The civilized world is still trying to close the accounts of World War I, a war that ended with the ‘burial’ of three empires- the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Dozens of nation-states were formed from the fragments left from these empires, in which the reaction to that universal catastrophe can still be heard…
The words used by US President Joe Biden in his statement about the Armenian Genocide and the way in which things were called by name 106 years later do not only refer to the past, and the justice that was mentioned does not only refer to the memory of the past. Of course, the situation would be completely different if in recent decades if Turkey did not follow the path that, say, Germany did, and the revival of the old ‘monster ghosts’ was not a relevant policy at the state level today.
When the Ottoman Empire began to be referred to as the “Sick Man of Europe” in the mid-19th century, there was no question in European cities as to what that disease was since everything was clear and understandable to everyone. However, the same European cities did nothing when this “disease” manifested itself in the most disgusting way towards Armenians, Greeks, and other Christians, as well as towards the Yezidis, ending in national catastrophes and the deprivation of the homeland.
In 1923, the Republic of Turkey was founded on the ruins of the Ottoman Empire, born of the inhuman tradition of devshirme. However, as time has shown, the well-known disease was not cured, but only concealed, and Turkey’s de facto ally in Nazi Germany was proof of that… Although, the whole of continental Europe applauded the mad corporal in those years…
Read also
The “disease” was not cured even after the fall of Nazism when the Cold War broke out and Hitler’s ally, Turkey, went unpunished. Instead, it became a beneficiary of the Marshall Plan, then a NATO ally, and then the irreplaceable guardian of the southern wing, joining the Western defense and security systems, and the Turkish military elite was appointed the “doctor” in case the “disease” threatened… The first manifestation of the “disease” appeared in 1955 with the widespread massacres in Istanbul that were organized by the government and Prime Minister Menderes’ Democratic Party, a so-called Islamist-nationalist force. However, “ally” Turkey was more important to the West than the Greeks, Armenians, and Jews who died, were deprived of their homelands, and deported in those days.
The occupation of northern Cyprus by the Turkish army in 1974 demonstrated the fact that the “patient” was becoming increasingly arrogant and it was pointless to talk about treatment, but the logic of the Cold War forced the security of NATO’s southern flank to remain a priority and, well, the “disease” could be “driven inwards” and even military coups can be considered normal…
With the end of the Cold War, it seemed that the wave of democratization would hit the “high door” as well, but that did not happen at all. Only the ghosts of the past were presented as a “strong hand” and rumors of that security vanished when Turkey banned the US from using its territory during the Iraq War. Subsequent events showed that Turkey is an “ally” when necessary, and it will not care when it comes to allied obligations. The reality became more obvious when the Russian leadership began to present itself in the territory of the former USSR with the ambition of its “influence” and neo-imperial doctrine. It seems that this was a signal for Turkey, in its turn, to start talking openly about its neo-imperialist, neo-Ottoman doctrine and to pursue the relevant policy openly. And the transfer of US interests to Ankara by the Trump administration was an unimaginable surrealism…
And thus, like the avid old woman in the Russian “golden fish” tale, all this cannot end without appearing once again in front of a broken trough, and in this case, without a cold shower to begin with, such as Biden’s statement, which demolished the “national mythology” aimed to cover up and even justify crimes against humanity that had been carefully built up for more than a century.
Yes, this is not only about the past, but about the realities of the present and the revision of the resulting approaches. It no longer makes sense to “sell” an expired product to Washington several times that Washington simply does not need. There is no problem that the United States cannot solve without Turkey, and that is a fact. However, at the same time, the United States would prefer to see Turkey’s potential used in its favor, not against it. But, as painful as it is for the Americans, the processes in the Mediterranean, Syria, Libya, and the Caucasus show the opposite. Moreover, Turkish flirtations with Moscow, Tehran, and Beijing, and now Erdogan’s doctrine of a “logistical superpower” that would make Europe a prisoner of Ankara, as in the time of the Sultan Suleiman, contain nothing positive for either the United States or any other normal country.
The United States, which has forced Russia to withdraw from Ukraine through sanctions and resolute tensions with its allies, sees that constraints on Russia alone in the post-Soviet space and the Middle East is not enough. There is a need for “double constraint” against Turkey as well, which is necessary to demolish all the material, economic, ideological, and moral basis of all neo-imperialist doctrines. This is the straight path to peace, democracy, and prosperity. President Biden’s earlier foreign policy resolution, according to which authoritarian regimes are a threat to US national security, could not also avoid including the same approaches mentioned in the April 24th statement. Apart from the moral and valuable side of the issue, which is extremely critical, this is also a relevant policy that has been deeply thought out.
The US President’s unique statement opens new doors for new, current, and future-oriented agendas in Armenian-American relations, which may include the harmonization of interests in regional issues in security, defense, infrastructure, economy, and many other spheres, which will be an examination for the Republic of Armenia to see how well the Armenian political class has already recognized this political opportunity so that our country can not only become part of that aforementioned “disease,” but part of the mission to isolate and get rid of it.
And so, it’s time to get to work. May God protect Armenia, America, and Armenian-American friendship.
Ruben Mehrabyan
Photo from Ahval
