for it was under ottoman occupation for the last 400 years. records have been kept, however, and today’s modern republic of armenia’s archives are quite open. it is interesting to note that mr. fein places all armenians in the same boat, as if they were one thinking block. he seems to be sure that all armenians are sleeper agents, part of a global conspiracy to soil the ‘good name’ of the turkish state. it is unsafe to say that all armenians just want land and money. the land issue has nothing to do with the genocide, as it is related to the sevres treaty, and compensation is not such a bad thing to be sure, the jewish state was built on german money after all. how easy is it to say that armenians are some sort of money hungry creatures. many times over, armenian families of genocide victims have gone to court to retrieve their insurance money. however, after winning, they were only payed a tiny fraction of what was owed, but to the armenians it was not the monitary value that counted, but rather the symbolic value. thus it is my opinion that bruce fein is living in a kemalist fantasy world. also it must be noted that politics are what create history, so for turks to claim that armenians are trying to ‘politicise a historical issue’ is quite wrong.
3.
3 Richard
March 13, 2008 @ 3:26 pm CET
Interesting piece from the "Resident Scholar for the Turkish Coalition of America. Prior to this position, Mr. Fein was also resident scholar at the Assembly of Turkish American Associations and a columnist for the Turkish Times".
He repeats a few inaccuracies though. Armenia’s archives are open and accessible. The various Ottoman and Turkish archives have been progressively opened in recent years although some still remain restricted and there is evidence of "cleansing".
The U.S.A. should be putting more pressure on Turkey to end its blockade of Armenia and re-establish diplomatic relations with this tiny country. Armenia has offered to do so without pre-conditions. This is the way forward to reconciliation.
4.
4 Nihat
March 13, 2008 @ 5:15 pm CET
There wasn’t Armenia in those years, so there are no Armenian archives to speak of. That’s a good one…
5.
5 Harut
March 13, 2008 @ 6:36 pm CET
When you have thousands upon thousands of Armenians who are living today all over the world, who did not see any grandparents, any aunts, any uncles, any cousins because all were massacred by the Turks, this are the Armenian archives. When you have both of your parents growing up after the 1915 Genocide with out any relatives, this is the Armenian archives. And also to mention that this archives have mouths and this archives do speak. And times this archives speak very loud. And even when there time is up and they have to pass on, their off springs in multiple numbers will be continuing to be the old and new archives.
The Bible says:
John 12:24
I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
6.
6 Jason
March 13, 2008 @ 9:37 pm CET
Because so many (more than 60% of all comments on this thread) of those who disagree have shown themselves unwilling or unable to do so without using racial and ethnic slurs and baseless accusations of corruption, comments have been deleted and this comments thread has been closed.
Let this be a warning to those who would use racial, religious, and national slurs and baseless accusations in the future as well. If you do it, your comments will be deleted, threads closed, and you may be banned.
If you can disagree civilly, without name-calling, without bigotry, and without accusations of corruption, you are welcome and encouraged to comment.
Posted March 7, 2008 | 05:36 PM (EST)