Abstract
This article poses the question: why do the current political and legal establishments in Turkey believe that acknowledging the Armenian genocide poses a threat to Turkish national security? The author submits that the answer is revealed in the history of post-WWI, when the victorious Entente Powers divided up the Ottoman Empire and began sentencing the perpetrators of the genocide. The article explores the tension between the concepts of national security and human rights and suggests possible approaches to reintegrating human rights into the Turkish perspective on history, as well as into contemporary Turkish policies.
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Notes
- 1.
The characterization of genocidal events as acts of self-defense is discussed in Irwin Cotler, Chapter 9, Section 9.4 (above).
- 2.
Court Decree, 2nd Penal Court of First Instance for the District Of Şişli, File Number: 2006/1208, Decree Number: 2007/1106, Prosecution No.: 2006/8617.
- 3.
Ibid.
- 4.
The characterization of genocidal acts as part of a process of nation-building is discussed in Douglas Greenberg, Chapter 5 (above); the concept of deligimation is examined in Irwin Cotler, Chapter 9, Section 9.4.1 (above).
- 5.
I place the term “Turks ” within quotation marks. Although the term was used in the discussions of the time, it is clear that in explaining historical events general terms such as this are not only wrong to use, but also incorrect from the standpoint of attempting to write a history.
- 6.
Admiral Richard Webb , Assistant High Commissioner at Istanbul , telegram sent to the Paris Peace Conference April 3, 1919, FO 371/4173/53351, folios 192–193.
- 7.
The impact of punishing individual perpetrators of genocidal acts on peace prospects is illustrated in Luis Moreno-Ocampo , Chapter 16 (below).
- 8.
Bilal Şimşir, Malta Sürgünleri (Ankara , 1985), 334. The letter was written to the first Grand Vizier of the Armistice period, Ahmet İzzet Paşa, with the aim of its contents being communicated to the British High Commission.
- 9.
Taner Akçam, A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility (New York : Metropolitan Books, 2006), 12.
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Akçam, T. (2011). Facing History: Denial and the Turkish National Security Concept. In: Provost, R., Akhavan, P. (eds) Confronting Genocide. Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9840-5_10
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