APRIL 24th AT AGOS
"Time to Comprehend for Turkey”
Agos newspaper placed its editorial corner as the headline due to the 97th anniversary of Armenian Genocide.
The newspaper was published with the headline, "Time to Comprehend for Turkey" and it was written that Turkey would never be able to understand the state mentality victimizing Muslim, Kurdish, Turkish and Alewi people unless it confronts with and remembers 1915.
'We no more discuss what happened in 1915 in Turkey. Hundred of thousands of people were dislocated and they couldn't come back. Today, most of them are lying at the Anatolian land or at the deserts of Syria without even having a gravestone. These facts are known by anyone talking about this issue. People were forced to change their religions in order to be able to survive; they had to take refuges in the houses of Muslim families.'
"These are all the facts and they just defend themselves by just saying, 'No one can tell that we carried out genocide!' as if another kind of denomination would commute these facts...
"Genocides are carried out by mentalities, not by public"
It was emphasized that the responsible people for the things happened in 1915 are not the Muslim, Turkish or Kurdish people because the genocides are carried out by mentalities, not by people.
"2015 is close and we are witnessing a big effort in order to provide a more nationalistic ground for Turkey and we are concerned about it. The murder of Sevag Balıkçı, the rising hatred in Hocalı commemoration, 'The Lie of 1915' entitled conferences at the schools, the propaganda preparations for 2015 are all the indicators of this trend."
"Getting rid of the people from the lands of Anatolia stands at the basis of this ideology however these people lived on that lands for thousands of years. That's why 1915 is more than just a 'problem of conscience', it's a problem of political choice. 1915 is the agreement of silence that provides a basis for the recent history of Turkey with which Turkey tries to settle account. If 1915 is not remembered properly, it's impossible to confront with the state mentality victimizing Muslim, Turkish, Alewi, Kurdish people. That's why Armenian issue is the issue of 'New' Turkey. Unless the facts happened in 1915 are not comprehended, Turkey may come very close to a 'new' Turkey concept however it cannot change into a new Turkey completely." (EKN)