By: Hambersom Aghbashian
Hasan Cemal ( born in 1944 in Istanbul, Turkey) is a Turkish journalist, writer and the grandson of Ahmed Djemal Pasha*. He is best known for acknowledging and apologizing for the Armenian Genocide, a crime which was perpetrated by (Ittihat ve Terakki party and its leaders Enver Pasha, Talaat Pasha and Hasan’s grandfather Djemal Pasha). His 2012 book on the Armenian Genocide (written in response to the 2007 assassination of his friend, Agos editor-in chief, Hrant Dink) is titled (1915: Ermeni Soykırımı), (1915: Armenian Genocide).
In 1965, Cemal graduated from Ankara University with a Political Science degree, and in 1969 began working for the weekly Hakkı Devrim. Between 1981-1992, he was the chief editor of the Cumhuriyet newspaper. In 1992 he became the editor of the Sabah newspaper until 1998. From 1998-2013, he worked for Milliyet newspaper. He conducted interviews with notable PKK leaders such as Abdullah Öcalan and Murat Karayilan. Some of Hasan Cemal’s works include, “1915: Armenian Genocide; 2012”, “Be One with Peace; 2011”, “Turkey’s Military Problem; 2010”, “I Liked This Republic; 2005”, “Kurds; 2004”, “No one should be mad, I Wrote Myself; 1999”, “The Story of Özal; 1989″,”Fear of Democracy; 1986″, “Waking up to the Sound of Tanks; 1986”, etc..
Hasan Cemal always believed in the official Turkish governmental narrative that the genocide did not occur. However, after he traveled to Armenia and visited the Armenian Genocide memorial, he published a book entitled “1915: The Armenian Genocide”. The book would go on to be a bestseller in Turkey. Cemal remarked in his book, “To deny the Genocide would mean to be an accomplice in this crime against humanity”. The book highlights Cemal’s personal transformation and his experiences in Armenia and how he turned from a Genocide denier to a recognizer. While Cemal was in Armenia, he had an opportunity to meet and have lunch with Armen Gevorkyan, the grandson of the man who executed his grandfather Djemal Pasha in 1922.
According to Armenpress (13 Nov., 2013), Cemal wrote in an article published in Turkey’s T24 online newspaper that” Turkey must understand the pain felt by Armenians in the aftermath of 1915, and it must share that pain and present the tragedy to society at large, ahead of the forthcoming centennial of the genocide”. He also added that “Armenians are a people from Anatolia. Their roots and their motherland is in Anatolia. Armenians, like the Kurdish people, had lived in Anatolia before the Turks appeared there. The truth is that Turkey has not yet accepted the fact that the Armenians were cut off from their historical roots and their motherland in 1915”.
On March31, 2011,during an event which was organized by the AGBU Asbeds at UCLA, Cemal was the main speaker and said that he came to express his grief and apologize for the 1915 genocide. He also added that “History cannot be covered up. You cannot forget your roots”. Hassan Cemal apologized to all Armenians for the Armenian Genocide. He also has insisted that the Turkish government should also apologize to the Armenians for the Armenian Genocide as well.
##########
*Ahmed Djemal Pasha was a key figure in the Young Turks’- Ittihat ve Terakki party’s government and an Ottoman military leader (Minister of Marine) and one of the military triumvirate known as the Three Pashas ( Enver, Talaat, Djemal) that ruled the Ottoman Empire during World War I, and is seen as one of the perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide. He was executed in July 1922 in Tbilisi, Georgia, by Stepan Dzaghigian and Petros Ter Poghosyan, as part of Operation Nemesis, in retribution for his role in the Armenian Genocide.
Featured in: Nor Or Weekly – Thursday January 16, 2014