By Achren ALLAHVERDIAN France24
German-Turkish director Fatih Akin spent seven years working on “The Cut”, a film that depicts the Armenian genocide of 1915. He first had the idea after the assassination of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in Istanbul in 2007, which sparked protests across Turkey. “There was an open discussion about the Armenian genocide in Turkey after Hrant was shot”, he recalls.
Turkey does not recognise the Armenian genocide, only acknowledging a “massacre”. Nevertheless, Fatih Akin says he has witnessed a change in mentalities in Turkey.
Even though he was insulted and received deaths for making “The Cut”, the director “did not get any trouble” from the government and describes a “live and let live” response from the authorities. Turkey was “ready for such a film”, he concludes.
Source: France24
The Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres, and deportations involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.
The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.
Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.
The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, the Italian Chamber of Deputies, majority of U.S. states, parliaments of Greece, Cyprus, Argentina, Belgium and Wales, National Council of Switzerland, Chamber of Commons of Canada, Polish Sejm, Vatican, European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.