A Spring Tale: Genocide Claims and Turkish Thesis

Over the years, every April 23rd celebration’s joy has given way the next day to anxiously waiting to see if the US President will say ‘genocide.’ Indeed, what we feared finally happened, but still, the Armenian diaspora was not satisfied, and every April 24, this tale continues to be served to the Turkish nation like dragging up the past. However, while this process has repeated itself for years, what is the state of Turkish theses? From the start, it should be noted that this article will not be yet another compilation of traditional Turkish theses. Instead, it will focus on the mistakes in presenting Turkish theses.

The Genocide Industry

Why is a subject from a hundred years ago, where no one from that period remains alive, persistently kept alive? Moreover, if we remember that the definition of ‘genocide’ was first used in 1944 and the United Nations adopted the ‘Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide’ in 1948, we see that it is legally impossible for them to receive compensation for their nationalized properties.

American political scientist Norman Finkelstein claims that Jews exploit the Jewish Holocaust as a tool for gain and calls this the ‘genocide industry’. This is why, when answering the question of why we face these claims every year, we need to start with an obvious truth that few people express: Armenian Genocide claims have also created an industry over the years. The Armenian diaspora, scattered across various countries but clustered in some, focuses its lobbying activities on this issue and pours funds into this genocide industry.

The Armenian diaspora has gained many benefits through this. In regions where they cluster, like France and the US, they can influence political decision-makers by voting as a block. Thus, politicians can continuously advocate Armenian theses.

The financial interests involved are another side of the coin. Thanks to funds flowing into this issue, films are made, and events are held. Recently, you can see these claims even in many unrelated productions. Why would a character in Disney’s Marvel Universe say that if they had their current powers in the past, they could have prevented the Armenian Genocide? This dialogue, which has no place in a superhero series, is undoubtedly one of the products of this industry.

However, the most important thing the Armenian diaspora has gained is legitimacy. Especially in today’s post-truth age, having one’s own story and having a trauma that can create victimhood, if possible, has become something that gives important legitimacy to individuals or masses. Indeed, it would not be wrong to say that our age’s conditions have also influenced the gradual increase in the Armenian population claimed to have been genocides over the years.

So, from one perspective, the aim is not to make Turks accept genocide claims but to ensure this sector’s continuity. The problem’s lack of resolution feeds the Armenian diaspora in many ways. Therefore, never reaching a solution suits the diaspora better.

Neither First, Nor Last

First, Turks are not facing such claims for the first time. In 1876, the Bulgarian Revolution began, and although the Ottoman Empire was initially unprepared, the rebellion was suppressed with its intervention in the region. According to both local and foreign observers, the number of killed rebels was between 3,000-4,000. Despite this, a Crusader spirit formed in Europe, and Western media began giving numbers ranging from 12,000 to 100,000 for killed rebels. Along with this, it was said that children were enslaved, women were raped, refugees were left to die from hunger, and hundreds of villages were burned. Even foreign observers’ reports could not calm the media uproar on this issue. The Turkish image in the United Kingdom was destroyed on this occasion. While The pro-Turkish Diasraeli government’s hand was significantly weakened, the hand of the anti-Turkish Gladstone and his party was greatly strengthened. And in all this process, the Bâbıâli was caught unprepared and could not carry out any crisis management.

The Bulgarian Rebellion became a precedent in this matter. The reaction formed in Europe against exaggerated massacre news led to Western states interfering in the Ottoman Empire’s internal affairs. This model would also be used for Armenians in the following years.

Looking at today, because the Turkish state has not developed a sophisticated reflex against this model, we now face even Assyrian Genocide, Pontus Genocide, and even Kurdish Genocide claims.

Where Are Turks Making Mistakes?

The most important thing that both Turkish citizens and the Turkish state must not forget is that the diaspora does not want a solution to this issue. Even if Turkey made an announcement tomorrow accepting the claims, the attitude of the Armenian diaspora would not change.

The concept of ‘genocide’ has been a concept that excludes other societies and states in the international arena since World War II. When this concept comes alongside any society, it creates quite a bad image for that society. Even at the time this article was written, the mention that Israel is committing Genocide in Gaza puts even a society that has suffered Genocide under the influence of this bad image. Indeed, this aim also lies in the PKK diaspora abroad, frequently accusing Turkey of committing Genocide against Kurds. Although states are undoubtedly aware that no such thing happened, societies unfamiliar with the region have come to think that Turks have been genociding surrounding peoples for a century.

Although some say whatever happened was during the Ottoman Empire period and does not concern the Republic of Turkey, unfortunately, we are not in a position to dismiss the issue like this. Indeed, the Republic of Turkey only rejected the Ottoman Empire’s regime. Turkey, which is the continuation of the Ottoman Empire in many aspects, has inherited this issue from the empire. Additionally, saying this issue concerns the Ottoman Empire would mean accepting the claims.

One of our mistakes was trusting others on this issue over the years. Mainly, the Jewish lobby supported Turkish theses, particularly in the US, for many years, preventing Armenian claims from becoming legitimate. However, getting used to going down into the well with someone else’s rope was also a mistake. Indeed, our relations with Israel were deteriorating naturally, leading to the Jewish diaspora withdrawing their support from us. Of course, one of the overlooked details here was that the Jewish lobby did not give us this support for no reason. Jews, who have the most significant genocide movement in modern times in their history, also have their industry on this issue, and it does not suit their interests to share this status with Armenians. Indeed, probably for this exact reason, we continued to feel the invisible hand of the Jewish lobby in Armenian Genocide claims for a while, even after the Mavi Marmara Raid and Davos Crisis happened.

Of course, while talking about the genocide industry, we need to point the finger at ourselves, too. Many publications in Turkey repeat the same theses to get their share from state-allocated budgets. Generally, these activities include publishing books and organizing conferences at some universities. Their most unsuccessful aspect is that the publications are in Turkish. We scored our own goal by playing with a ball on our field by ourselves. Therefore, we can say that the genocide industry exists in Turkey, too, albeit on a smaller scale.

Our biggest mistake is constantly trying to pull the issue into the field of history. Because the Armenian diaspora does not want a solution anyway, the problem is not in a state that can be solved by establishing scientific committees. Although Turkey has made such invitations many times, it has not received a response. In fact, according to Yusuf Halaçoğlu’s account, they even refused to come to a meeting held on this issue in Switzerland. All this reveals that the Armenian diaspora’s problem is not actually about revealing a historical truth. Therefore, Turkey’s constant delegation of this issue to historians is a rhetoric that bears no fruit. Indeed, even if the diaspora accepted this, this time, they would open the reliability of documents in the Ottoman archive to discussion.

New Goals, New Strategies

What is mentioned in this section will only be a small part of what can be done. Still, it should be noted that some of these were already being done, albeit minimally, in the past. Therefore, it is important to return to these practices urgently.

1. A network of elites who can defend Turkish theses should be established in foreign countries. Such a network existed in the past, even if it included few people. However, because these activities were not sustained, such a network no longer remains. According to one of the basic principles of public relations discipline, the masses emphasize references from people they trust. Therefore, it is critically important to ensure that elites in target countries defend Turkish theses. On the other hand, this will not be easy, especially at the point reached, because those who start defending these theses will be directly marked.

2. The Turkish diaspora needs to organize on this issue. In another article, we discussed this issue in detail, but the Turkish diaspora’s inability to organize and its scattered structure constitutes a significant weakness. Although the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities is starting to provide advocacy training regarding Armenian claims to the Turkish diaspora in the US, which is a positive step, it is still insufficient.

3. The living conditions of diaspora and Armenians are very different. While Armenia is in poverty, the diaspora invests most of its money and funds in the genocide industry rather than helping its homeland. At this point, it will be important to say that Armenians serve almost as puppets, pawns for the diaspora. Primarily focusing on this difference will create an area where diaspora Armenians will have to go on the defensive, and ensuring this difference is also voiced in Armenia can create a deep crack between them.

4. The history of the Eastern Front still has not been created in enough detail. Although we criticized the effort to leave this issue only to the historians above, it is also a fact that they are indispensable parts of this issue. Although we have intensive study and literature accumulation for some fronts during both World War I and the National Struggle period, the Eastern Front has been neglected. It is important for Turkish academia to work intensively and in cooperation to create the necessary data for defenders.

5. Many countries in Europe still have not officially recognized the claims. Additionally, claims go unanswered in Asia and Africa as well. In other words, although Armenian Genocide claims are frequently voiced loudly, the Armenian diaspora is not very successful. Turkey needs to carry out a proactive initiative in these regions now and prevent these claims from spreading to these regions as well. The struggle in regions where claims are already accepted will take longer anyway.

Conclusion

The Turkish state repeatedly faces genocide and ethnic cleansing accusations against multiple societies in its history. Unfortunately, serious mistakes have been made in fighting these claims. Taking an honorable stance by opening archives and demanding joint history commissions to be established no longer yields results.

For this reason, Turks now need to adopt strategies that yield more practical results. Instead of staying on the defensive by refuting claims, they should take a stance that makes their claims and forces the Armenian diaspora to go on the defensive.

A proactive stance is important in this matter. Precautions should be taken in places where claims aren’t yet strongly voiced, and in places where the Armenian diaspora is strong, elites who defend Turkish theses need to be created.

A vulnerability is forming due to strategies we follow by staying away from practical results, and other groups wanting to take advantage of this have been raising their voices loudly in recent years, claiming they were subjected to ethnic cleansing and Genocide in the past. Fighting Armenian claims firmly will also be quite effective in cutting off these newly sprouting claims.