TANER AKCAM DELIVERS LECTURE ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN GERMANY

17:08, 5 December, 2013

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Two classes of high school students in
northern Germany had the rare opportunity to learn about the Armenian
genocide from one of the most authoritative researchers on the topic,
Prof. Taner Akcam from Clark University in Worcester, Mass.

As reports "Armenpress" citing The Armenian Mirror-Spectator, During
his brief visit to Germany over the Thanksgiving holidays November
26-29, Akcam also lectured for adults, among them a seminar group at
the Free University in Berlin, and a broader general public at the
Potsdam University and the Lepsiushaus in Potsdam. For Akcam it was
not foreign territory. As the dean of the philosophy department of the
Potsdam University noted in introducing him, Akcam had found political
asylum in Germany after his escape from prison in Turkey, where he had
been sentenced for articles he had written about the Kurds. In 1996
he took a degree from the Hannover University with a thesis on the
Armenian Genocide and then worked at the Hamburg Institute for Social
Research, before moving the US, where he studied at the University of
Minnesota and Michigan, and went on to a position at Clark University.

In his public appearances, Akcam spoke on themes he has developed
in several books. In his two university lectures in Berlin and
Potsdam, he dealt with "The Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Documents:
A Gradual Radicalization in the Decision-Making Process" and spoke at
the Lepsiushaus on "Genocide as a Political Security Concept." The
first lectures drew on material published in his most recent book,
The Young Turks' Crime Against Humanity. The Armenian Genocide and
Ethnic Cleansing in the Ottoman Empire, which received the Albert
Hourani Award for the best book of the year.

Akcam addressed two basic questions: what happened? And, why did
it happen?

Although the fact of the Armenian Genocide has been firmly established
(though more can be documented through local histories), the why and
how are still subjects of discussion. Rejecting the notion that it
was the expression of some "ahistorical, genocidal, barbaric Turks" or
simply a pan-Turkic, pan-Turanist expansionism, or war-time exigencies,
the researcher presented the developments as documented in Ottoman
archives. Those of the Interior Ministry General Directorate of
Security and the Cipher Office, for example, established in 1913,
contain encoded messages from the center to the regions, with orders
for deportations that show the intent to commit genocide. The strategic
reasons behind the decision-making process he identified in the Ottoman
government's fear that Russian-backed reform moves would lead to an
independent Armenia, thus the circulars issued by Interior Minister
Talaat Pasha in September-October 1914 ordering that Armenians be
disarmed. The dates are important, because these orders, as well as
those for deportations of women and children, are before the entry into
war in November. Then, following the catastrophic Ottoman losses at
Sankamis in January 1915, and later Russian advances, the decision to
commit genocide took shape. As a leitmotif in his lecture, he noted
how moves towards reforms for the Armenians, supported by foreign
powers, were answered with massacres, in the Hamidian period as later.

Those listening to Akcam's presentation were struck by the quality
of his source material and asked about access to these archives. The
Ottoman Empire archives are now open and are even catalogued, whereas
the military archives in Ankara are closed. The Committee of Unity
and Progress Central Committee documents and those relating to the
Special Operations, however, are gone. He estimated that what is
available may represent perhaps 30 per cent of the actual documents.

Speaking in German to a capacity crowd at the Lepsiushaus Akcam
explored the reasons why the Turkish establishment has embraced
a policy of denial regarding historical facts that have been so
scrupulously documented. He began by noting that among the documents
found in 2009 pertaining to the Ergenokon case, his name was on a hit
list, along with those of Orhan Pamuk and Hrant Dink, who were all
designated as "traitors to national security." The argument was (and
is) that anyone who raises the accusation of genocide is threatening
national security, because of the threat to change borders and destroy
the state. Echoes of similar thinking are found in the reluctance on
the part of US presidents (with the exception of Reagan) to utter the
G-word, who claim they must protect national security interests in
the Middle East and not jeopardize them for a moral issue related to
the past. Others argue that recognition is the only moral choice. For
Akcam the solution lies in the idea that asserting moral issues is
necessary precisely to safeguard national security, and that refusal
to acknowledge the past is the source of regional insecurity. Here,
in reviewing the history, Akcam showed how the willingness or refusal
of Turkish leaders (including Kemal Ataturk) to acknowledge the
atrocities and even agree to punishing perpetrators, was directly
related to their perception of how the foreign powers would treat
Turkey. Ataturk uttered his famous phrase about "a shameful act"
in expectation of guarantees of national sovereignty and territorial
concessions. Since the continuing Armenian-Turkish conflict is seen
in relation to territorial issues, the speaker urged a revision of
the concept of "national security." By the same token, due to the
denial of historic facts, many ethnic and religious groups continue
to view the world from the perspective of the past and the region,
thus traumatized, remains insecure. If the refusal to face the past
generates insecurity, then recognition leads to trust, he said. In the
lively Q&A session, the critical issue of Turkey's national identity
arose. The speaker summarized the dilemma faced in Turkey, due to
the fact that it is difficult to identify the founding fathers as
"thieves and murderers." For such to occur, he stressed the need
for a new ruling elite to emerge in Turkey, one with a democratic
identity and in this context underlined the importance of Turkey's
bid for European Union membership. He also urged Armenian Diaspora
groups to seek contact and collaboration with democratic grass roots
movements in Turkey who are critically assessing the past.

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