Erdogan
Became Best Publicist
For
Armenian Genocide Centennial
By
Harut Sassounian
Publisher,
The California Courier
www.TheCaliforiaCourier.com
A
couple of years ago, when Armenians throughout the world began making plans for
the Armenian Genocide Centennial, they had two major concerns: What kind of events
to organize that would be most appropriate for this solemn occasion? And, how to
conceal their plans from the Turkish government so it would be unable to undermine
or disrupt them?
Little
did Armenians know that inadvertently Turkish leaders would end up being their
best ‘ally,’ and instead of disrupting Armenians’ Centennial plans, they would
make such preposterous statements that would globally propagate the Armenian Genocide
beyond anyone’s wildest expectations.
A
Hollywood scriptwriter could not have done a better job than what Erdogan as
Prime Minister and then President did to ensure that the Armenian Centennial is
commemorated with the greatest possible audience in the world.
Long
before the start of the Centennial year, Erdogan set the stage by undermining
his own credibility and that of his country by making outlandish declarations: He claimed that Muslims discovered
America before Columbus; that it was impossible for Muslims to commit genocide;
and told TV host Charlie Rose that since there are still Armenians in Istanbul,
there could not have been a genocide.
Erdogan
went on to shut down Youtube and Twitter because he disliked some of their
content; had a teenage student arrested for writing an essay the Modern Day
Sultan didn’t approve; jailed journalists and cartoonists for criticizing his
policies; prosecuted Muslim cleric
Fethullah Gulen’s followers and high-ranking military officers under the pretext
that they were plotting against His Highness; ordered the shooting of peaceful protesters in Istanbul’s Gezi Park; and
instructed his son during a secretly recorded phone
conversation on how to conceal tens of millions of dollars in cash!
With his harsh statements
and rude outbursts, Erdogan managed to antagonize leaders of many of the countries
he dealt with, including the United States, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Egypt,
Greece, Cyprus, Russia, and Syria. In effect, he turned his foreign policy of “zero
problems with neighbors,” to “zero neighbors without problems!”
At the start of this year,
as the Genocide Centennial drew near, Erdogan shifted to high gear. He came up
with the ‘brilliant’ idea of rescheduling the Gallipoli commemoration to April
24, and inviting leaders of over 100 countries to Turkey in order to steal the
limelight away from the Armenian Genocide commemorations in Yerevan on that date.
The Turkish President sought to rewrite history by accusing Armenians of changing
the Genocide Centennial Date to April 24!
Such childish maneuvers
did not go unnoticed by the international community. Countless articles were
written exposing Erdogan’s dirty tricks. Instead of undermining the Armenian
commemorations, the Turkish leader ended up propagating the Genocide Centennial,
long before Armenians had organized a single event!
Then came the memorable sermon
of Pope Francis on April 12, accusing Turkey of committing “the first genocide
of the 20th century” against the Armenian people! In response, Erdogan
recalled his Ambassador from the Vatican, and then, along with his normally
cool-headed Prime Minister Davutoglu and the entire cast of Turkish officialdom
started insulting the Pope, the Catholic Church, and even Argentina, the Pope’s
birthplace! Thus, within a few days, Turkey’s leaders managed to antagonize over
a billion Catholics around the world.
Erdogan
warned the Pope
that he would take additional actions against the Catholic Church,
implying
that he would convert Istanbul’s ancient Greek Hagia Sophia Church to a
mosque. Should he take such an extreme action, he would be antagonizing
the rest of the
Christian world against Turkey.
Within days of the Pope’s history-making
sermon, the European Parliament adopted yet another resolution acknowledging
the Armenian Genocide. Meanwhile, Erdogan continued his anti-European and
anti-Christian diatribe by accusing Europeans of being anti-Turkish and
anti-Islam. Naturally, Europeans began to question how such a lunatic leader could
ever join the European family of nations!
Thousands of newspapers,
TV stations, and websites reported the Turkish leaders’ berserk reaction, and
criticized their denial of the Armenian Genocide. The world’s attention to
Armenians has been quite overwhelming with the extensive coverage of
Kardashians’ trip to Armenia, the Pope’s remarkable sermon, and the European
Parliament’s Resolution on the Armenian Genocide. Armenians could not have
gained such immense publicity on the eve of the Armenian Genocide Centennial,
if they had spent a billion dollars and hired 100 PR firms!
