Egypt’s Largest Independent Daily Newspaper Recognizes Turkey’s Genocide Against Armenians
By Appo K. Jabarian
Executive Publisher / Managing Editor
USA Armenian Life Magazine
Executive Publisher / Managing Editor
USA Armenian Life Magazine
August 17, 2013
Turkey’s posturing in the Muslim world and especially Middle East
suffered yet one more serious political blow last week when Mr. Essam
Kamel, Editor-in-Chief of “Veto” Egypt’s largest independent daily
newspaper wrote a scathing editorial condemning Ottoman Turkey’s
genocidal dark past.
Mr. Kamel went on to criticize Turkey’s continued denial of the
genocide against Armenians; and for having committed countless other
atrocities and injustices against former subject peoples of the Ottoman
Empire.
In my capacity as Managing Editor of USA Armenian Life Magazine, I
wrote Mr. Kamel an email in both Arabic and English languages thanking
him and saying: “Please accept my heartfelt gratitude for writing such a
powerful article and for showing courage and integrity in addressing
the historic facts of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by Ottoman
Turkey.”
No later than couple hours he responded: “Greetings, genuine
appreciations and then some. The position we adopt is consistent with
the most basic principles of humanity. Whatever the Ottoman Empire did
in Egypt is specifically in line with its mistreatment of the peaceful
Armenian people. And what they did against your ancestors is beyond
description and your struggle for international recognition is honorable
and we share your struggle with all the means available to us. It’s our
honor to do so. Please accept my sincere greetings.”
In his regular column titled “Landmines—Detonated by Essam Kamel,”
the Editor-in-Chief of “Veto” Egyptian newspaper wrote: “The Egyptian
government has the right to hesitate in acknowledging the massacres of
Armenians by the Turkish forces due to the high incitement of Asitana
(today’s Ankara) as this acknowledgement will have bad repercussions on
the Egyptian-Turkish relations. This Egyptian hesitation will not stop
me, the signer below — to acknowledge the genocidal collective massacres
suffered by the Armenian people throughout their history during the era
of Ottoman Empire, which (successor Turkey) here comes again (to Egypt)
with the support of the fascist brothers (of Muslim Brotherhood).”
Quoting famous Egyptian historian Dr. Mohammad Refaat Al Imam, Mr.
Kamel underlined: “As Dr. Refaat said, the Armenians are the people whom
the Ottoman Empire called ‘Millet Sadiqa’ (‘The honest community’) for
their loyalty and fidelity to the country and the Sultan. But despite
all this, they were the most persecuted group of people in the world
that was subjected to genocide throughout all their history because of
their struggle for their rights. Like the Egyptian saying goes, “Nihayat
khedmatel-ghaz alka)” (which means to say “not just one episode of
tragedy but an endless chain of persecutions were befallen on Armenians”
– so Armenians weren’t just stricken once but they got slaughtered,
looted and killed in the streets like nobody else in the history of the
Ottoman Empire. There was a whole Army called “Firak Al Khayala
Al-Hamidia” (“Hamidian Horse Rider Units”) named after the Sultan Abdel
Hamid who executed not just hundreds but actually thousands in the
streets and the genocidal massacres did not occur away from the view of
the world, but it was witnessed and known by everybody.”
He added: “Some of the chapters of the Armenian tragedy that was
recounted in the history books and was known afterwards, was a result of
the famous rebellion in Sassoon in 1894 when the massacres against the
defenseless people started October 13 of the same year and lasted until
November 30 of the following year where more than 100 thousand people
died and more than half a million Armenians were rendered homeless. The
city of Raha alone suffered gruesome massacres on 28 and 29 of December,
1895 where 3000 Armenians were burned and died in the streets. Around
117 years ago, specifically on 26 August, 1896, and after being fed up
and frustrated with the situation, a group of Armenian youth who
belonged to the Tashnaq party took over the Ottoman Bank in Asitana
(Constantinople – modern day Istanbul) and took hostages. They offered
to release the hostages if the Ottoman Empire would promise to
ameliorate life for Armenians and would recognize their rights. When the
Ottoman Empire failed to control the situation, Russia helped solving
it by offering the combatants to leave the country in a French ship and
guaranteed their safety on condition that the Ottoman Empire improves
the life of Armenians. As the Armenian youth were getting onto the ship,
the Sultan and Turkish units were committing massacres against
Armenians in the streets to the extent that they killed the entire
Armenian population of (‘Kassem quarters’) ‘Hay Kassem Basha’ and the
(‘Jewish Quarters’) ‘Hay al Yahoudi’.”
He further wrote: “These are some of the aspects of Turkish Genocide
against Armenians, as the Turks were never civilized. They never
maintained a heritage of illumination. They didn’t follow the (Islamic)
religious tenets of love and tolerance, but they were tools for
sabotage, destruction and killings. They were always known for that and
that’s what we witnessed in our country (Egypt). When they were
occupying our country, they plundered our wealth, they cursed our
country and spread hatred and ignorance among our people for the whole
period of what they called the Ottoman Caliphate (Succession) (Al
Khilafa Al-Othmania).”
Mr. Kamel concluded lambasting Turkey: “That’s what the (Turkish)
state is attempting — helping and supporting Mohammad Morsi to come back
to power and once again to rule us and take over our country and
plunder our wealth in the name of religion just like they did before.
Religion is never about what they are doing.”
Shedding light on Turkey’s black pages of massive and systematic
Armenian annihilation, he noted: “Whoever follows the facts on Armenian
massacres is very aware of the humanitarian tragedy that surrounded a
nation that until today is still insisting on its identity. And whoever
reads the dark history of the Turks and their Empire will know very well
why Erdogan is supporting the terrorist brotherhoods. And whoever reads
what the Armenians went through will definitely acknowledge the
collective genocide that Turkey perpetrated against a defenseless
people.”
Soon after embattled President Morsi’s fall from power Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made no secret of being wary of
Muslim-Brotherhood-backed Mohammed Morsii’s fall and of Egypt’s
non-Islamist opposition gaining regional momentum, much like the Arab
uprisings. Mr. Erdogan’s radical Islamist meddling in Egypt’s internal
affairs has antagonized large segments of the Egyptian society all the
way from the streets to the highest echelons of the most populous Arab
state.
It seems that Mr. Kamel’s commentary acknowledging the Armenian
Genocide comes at a time when public discussions in Egypt have been
multiplying and popular consensus has been fast building in support of
official recognition of Armenian Genocide.
Obviously it’s not a matter of “if.”It’s a matter of “when” Egypt
will set a morally healthy example in Asia and Africa ushering in a new
era free of imperial neo-ottoman Turkish presence in Egypt and the
region.
Egypt also stands to regain her leadership role in the Arab world by
keeping Erdogan’s fascist Islamist-backing Turkey at bay, setting the
stage for Pan-Arab nationalism’s victory over Turkish-backed misguided
Pan-Islamism.
