Aravot.am asked Edik Gevorgyan, Associate Professor of the Department of Armenian History at the Pedagogical University after Kh. Abovyan, how he estimates the pro-Kurdish “People’s Democratic” part ethnic Armenian deputy Garo Paylan’s speech at the Turkish parliament where Paylan raises the issue of the Armenian Genocide and calls on Turkey to face its history. Mr. Gevorgyan said that the Armenian deputy’s speech truly gives reason to think, given the current geopolitical developments.
The historian thinks that the speech seemed staged along with the applauses followed by. “The recent elections in Turkey, the incidents with the Kurds and afterwards, the speeches of the Armenian deputies from various political parties and alliances at the Turkish parliament gives rise to thinking but in all cases it is applauded. In recent days, I learned from the Internet that Armenian deputy Garo Paylan delivered a speech at the Turkish parliament and on the eve of April 24, has talked about the Armenian Genocide, illustrating even facts and examples, showed the photos of 7 Armenian deputies in the Ottoman empire Parliament (Krikor Zohrab, Bedros Halachean, Nazareth Dağavaryan, Garabed Paşayan, Ohanes Serengulyan, Hampartsum Boyacıyan, Onik Dercakyan), suggested to examine the files of their arrest and murder and so on. In the end, the speech won applauses. Today, we are living on the threshold of such events when any voicing about the Armenian genocide and Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, especially beyond Armenia, in the international arena, attracts our attention. In my opinion, in given case, Turkey wants to wash its hands with the help of the Armenian MP and show that it has nothing to do with the internal developments of the region, it is a democratic country where the freedom of expression is at a high level. While Paylan’s speech must be viewed in the following context: we are standing on the threshold of major events – the April four-day war, the incidents in Artsakh, the Armenian-Russian relations and the following Russian-Turkish strained relations, even today Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit and meetings with top officials of Armenia, the problems discussed in the Armenian and world press that Russia is presenting a package of proposals and these recommendations refer also to the territorial problems. This is our approach which perhaps is also a private opinion but a historian’s point of view. We know the Turkish-Azerbaijani close relations and the recent Turkish senior leaders statements that they are twin brothers and kinsfolk with Azerbaijan. This has been voiced through the lips of Davutoglu and others. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister also spoke about it. In short, Armenian deputy’s speech days before the Armenian Genocide seems a bit suspicious, I repeat, Turkey wants to show at the international platform that allegedly it is a democratic country.”
Gohar HAKOBYAN
