Femen activists face jail time in Turkey for ‘ban Erdogan’ protest

June 6, 2014 By administrator

Two members of the women’s movement Femen are facing jail time in Turkey for a protest against Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, The Huffington Post said, citing local reports.

The topless activists briefly disrupted municipal elections in March when they entered a polling station in Istanbul, where the prime minister was expected to vote. With “Ban Erdogan” written across their breasts, the two women stood on a table and yelled out the slogan to protest the criticized leader’s reign.

The Femen members were arrested after the stunt and detained by Turkish police. Annie Assouan, 24, and 26-year-old Elvire Duvelle-Charles — both reportedly French citizens — are now facing between one and three years behind bars for the brazen public protes

Germany: Greens’ leader: We’ll pay the price for booing Merkel at Erdoğan rally

May 27, 2014 By administrator

By TODAY’S ZAMAN/ ANKARA

Cem Özdemir, the co-chair of Germany’s Greens Party, has said the booing of German Chancellor Angela Merkel by Turks living in Germany during Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s speech in Cologne was an “ugly” scene that will raise question marks over Turks’ loyalty to Germany.

Erdoğan has lost support of “100 percent of Germany,” according to Özdemir.

“When the crowd booed Merkel, it made a very bad impression; it was an ugly scene. It will remain in the minds [of Germans]. We will pay the price for it,” Özdemir said in an interview with the Zaman daily published on May 26.

Özdemir, who is of Turkish origin, was commenting on Erdoğan’s appearance in Cologne on Saturday to address Turkish citizens in Germany at an event celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Union of European Turkish Democrats (UETD), a Turkish civil society organization based in Germany. Speaking to an enthusiastic crowd of about 20,000 in a Cologne sports arena, Erdoğan said that Merkel called him to extend her condolences for the Soma mine disaster on May 13. When Erdoğan mentioned Merkel’s name, the crowd booed. However, when Erdoğan thanked Merkel the crowd switched from boos to cheers and applause.

The booing of Merkel will stir a debate about Turks’ loyalty to Germany, Özdemir said. “You are living here, making a living here, paying your taxes and sending your children to school here and taking the advantages of the social state here. But you boo this country’s chancellor and idolize another country’s prime minister. Then the issue of loyalty will be brought into question. We have been attempting [to convince the German people] for 50 years that we are loyal citizens. We say, ‘Trust us, there’s no need to fear.’ But the attitude of those in the hall refutes all we are advocating,” he said.

The crowd at Erdoğan’s rally in Cologne appeared as if they were living in an enemy country, Özdemir stated, adding that the intense level of admiration for Erdoğan among his supporters both surprises and scares German society. Protests held by opposition Turkish groups against Erdoğan in which at least 50,000 attended, according to German police in Cologne, also caused fear among Germans, said Özdemir. “Previously, there was a rift between Turks and Kurds or left and right; now there’s fear whether there will be a polarization between Erdoğan’s supporters and dissidents.”

Erdoğan’s appearance brought more tension to Germany, and the Turkish prime minister has become the symbol of the “negative image of Turkey,” according to the Greens politician.

“There was an expectation among the German society as if a monster was coming. A frightening image of Erdoğan appeared because of his speeches about the mine disaster so that people were almost going to lock their children at home because of that danger. Erdoğan cannot change this image easily. In recent years there was a positive image of Turkey; however, it has been reversed, and Erdoğan has become the symbol of a negative image of Turkey,” Özdemir said.

Statement of NCWA concerning condolences of Erdogan

May 19, 2014 By administrator

The National Congress of Western Armenians has issued a declaration on the letter of condolence of Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey.

The text of the declaration is below.

“On 23 April 2014, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Republic of Turkey issued a condolence message to the descendants of the Armenian community of the Ottoman Empire during World War I: “We wish that the Armenians who lost their lives in the context of the early 20th century rest in peace, and we convey our condolences to their grandchildren.”

The National Congress of Western Armenians considers this statement a first step, and as the Chinese philosopher Lao Tze says, “A thousand-mile journey starts with a single step.” Mr Erdogan’s step naturally cannot and could not satisfy all the expectations of Western Armenians, who are descendants of the Armenian citizens of the former Ottoman Empire; nevertheless, we are hopeful that after this statement, the authorities in Turkey will join the constructive dialogue that has started between Turkish civil society and ourselves. The National Congress of Western Armenians pursues the aim of creating the full set of conditions for the restoration of Western Armenians’ rights, compensation for losses they suffered, and their return to the historical homeland.

The administration of Prime Minister Erdogan, and specifically the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu, have qualified the deportation of the Armenian citizens of the Ottoman Empire as “wrong and inhuman.” As a consequence of the deliberate racist and ultranationalist policies of the Union and Progress government of the Ottoman Empire, the two and a half million Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 were subjected to forced deportations, indiscriminately of gender or age, mass murders, forced assimilation and deprivation of belongings. After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, Republican Turkey systematically continued and completed the process of denying them their fatherland and their property.

Today’s Western Armenians, the descendants of the Armenian citizens of the former Ottoman Empire, more than anything else, expect the Turkish authorities to engage in a constructive dialogue with their representatives. In this sense, we await the Turkish authorities to take new and tangible steps taken in response to the civil society’s struggle for the country’s democratization, such as the revision of Article 66 in Turkey’s Constitution that deals with ethnic groups, the abolishment of the notorious Article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code, and the re-opening (without preconditions) of the state border with the Republic of Armenia, where more than one million descendants of Western Armenians reside.

In keeping with the logic Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay expressed in his 30 April 2014 message about Prime Minister Erdogan’s statement, the National Congress of Western Armenians would like to believe that, as Turkey undertakes democratization processes in view of entering the European Union, it will, at long last, also start the long and complex process of acknowledging Western Armenians’ interests and restoring their rights.

We inform you that the National Congress of Western Armenians, in anticipation of these developments, is preparing a statement of claims addressed to the Turkish authorities and will soon make it public.”

Boo me and I’ll slap you, Turkish PM Erdoğan warns protester (Video)

May 18, 2014 By administrator

New video footage has emerged in which Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is seen warning a protester that he will “be slapped if he boos the prime minister,” triggering more outcry on May 17, four days after the deadliest mining accident in Turkey’s history.

Erdoğan was visiting the mining disaster-struck town of Soma when he engaged in a scuffle with protesters on May 14. After being booed and jeered by several people in the crowd, he entered a supermarket in pursuit of one protester, saying, “Come and boo me here to my face.”

In the footage showing the moments soon afterward, Erdoğan’s arm appears to swing toward a man in the entrance of the supermarket, before he walks from the area along with his security team.

The man was later identified as Taner Kurucu, a young miner himself, who said the prime minister had landed an “unintentional” slap to his face, although he was not one of the protesters who was calling on Erdoğan to resign.

In the latest footage, Erdoğan is seen approaching another young man amid the protesters in Soma. “Don’t behave rudely. What is done is done [in the Soma mine]. It’s God’s providence. If you boo the prime minister of this country, you get slapped,” he is heard telling the man.

Another man from the group is then seen replying to Erdoğan’s words: “Of course, we’ll get slapped, Mr. Prime Minister. We love you so much, but we’re suffering.”
Hüseyin Çelik, spokesperson of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), had dismissed the reports on the earlier footage from inside the supermarket as merely “claims.”

Video: Did Turkish PM Erdoğan slap a protester in Soma?

May 15, 2014 By administrator

Many social media users have suggested that the image shows Turkish PM Erdoğan ‘punching’ a protester.

New footage emerged May 15 apparently showing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan engaging in a scuffle in a crowd in the mining disaster-struck town of Soma.

The crowd surrounding Erdoğan in the footage, which has been widely circulated on the Internet, makes it difficult to discern the exact circumstances. However, at the beginning of the video several people are heard booing and whistling at Erdoğan, who then appears to single out one protester, telling him to “Come and boo me here to my face.”

Erdoğan’s advisor kicking Soma mourner leads to outrage

May 15, 2014 By administrator

May 15, 2014, Thursday/ 10:37:36/ TODAYSZAMAN.COM / ISTANBUL

Yusuf Yerkel, an adviser of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, sparked massive outrage after being photographed while kicking a mourner in Manisa’s Soma on Tuesday in the wake of the previous day’s mining disaster that killed at least 282 people.

Tension rose as the anger in Soma, which went through the worst mining tragedy in Turkey’s history. PM Erdoğan faced boos and calls for his resignation as his bodyguards had allegedly tried to suppress any attempt at protest.

Yerkel, one of Erdoğan’s advisers, was captured delivering an enraged kick at a prone protester who was being held down by two soldiers. Turkish media reported that according to witness accounts, special forces were interrogating the protester after the latter kicked an official car belonging to the convoy of the prime minister. Yerkel, who saw the scene as he was preparing to take a seat in the car assigned to him, ran at the protester, kicking him three or four times.

His act has caused fury on social media, with the picture being shared widely. Yerkel later spoke to BBC Turkish, confirming that he was the one in the picture and that he would soon make a public statement regarding the incident.

Zoryan Institute Responds to Erdogan

May 8, 2014 By administrator

The president of the Zoryan Institute, K.M. Greg Sarkissian has issued an open letter to Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in response to the prime minister’s official statement on the eve of the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Below we present the full text of the letter dated May 5, 2014.

Prime Minister Erdogan:

Your official statement on April 23 acknowledging how “The 24th of April carries a particular significance for our [Turkey’s] Armenian citizens and for all Armenians around the world” and your message of condolence, “… we wish that the Armenians who lost their lives in the context of the early twentieth century rest in peace, and we convey our condolences to their grandchildren” constitute an unprecedented step from the Turkish Government and must be recognized as such.

But, Mr. Prime Minister, we can’t stop there, for the sincerity of your condolence is undermined by the calculated presentation in the rest of the letter. Allow me to point out a few examples.

You begin by saying this occasion “provides a valuable opportunity to share opinions freely on a historical matter.” There can be legitimate differences of opinion on historical matters, but opinions must be grounded on facts. When there is incontestable evidence of genocidal intent in the events of 1915-including from the Turkish Archives-it undermines belief in your sincerity when you refer euphemistically to “relocations,” instead of the painful death marches they were. It was the killing, planned and executed by the state apparatus, of about 1.5 million and the deportation of the rest of the 2.5 million Armenian citizens of Ottoman Turkey, with the intent to exterminate the entire race. This is not a matter of historical opinion; it is the reality that we must share. Presumably, this is the reason for your letter of condolence in the first place.

You state that “In Turkey, expressing different opinions and thoughts freely on the events of 1915 is the requirement of a pluralistic perspective as well as of a culture of democracy and modernity.” This lofty sentiment creates the impression that you are open and caring about truth, when, in fact, you are using it as a Trojan horse and a blatant political stratagem to play with the minds of the general public. During your tenure, many scholars, journalists and intellectuals have been persecuted, jailed, and even murdered for holding opinions on 1915 that differ from your official state narrative.

It is true that “It is indisputable that the last years of the Ottoman Empire were a difficult period, full of suffering for millions of Ottoman citizens, regardless of their religion or ethnic origin.” lndeed, your Foreign Minister, His Excellency Ahmet Davutoglu, refers to this in his op-ed piece in The Guardian expressing support for your letter of condolence:

A series of ethnic cleansings in the Balkans pushed millions eastward, transforming the demographic structure of Anatolia….. Approximately 5 million Ottoman citizens were driven away from their ancestral homes in the Balkans, the Caucasus and Anatolia. While much of western history tells of the suffering of the dispossessed and dead Ottoman Christians, the colossal suffering of Ottoman Muslims remains largely unknown outside of Turkey.

We can understand and share with compassion the pain of all those Muslims who were forcibly expelled from the Balkans, the Caucasus and Crimea. We know firsthand that pain. I am the son of two Armenians orphaned in 1915 from Urfa, Anatolia, and who were deported after losing their entire families, and others at the Zoryan Institute, as well as most other Armenians, also have this personal experience. We know well the pain of being uprooted from your ancestral homeland and of being a refugee growing up in several countries, none of which replace what home once was, or allow you to maintain continuity with your cherished history and culture.

But, Mr. Erdogan, you talk about suffering while ignoring how the suffering was inflicted. You lump all of the millions of deaths together without making the critical distinction between the causes of death, those who were targeted for extermination, and those who died from the war. More Germans died in WWII than did Jews, for example, but the deaths had very different causes and different meanings, as did the deaths of the Armenians within the Ottoman Empire. We agree that no one should try to construct hierarchies of pain. However, the pain of those Ottoman Muslims was not inflicted by our Armenian fathers or grandfathers, whereas the pain of the planned destruction of the 2.5 million Armenians in 1915 was caused by yours.

Genocide denial involves four dimensions: denial of the facts, responsibility, calling the events something else, and relativization. Your letter engages in all four. Until you and the Turkish State demonstrate a sincere and apologetic expression about the consequences of your ancestors’ actions, your condolences to the Armenians will be perceived as insincere and a cleverly contrived trick for gaining an end.

No Turk living today can be held responsible for the crime of the genocide committed by the Ottoman regime. Yet, your country and your government are responsible for the aggressive and ongoing denial, which exacerbates and perpetuates the pain of the Armenians and itself is considered the continuation of the crime. We believe that the Armenian people worldwide would embrace the whole people of Turkey, if the Turkish Government acknowledges the responsibility of its predecessor, the Ottoman Empire, in the planned annihilation of its Armenian citizens, expresses a sincere apology, and makes appropriate efforts at atonement. That would build trust between the parties and allow the healing and forgiving process leading to a true liberation for all concerned. In this respect, we take this opportunity to express our deepest sympathy to the families of all those righteous Muslims—Turks, Kurds, and Arabs-who risked their lives to save Armenians during that period.

Your call for a joint historical commission to study the events of 1915 is only a public relations stratagem. Please recall that in 2003, the Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission requested The International Center for Transitional Justice to examine the Armenian Genocide issue. The ICTJ issued its finding that “the Events, viewed collectively, can thus be said to include all of the elements of the crime of genocide as defined in the Convention, and legal scholars as well as historians, politicians, journalists and other people would be justified in continuing to so describe them.” The Turkish members of the Commission rejected this finding and TARC broke apart. Why would you now propose another joint commission, when you have already rejected an independent, third-party finding from an organization headed by the renowned Elie Wiesel? You, yourself, have repeatedly stated publicly that you would never accept that Turkey committed genocide. It is difficult to reconcile this with your statement that “Turkey has always supported scholarly and comprehensive studies for an accurate understanding of history.”

Mr. Prime Minister, if you really would like to see “that the peoples of an ancient and unique geography, who share similar customs and manners will be able to talk to each other about the past with maturity and to remember together their losses in a decent manner,” then perhaps you could take a few very simple steps to show your commitment, by establishing diplomatic relations with Armenia, with no preconditions, and opening the borders between the two countries (closed only from the Turkish side), as a first step to commencing dialogue. This would demonstrate in a tangible way the sincerity of your letter of condolence and be a first step towards reconciliation.

Yours sincerely,

K.M. Greg Sarkissian, President
ԱՌՆՉՎՈՂ ՀՈԴՎԱԾՆԵՐ

Erdogan claims it’s not genocide because not all Armenians were killed

May 7, 2014 By administrator

By Harut Sassounian
Thecaliforniacourier.com

Within days of releasing a shrewdly-worded statement on April 23, misleading some into thinking that he was acknowledging the Armenian Genocide, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan reversed course on a major American TV program, claiming that the 1915 mass killings of Armenians was not genocide.

When asked by veteran reporter Charlie Rose if it would be possible for the Turkish Prime Minister to characterize these killings as genocide, Erdogan became the laughing stock of TV viewers worldwide by declaring: “It would not be possible, because if such a genocide occurred, would there have been any Armenians living in this country [Turkey]?”

It is greatly embarrassing that the leader of a major country like Turkey is clueless about the universally-accepted definition of genocide. Foreign Minister Davutoglu (a former professor) and other learned Turks must have cringed watching their Prime Minister expose his ignorance before millions of TV viewers!

Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 9, 1948, defines genocide as “acts committed with the intent to destroy in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such.”

One does not have to be a genocide scholar to comprehend that it is not necessary to wipe out every single member of a particular group to be accused of committing genocide. Did Hitler manage to kill all German Jews? Would Erdogan dare to go on American Television and make a similarly outrageous remark about the Jewish Holocaust, claiming that it is not genocide because some Jews are living in Germany today? In a fitting response to Erdogan, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian urged him to follow Germany’s example of Holocaust acknowledgment through “recognition, condemnation, and apology.” Nalbandian should have also added ‘restitution’ — an imperative demand — without which the rest are hollow words.

Erdogan should be reminded that only a few days earlier he had called for a joint commission to study the ‘historical facts’. What is the point of asking for a study, if he has already concluded that there was no genocide? The Prime Minister cannot be serious and he definitely is not sincere!

At the end of his interview with Charlie Rose, Erdogan made additional contradictory statements, shifting the blame for the genocide to the Ottomans: “This is not something that happened during the Republic of Turkey. This was during the Ottoman Empire…. If the documents show that our ancestors made a mistake…if the historians can show that, then we would pay whatever consequence of that is.”

While no one in Armenia and Diaspora was fooled by Erdogan’s deceptive statements, the reaction of some Armenians in Turkey was understandably more accommodating. Archbishop Aram Ateshian, Vicar General of the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul, rushed to Ankara with his entourage for a ‘pleasant’ chat with the Turkish Prime Minister and a congenial lunch with Foreign Minister Davutoglu. Abp. Ateshian thanked the Turkish leaders for their expression of “shared pain” in reference to Armenians and Turks who died during World War I.

Such laudatory words are not surprising, given the Armenians’ status in Turkey as hostages of an authoritarian and brutal regime, as journalist Hrant Dink found out by paying with his life for bearing witness to the truth of the Genocide. Some Turkish Armenians, however, have learned to manipulate the country’s oligarchic system for their personal gain. They are willing to go along with Turkish genocide denialism to enrich themselves through covert business deals with government officials and/or secure their leadership positions in the local Armenian community. Indeed, several prominent Turkish-Armenians have suggested that Erdogan be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his April 23rd statement! Two Armenian businessmen have even placed self-deprecating ads in Turkish newspapers thanking the Prime Minister and offering apologies for the Turkish ‘deaths’ during World War One!

At the end of the day, it matters not what Erdogan’s statement or Davutoglu’s op-ed in The Guardian say or don’t say about the Armenian Genocide. The more fundamental question is: are Turkish officials willing to atone for the crimes committed by their ancestors against the Armenian people? What matters most for Armenians is restitution and justice, not empty rhetoric! Erdogan’s words are too little and too late. His statement is simply a clever ploy at damage control given the growing sentiments and calls worldwide to accept responsibility for the Armenian Genocide, and to deflect attention away from the scandals swirling around Turkey and its Prime Minister.

Armenians Should Thank Erdogan for… NOT Recognizing the Genocide

April 30, 2014 By administrator

BY HARUT SASSOUNIAN

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s statement on the ‘events of 1915’ released in nine languages last week was a major propaganda coup for Turkey, generating worldwide publicity. The announcement was so cleverly crafted that it fooled many in the international community — and regrettably, some Armenians — into believing that he came close to recognizing the Armenian Genocide or at least took ‘an historic’ step in the right direction.

In reality, Erdogan’s statement was nothing more than rephrased denial or old wine in a new bottle. Carefully avoiding the term ‘Armenian Genocide,” he conveniently borrowed Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s deceptive terminology of ‘shared pain’ and ‘just memory,’ words that sound conciliatory, but actually equate the murderers with the victims. The Turkish Prime Minister’s reference to millions of Turks and others who also died during World War I is an insult to the memory of the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide. Millions of Germans also perished in World War II, but no one in their right mind and good conscience would equate their deaths with the extermination of six million Jews!

Erdogan’s call for a “joint historical commission to study the events of 1915” is another worn out and shrewd delay tactic. If Turkish officials are sincere in wanting to learn the facts of the Armenian Genocide, all they have to do is review the extensive documentation available in their own archives as well as studies conducted by countless historians and genocide scholars around the world. Why did the Turkish government wait for almost 100 years to show an interest in researching this topic? Why are some of the most sensitive Ottoman archives still kept under lock and key, not to mention those that were shredded long ago?

I have written many times for several years that:
1. Despite Turkish denials, the Armenian Genocide is a recognized fact by the international community and there is no need to wait for Pres. Obama, Prime Minister Erdogan or anyone else to acknowledge it.
2. Genocide recognition cannot right the wrongs committed by uprooting and decimating the Armenian people. A more appropriate objective would be to seek justice through legal channels, demanding restitution, both financial and territorial.
3. The Turkish offer for ‘reconciliation’ is nothing but a sinister ploy to bury the past with a meaningless acknowledgment and apology. True reconciliation is achieved by undoing the enormous damage inflicted on the Armenian nation.
It is imperative that Armenians remain vigilant and not be deceived by fake Turkish offers of reconciliation. Between now and April 24, 2015, the Turkish government will probably announce many more publicity stunts to win over the sympathy of the international community and minimize the damage to Turkey’s already tarnished reputation by accusations of genocide.

One such Turkish plan is Davutoglu’s cynical statement that the Armenian Diaspora is also Turkey’s Diaspora! There have been media reports that the Turkish government is preparing to grant citizenship to the descendants of former Ottoman subjects, including Armenians. Surprisingly, some naïve Armenians are fooled into thinking that this is a positive step! Just imagine settling in one of the towns of Turkish-occupied Western Armenia or Cilicia as a citizen of Turkey, and having your sons drafted into the Turkish military to ‘defend the Turkish nation’ and take part in the invasion of Kessab or Aleppo or even Armenia! How about being jailed, under article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, because you made the mistake of speaking about the Armenian Genocide to one of your Turkish neighbors!

Erdogan’s real intent in issuing his April 23, 2014 statement is to undermine the worldwide Armenian efforts to seek justice as they prepare for the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

The fact that the State Department and some European officials reacted positively to Erdogan’s statement is an indication that this was a coordinated attempt to provide cover for the Obama administration and European countries not to deal with the Armenian demands on the genocide issue, using the excuse that Turkey’s leaders are in the process of reconciling with Armenians.

Armenians should resist the pressures by third parties to abandon the pursuit of their historic claims. The views of the US government or the EU on Armenian demands from Turkey should be irrelevant. Armenians should be the masters of their own fate and not allow other nations to dictate what is acceptable or unacceptable to them in the pursuit of their national interest.

Rasim Ozan Kutahyali, Erdogan erases Armenian taboo in Turkey

April 28, 2014 By administrator

A day before the annual commemoration of the 1915 Armenian genocide, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his condolences to the grandchildren of those who lost their lives. As the BBC noted, issued in nine languages, was unprecedented in the history of the Turkish republic. Specifically, he said, “We wish that the Armenians who lost their lives in the context of the early 20th century rest in peace, and we convey our condolences to their grandchildren.” He also stated, “Millions of people of all religions and ethnicities lost their lives in the First World War. Having experienced events which had inhumane consequences — such as relocation, during the First World War — should not prevent Turks and Armenians from establishing compassion and mutually humane attitudes towards one another.”

Devlet Bahceli, chairman of the opposition Nationalist Action Party (MHP), when asked to comment on Erdogan’s statement said, “There is nothing to assess here. It is too much to torment this nation like this.”

Faruk Lologlu, deputy chairman of main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), said the most important aspect of Erdogan’s statement was his use of the word “condolences.” He asserted, “Condolence is a sacred notion, so there is no need to take offense.” Lologlu did, however, question why, after being in power so long, Erdogan had chosen 2014 to make his statement.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu added his voice, stating, “History is not black and white. … Everyone needs to show virtue by sharing the pains of the past. I hope the hand we extended will be reciprocated. Turkey does not make such statements under pressure. It is not a declaration made because of timing requirements.”

Armenia and the Armenian diaspora want the deaths of some 1.5 million Armenians forcefully deported during the Ottoman Empire to be recognized as genocide. Some 20 countries, including France, Germany, Russia and Sweden, recognize the 1915 events as such, but the United States, with a large Armenian diaspora, has not yet done so. I am one of those Turks who considers the deaths genocide and have openly said so in the Turkish media and through Al-Monitor. Many people recognize me on the street in Turkey because I am also a TV personality. Some Turks support me for this opinion, but others hate me.

The reality is that in pre-Erdogan Turkey, no one — whether a well-known, popular media figure or someone working in the most marginal media — would have written that the 1915 events were genocide. Doing so would have resulted in immediate imprisonment. In the Erdogan era, speaking about 1915 has gradually come to be accepted. Today in Turkey, the Armenian genocide can be freely discussed. Turkey has made significant progress in respect to freedom of expression on this and the Kurdish issue.

Some writers who personally dislike Erdogan and the Gulenist movement, whose secretive penetration of the state is now known, still insist on presenting an incorrect portrait of Turkey to the world. Sure, some of Erdogan’s policies have been bad — there is much to criticize about his 11-year rule — but as prime minister, he has proven that he is a leader who learns from his mistakes. He has no immovable obsessions and is flexible. His political speeches are provocative, and he stands firm against his rivals, but when it comes to official policies, he can dispense with rigidity and reverse positions.

For example, Erdogan’s analysis of the situation in Syria was faulty, which led to bad policy decisions. With his Syrian policy at an impasse, Erdogan is now likely to take a more realistic position. We should not ignore, as Mustafa Akyol’s analysis for Al-Monitor suggests, that Erdogan will be the most important political figure in Turkey for the next 10 years. The Erdogan phenomenon must therefore be examined impartially, free of personal animosities.

A prominent Turkish writer who knew and shared my views about the 1915 Armenian genocide predicted that Erdogan would have me fired from my newspaper. I disagreed, saying that I understood Erdogan’s approach to the Armenian issue, but being a wise politician, he would tackle public perceptions step by step and at the end eliminate the taboo surrounding 1915. I do not feel that anything justifies portraying Erdogan as a reactionary in regard to the Armenian question.

I asked a friend of mine sensitive about the Armenian issue if he would still be unsatisfied if on April 24, 2015, Erdogan traveled to Yerevan as the new president of Turkey, prayed for the genocide’s victims and laid a wreath on their memorial. His response was that Erdogan should not be the president of Turkey, and that we had to be freed of the man. My friend was accepting that anyone other than Erdogan become president, even if he was a fascist who would justify what we did to the Armenians.

Erdogan’s Turkey will from now on confront 1915. Many more steps could follow in 2015. When it comes to facing up to the past, Erdogan is far ahead of his party and cabinet. Davutoglu’s comment on the issue was in a language reminiscent of the Kemalist diplomatic tradition. Turkish diplomacy under Davutolgu must support Erdogan’s courageous move and not create obstructions for Erdogan.

With Erdogan’s statement on 1915, the last taboo of the Turkish republic is gone. True, most people still think as they were conditioned to by Kemalist Turkish nationalists, but Erdogan’s approach will soften this unaccommodating mentality. Erdogan is a leader who can change the minds of people. The Turkish nation must, indeed, convey our condolences to the grandchildren of our Armenian brothers and sisters massacred by the Talat Pasha government in 1915. In this, Erdogan has once again proven to the world that he is not a leader from the usual mold. Those assessing Turkey in Washington must take care to accurately analyze the Erdogan phenomenon.

Rasim Ozan Kutahyali has been a columnist for Sabah since 2011 after writing for Taraf from 2008 to 2011. He is a popular political commentator on various TV programs, having started at CNNTurk and now appearing on Beyaz TV. Kutahyali is known for his anti-militarist and liberal political views. He can be reached at rasim.ozan@hotmail.com