The Shifting Focus of the Armenian Cause (original) (raw)

The Armenian Question in Turkey’s Domestic and International Policy

IIRF Reports, 2015

Even if the Armenian question does not have the importance of the Kurd question for Turkey’s domestic policy, it plays a central role for Turkey’s selfunderstanding. What lies at the center is not primarily the everyday discrimination of Armenians which emanates from the population. Rather, it is the combat against those who want to designate the widespread deaths of Armenians in the course of the alleged resettlement of Armenians during World War I as genocide. It has only been since the massive opposition by governments and parliaments of numerous countries that Turkey has initiated research into genocide at all. Together with the discrimination of religious minorities, this has become a stumbling block for entry into the EU.

The Clash of Turkish and Armenian Narratives: The Imperative for a Comprehensive and Nuanced Public Memory

2017

It is difficult to give a single, accurate name to the debates and tensions between the Turkish and Armenian peoples. Calling it “The Armenian Question” is quite outdated; one might offer equal justification in calling it “The Turkish Question.” Simply pointing out where the issue lies and what is at stake can be problematic. Are there disputed territories under consideration? Is there control of natural resources to be fought over? Issues of money or property? Diplomatic rows? Commercial ties? Legal cases? Moral or ethical concerns? All of the above may or may not apply. Even the actors of this phenomenon are not always fully clear. Two states exist on the world map today—the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Armenia. But this is not a classic inter-state disagreement. There are individual Armenians and groups outside of Armenia—the Armenian Diasporae—including an Armenian population within Turkey itself, all of which can claim a voice, to say nothing of other voices within broader Turkish society. There are also Turkish communities outside of Turkey (though not in Armenia). Sometimes the more classic dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh draws in another Armenian population as well as a third state, the Republic of Azerbaijan, into the mix. Regional powers and global hegemons are never far behind. This is a complex case. The present study aims at tackling the issue in a broad manner through the prism of narrative. (May, 2017)

THE CLASH OF TURKISH AND ARMENIAN NARRATIVES: THE IMPERATIVE FOR A COMPREHENSIVE AND NUANCED PUBLIC MEMORY, NAREG SEFERIAN

The debates and tensions that very often characterize the interactions between the Turkish and Armenian peoples do not easily fit into frameworks adopted by studies of international affairs. One problem is that of identifying specific actors: states, diasporas, community-level and international organizations, religious bodies, individuals, broader regional or global players and trends. A second problem is identifying what is at stake: moral, ethical, or religious principles, core hard power interests, legal disputes, economic calculations. The complexity of the case challenges any single approach to analysis but at the same time offers the opportunity for multiple points of view to bring forward meaningful insights. This study uses narratives as a source and as a method.

THE KURDS, THE ARMENIAN QUESTION, AND THE HISTORY OF ARMENIAN-KURDISH RELATIONS, VAHAN BAIBOURTIAN

This book elucidates the political and economic history of the Kurdish people who first composed a significant part of the Ottoman Empire, and later, of Republican Turkey. It goes on to explore the development of Armenian-Kurdish relations with its entire vicissitudes. It comprehensively illustrates manifestations of the Armenian and the Kurdish Questions at international diplomatic forums and the political interactions of the two neighboring nations in the last few decades. The Armenian Question is touched upon here only as much as it is closely linked with the Kurdish Question. This volume brings to the reader's attention that the Kurdish factor has had a negative impact on the development of the Armenian Question and was one of the reasons for the ultimate failure of the Armenian liberation movement.

Armenians in Turkey Today: A Critical Assessment of the Armenian Minority in the Turkish Republic

Report (Brussels, Oct 2002; 46 pages) on the largely urban Armenian minority. CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................................................3 FOREWORD...............................................................................................................................................................5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................................................................6 RECENT REFORMS AND CHANGES...............................................................................................................................6 RECOMMENDATIONS..................................................................................................................................................7 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................9 HISTORICAL SETTLEMENT AREA.................................................................................................................................9 CHRISTIANITY AS AN INTEGRAL COMPONENT OF NATIONAL IDENTITY .............................................................................9 PRESENT NUMBERS, SOCIAL SITUATION AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ARMENIANS IN TURKEY..........................9 I. IN OTTOMAN TIMES: HISTORICAL REVIEW AND BACKGROUND................................................................12 II. IN THE TURKISH REPUBLIC..............................................................................................................................15 ONGOING PERSECUTION ..........................................................................................................................................15 LEGAL DISCRIMINATION: BANISHMENT AND CONFISCATION OF PROPERTY....................................................................15 VARLIK VERGISI KANUNU: THE PROPERTY TAX FOR NON-MUSLIMS 1942-44 - A VIOLATION OF ARTICLES 39 AND 40 OF THE LAUSANNE TREATY ...........................................................................................................................................16 DISCRIMINATION IN THE '1970S ................................................................................................................................16 SERFDOM: FEUDAL CLIENT RELATIONSHIP .................................................................................................................17 FORCED ISLAMISATION AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 1980S ..........................................................................................17 THREAT TO LIFE AND LIMB: ATTACKS ON THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY IN ISTANBUL.......................................................18 III. ARMENIAN INSTITUTIONS AND THEIR PROBLEMS.....................................................................................23 1. CHURCHES..........................................................................................................................................................23 2. ARMENIAN SCHOOLS............................................................................................................................................25 3. FOUNDATIONS.....................................................................................................................................................27 IV. VIOLATIONS OF FUNDAMENTAL........................................................................................................................31 INDIVIDUAL CIVIL RIGHTS ....................................................................................................................................31 1. FREEDOM OF CHOICE OF PROFESSION...............................................................................................................31 2. THE RIGHT TO HOLD POLITICAL OFFICE..................................................................................................................31 3. PROTECTION AGAINST DISCRIMINATORY TREATMENT DURING MILITARY SERVICE .....................................................31 4. FREEDOM OF OPINION, CONSCIENCE, RESEARCH AND THE PRESS ..........................................................................32 V. ANTI-ARMENIAN REPORTING IN THE TURKISH MEDIA ...............................................................................35 VI. NEGLECT AND DESTRUCTION OF ARMENIAN CULTURAL HERITAGE ....................................................39 VII. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. ................................................................................................43 RECOMMENDATIONS................................................................................................................