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There seems to be a major inaccuracy in this post. Maybe others better informed than me on the subject can clarify:

"However, the vast Ottoman archives remain under strict seal since 1923 and requests for access to such records, even by Turkish researchers and historians, are summarily rejected. One reason is that those records are in the old Arabic script of the Turkish language, before Kemal Ataturk changed the national alphabet. So there hardly any Turkish nationals who can read these materials, nor any government specialists that can edit them."

It's my understanding that the Turkish archives have been opened for examination for some years now. It's dificult for me to believe that nobody looks at them because of language difficulties. Given all of the extreme talk about the subject, surely there are enough brains to translate.

The real problem seems to be emotional baggage on all sides about the subject. The Turks say their archives are available and the Armenians say that not enough or the "correct" archives are available. At the same time I also understand that the Armenian archives truly are closed to review.

I don't believe that the "vast" Turkish archives are under strict seal as stated here.

Isn't the real problem simply that it's easier and I guess more in line with human nature to just trash each other for emotional content rather than make an honest effort at arriving to an understanding? All countries and peoples carry historical burdens unfortunately.

The Congressional resolution in the U.S. I believe is something else entirely. I believe it has a lot more to do with politics in the U.S. than real concern for Armenians. Armenians should deal with Turks to resolve these issues - not the U.S. Congress. I would like the U.S. to encourage resolution but not join in on the trashing of an ally.

The thing is, time is already passing. In fact it actually has passed and literally became far history.

People should just move on and concentrate on how to make sure the future will be a better place. Wars, health care, education, climate change etc are all much more important than what might have happened in a far corner of an empire centuries ago.

As Dassak and Sikiji said, I don't get why some Armenians have such a venomous attitude bordering on racism towards the Turks - you guys weren't even there a century ago!! Weirrrd

Everyone is free to remember what they want about the past, but I pity anyone who lets centuries-old stuff preoccupy their minds soo much. Seriously.

peace people!

The thing is, time is already passing. In fact it actually has passed and literally became far history.

People should just move on and concentrate on how to make sure the future will be a better place. Wars, health care, education, climate change etc are all much more important than what might have happened in a far corner of an empire centuries ago.

As Dassak and Sikiji said, I don't get why some Armenians have such a venomous attitude bordering on racism towards the Turks - you guys weren't even there a century ago!! Weirrrd

Everyone is free to remember what they want about the past, but I pity anyone who lets centuries-old stuff preoccupy their minds soo much. Seriously.

peace people!

I agree with Dassak Yarrakyan. Most Turks already don't care at all about the EU, NATO or the US. The economy is phenomenal and it is a great country to be live in. Nice weather, lots of culture, young and great people.

And you know why? Because Turks are intelligent: they are forward-looking; not stuck centuries ago like the Armenians. Just a question: What is Armenia? I heard that a million people actually moved out of there in the last fifteen years since it sucks to live there apparently (yeah, 70,000 of them moved to Turkey, by the way). So much for Turks having their comeuppance soon, right?!

As Dassak said, as long as this racist, vengeful and venomous attitude prevails among the Armenians towards Turkey for something that happened a century ago, the chances of dialogue are next to nil.

Food for thought.

I agree with Dassak Yarrakyan. Most Turks already don't care at all about the EU, NATO or the US. The economy is phenomenal and it is a great country to be live in. Nice weather, lots of culture, young and great people.

And you know why? Because Turks are intelligent: they are forward-looking; not stuck centuries ago like the Armenians. Just a question: What is Armenia? I heard that a million people actually moved out of there in the last fifteen years since it sucks to live there apparently (yeah, 70,000 of them moved to Turkey, by the way). So much for Turks having their comeuppance soon, right?!

As Dassak said, as long as this racist, vengeful and venomous attitude prevails among the Armenians towards Turkey for something that happened a century ago, the chances of dialogue are next to nil.

Food for thought.

In Turkish, there is a saying: "when you argue with an imbecile, a third person cannot tell the difference between the two of you"..

The above article, written by an Iranian close to the US regime is so full of inaccuracies that it is not even worth commenting about, but here I go:

- Many Turks know that Armenians were slaughtered during WW1, the numbers are around 800,000. What happended was regional ethnic cleansing similar to what happended during the late Yugoslav war. Armenians in western Turkey, mainly Istanbul were unaffected by the bloodshed. It is coining the G word all Turks are unfortable with. Armenians have the Holocaust envy and have even fabricated a supposed quote from Hitler on the Armenian massacres to push their case.

- Turkish archives have been open for a long time for all to view. The Armenian goverment and its rich diaspora are not interested in what may be in the archives. They have an agenda they want to push and they will push it whatever is the cost to modern Armenians...

- Turkey's trade with France has shrunk to half of what it was two years ago. A lot of private citizens steer well clear of any French products in Turkey...

- As long as you keep this vengeful hatemongering against Turks, the chances of any dialogue are next to nil. In fact, Turks have grown nationalistic over the past 5 years not because Turkey is now the 6th biggest economy in Europe but the hypocritical Christian world's own undoing in Iraq, Bosnia and elsewhere is increasing the venom against set agendas. So keep the venom coming. Your hate will return in multiples...

In Turkish, there is a saying: "when you argue with an imbecile, a third person cannot tell the difference between the two of you"..

The above article, written by an Iranian close to the US regime is so full of inaccuracies that it is not even worth commenting about, but here I go:

- Many Turks know that Armenians were slaughtered during WW1, the numbers are around 800,000. What happended was regional ethnic cleansing similar to what happended during the late Yugoslav war. Armenians in western Turkey, mainly Istanbul were unaffected by the bloodshed. It is coining the G word all Turks are unfortable with. Armenians have the Holocaust envy and have even fabricated a supposed quote from Hitler on the Armenian massacres to push their case.

- Turkish archives have been open for a long time for all to view. The Armenian goverment and its rich diaspora are not interested in what may be in the archives. They have an agenda they want to push and they will push it whatever is the cost to modern Armenians...

- Turkey's trade with France has shrunk to half of what it was two years ago. A lot of private citizens steer well clear of any French products in Turkey...

- As long as you keep this vengeful hatemongering against Turks, the chances of any dialogue are next to nil. In fact, Turks have grown nationalistic over the past 5 years not because Turkey is now the 6th biggest economy in Europe but the hypocritical Christian world's own undoing in Iraq, Bosnia and elsewhere is increasing the venom against set agendas. So keep the venom coming. Your hate will return in multiples...

TO: 2125.COM

Defamation is against a person, not a legal entity (i.e. corporation or a state). And it will be wonderful to have the matter heard in a court of law. Let's use a precedent: Nurnberg rules, OK?

Seondly, if you are so fixed on being right, why Turkey doesn't throw out its biggest foreign investor, France, that has criminialised a denial of genocide, eh?

Given the vast historical reports, it will a "cakewalk".

And it is most amusing to see that Turks still want to defend the actions of the radical Turks, like Ismael Enver of a 100 years ago.
As the article above has said, Turkey has a choice to make to show that it is now modern and different than a radical state of 100 years ago. But, most Turks today want to continue the same thing. In other words the "modern Turkey" is just a sham, an absurd definition of the same old lot.

212s.com @October 18, 2007 12:31 PM: 'Turkey, please try to find a court where you can sue all these countries that have passed "genocide" resolutions for defamation.'

That would be wonderful. The records must be presented, and any missing entries must be accounted for.

"In law, defamation is the communication of a statement that makes a false claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may harm the reputation of an individual, business, product, group, government or nation." - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The case of "genocide" has not been made in court. So it is not for sure that "genocide" is factual. If it turns out to be not factual, a "genocide" bill could be considered a defamation of Turkey or the Turkish people. And America could become a subject of a lawsuit.

Turkey, please try to find a court where you can sue all these countries that have passed "genocide" resolutions for defamation. Try to make some money from their mistakes.

Only an moronic US Congress would risk alienating a good ally at this time for something that occurred almost 100 years ago. Is this their idea of international strategy??? Better think about this before the 2008 elections.

All I can say is that the Armenian community must be large Democratic contributors.

Can some one help me to understand whether Turkish membership in NATO in 1950s can excuse the mass killings of 1.5 million people some 50 years before?

TANSU
Big deal if Turkey is a member, so is Lithuania, Bulgaria and a bunch of other toy states. If Turkey is a true and full member of NATO, can you please tell me how many Secretary Generals or top commanders of NATO have been Turkish? NATO has had them from many other countries.....

Being a full member that is listened to is different from being a token member. And the other poster above has said, correctly, that another NATO political member, France has already criminalised denial of genocide.

What is confusing is why all Turks want to deny the main issue and divert attention to other issues?

With the number of pure factual errors in this article, it seems like Highmore Global Corporation needs a new director. If his knowledge of the other countries in the 'developing market' is at a similar level to his obvious lack of knowledge on Turkey (eg. Turkey IS ALREADY in NATO), I would be a very nervous investor...

VICTORIA
Orhan Pamuk was formally charged under article 301 of Turkish Penal Code precisely because he had mentioned "genocide" and insulted the Turkish character of the nation. At the Sisly District Prosecutor's office in Istanbul and the court dismissed the charges. That is the legal definition of prosecution.

As for opening of files, give me a break! Turkey is using threats if historical conclusions are mentioned. What are they affraid of, I wonder?

they didnt prosecute orhan pamuk- they are revisiting the very laws that allowed charges to be brought up against him-
and orhan pamuk is hardly stayed a quiet guy!!!

and the archives HAVE been open- now its time for armenia to open ITS archives-which mysteriously, it still refuses to do so.

consider the possibilty that because the united states is basing its resolution not because it has studied the matter- but because of a vocal and powerful lobby pushing it through-
that only hearing one side isnt really an impartial decision making policy-

and that it may be an unfair assignation and THAT is why the turks are making noise

Yes. This article is a good suggestion.

And REALITY CHECK above is right. We should also remember that France is the biggest foreign investor in Turkey and most of its investments are in partnership with the Turkish armed forces or their pension (Renault, Axa Insurance, pharmaceuticals, etc.).

They made the same fuss when France passed the resolution criminalizing a denial of the genocide.

Hey, let us see what is happening here.

It is America, the NATO ally of Turkey that is forcing Turkey to come up with the truth and the other (political) NATO ally of Turkey (which is France) has already made it illegal to deny the genocide of Armenians.

So, those Turks that think they are right in the middle of NATO, might wish to think that this whole thing is about sorting out the liars from the rest of NATO.

Yes, we need more scholars and less lobbyists and apologizers for Turks, like this poster Erkin Baker (Erkin is probably a Turkish name).
So, if Armenians did a wrong of bombing a bank, that is the reason for killing 1.5 million people? Do we get our history backwards to suit
Turkish propaganda? Armenians were driven to Arab lands to escape the Turkish murder masters.

Of course there is two sides to any "story". But this one is hardly a "story". It is massive and undeniabe historical crime. A very real one! Much bigger than the Holocaust.

If Turkey has nothing to hide, why should the archives be kept in secret? (and we should note that this blog does have a writer from Turkey....but we know that Turkey prosecuted their Nobel Prize Winner, Orhan Pamuk for mentioning genocide and thus the Turkish guy has stayed quiet!). What a great NATO ally......

The introduction about the author is quite clear. He can read both Arabic and Turkish and, presumably, he knows a few things about Turkey and the region.

Turkey is, and has been, a NATO member country for over half a century. It is not waiting at NATO's door to be accepted. On the contrary, there are calls in Turkey that NATO, as far as Turks are concerned, has become an irrelevant organization.

As for the E.U., most Turks no longer are enthused about it. It is, "Take it or leave it".

The writer conveniently omits the fact that the Armenians committed one of he first acts of urban terrorism by attacking and bombing the Ottoman Bank in Istanbul in 1896, years before 1915. They formed militias, as many as 100,000 soldiers, and demanded territory from the Ottoman Turks with the aim of establishing their own state on a piece of land where they were the minority, and not the majority (such as the case was in Greece, Bulgaria, or the Arab lands.) After subsiding for several decades, the Armenian terrorism started again when they took the lives of scores of Turkish diplomats and their families in various countries.

The writer is wrong where he claims that the Ottoman Archives are closed to scholars. From his name, one would surmise that he can read the Arabic alphabet, which was used by the Turks at that time. Had he ever asked for admission to the Ottoman archives in Turkey, he would have been granted permission. Yet, he does not mention that the Armenian archives in Yerevan and Boston are closed to outsiders. Period.

There are usually two sides to any story. This is one of them. We need scholars who can be more knowledgeable and objective than this writer is on this subject.

Erkin Baker

Time for Turkey to repent....They must catch up with realities of the modern world.

As this writer has said, and if the Turkish Republic is different, why are they still defending the old Ottoman Regime? The only answer I can have is that because they are the same wolf in different appearance.....

....and if you live by the sword, you die by the sword!

"Turkey must engage this American resolution, and the rest of the world, as a welcomed opportunity for a wholesale review of all regional events during the 20th century. That includes all issues that have roots during the ill-crafted breakup of the Ottoman Empire and subsequent fabrication of new, and now failed or deadlocked, states (Iraq, Syria and Israel come to mind)."

Precisely. That would be the act of a mature nation, a nation that has confronted its errors. However, Turkey wants to hide them, and Turks believe that blackmail is actually a resolution.

So, the result is that the Turks committed genocie against the Armenians, using the Kurds, in the closing days of the Ottomans; committed genocide against the rest of the Christians, again using the Kurds, in th eopening yeas of the 'modern' and oh so innocent Turkish state; and have finally turned on the Kurds (who, according to a Turkish 'patriot' are dragging the fine name and reputation of turkey through the mud). The catharsis of a 'mea culpa' will be immensely helpful to the Turks.

Not to change the subject, but has Japan officially acknowledged its mistreatment and murder of the Chinese and the Koreans? I understand that in Mongolia Ghengis Khan is a national hero. And whatever happened to platoon leader 2Lt. William Calley of Mai Lai massacre fame? Do we see a pattern here?
Oh, never mind!

Ankara must open the archives and the author has pointed to the problem: there are very few people in Turkey that can read old Turkish written in Arabic alphabet.

VICTORIA:
Turkish economy is doing well? After 18 IMF rescues within 24 years, what else could it do? And if you think it is doing well, why is it that total Turkish debt (private and public) continues to climb? Why Turkey is amongst the top 3 indebted nations (as a percentage of GDP)? And why do they want EU money?

The posts of people above with Turkish names is proving sample of the Turkish mentality. The oneabove about Armenian-Azeri disputes of 15 years ago, as excuse for acts of about 90 years ago is absurd!

Let us not forget that the Turks continue to occupy Cyprus and let us not forget that they are going to kill a substantial number of Kurds.....just to prove that they are the same people as the last Century?

By the way, in all text books that teach warfare and war gaming and tactics in military schools, the Turkish tactic of guerilla warfare and asymmetric war (a/k/a terrorism) is always explained as a Turkish speciality!

Excellent! A mature nation must deal with its past with open eyes and a cool head.

Turkey wants to block the path of knowledge and historical truth by every one. Why? Who knows!

This was infact genocide, they killed more than 1.5m people when the total population of Turkey was about 11m or so, proportionally a much higher percentage of the population when one compares the 6m Jews of WWII vs. Europe and its 100m people.

The posters above, with Turkish names, are examples of how they are brainwashed and are too busy congratulating themselves. This kind of childish behaviour has no place in the real world, and certainly not in EU.

Wow finally an intelligent op-ed piece. I'm in your debt.

"As I wrote about Turkey's trouble with its minorities, murder and denial are not the most realistic way forward. A democratic society must solve problems with courage and realistic engagement."

For a country to move on it must admit it mistakes.

Likewise people should look into themselves, until you get to know yourself you'll never be able to move on, at least not in any viable way.

Please before you leave your comment read what your wrote. Is it actually what you feel, really? Think about it, are you that filled with hatred.

All acts not respecting humanity should be roundly condemned, you cannot condemn one and feel that your job is complete, and you cannot deny one and be a man of honor.

if the turks are failing miserably, i think it's news to them.

their economy is doing well, they are educating their children, health care is affordable and accessible-

what i find a bit disconcerting is to define turks as "islamists" (a purely recent and western invented term from fox news maybe 6 years old)
and their leadership as a "religious democracy"

is israel a "religious democracy"?
is america a "religious democracy"?
is india a "religious democracy"?

usually i find mr ettafagh reasonable

but i am seeng some tribal prejudices poking around the corners in his characterization

particularly this comparison-

"The contrast of the Federal Republic of Germany against the Third Reich might serve as a useful example."

subtle but evocative

by making such an unequal comparison mr ettafagh
makes a judgement when he himself states he has no access to the information available to come to any conclusion

it is disturbing

of course hakan, you never ever respond the the real points such as "we won the war". VERY INCONVENIANT FOR you?

YOU are the biggest bore around because you spend all your time and energy SKIRTING the real issue of the Armenian genocide and invent falsehoods and propaganda. You are the one who keeps shoving threats by bluffing to invade iraq so the congress will get scared of you and not proceed with the genocide bill. it's a complete bluff a card that you have played before. The congress is calling your bluff now.

Let me repeat this one more time You turks have not won ANYTHING. you will fail miserably as long as you keep up your lies and propaganda you will have to deal with your past crimes no matter how long you keep up the lies.

As for the silly EU comment:

I don't want Turkey to join the EU.

Why would I want Turkey in a stupid Christian club with an ageing population, collapsing economies and self-righteous imperialist colonizers who can't even get along between themselves?

Most Turks don't want Turkey in the EU - check it out if you don't believe me.

The accession process is much more political than it looks like, believe me.

Anyways, carry on with your tirade. But some people really need to get over this - seriously. It is for the sake of their own mental health!

Anonymous: "You will have to deal with your past crimes"

You wish! so how does the world look from the fantasy-land that you created?

I have sympathy for anyone who might have suffered in wars all throughout history, but frankly I cannot be too bothered either way about this - I wasn't there nor was I even alive.

You can take it up with the big man upstairs if you really want.

"as you are finding out now" - Nah, I ain't finding out anything new. Whatever you might believe, nothing will ever change. Hundreds of millions of Americans and anyone who doesn't have a beef with the Turks already won't do anything more than say "oh well, what a pity". Make no mistake: Most politicians are simply using this in a political chess game with Turkey (eg France), not because of a sudden outpouring of sympathy for what might have happened a century ago to the Armenians.

You also need to deal with that and start getting on with your life. Turks already say that many Armenians died and that any sort of human suffering is bad. The dispute over the "g-word" is a more technical and political issue. No Turk is claiming that no Armenian died. Grow up please.

In any case, I find all this a big bore. Some people really DO need to get on with their lives. And everyone needs to take a deep breath and stop spewing lame rhetoric around.

And I have to state for the record that the Armenians are taking the very wrong road with this: Trying to shove this down the throat of anyone with resolutions in sub-committees of parliaments in lands far away won't help Turks nor the Armenians. So change tactics, and try (at some point) to sympathize and empathize with the suffering of Turks, Kurds and Azeris that same period and then you will see that things will be much different.

People who are stuck in the past cannot advance to the future, and frankly I have got other things on my mind.

I have some news for you hakan, the horrific mass murder of whole race of defenseless men, women and children who were ottoman citizens was not and is NOT considered a "war" in in 20th century civilized world. It is the most COWARDLY act imaginable. Therefore you have not "won" anything except possibly the most heinous title of the repeat mass-murder of innocents. you in the beginning of the 21th century exhibit the mentality of the 7th century tribesmen that left the Arabian peninsula. for your kind its as if time has stood perfectly still. and yet you are clamoring to become a member of the European Union. I pity you greatly.

I have news for you hakan, the horrific mass murder of whole race of defenseless men, women and children how were considered to be ottoman citizens was not and is NOT considered a "war" in in 20th century civilized world. It is the most COWARDLY act imaginable. There you have not "won" anything except the winner of the most heinous honor of mass-murders of innocents. you in the beginning of the 21th century exhibit the mentality of the 7th century tribesmen that left the arabian peninsula. for your kind its as if time has stood still. and yet you are clamoring to become a member of the Europen Union. I pity you greatly.

hakan,

you can't be MORE mistaken. I know this is your wish. as you are finding out now you cannot sweep genocide under the rug NO matter hoe hard you try. You will have to deal with your past crimes.

Armenians lost the war, so they might as well get over it.

When the Ottoman Empire fell, millions were displaced and fled to the newly created "nation-states". That's a sad chapter in history, but everyone really needs to get over this.

We have other things to worry about instead of spending time trying to force a peg through a pigeon-hole.

why all pro-Armenian folks actually do support the genocide resolution because they hate Turks. Only reason Turks are targeted is because they are the only non-wetsrners who subjegated westerners, it was all the way opposite in history that westreners subjegated everyone else. though luck. stop hating. turk haters...

why all pro-Armenian folks actually do support the genocide resolution because they hate Turks. Only reason Turks are targeted is because they are the only non-wetsrners who subjegated westerners, it was all the way opposite in history that westreners subjegated everyone else. though luck. stop hating. turk haters...

Blah, blah blah. same tune song by many anti-turk, quazi-liberal...still no one claim bring up any empirical data but tales from few survivors, 9 faded photos (God knows of whom), and books written by non-Armenian folks who have never been to Turkey or by Armenian kids whoa are hatful as a result of their great parents murders during the WAR.

Get empirical, not emotional. supporng Armenian claims without any knoweldge is stupid.

Baris Tarim, you can whitewash the turkish history and by extension the azeri turks any way you please, and pepper it with deceptions outright falsehoods such as armenian invasion azerbajan. you do a great disservice to yourselves and your future. you cannot falsify history no matter how hard you try. the middle ages is over. wake up from your centuries old slumber. you will endup loosing even your smallest credibility you still enjoy all you have to do is look at your turkish cousins. they are fast becoming another pakistan.

A prime example of a one-sided interpretation of history which overlooks the immense suffering of millions of Turks, Kurds, Azeris and Muslims.

As recently as 15 years ago (not a century ago), Armenia invaded Azerbaijan, drove a million Azeris from their from their homes and massacring them in places like Khojaly and continues to occupy it to this day. What about them? Oh, because they are Muslims - we shouldn't care about them, right?

And trying to pretend that this is not politically motivated is lame. First of all, it is a backdoor attempt by Pelosi to have her way with Iraq. Many people want that war to end, but this is a very sleazy way of doing it - opening up century old history books and digging stuff up to have our way with politics today.

Besides, the elections are around the corner and the fact that the congressman who introduced this resolution has the biggest Armenian community in the US in his district. Not to mention the fact that Pelosi has a huge ethnic Armenian community in her district as well.

So - enough with demagogues. It is not the job of parliaments to make history. Let the historians debate what happened a century ago.

I agree with his authors assessment of the past and current situation of the turks. I also question their inability and unwillingness born out of extreme chauvinism and xenophobia embedded deeply in their psyche preventing them from recognition and reconciliation with their past. Armenian genocide is one part of their long bloody history as well as the current issues they urgently face. I have little confidence in their ability to mature and see them moving towards somewhat similar direction as Pakistan.

Yes, it is time to face reality like an adult. It is too late to deny the past.