When the Armenian-Turkish protocols were signed, every one of us was concerned that the cunning Turks would state everywhere from then on that they were trying to speak the same language with Armenians and the parliaments of those countries that would pass a resolution on the Armenian Genocide would as if inhibit that process of normalization. Yesterday the French National Assembly passed a bill that denied that logic, the Genocide is still on the agenda and the protocols do not inhibit it. I am under the impression that many countries of the world expectedTurkey’s attitude toward the relations withArmenia. When it was eventually clear that there was no progress because of our neighboring country, interested super powers made their conclusions. Therefore, everything seems to be clarified here. It is worth, however, to mention not Turkey’s blackmailing France (they will not realize a half of those threats and the position toward the other half will change in time), but the arguments of Turkey. Those are mainly two.
Argument no. 1. Let us leave history to historians. It sounds convincing at first sight. If one speaks of the relations betweenTurkeyandArmenia, problems that exist are first of all political and those should not be left to historians’ discretion – politicians, national, political figures should deal with those issues. And the crime against humanity should be described as such to the rest of the world for one reason, in order that no government initiates such a monstrous action anymore.
Argument no. 2. Banning the denial of the Genocide threatens the right to freedom of speech. Certainly, it is a bit funny thatTurkeygives lessons in democracy toFrance, whereas the article on “Denigrating Turkey’s National Identity” is retained in the criminal code (in a bit milder version) of our very neighboring country. However, in the law passed by the French National Assembly, the right to freedom of expression is not restrained in any way. If someone inFrancesays that the Armenian Genocide didn’t happen, he will not be cuffed at once. It is just about denying the crime publicly in a racist, offensive manner. The following parallel can be drawn – if one claims that “October 27” did not happen, he is just suffering from insanity. However, if someone states that this event took place, but it was not a terrorist act and a crime against the state, but an action of a group of romantics rescuing the country, thereby that person prepares the ground for future “actions” like that.
First president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrossian said during an interview given to “Moskovskiye Novosti” that Serzh Sargsyan had done everything properly in the issue of the Armenian-Turkish protocols. I think that such a famous analyst can be trusted in this issue.
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ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
