We will not be a party to this crime!

We will not be a party to this crime!

5.01.2016

 

http://www.barisicinakademisyenler.net/node/63

 

 

As academics and researchers of this country, we will not be a party to this crime!

The Turkish state has effectively condemned its citizens in Sur, Silvan, Nusaybin, Cizre, Silopi, 

and many other towns and neighborhoods in the Kurdish provinces to hunger through its use of 

curfews that have been ongoing for weeks. It has attacked these settlements with heavy weapons 

and equipment that would only be mobilized in wartime. As a result, the right to life, liberty, and 

security, and in particular the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment protected by the constitution 

and international conventions have been violated.

This deliberate and planned massacre is in serious violation of Turkey’s own laws and international 

treaties to  which Turkey is a party. These actions are in serious violation of international law.

We demand the state to abandon its deliberate massacre and deportation of Kurdish and other 

peoples in the region. We also demand the state to lift the curfew, punish those who are responsible 

for human rights violations, and compensate those citizens who have experienced material and 

psychological damage. For this purpose we demand that independent national and international 

observers to be given access to the region and that they be allowed to monitor and report on the 

incidents.

We demand the government to prepare the conditions for negotiations and create a road map that 

would lead to a lasting peace which includes the demands of the Kurdish political movement. 

We demand inclusion of independent observers from broad sections of society in these negotiations. 

We also declare our willingness to volunteer as observers. We oppose suppression of any kind 

of the opposition.

We, as academics and researchers working on and/or in Turkey, declare that we will not be a 

party to this massacre by remaining silent and demand an immediate end to the violence perpetrated 

by the state. We will continue advocacy with political parties, the parliament, and international public 

opinion until our demands are met.

Please send your signature, name of your university and your title to  

info@barisicinakademisyenler.net .

 

Signatures (446 as of January 05, 2016):

A. Dinç Alada, Professor, Istanbul University

A. Nevin Yıldız Tahincioğlu, Asst. Prof., Hacettepe University

A. Serdar Esen, Dr. (retired)

Abbas Vali, Professor, Boğaziçi University

Adalet B. Alada, Professor, Istanbul University

Adem Y. Elveren, Asst. Prof., Fitchburg Eyalet University

Adem Yeşilyurt, Assistant, Kocaeli University

Ahmet Altınel, Assoc. Prof., Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Ahmet Atıl Aşıcı, Assoc. Prof., Istanbul Teknik University

Ahmet Ersoy, Assoc. Prof., Boğaziçi University

Alaeddin Şenel, Assoc. Prof., Ankara University (retired)

Ali Akay, Professor, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Ali Cevat Taşıran, Professor, Middle East Technical University

Ali Gökmen, Professor, Middle East Technical University

Ali Rıza Güngen, Dr., Ondokuz Mayıs University

Ali Saysel, Professor, Boğaziçi University

Ali Serdar, Dr., Özyeğin University

Ali Tansu Balcı, PhD student, Dokuz Eylül University

Alper Açık, Dr., Özyeğin University

Anıl Duman, Assoc. Prof., Yaşar University

Aren Kurtgözü, Asst. Prof., MEF University

Asena Pala, Assistant, Mardin Artuklu University

Asiye Akgün, Dr., Istanbul Kültür University

Aslı Aydemir, Assistant, Istanbul University

Aslı Çakıvik, Asst. Prof., Istanbul Teknik University

Aslı Davas, Assoc. Prof., Ege University

Aslı Iğsız, Asst. Prof., New York University

Aslı Odman, Instructor, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Aslı Takanay, PhD student, Boğaziçi University

Aslı Telli Aydemir, Asst. Prof., Istanbul Şehir University

Aslı Zengin, Research Fellow, Brandeis University

Asya Saydam, Assistant, Marmara University

Atilla Güney, Professor, Mersin University

Aydın Ördek, Assistant, Ankara University

Ayfer Bartu Candan, Assoc. Prof., Boğaziçi University

Aykut Çoban, Professor, Ankara University

Ayla Zırh Gürsoy, Professor, Marmara University (retired)

Aylin Kuryel, Dr., Amsterdam University

Aynur Özuğurlu, Assoc. Prof., Kocaeli University

Ayşe Akalın, Asst. Prof., Istanbul Teknik University

Ayşe Arslan, PhD student, SOAS

Ayşe Berkman, Professor, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Ayşe Erzan, Professor, Istanbul Teknik University

Ayşe Esmeray Yoğun, Asst. Prof., Toros University

Ayşe Gözen, Professor, Ondokuz Mayıs University (retired)

Ayşe Gül Altınay, Assoc. Prof., Sabancı University

Ayşe Serdar, Asst. Prof., Istanbul Teknik University

Ayşen Candaş, Assoc. Prof., Boğaziçi University

Ayşen Uysal, Professor, Dokuz Eylül University

Aysun Gezen, Assistant, Ankara University

Ayten Alkan, Assoc. Prof., Istanbul University

Aytül Fırat, Instructor, Istanbul Kemerburgaz University

Aziz Harman, Assoc. Prof., Dicle University

Bahar Şimşek, Assistant, Ankara University

Bahtiyar Mermertaş, PhD student, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Barış Karaağaç, Instructor, Trent University

Barış Kılıçbay, Professor, Abant İzzet Baysal University

Barış Ünlü, Asst. Prof., Ankara University

Barış Yapışkan, Asst. Prof., Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Başak Can, Asst. Prof., Koç University

Başak Demir, Assistant, Galatasaray University

Başak Ertür, Dr., Londra University, Birkbeck

Baskın Oran, Porf. Dr., Ankara University (retired)

Bediz Yılmaz, Asst. Prof., Mersin University

Begüm Başdaş, Dr., Istanbul Bilgi University

Begüm Özden Fırat, Assoc. Prof., Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Begüm Özkaynak, Professor, Boğaziçi University

Beliz Güçbilmez, Professor, Ankara University

Belma Bekçi, Assoc. Prof.

Bengi Akbulut, Researcher

Berke Özenç, Asst. Prof., Türk-Alman University

Bermal Aydın, Uzm., Mersin University

Berna Zengin, Asst. Prof., Özyeğin University

Berrak Karahoda, Instructor, Istanbul Bilgi University

Betül Tanbay, Professor, Boğaziçi University

Betül Yarar, Assoc. Prof., Gazi University

Bilge Selçuk, Assoc. Prof., Koç University

Bilgen Sanayır, PhD student, Trakya University

Biray Kolluoğlu, Professor, Boğaziçi University

Birgül Yılmaz, PhD student, Londra University

Biriz Berksoy, Dr., Istanbul University

Buket Türkmen, Assoc. Prof., Galatasaray University

Bülent Bilmez, Assoc. Prof., Istanbul Bilgi University

Bülent Duru, Assoc. Prof., Ankara University

Bülent Eken, Dr., Kadir Has University

Bülent Küçük, Asst. Prof., Boğaziçi University

Burak Ülman, Dr., Yıldız Teknik University

Burcu Binboğa, Assistant, Middle East Technical University

Burcu Konakçı, Assistant, Galatasaray University

Burcu Yakut-Çakar, Assoc. Prof., Kocaeli University

Çağdaş Acet, Assistant, Ankara University

Çağla Aydın, Asst. Prof., Sabancı University

Çağla Aykaç, Asst. Prof., Fatih University

Çağla Diner, Asst. Prof., Kadir Has University

Çağlar Dölek, Assistant, Middle East Technical University

Çağlar Güven, Professor, Middle East Technical University (retired)

Can Candan, Instructor, Boğaziçi University

Can Irmak Özinanır, Assistant, Ankara University

Can Soylu, PhD student, Istanbul University

Canan Özcan, Assistant, Istanbul Arel University

Canani Kaygusuz, Assoc. Prof., Ondokuz Mayıs University

Cansu Akbaş Demirel, Assistant, Ege University

Cansu Col, Assistant, Victoria University

Cavidan Soykan, Dr., Ankara University

Cem Özatalay, Assoc. Prof., Galatasaray University

Cengiz Aktar, Assoc. Prof., Süleyman Şah University

Cengiz Güneş, Dr., Open University

Cenk Yiğiter, Dr., Ankara University

Ceren Akçabay, Asst. Prof., Marmara University

Ceren Ergenç, Asst. Prof., Middle East Technical University

Ceren Mert, Dr., FMV Işık University

Ceren Özselçuk, Asst. Prof., Boğaziçi University

Ceren Şengül, PhD student, Edinburgh University

Ceren Sözeri, Assoc. Prof., Galatasaray University

Çetin Gürer, Asst. Prof., Nişantaşı University

Çetin Veysal, Professor, Mersin University

Ceyda Arslan Kechriotis, Dr., Boğaziçi University

Ceylan Begüm Yıldız, PhD student, Londra University, Birkbeck

Chris Stephenson, Instructor, Istanbul Bilgi University

Christoph K. Neumann, Professor, Münih Ludwig Maximilian University

Çiğdem Bozdağ, Yard. Assoc. Prof., Kadir Has University

Cuma Çiçek, Asst. Prof., Mardin Artuklu University

Demet İslambey, Assistant, Middle East Technical University

Deniz Gündoğan İbrişim, PhD student, Washington University

Deniz Morva, Assoc. Prof., Istanbul University

Deniz Parlak, Instructor, Istanbul Kemerburgaz University

Deniz Yonucu, Dr., EUME/ZMO

Deniz Yükseker, Professor, Istanbul Aydın University

Derya Bayır, Dr., GLOCUL, Queen Mary, University of London

Derya Özkan, Dr., Münih University

Derya Ülker, Assistant, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Didem Çınar, Instructor, Istanbul Teknik University

Dilek Hattatoğlu, Assoc. Prof., Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University

Doğan Çetinkaya, Asst. Prof., Istanbul University

Doğan Emrah Zıraman, PhD student, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Düzgün Uğur, Assistant, Dicle University

E. Osman Erdem., Asst. Prof., Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Ebru Aykut, Asst. Prof., Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Ece Algan, Assoc. Prof., California State University

Ece Öztan, Assistant, Yıldız Teknik University

Eda Aslı Şeran, Assistant, Galatasaray University

Egemen Cevahir, Dr., Marmara University

Egemen Kepekçi, Assistant, Istanbul University

Elçin Aktoprak, Asst. Prof., Ankara University

Elif Babül, Asst. Prof., Mount Holyoke Koleji

Elif Sandal Önal, PhD student, Istanbul Bilgi University

Emine İncirlioğlu, Professor, Researcher

Emir Benli, Dr.

Emrah Altındiş, Dr., Harvard University

Emrah Dönmez, Instructor, Işık University

Emrah Dönmez, Instructor, Işık University

Emre Kovankaya, Assistant, Yıldız Teknik University

Engin Fırat, Assistant, Hacettepe University

Engin Sustam, Dr., EHESS Paris

Erbatur Çavuşoğlu, Assoc. Prof., Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Ercan Şen, Assistant, Ankara University

Erdem Üngür, Assistant, Istanbul Kültür University

Erdem Yörük, Asst. Prof. Koç University

Eren Deniz Tol, Professor, Muğla University

Erhan Keleşoğlu, Asst. Prof., Istanbul University

Erhan Ünlü, Professor, Dicle University

Erhan Yalçındağ, Dr.

Erkan Erdil, Professor, Middle East Technical University

Erkin Başer, Asst. Prof., Dokuz Eylül University

Erol Köroğlu, Asst. Prof., Boğaziçi University

Ersin Aslıtürk, Dr., Ottawa University

Ertan Ersoy, Asst. Prof., Istanbul University

Ertuğrul Ahmet Tonak, Professor, Istanbul Bilgi University

Esengül Ayyıldız, Asst. Prof., Çukurova University

Esin Düzel, Instructor, California University, San Diego

Esin Gülsen, Assistant, Mersin University

Esra Arsan, Assoc. Prof., Istanbul Bilgi University

Esra Demir, Dr., Marmara University

Esra Mungan, Asst. Prof. Boğaziçi University

Etienne Copeaux, Dr.

Evrim Karakaş, PhD student, Rennes I University

Ezgi Güner, PhD student, Illinois University

Ezgi Pınar, Assistant, Istanbul University

Ezgi Toplu, Assistant, Middle East Technical University

F. Ceren Akçabay, Asst. Prof.

Fatih Çağatay Cengiz, Assistant, Ondokuz Mayıs University

Fatma Gök, Professor, Boğaziçi University

Fatma Gül Karagöz, Assistant, Galatasaray University

Fatma Müge Göçek, Professor, Michigan University

Ferdan Ergut, Professor, Middle East Technical University

Feryal Saygılıgil, Assoc. Prof., Arel University

Feyza Akınerdem, Dr.

Figen Işık, Instructor, Middle East Technical University

Fikret Uyar, Professor, Dicle University

Fisun Güven, Assistant, Middle East Technical University

Fırat Erdoğmuş, Instructor, Bahçeşehir University

Fulya Atacan, Professor, Yıldız Teknik University

Funda Karapehlivan, Dr., Marmara University

Funda Şenol Cantek, Professor, Ankara University

Füsun Üstel, Professor, Galatasaray University

Galip Deniz Altınay, Uzm., Mersin University

Gaye Elçi, Instructor, Middle East Technical University

Gaye Yılmaz, Dr., Boğaziçi University

Gençay Gürsoy, Professor, Istanbul University (retired)

Gökçe Metin, PhD student, Boğaziçi University

Gökçen Yıldız, Dr., Istanbul Bilgi University

Göksel N. Demirer, Professor, Middle East Technical University

Gönül Turgut, Instructor, Türkiye ve Orta Doğu Amme İdaresi Enstitüsü

Gözde Aytemur, Assistant, Galatasaray University

Gözde Yalçın, Assistant, Ankara University

Gül Köksal, Assoc. Prof., Kocaeli University

Gülçin Karabağ, Assistant, YIldız Teknik University

Gülengül Altıntaş, Instructor, Bahçeşehir University

Güler İnce, PhD student, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Gülşah Kurt, Asst. Prof., Kadir Has University

Gülsüm Depeli, Asst. Prof., Hacettepe University

Gülüm Şener, Asst. Prof., Arel University

Güneş Gümüş, Assistant, Ankara University

Gürel Tüzün, Dr., Middle East Technical University (retired)

Güven Gürkan Öztan, Yrd. Doç., Istanbul University

H. Ege Özen, PhD student, Binghamton University

H. Neşe Özgen, Professor, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Hacer Ansal, Professor, Işık University

Hakan Mıhcı, Professor, Hacettepe University

Haldun Sural, Professor, Middle East Technical University

Haluk Baran Bingöl, PhD student, Kennesaw State University

Hamit Bozarslan, Porf. Dr.,  Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales

Hande Gülen, Assistant, Yalova University

Hande Kaynak, Asst. Prof., Çankaya University

Hatice Kurtuluş, Professor, Istanbul University

Hazal Azeri, Assistant, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Hazal Halavut, Assistant, Boğaziçi University

Hazel Başköy, Assistant, Ufuk University

Hülya Adak, Assoc. Prof., Sabancı University

Hülya Kendir, Asst. Prof., Kocaeli University

Hülya Kirmanoğlu, Professor, Istanbul University

Hümeyra Yılmaz, Assistant, Dicle University

İclal Ayşe Küçükkırca, Yrd. Doç, Mardin Artuklu University

İlhan Küçükaydın, Asst. Prof., Penn State University

İlkay Kara, Assistant, Ankara University

İlkay Özküralpli, Instructor, Istanbul Arel University

İpek Seyalıoğlu, Instructor, Boğaziçi University

İrfan Açıkgöz, Professor, Dicle University

Işıl Ünal, Professor, Ankara University

Işın Önol, PhD student, Viyana University

İsmail Şiriner, Professor, Batman University

İzzettin Önder, Professor

Kasım Akbaş, Asst. Prof., Anadolu University

Kenan Demirel, Assistant, Ankara University

Kerem Öktem, Professor, Graz University

Kıvanç Ersoy, Assoc. Prof., Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Kıvılcım Turanlı, Asst. Prof., Anadolu University

Koray Çalışkan, Doç, Boğaziçi University

Kuban Altınel, Professor, Boğaziçi University

Kumru Çılgın, Assistant, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Kuvvet Lordoğlu, Professor, Kocaeli University

Lara Fresko, Cornell University

Leyla Neyzi, Professor, Sabancı University

Lülüfer Körükmez, Asst. Prof., Ege University

Lütfiye Bozdağ, Asst. Prof., Kemerburgaz University

Mahir Tokatlı, Assoc. Prof., Bonn University

Mahmut Mutman, Professor, Istanbul Şehir University

Maya Arakon, Assoc. Prof., Süleyman Şah University

Mehmet Mutlu, Assistant, Middle East Technical University

Mehmet Oturan, Professor, Paris Est University

Mehmet Rauf Kesici, Asst. Prof., Kocaeli University

Mehtap Balık, Assistant, Istanbul University

Mehtap Tosun, Assistant, Middle East Technical University

Melda Yaman, Assoc. Prof., Ondokuz Mayıs University

Melehat Kutun, Dr., York University

Melek Zorlu, Assistant, Tunceli University

Melih Çelik, Asst. Prof., Middle East Technical University

Melih Kırlıdoğ, Professor, Nişantaşı University

Melis behlil, Assoc. Prof., Kadir Has University

Meral Akbaş, Assistant, Middle East Technical University

Meral Camcı, Asst. Prof., Yeni Yüzyıl University

Merve Fidan, Assistant, Ankara University

Meryem Koray, Professor

Mesut Keskin, Asst. Prof., Mardin Artuklu University

Mesut Yeğen, Professor, Istanbul Şehir University

Metin Altıok, Assoc. Prof., Mersin University

Mihriban Özbaşaran, Professor, Istanbul University

Mine Gencel Bek, Professor, Ankara University

Müge Ayan Ceyhan, Dr., Istanbul Bilgi University

Murat Cemal Yalçıntan, Professor, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Murat Emeksiz, Assoc. Prof., Anadolu University

Murat Koyuncu, Asst. Prof., Boğaziçi University

Murat Özbank, Asst. Prof., Istanbul Bilgi University

Murat Paker, Asst. Prof., Istanbul Bilgi University

Murat Yılmaz, Asst. Prof., Boğaziçi University

Mustafa Kemal Coşkun, Assoc. Prof., Ankara University

Mustafa Koç., Professor, Ryerson University

Mustafa O. Sinemilloğlu, Asst. Prof., Dicle University

Mustafa Şener, Asst. Prof., Mersin University

Muzaffer Kaya, Asst. Prof., Nişantaşı University

N. Gamze Toksoy, Asst. Prof., Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

N.Ceren Salmanoğlu, Assistant, Ankara University

Nalan Erbil, PhD student, Wisconsin Madison University

Nazan Üstündağ, Asst. Prof. Boğaziçi University

Nazım H. R. Dikbaş, Instructor, Istanbul Bilgi University

Necat Keskin, Asst. Prof., Mardin Artuklu University

Nejla Osseiran, Instructor, Boğaziçi University

Nergiz Kardaş, Assistant, Hacettepe University

Nermin Saybaşılı, Assoc. Prof., Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Neşe Yıldıran, Dr., Işık University

Nil Mutluer, Asst. Prof., Nişantaşı University

Nilgün Erdem, Assoc. Prof., Ankara University

Noemi Levy-Aksu, Asst. Prof., Boğaziçi University

Nüket Esen, Professor, Boğaziçi University

Nur Betül Çelik, Professor, Ankara University

Nurçin İleri, Dr., Boğaziçi University

Nuri Ersoy, Assoc. Prof., Boğaziçi University

Nurseli Yeşim Sünbüloğlu, PhD student, Sussex University

Ogeday Çoker, Assistant, Istanbul University

Öget Öktem Tanör, Professor

Olcay Akyıldız, Asst. Prof., Boğaziçi University

Olcay Kunal, Okutman, Galatasaray University

Ömer Tekdemir, Dr., Westminster University

Onur Buğra Kolcu, Instructor, Istanbul Arel University

Onur Günay, PhD student, Princeton University

Onur Hamzaoğlu, Professor, Kocaeli University

Osman Cen, Dr., Northwestern University

Osman Eroğlu, Asst. Prof., Mardin Artuklu University

Ozan Değer, Assistant, Ankara University

Ozan Çağlayan, Assistant, Galatasaray University

Ozan Erözden, Professor, MEF University

Ozan Kamiloğlu, Assistant, Londra University, Birkbeck

Özel Teraman, Asst. Prof., Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Özge Ejder Johnson, Asst. Prof., Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Özge Korkmaz, PhD student, Michigan University

Özge Özdüzen, PhD student, Edge Hill University

Özgün E. Topak, Dr., York University

Özgür Martin, Assoc. Prof., Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Özgür Öztürk, Assoc. Prof., Ondokuz Mayıs University

Özlem Albayrak, Asst. Prof., Ankara University

Özlem Güçlü, Asst. Prof., Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Özlem Köseoğlu Örnek, Instructor, Istanbul Bilgi University

Özlem Özkan, Assoc. Prof., Kocaeli University

Öznur Öncül, Asst. Prof., Bülent Ecevit University

Öznur Yaşar Diner, Yrd.Assoc. Prof., Kadir Has University

Pelin Yalçınoğlu, Asst. Prof., Anadolu University

Pınar Bedirhanoğlu, Assoc. Prof., Middle East Technical University

Pınar Ecevitoğlu, Asst. Prof. , Ankara University

Pınar Önen, Instructor, Okan University

Pınar Özdemir, Assoc. Prof., Ankara University

R. Orkun Güner, Assistant, Kadir Has University

Refet Ali Yalçın, Assistant, Boğaziçi University

Reyda Ergün, Asst. Prof., Kadir Has University

S. Cankat Tanrıverdi, Assistant, Istanbul University

S. Ulaş Bayraktar, Assoc. Prof., Mersin University

Saadet Sorgunlu, Instructor

Şahika Yüksel, Professor Dr., Istanbul University (retired)

Samim Akgönül, Professor, Strasbourg University

Sarphan Uzunoğlu, Instructor, Kadir Has University

Savaş Çoban, Dr., Researcher

Şebnem Korur Fincancı, Professor, Istanbul University

Şebnem Oğuz, Assoc. Prof., Başkent University

Seçil Dağtaş, Asst. Prof., Waterloo University

Seçil Doğuç, Assistant, Galatasaray University

Seçkin Özsoy, Assoc. Prof., Ankara University

Seda Altuğ, Asst. Prof., Boğaziçi University

Sedat Yağcıoğlu, Assistant, Hacettepe University

Sefa Feza Arslan, Professor, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Selda Altınok, Assistant, Yalova University

Selda Öndül, Professor, Ankara University

Selim Badur, Professor, Istanbul University

Selime Güzelsarı, Assoc. Prof. Abant İzzet Baysal University

Sema Bayraktar, Asst. Prof., Istanbul Bilgi University

Semih Bilgen, Professor, Yeditepe University

Semra Somersan, Assoc. Prof.

Şemsa Özar, Professor, Boğaziçi University

Serap Sarıtaş, Assistant, Dokuz Eylül University

Serdar Altok, Asst. Prof., Boğaziçi University

Serdar Çagırga, Assistant, Ankara University

Serdar M. Değirmencioğlu, Professor, Doğuş University

Serkan Günay, Assistant, Middle East Technical University

Sevda Bulduk, Assoc. Prof., Istanbul Bilim University

Sevgi Uçan Çubukçu, Assoc. Prof., Istanbul University

Seyhan Çamlıgüney, Uzm. Middle East Technical University

Sezai Ozan Zeybek, Asst. Prof., Istanbul Bilgi University

Sezen Çilengir, Assistant, Istanbul University

Sibel Bekiroğlu, Assistant, Middle East Technical University

Sibel Irzık, Professor, Sabancı University

Sibel Özbudun, Assoc. Prof.

Sibel Yardımcı, Assoc. Prof., Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Sinan Aslan, Assistant, Middle East Technical University

Sinem Arslan, Assistant, Essex University

Sinem Aydınlı, Assistant, Bahçeşehir University

Sinem Seçer, Assistant, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Siyaveş Azeri, Assoc. Prof., Mardin Artuklu University

Şükrü Aslan, Assoc. Prof., Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Sümercan Bozkurt, Assistant, Middle East Technical University

Süreyya Karacabey, Assoc. Prof., Ankara University

T. Deniz Erkmen, Asst. Prof., Özyeğin University

Tahsin Söğüt, Professor, Dicle University

Tahsin Yeşildere, Professor, Istanbul University

Taylan Koç, Asst. Prof., Çukurova University

Taylan Şahan Tarhan, PhD student, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Teoman Pamukçu, Professor, Middle East Technical University

Tezcan Durna, Assoc. Prof., Ankara University

Tolga Tören, Asst. Prof., Mersin University

Tuba Akıncılar, Instructor, Galatasaray University

Tuğba Özcan, Assistant, Middle East Technical University

Tuğçe Çetin, Assistant, Istanbul Bilgi University

Tuğçe Erçetin, PhD student, Bilgi University

Tülay Erkan, Professor, Istanbul University

Tuna Altınel, Assoc. Prof., Lyon-1 University

Tuna Coşkun, Assistant, Middle East Technical University

Tuna Kuyucu, Asst. Prof., Boğaziçi University

Türkan Yosun, PhD student, Sabancı University

Uğur Kara, Asst. Prof., Anadolu University

Ülker Sözen, Assistant, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Ülkü Doğanay, Professor, Ankara University

Ülkü Güney, Dr.

Umut Şah, Instructor, Istanbul Arel University

Umut Tümay Arslan, Assoc. Prof., Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Veli Deniz, Professor,, Kocaeli University

Veli Polat, Assoc. Prof., Istanbul University

Vildan Seçkiner, PhD student, Ludwig Maximilian University

Volkan Çıdam, Asst. Prof., Boğaziçi University

Wendy Hamelink, Dr., Leiden University

Yahya M. Madra, Assoc. Prof., Boğaziçi University

Yakın Ertürk, Professor, Middle East Technical University (retired)

Yasemin Acar, Dr., Özyeğin University

Yasemin İnceoğlu, Professor, Galatasaray University

Yasemin Karaca, Asst. Prof., Mersin University

Yasemin Özgün, Asst. Prof., Anadolu University

Yasin Bedir, Assistant, Dicle University

Yıldırım Şentürk, Assoc. Prof., Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar University

Yıldız Silier, Asst. Prof., Boğaziçi University

Yılmaz Turgut, Professor, Dicle University

Yonca Demir, Asst. Prof., Istanbul Bilgi University

Yonca Güneş Yücel, Dr.

Yonca Özdemir, Asst. Prof., Middle East Technical University - Kuzey Kıbrıs

Yücel Demirer, Assoc. Prof. Kocaeli University

Yüksel Taşkın, Professor, Marmara University

Zafer Yenal, Assoc. Prof., Boğaziçi

Zafer Yörük, Asst. Prof., İzmir Ekonomi University

Zelal Ekinci, Professor, Kocaeli University

Zerrin Kurtoğlu, Professor, Ege University

Zeynep Arıkan, Assistant, Boğaziçi University

Zeynep Çatay, Asst. Prof., Istanbul Bilgi University

Zeynep Dadak, Dr., Kadir Has University

Zeynep Direk, Professor

Zeynep Gönen, Dr.

Zeynep Kadirbeyoğlu, Asst. Prof., Boğaziçi University

Zeynep Kaşlı, PhD student, Washington University

Zeynep Kıvılcım, Assoc. Prof., Istanbul University

Zeynep Savaşçın, Assistant,Galatasaray University

Zeynep Uysal, Assoc. Prof., Boğaziçi University

Zeynep Yeşim Gökçe, Assistant, Istanbul Bilgi University

Turkey : Wolf in Charge of Guarding Sheep

Turkey Joins UN Cultural Committee:

Wolf in Charge of Guarding Sheep

By Harut Sassounian

Publisher, The California Courier

Dec. 12, 2013

Earlier this year, I wrote a column describing the Turkish government’s bullying tactics to reclaim antique objects from European and American museums. It is ironic that Turkey, one of the greatest looters and pilferers of other nations’ cultural heritage, would so aggressively demand the return of these antiquities.

Just in case its threats fail to work, Turkey embarked on a new course of action last month -- bribery! Turkish Education Minister Nabi Avci announced on November 10: “Turkey has doubled its contribution to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) amid the financial crisis it faces with the United States and Israel not paying their membership fees.”

Minister Avci did not even attempt to hide the real reason for Turkey’s generosity. He disclosed that “significant progress has been made in Turkey’s candidacy for the UNESCO World Heritage Committee elections to be held on November 19.” Indeed, the Turkish Minister’s prediction came true when his country was elected to the 21-member World Heritage Committee for the next four years.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry immediately announced that as a member of that Committee, “Turkey intends to share, at the international scale, the experience and knowledge it has accumulated in managing and protecting its own 11 world heritage areas representing different layers of Anatolian civilization, including Neolithic, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods.”

Electing Turkey to a body that is supposed to preserve cultural assets is akin to putting a wolf in charge of guarding sheep. Turkey should not be eligible to serve on the UNESCO committee or on any other UN agency because of its long record as a major violator of human rights and the hegemonic threat it presents to the peace and security of neighboring states.

Not surprisingly, the Foreign Ministry’s announcement made no mention of the numerous Armenian religious and cultural monuments in present-day Turkey. Only in recent years, with the intent of easing the way for its European Union candidacy as well as generating income from foreign tourists, the Turkish government has renovated a handful of Armenian and Greek churches, after decades of neglect and systematic desecration and destruction.

Now that Turkey has undeservedly become a member of the World Heritage Committee, Armenia’s UNESCO representative has the opportunity during each meeting for the next four years to point out the irony Turkey faces -- tasked with preserving cultural monuments, while remaining one of the biggest confiscators of other nations’ cultural heritage.

Murat Suslu, Turkey’s director-general of cultural heritage and museums, told the New York Times with a straight face: “We only want back what is rightfully ours…. If you come to my house and you steal precious objects from me, do I not have the right to get them back?” Mr. Suslu, who insisted that thievery and looting are wrong no matter when they occurred, must be reminded that Turkey can make such claims only after returning to Alevis, Arabs, Armenians, Assyrians, Cypriots, Greeks, and Kurds, what is rightfully theirs!

Just as ironic was the statement made by Ertugrul Gunay, Turkey’s Culture Minister, to the Economist magazine: “I wholeheartedly believe that each and every antiquity in any part of the world should eventually go back to its homeland. Even if these objects are made of stone, just as people have souls, so do animals, plants and monuments. Taking a monument away destabilizes the world and is disrespectful to history.”

Instead of falsely presenting their country as a looting victim, Turkish officials should acknowledge that they are in possession of numerous antiquities confiscated by their Ottoman predecessors while occupying over a dozen neighboring countries. For example, the sarcophagus of Alexander the Great, discovered near Sidon, Lebanon in 1887, was shipped to Istanbul’s Archaeology Museum under orders from Sultan Abdul Hamid II, where it is still kept as one of its most prized possessions. It’s now up to Lebanon to demand the return of this precious cultural treasure from Turkey! Also, Saudi Arabia has the right to reclaim a plethora of sacred Islamic relics removed from Mecca by the Ottoman authorities in the 19^th century.

Turkey’s membership in UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee provides a unique opportunity for Armenians and other dispossessed nations to draw the world’s attention to the Turkish government's illegal confiscation of their cultural heritage and demand their immediate return.

Egypt’s Newspaper Recognizes Turkey’s Genocide Against Armenians

Egypt’s Largest Independent Daily Newspaper Recognizes Turkey’s Genocide Against Armenians

By Appo K. Jabarian
Executive Publisher / Managing Editor
USA Armenian Life Magazine

August 17, 2013

http://www.armenianlife.com/2013/08/17/egypt%E2%80%99s-largest-independent-daily-newspaper-recognizes-turkey%E2%80%99s-genocide-against-armenians/

 

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.

After the Boom: Risks to the Turkish Economy

CHATHAM HOUSE briefing paper

After the Boom: Risks to the Turkish Economy 
By Fadi Hakura
August 2013
 
After a strong post-crisis recovery, Turkish growth slowed sharply to 2.2 per cent  in 2012. The success of Prime Minister Erdoğan’s government has been rooted in economic prosperity, which will remain a central issue for his popularity.

Turkey’s economy has been boosted by the rise of socially conservative, exportoriented entrepreneurs known as the ‘Anatolian Tigers’, nurtured by business networking through Islamic social networks, return migration from Germany, freemarket economic policies, and institution-building by the previous secular-inclined establishment.

Other strengths of the Turkish economy include successful strategies for the movement of labour from low- to higher-productivity sectors and poverty reduction.

The sources of ‘easy’ economic growth from macroeconomic stability and fiscal discipline have been largely exhausted, however. Turkey’s consumer-driven economic model cannot sustain consistently high growth rates and is being undermined by low investment and savings rates, limited export sophistication, pervasive gender inequality and inefficient use of its ‘demographic dividend’.

Turkey’s growth potential will be constrained unless it implements productivity-enhancing reforms before the problems of an aging population start to be noticeable around 2025. To avoid reform ‘fatigue’, it should focus on tackling the main bottlenecks to economic growth: the quality of human capital, and incomplete reform of governance and institutions.

Read briefing paper:
http://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/Research/Europe/0813bp_turkey.pdf

Turkey : “zero neighbors without problems.”

Not in Turkey’s interest to Provoke

Border Clash with Armenia

By Harut Sassounian

Publisher, The California Courier

A deadly incident with potentially serious consequences took place on the Armenian-Turkish border in the night of July 31.

Armenian and Turkish sources have provided conflicting versions of this event. They agree, however, that a Turkish shepherd was shot dead after crossing into Armenian territory.

Kars Governor Eyup Tepe claimed that without warning “Armenian soldiers” opened fire on 35-year-old Mustafa Ulker, as he was trying to retrieve his “sheep” from the Armenian side. The Turkish Governor accused Armenians of using “excessive force,” alleging that “the shepherd did not have a gun in his hand.” Another local Turkish official, Osman Ugurlu, identified the intruder as a Turkish citizen of Azeri origin who was armed only with a knife and was shot in the back.

In a diplomatic note of protest delivered to Armenia, the Turkish Foreign Ministry stated: “We strongly condemn the shooting of an innocent citizen for a simple border infringement apparently made very innocently. There is no valid explanation for the disproportionate use of Armenian force in such an ordinary event.” In a separate public statement, Ankara called on Armenia to show “good sense” in its relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan, warning Yerevan of the dire consequences of wrong moves that could endanger regional stability and peace.

Armenia disputed the Turkish version of events, stating that two Turkish young men had crossed the border at 3 a.m., to steal sheep. When Russian soldiers guarding the Armenian frontier ordered the intruders to go back, the Turks mocked them and refused to retreat. The border guards then fired two warning shots in the air at which point one of the Turks opened fire on them. The Russian troops responded, killing one Turkish intruder, according to the Armenian Border Department of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation.

Turkish sources have repeatedly stressed that the shepherd was shot by Armenians, despite Ankara’s awareness that Russian troops are the ones guarding Armenia’s borders with Turkey and Iran, in line with the Moscow-Yerevan agreement of 1992. Instead of blaming the Russians, the Turkish government insists on holding Armenia responsible for the shepherd’s killing, turning it into an Armenian-Turkish incident rather than a Russian-Turkish quarrel.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry issued a restrained statement, expressing regret for the loss of life and hoping that such incidents will not recur in the future. It is clear that Yerevan does not wish to inflame tempers and trigger a more serious incident with unintended consequences.

It is understandable that Turkish leaders would want to exaggerate the significance of this relatively minor border incident in order to distract attention away from Turkey’s multitude of domestic and foreign troubles, in particular:

•   On-going mass protests in Turkey, challenging Prime Minister Erdogan’s despotic rule.

 

•   Arresting 3,000 demonstrators, injuring 8,000, and killing five others as a result of the “disproportionate use of force” by Turkish police.

 

•   Announcements placed in major American, British, and German newspapers, denouncing Erdogan’s “Nazi-like” actions. The Turkish Prime Minister’s threatened lawsuit against The (London) Times for publishing a full-page paid letter, signed by dozens of prominent Western intellectuals and artists, would more widely expose his intimidating tactics.

 

•   Letter addressed to Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul by 46 Members of the US House of Representatives, asking him to condemn the recent anti-Semitic statements of Turkish leaders, including Erdogan, who had referred to Zionism as a “crime against humanity” and blamed the recent Gezi Park protests on Jewish instigators.

 

•   Serious internal feuds with Kurdish groups, opposition political parties, and high-ranking imprisoned military leaders.

 

•   Repeated military intrusions into Iraqi Kurdistan.

 

•   Strained relations with Egypt’s new rulers after the overthrow of Pres. Mohamed Morsi, Erdogan’s fellow Islamist.

 

•   Frictions with Cyprus, Greece, Iran, Iraq, and Israel, and hostilities with Syria.

 

•   The bombing of the Turkish Embassy in Somalia last month by an al-Qaeda-linked group.

With all these problems swirling in and around Turkey, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s announced policy of “zero problems with neighbors” has turned into “zero neighbors without problems.”

At a time when Armenians are planning worldwide commemorations of the Genocide Centennial, Turkey can ill afford to add to its host of troubles a border clash with Armenia, which would only serve to publicize Turkey’s long list of past and present crimes!

All Armenians Demand Return of Lands from Turkey

US Intelligence Report: All Armenians

Demand Return of Lands from Turkey

By Harut Sassounian

Publisher, The California Courier

The recently announced demand for lands from Turkey by the Prosecutor General of Armenia attracted much attention from Armenians worldwide and harsh criticism from the Turkish government. While this was the first time that an Armenian official had raised this issue since the country’s independence in 1991, the demand itself is not new. Armenians have been seeking the return of their historic territories from Turkey for decades.

A confidential 1943 document, declassified by the Central Intelligence Agency, reveals that the US government was well aware of the Armenian demands for recognition of the “atrocities” and return of Turkish occupied “provinces.”

The document dated December 13, 1943, authored by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the predecessor of the CIA, stated: “All the Armenian press in the United States is active in keeping the Turkish Armenian massacres fresh in the minds of its readers. Fearful that the Axis atrocities of the present war [World War II] will eclipse the atrocities of the last when the final reckoning comes, they are anxious to keep alive the Armenian case against Turkey. Armenians have present as well as past grievances against Turkey, whose capital levy tax ‘Varlik’ falls harder on Armenians than on any other minority group in Turkey. Even more unforgivable in the eyes of Armenians is the fact that Turkey holds provinces which, they are firmly convinced, belong rightfully to Armenia. Restitution of these provinces to Armenia is the goal of all Armenians.” Elsewhere in the document, OSS accurately reported that “Armenians, almost without exception, entertain feelings of deepest suspicion, hostility, and fear” toward Turkey.

A second declassified confidential document dated July 31, 1944, carries a surprising title: “Tashnags Turn to Soviet Russia.” The OSS indicated that “the once uncompromisingly anti-Soviet Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Tashnags) officially changed its spots, and the swing toward support of the Soviet Union, which has been growing gradually more perceptible during the last few months, has culminated in the adoption of a pro-Soviet policy at the Federation’s annual convention held in Boston the first week of July." This OSS report was prepared as the Soviet Union had announced its intention to claim the Eastern provinces of Turkey (Kars, Ardahan, and Surmalou) in a post-World War II settlement. The Soviet claim was backed by the Armenian Church, the Soviet Armenian government and the Diaspora, including the anti-Soviet Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF).

The OSS astutely reported: “The Tashnags have never actually renounced their dream of a free and independent Armenia, including the Turkish irredenta, which has kept them at loggerheads with the USSR, ever since Armenia was established as a Soviet [illegible] in 1920. … With the vision of independence fading, the now Soviet-friendly Tashnags are turning their attention to the acquisition of the Turkish provinces of Armenia by the Soviet Armenian Republic.”

In explaining ARF’s post-war expectations, OSS stated: “If, as the Tashnags believe and hope, Turkey remains neutral [in World War II], she will be in a highly vulnerable position, and one item of payment for her neutrality, according to Mr. [James] Mandalian [editor of the Boston-based ARF newspaper Hairenik], would be the cession of Turkish Armenia to Soviet Armenia.”

The 1943 OSS document also contained a lengthy report on the Armenian-American press, focusing its attention on six of the 17 Armenian newspapers in the United States: “Hairenik and Asbarez (Tashnag)” classified as “rightist-nationalist;” “Baikar, Nor Or (Ramgavar)” and “Eritassard Hayastan (Hunchag)” classified as “liberal;” and Lraper (Armenian Progressive League of America)” classified as “leftist-Communist.” The last two newspapers are no longer in publication.

According to OSS, Hairenik and Asbarez are “strongly nationalist, anti-Soviet, and anti-Communist,” while Baikar is “resolutely opposed to the Tashnags and their principles. The Ramgavars have accepted the incorporation of Armenia into the Soviet Union as the most satisfactory way out of Armenian problems, and many articles are printed in Baikar extolling the Soviet regime in Armenia, particularly in its relations to the Armenian Apostolic Church.”

 OSS estimated that the 95,000 Armenians in the United States in 1943, mostly settled in Massachusetts, New York, and California, “retain a keen interest in the affairs of their homeland [Soviet Armenia], though few, if any, would go back there.”

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Armenia Demands Lands from Turkey

In Major Policy Shift, 

Armenia Demands Lands from Turkey 

By Harut Sassounian 

Publisher, The California Courier 
July 18, 2013

Ever since independence in 1991, Armenia’s leaders have been reluctant to make any concrete demands from Turkey beyond recognition of the Armenian Genocide. 

Only in recent years, Armenian officials have begun to speak about “the elimination of the consequences of the genocide,” without specifying the ‘consequences’ and the means for their ‘elimination.’ 

Earlier this month, however, a major shift was announced in Armenia’s foreign policy vis-à-vis Turkey, when Aghvan Hovsepyan, the Prosecutor General of Armenia, called for the return of historic Armenian territories at an international conference of Armenian lawyers in Yerevan. This is the first time that a high-ranking Armenian government official has made such a public demand from Turkey. 

In a lengthy and comprehensive speech, Hovsepyan stated that the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by various countries is simply a moral and emotional issue. Calling for a switch to “the legal field,” the Prosecutor General indicated that “to eliminate the consequences of the Armenian Genocide” Turkey must “pay compensation to heirs of the Armenian Genocide, return to the Armenian Church the miraculously still standing Armenian churches and properties in Turkey, and give back the ‘lost territories’ to the Republic of Armenia.” 

Prosecutor General Hovsepyan insisted that unless Armenians adopt this bold approach, they will not accomplish any concrete results in the next one hundred years, just as they did not in the last one hundred years. He proposed a thorough legal review of all international agreements regulating Armenia-Turkey relations, from the Berlin Treaty of 1878 to the signed but not ratified protocols of 2009. He also declared that the region of Nakhichevan is “an inseparable part of Armenia, albeit occupied by Azerbaijan.” Hovsepyan urged the assembled lawyers from around the world to prepare the legal case for territorial demands from Azerbaijan and Turkey and present it to the Armenian government for eventual submission to the International Court of Justice (World Court). 

Statements made by a prosecutor general usually do not carry much weight in international affairs, if it were not for the fact that several other high-ranking officials, including Pres. Serzh Sargsyan, President of the Constitutional Court Gagik Haroutyunyan, Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan, Armenia’s Minister of Justice Hrair Tovmasyan, and Minister of Justice of Artsakh (Karabagh) Ararat Tanielyan, also made remarks on restitutive justice at the lawyers’ conference. It was clear that the Prosecutor General was the designated spokesman of the Armenian government to articulate its new tougher line toward Turkey in advance of the Genocide Centennial. 

Pres. Sargsyan, using more circumspect language than the Prosecutor General, told the lawyers’ conclave: “The international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide, and elimination of its consequences will always remain a salient issue. As long as the Armenian State is in existence, all efforts to deny and send into oblivion this historical reality will be doomed. This greatest crime against humanity must be recognized and condemned once and for all, and first of all, by Turkey itself.” 

In keeping with the government’s new policy orientation, Constitutional Court President Gagik Haroutyunyan announced that a special committee will be formed to prepare the legal documentation necessary for the pursuit of Armenian Genocide claims. 

At the conclusion of the conference, the participants issued a joint statement asserting that the priority for Armenian lawyers is not proving the self-evident facts of the Genocide, but preparing a comprehensive legal document “to remedy the consequences of the Armenian Genocide.” 

This is a welcome development in terms of arriving at a consensus between the Armenian government and the Diaspora on the objectives to be pursued for the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. 

However, in order to move beyond mere emotionally inspiring statements, the Armenian leaders must take two immediate steps: 

1) Withdraw the Armenian government’s signature from the counter-productive Armenia-Turkey Protocols. On the eve of the Genocide Centennial, it would be inconceivable to move forward with fruitless efforts to improve relations with Turkey, while preparing to file a lawsuit for restitution. 

2) Form a team of international law experts to begin structuring the legal case against Turkey in the World Court and/or the European Court of Human Rights. 

While skeptics may not take seriously the recent policy pronouncements of the Armenian authorities, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has no such doubts. Last week, Ankara denounced the Armenian territorial demands, announcing angrily that “nobody can dare to claim territory from Turkey!”