‘Lurer’ correspondent Suzy Muradyan spoke with Clark University professor, Turkish historian, genocide scholar Taner Akcam.
- Mr. Akcam, you have been writing scientific works on the Armenian Genocide for decades, so that the world would know about the greatest crime against humanity in the 20th century. Months ago, one of the major powers, the United States, recognized the Armenian Genocide. What do you think will be the consequences, especially for Turkey?
- I think the first step is the isolation of Turkey. This was the last blow, as Ankara lost its strongest strategic support. With its policy of denial, Turkey is now at the same level as, for example, North Korea. Recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the United States will make Turkey think about the issue from a different perspective. The second possible outcome of that decision is possible prosecutions here in America. Recognition of the Genocide by the United States is very different from recognition of European countries. For example, France and Germany may recognize and nothing will happen, but in the case of the United States, the situation is different because of the country’s legal system. The victims’ heirs will now start legal proceedings against Turkey, which could be a big headache for Ankara. I think we will soon see a legal battle in the United States.
- Mr. Akçam, in 2000-2010, especially in Turkey, intellectuals spoke more often about the need to recognize the Armenian Genocide. However, this process has been relatively passive for the last decade. What do you think is the reason for that?
- 2016 was a turning point for Turkey. The coup tried to oust Erdogan, but failed. And right after 2016, Erdogan established a dictatorial regime in the country. Therefore, in a country where there is not even freedom of speech, you cannot talk about historical mistakes, in this case, the Armenian Genocide. Turkey’s prisons are filled with hundreds of journalists, there is no functioning justice system, and only one person commands. I think we will have the same picture in the coming years without democratization. People are afraid. I fully understand that. People are afraid not only of pressure from the country’s authorities. Let me give you an example. Recently, about 100 Kurdish intellectuals demanded the collection of evidence for one of my statements, in which I spoke about the cases of violence against Armenian women by Kurds in the 19th century, which, by the way, was joined by Turkish intellectuals, too. These hate campaigns against intellectuals and scientists are simply intolerable. Why is a person called a scientist if he should not be able to express himself and study such topics? Let us compare the case of Poland. In this country, such campaigns are organized against scholars, too, who simply retaliate by claiming that it was not only the Nazis who killed the Jews in Poland, but also the Poles themselves. Of course, they helped and saved lives, but they also took the opportunity. I think it is because of these pressures that discussions on the Armenian Genocide in Turkey have become difficult. Besides, the public is not ready yet to speak openly about this issue.
- You mentioned that this issue is a closed topic in Turkey. However, in what case and when will we be able to expect any positive change from Turkey?
- I think I must repeat that in the near future there will be no recognition by Turkey. Turkey will resist international and its own opposition’s pressure. I do not expect any change in Ankara's policy towards Armenia as long as that country is ruled by the same people. As I have already mentioned, the country must move towards democratization, and for that we need new leaders, new conditions, which suppose protection of human rights, freedom of speech. The issue of recognizing the Armenian Genocide is directly related to those factors.
- Mr. Akcam, you have dedicated many years of your scientific activity to the topic of the Armenian Genocide. You have many books, such as ‘A Shameful Act’, ‘Killing Orders’, which have played a major role in raising the issue and have been harshly criticized in Turkey.
- I have said many times that the main reason why I started studying the Armenian Genocide is the great interest. When I started working as a scientist in 1988, my first scientific topic was the persecution of people in the Ottoman Empire, in modern Turkey. During my scientific research, I learned about the Hamidian massacres. From a scientific point of view, I was very interested in the topic. I started working in this direction, not even imagining how dangerous it would be. But if I start something, I do not give up and do not leave it unfinished. After working on this topic for some time, when Turkey launched attacks on me, I realized how important it was to raise the issue in order to have a more democratic Turkey where human rights are protected. Facing history is a big problem in Turkey. That is why I continue my scientific work on this topic to this day.
- Mr. Akcam, months ago you published a new book entitled ‘The Short History of the Armenian Genocide’. What new books can we expect from you? What new ideas and plans do you have?
- In the near future I have to collect new materials and facts about the cases of violence against Armenian women in the 19th century. I would love to know Armenian and Russian, as there are sources in those languages. I will continue to work with university graduates, prepare young scientists who will present their scientific works. Besides, there are two major works that I have yet to develop. One is about Cemal Pasha, which I am still writing, and the other is the English version of ‘The Short History of the Armenian Genocide’. In general, we have indescribably good books on the Genocide, but we do not have English abstracts. I will do that.
