Armenian genocide denial

Denial of the Armenian Genocide is the assertion that events following April 24, 1915 circular and the Tehcir Law of May 1915, does not constitute a state organized genocide. It acknowledges that many Armenians died, but says Turks died too, and that massacres were committed on both sides as a result of inter-ethnic violence and the wider World War I . It also disputes the crimes against the Armenian population by Teşkilat-ı Mahsusa or the Special Organization.

Terminology

At present, regarding to the activities performed under Tehcir Law, May 1915, the Republic of Turkey rejects the use of word "deportation" and "refugee". Turkey uses the terminology "relocation" (resettlement) and "immigrant". Turkey reminds that the process was between May 27 1915 to February 8-1916, and all the destination regions were within the Ottoman Empire borders. Empire perceived the immigrants as its citizen and took extensive measure to record type, quantity, and value of the "immigrant" property, and also the names of the owners and which place they were sent to . Turkey uses the terminology "deportation" for expulsion of foreigners (the expulsion of natives is usually called banishment, exile, or transportation) or extradition which generally means the expulsion of someone from a country.

Late response

Some sympathetic to the Turkish official position note that Turkish governments have been very slow in answering to the genocide charges, even though nearly a century has passed since the events. In 1975 Turkish historian and biographer Sevket Sureyya Aydemir summarized the reasons for this delay. He said, "The best course, I believe, is not to dwell on this subject and allow both sides to forget (calm) this part of history." This view was shared by the foreign ministry of Turkey at the time. Zeki Kuneralp, a former Turkish ambassador, had a different explanation, according to him "The liabilities of not publishing the historical documents outweigh the advantages."

With Kamuran Gurun for the first time a controversial period of the Ottoman Empire began to be questioned by the Republic of Turkey. Other Turkish institutions followed Kamuran Gurun. The thesis brought by Armenian and foreign historians were then answered by analyzing the casualties of deportations, and the alleged casualties of inter-ethnic fighting, etc. Initial studies were basically on aggregated data issues, through classifications and categorizations. These discussions have been moved to issues such as why the Armenian resistance force failed to support a sustainable Armenian state and Ottoman military problems under insurgency. Most of these activities aim to find out and analyze the relationships of the controversial issues surrounding Ottoman state of the time; intending to have a better understanding of "why the choices of the Ottoman system had been shaped as they were". These questions aim to bring the complexity of Ottoman history and dynamics of a blacked-out period beyond the current available arguments to surface so that the correct lessons in prevention of these activities can be taken.

Justifications brought forward

April 24

Main article: April 24 circular

The Turkish authorities hold the position that the deaths were the result of the turmoil of World War I and that the Ottoman Empire was fighting against Russia, who backed the Armenian volunteer units. The authorities assert that claims of Armenian casualties which ignore the Armenian unrest, or ethnic-religious conflicts, are not established historical facts. Furthermore, they contend that there was a political movement towards creating a "Republic of Armenia". The dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and the Balkanization process were in the same period, and may obfuscate the actual events.

Deportations (Relocation)

See also: Tehcir Law

The Turkish authorities claim that the forced migrations cannot be classified as acts of genocide by the state. They note that in 1915 there was only one railway that connects west-east and that the path of what it considers relocation was not a conspiracy to exterminate Armenians. Turkish authorities strongly reject claims that the locations of the camps which are mentioned in some sources are a result of a conspiracy to bury Armenians in deserts. Dayr az-Zawr is a district along the Euphrates and one of the unique places far away from any military activity; thus, Dayr az-Zawr's selection as a burying site in a deserted location is rejected. They attribute the graves in these areas to difficulties of traveling under very hard conditions. The conditions of these camps reflected the condition of the Ottoman Empire. The Empire was facing the Gallipoli landings in the west, and the Caucasus Campaign in the east. Turkish authorities note that the war brought the end of the Empire financially and economically.

Ethnic cleansing

Regarding the "process of relocation" under the Tehcir Law, arguments disputing the similarities to the ethnic cleansing (Holocaust) are as follows: (a) there is no record of (neither from origination archives nor from destination archives in Syria) an effort to develop a systematic process and efficient means of killing, (b) there are no lists or other methods for tracing the Armenian population to assemble and kill as many people as possible, (c) there was no resource allocation to exterminate Armenians (biological, chemical warfare allocations), and the use of morphine as a mass extermination agent is not accepted; in fact, there was a constant increase in food and support expenses and these efforts continued after the end of deportations, (d) there is no record of Armenians in forced deportations being treated as prisoners, (e) the claims regarding prisoners apply only to the leaders of the Armenian militia, but did not extend to ethnic profiling; the size of the security force needed to develop these claims was beyond the power of the Ottoman Empire during 1915, (f) there is no record of prisons designed or built to match the claims of a Holocaust, (g) there were no public speeches organized by the central government targeting Armenians.

Security of Immigrants

The security of the immigrants were under the responsibility of the Ottoman Empire. The Turkish authorities present the facts that some companies had been attacked before they reached their settlement regions . They summarize these attacks; present the fact that the roads between Aleppo and Meskene resulted in many deaths. Other events were located at Diyarbekir to Zor and from Saruc to Halep through Menbic road . Companies have also faced with local attacks from the local tribes in the Diyarbekir, Mamuretülaziz and Bitlis regions .

The Turkish authorities present two positions regarding on this issue; (1) "Investigation Commissions" during the migration process determined the officers, who showed reluctance or unlawful actions, by visiting to the regions that events occurred and following the decisions they observed the appropriate actions taken The appropriate actions were extended to the Court Martial and in accordance with the judgments at the Court Martial, guilty parts were sentenced to heavy punishments (2) End of the World War One; the issue opened one more time during the Turkish Courts-Martial of 1919-20 under the military occupation of Istanbul, which Ottoman courts generated one more analysis.

Casualties

Based on studies of the Ottoman census by Justin McCarthy and on contemporary estimates, it is said that far fewer than 1.5 million Armenians lived in the relevant areas before the War. Estimates of deaths are thus lowered, ranging from 200,000 to 600,000 between 1914 and the Armistice of Mudros. In addition, it is said that these deaths are not all related to the deportations, nor should they all be attributed to the Ottoman authorities.

Yusuf Halacoglu, President the Turkish Historical Society (TTK), presented lower figures of Armenian casualties. He estimates that a total of 56,000 Armenians perished during the period due to war conditions, and less than 10 thousand were actually killed. This study is still absent from the Turkish foreign affairs publications.

Assertions brought forward

Inter-ethnic violence

Turkish authorities often counters accusations of genocide by mentioning the plight of Ottoman Muslims throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. According to the historian Mark Mazower, Turkey resents the fact that the West is ignorant of the fate of millions of Muslims expelled from the Balkans and Russia, and would consider any apology towards Armenians as a confirmation of the anti-Turkish sentiment held by Western powers for centuries. Mazower recognizes a genocide of the Armenians, but he notes "Even today, no connection is made between the genocide of the Armenians and Muslim civilian losses: the millions of Muslims expelled from the Balkans and the Russian Empire through the long 19th century remain part of Europe's own forgotten past. Indeed, the official Turkish response is invariably to remind critics of this fact — an unconvincing justification for genocide, to be sure, but an expression of underlying resentment" .

The Turkish authorities maintain the position that the Ottoman Empire did not exercise the degree of control which the opposing parties claim. Turkey accepts that there were Armenian deaths as a result of Ottoman decisions, but states that the responsible Ottoman bureaucrats and military personnel were tried.

Famine

Turn of 1919, at best a serious food shortage and famine in the eastern parts of the Ottoman Empire

Regarding the famine and starvation arguments; Turkish authorities acknowledges that many Armenians died, but says Muslim millet (Turks) of the Empire died too. For the most horrible cases originate from the region which is current Syria (part of Ottoman Empire until end of war)was covered in a detailed article (the whole of Greater Syria, and thus including Akkar) by Linda Schatkowski Schilcher. This study lists eight basic factors, which she views as basic factors, contributing to as many as 500,000 deaths of the Syrians in the 1915-1918 period: (a) “The Entente powers’ total blockage of the Syrian coast; (b) the inadequacy of the Ottoman supply strategy; deficient harvest and inclement weather; (c) diversion of supplies from Syria as a consequence of the Arab revolt; (d) the speculative frenzy of a number of unscrupulous local grain merchants; the callousness of German military official in Syria, and systematic hoarding by the population at large.

In general, beginning with the World War One every passing year situation of the Empire got verse, as most of the able man being in the front lines. Signing of the Armistice of Mudros by the Ottoman Empire was related with the breakdown of the public support under very bad conditions.

Conflict resolution

See also: Armenian-Turkish relations

The Turkish authorities seek both historical and political reconciliation with Armenia, but Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 following the Nagorno-Karabakh War between Armenia and Turkic-speaking Azerbaijan. The borders have remained closed because the Nagarno-Karabakh dispute has not been settled to this day, but mostly because of the Turkish rejection of the genocide thesis. Turkey has put forth certain conditions before reconciliation with Armenia, and also claims that insistence on the term genocide is counterproductive.

Documentation and historical study

Scientist that used the Ottoman Archives.

From	#
Armenian	190
USA	605
Japanese	203
German	168
French	150
Saudi Arabian	98
Iranian	84
British	74
Jew	70
Libyan	63
Hungarian	58
Argentinean	52
Bulgarian	47
Egyptian	63
Dutch	39
Romanian	36
Algerian	35
Tunisian	35
Canadian	28

As a scholarly study area, the field is highly divided, as the camps on both sides of this issue approach it very strongly.

Every original document of the Tehcir Law is open. The Ottoman Archives were taken over by the Governmental Archives Directorate of the Prime Ministry. Until today, the Ottoman Archives were researched by many scientists. Beside the researches made by thousands of scientists, these documents were translated in English and published in order to enlighten the public .

Turkish authorities constantly brought arguments related with single source (Ottoman or a Western) issues. They point out that without doing a triangulation, even if the facts were reported correctly, the conclusions drawn can be false. It is also possible to look at secondary sources in the Ottoman Archives of the period such as budget, allocations, decisions/reasons of requests. There are also personal records such as Mehmed Talat Pasha's personal notes. They constantly point out the general attitude Sick man of Europe of the time and how it deforms perceptions. They claim the conclusions reached toward genocide are highly biased.

Some very "central" (most cited) sources are actively questioned on the basis that they do not include a single reference from the Ottoman Archives. Mainly occupying force's sources of the period (British, French) on the basis of their Intelligence (information gathering) issues. There are concerns that these sources may promote propaganda.

Enver Zia Karal (Ankara University), Salahi R. Sonyel (British historian and public activist), Ismail Binark (Director of Ottoman archives, Ankara), Sinasi Orel (director of a much publicized project on declassifying documents on Ottoman Armenians), Kamuran Gurun (former diplomat), Mim Kemal Oke, Justin McCarthy, and others have attacked the "Blue Book" (The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, 1915-1916) by James Bryce and Arnold Toynbee, claiming that it lacks credibility.

Reverse engineering of activities aimed to provide evidence without covering opposing reasoning, such as "Map of Genocide", which they claim contains factual problems. In this map, for the methodology behind "Centers of Massacre and Deportation" which was developed adding data from three different sources, (the data in these sources are also aggregate data), is questioned. Its use as a source of validation among Western scholars has been questioned.

They bring up points on arguments that there was a secret arrangement which can be traced through mismatches on orders and distributions of the forced deportations. They say without considering (or checking) periphery central transmissions on how to deal with emerging issues are actively questioned. There are many periphery central transmissions on how to deal with emerging issues, such as allocating more than 10% of the destination population and its consequences to the local economy.

Issues regarding deniers

Advertisement

File:Turkish denial small.jpg

Turkish Denial: 'To have genocide denied is to die twice' — An advertisement placed by Raffi Manoukian and published by The Times on the Armenian Genocide Commemoration day, 24th April 2006

The "Deniers-Defenders" arguments have been played on many levels including on the public arena. An advertisement placed by Raffi Manoukian and published by The Times on the Armenian Genocide Commemoration day, 24th April 2006, is one of the many samples.

Persecution

Some countries, including Argentina, Switzerland and Uruguay have adopted laws that punish genocide deniers. In October 2006, France passed a bill which if approved by the Senate and president, will make Armenian Genocide denial a crime.

See also

• Anti-Armenianism
• Historical revisionism (negationism)
• Holocaust denial

External links

• Grand National Assembly of Turkey Report:
  • Turks and Armenians: The Ottoman Experience
  • The Political Milieu of the Armenian Question
  • Realities Behind the Relocation
  • The Armenian Problem and International Law
  • The Jewish Holocaust and the Armenians
• Turkish Ministry of Culture Report:
  • Turco-Armenian Relations
  • How the Armenin Issue Came About
  • April 24, 1915
  • Relocation
• Ottoman Archives Document Center
  • Ottoman Armenian Archives Index
  • Armenian Documents
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Report:
  • Ambassador Nabi Şensoy about "The Armenian Genocide" on the PBS
• ATAA Index:
  • Hovhannes Katchaznouni on Dashnag experience
  • Bruce Fein on An Armenian and Muslim Tragedy? Yes! Genocide? No!
  • The U.S. Congress and Adolf Hitler on the Armenians
  • Justin McCarthy on Testimony at the House International Committee
• Center for Eurasian Strategic Studies [Main Index]
  • Armenian Issue discussed by a Turkish Research Institute
• Connecting the Dots on the “Alleged" Armenian Genocide
• "Tete de Turc" French site with lots of articles rejecting genocide thesis
• Armenian Issue Allegations-Facts
• Faruk Logoglu's article on Washington Times: To reconcile Turks and Armenians O. Faruk Logoglu is the former ambassador of Turkey to the United States.
• Revisiting Armenian Genocide by Guenter Lewy Guenter Lewy is professor emeritus of political science, University of Massachusetts, and the author of The Armenian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey: A Disputed Genocide (University of Utah Press, 2005).
• British Sources Refuting the AAG
• American Sources that Refute the AAG
• Israeli and Jewish Sources that Refute the AAG
• Turkish Last Names: Honest History Tellers
• Armenian Terrorism: Then and Now
• Track Two Diplomacy Program in Turkey and the Caucasus by Center for Global Studies, American University

Mutual Perceptions Research (Armenia/Turkey) (*.doc file) "The Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) and the Armenian Sociological Association (HASA) have organized a Mutual Perceptions Research Project. Each group is carrying out sociological research to identify key issues of cultural understanding between the neighboring countries, including the perception of Turks by Armenians and of Armenians by Turks. The study focuses on the perceptions of the majority populations in each country. The combined results will constitute study findings. Representatives from each team met in Yerevan and fieldwork was undertaken in both countries. The results of the research were presented at an international seminar jointly organized by TESEV and HASA in Tbilisi, Georgia."

• International Center Transitional Justice (ICTJ) report Turkish Armenian Reconciliation Commission (TARC)

Full report (*.pdf file) Armenian and Turkish versions of the report are also available on the above mentioned website.