Alfa, you didn´t understand my point.. I meant that your blind defense of the "image" of Turkey, by denying the genocide at all cost stems out of your nationalism, not that the murder of Armenians was a result of nationalism.. and you´re doing this at the cost of your humanity, which is really disgusting.
The history is very simple. The Ottomans killed some Armenians and caused some to die of sickness and possibly hunger ...yes !
But this did not happen when Turks first arrived at Anatolia ( like Europeans butchered American natives within 100 years of their arrival) or (like Germans when Jews started dominating their economy) or like (Italians in Algeria and French in Eithopia simply to continue their tyrany) or like (Sweeds,. simply because they were bored and wanted pure blood citizens in their country) In none of these cases the supressors ever shared sovereignity of the land with the people they massacred.
In Ottoman Empire. Turks and Armenians lived together for 800 years, in peace. There were times Armenians could have been cleaned out overnight. if that had been the Imperial intention. What you dont want to understand (possibly because you have Armenian origins, and have a personal grief over the issue) is that the problem started when a part of the Armenian population rebelled against the Empire ( for welfare of which they were equally responsible. like any other ethnic group that made up the Empire), donned French and Russian Army uniforms and betrayed their own country. The rest of the Empire was fighting for its life in Gallipoli, at the time of this Armenian betrayal, for god´s sake !
Rebelling Armenians definitely got what they deserved; they were not the first losing rebels in history...but they definitely are the only crying one.
The Russian records are open to verify my statement, and France is full of Armenian Memorials listing names of soldiers who lost their lives in Anatolia, in French uniform. Most of the names listed in those memorials have birthplaces in what was the Ottoman Empire, then.
I am telling you that Empire later court martialled some officers of the Empire - not for for killing rebellious Armenian gunmen, but causing perhaps unnecessary misery to some of the civilian Armenians who lived in the area - some of those officers were found guilty and some even were punished with capital punisment. No Armenians other than those living in the area of rebellion or on critical supply routes to that area, suffered.
The next rebellion against the Empire was by Turks...which eventually ended up the Empire. The young Turkish Republic does not carry any hatred or grudge towards the previous rebels, but has no intention of apologizing for what previous losing rebels suffered in the hands of a (now) non existent Empire either.
The choice for Republics of Turkia and Armenia, the two neighbor countries, now is to understand and acccept the history as it really was, forget past griefs and cooperate towards mutual welfare...or take advice from cold blooded murderers of the West and carry on with a totaly meaningles vendetta...
Turkia does not need me to protect her image - but I, as an intellectual, have every right to question the integrity and the credibility of those faceless accusers of Turkia...
Edited (4/5/2010) by AlphaF
Edited (4/5/2010) by AlphaF
Edited (4/5/2010) by AlphaF
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