[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Turkey and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Turkey Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week`s roundup to turkey@jadaliyya.com by Sunday night of every week.]
English
Hundredth Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
Is the State Changing Its Attitude on 1915? Highlighting the advances the AKP has made in breaking “many national taboos,” Nagehan Alçı suggests that the government’s statements this year about the Armenian genocide were nonetheless harsh.
Restitution of Armenian Property Remains Unresolved Susanne Güsten examines the history of systematic sequestration of Armenian property along with current dilemmas concerning the Turkish state’s reticence to return Armenian property to Armenians.
Turkey Awaits Obama`s Armenian Statement (1) - (2) Semih İdiz writes about the potential consequences to Turkey’s relationship with the United States if Obama were to use the word “genocide” in his annual address regarding 1915.
Remembering Hrant Ali Yurttagül reflects upon the legacy of Hrant Dink’s contributions toward Turkish-Armenian reconciliation as well as the impact his politics may have had in improving Armenia’s relations with the West.
Why Acknowledge the Armenian Genocide? David Tolbert argues that denial is “the last bastion of those who commit genocide” and encourages the Turkish government to acknowledge the events of 1915 as a genocide to prove its commitment to democracy.
Remembering the Armenian Genocide Raffi Khatchadourian narrates his experience reckoning with the generational memory of his father and his father’s friend, who survived the Armenian genocide in Diyarbakır.
Let Those Days Go Away and Don`t Let Them Return Markar Esayan claims that the AKP has made significant strides in addressing the needs and claims of Turkey’s Armenian minority after decades of marginalization by the Kemalist ruling elite.
Genocide Remembrance Isn`t Just for Armenians and Turks Noëlle Vahanian writes that Turkey has used the West’s reticence to define the events of 1915 as a genocide in order to perpetuate its practices of denial.
White House Omits `G-Word` Arguing that there is widespread consensus about the history of 1915, Barbara Slavin criticizes President Obama for shying away from using the word genocide as a maneuver of political pragmatism.
Genocide Recognitions Further Isolate Turkey Serkan Demirtaş suggests that Turkey’s hostility toward countries that are acknowledging the Armenian genocide is damaging Turkey’s image abroad and straining the ongoing EU membership talks.
Why Turkey`s View of the Armenian Issue Should Not Be Suppressed Özdem Sanberk claims that there is a categorical rejection of Turkish opinions on the Armenian genocide that has led to a polemical simplification of the history of the genocide itself.
Turkey`s Focus Is Elsewhere on Anniversary of Armenian Genocide Ceylan Yeğinsu explores the controversies surrounding the Turkish government’s decision to schedule a military memorial service in Gallipoli at the same time as the Armenian genocide commemoration in Istanbul.
June Election
CHP Is Resigned to the Fact That It Cannot Win (1) - (2) İlnur Çevik criticizes Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the CHP, for not trying to attain parliamentary majority and suggests that the CHP is less effective as a party by consigning itself to forming a coalition.
The New Turkey Contract and Politics as a Responsibility Yasin Aktay praises the AKP’s election manifesto, the so-called “New Turkey Contract,” which represents the AKP’s commitment to “recognizing” and “protecting” the dignity of all its citizens.
Are HDP, CHP, and the Others Local? (1) - (2) Markar Esayan suggests that the opposition parties are all violent offshoots of NATO’s Operation Gladio or the PKK’s separatism, while the AKP is the only “local” party working in the interests of the Turkish people.
The Possibility of Coalition Yahya Bostan examines several potential election outcomes that will determine whether the AKP will rule by majority or as part of a coalition.
HDP Normalizes both Kurdish and Turkish Politics Murat Yetkin describes how the HDP emerged as a coalition party that moves beyond the Kurdish issue and the gaps that it addresses among the other parties in the run-up to the election.
Populism of the Elections Erdal Tanas Karagöl argues that the CHP is using populism in its election manifesto in order to cover up its problematic and misguided policies that represent the status quo in Turkey.
HDP and CHP Also Envision A ‘New Turkey’ Özgür Korkmaz examines how divergent stances on issues like gay rights, relations with Armenia, and the Alevi question engender a vision of "New Turkey” for the opposition parties as well.
Why Do AKP Officials Fear The Rise of the HDP? According to Mehmet Y. Yılmaz, the AKP is anxious about the HDP’s astral political rise because of the threat it poses to the project of enshrining a presidential system in a new constitution.
Turkish
Hundredth Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
1915’in 100. yılında Ermenilerin soykırım acısını paylaşıyorum “I see and share the pain of Armenians of the genocide,” says Hasan Cemal, the grandson of Cemal Pasha, one of the architects of the Armenian Genocide.
24 Nisan 1915: ‘Gerçek hakem halklar ve onların vicdanıdır’ Sibel Yerdeniz compiles articles and speeches on acknowledgment from Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist and vocal advocate for reconciliation who was murdered in 2007.
Adını koymak... (1) - (2) Cengiz Çandar argues that naming the genocide for what it is with no ifs, ands, or buts has become a prerequisite for the nation’s and its people liberation from an unredeemed past.
100leşme (1) - (2) - (3) - (4) - (5) - (6) - (7) Bianet’s “confrontation” series interviews Armenians and Assyrians about their family stories of genocide, their everyday struggles, and the significance and content of acknowledgement for their communities and themselves.
Acı Acı Ağlıyorum On the day of the hundredth anniversary as she “silently waits for the liberation of this country,” Rakel Dink describes the ways in which violence and discrimination against Armenians affected her parents, her family, and the community at large.
Ermeni meselesi Mehmet Kamış complains about the government’s lack of politics with regards to the Armenian issue, and suggests that the Turkish lobby abroad should be supported in connecting with the Armenian diaspora.
Türkler, Ermeniler ve iki 24 Nisan anması Spokesman of Turkish President İbrahim Kalın argues that thousands of Turks, Kurds, and Armenians betrayed their centuries-old history together by killing each other due to an unfortunate combination of war conditions, lack of resources, and organizational incapabilities of the central government.
Acılarla yüzleşerek kurtar ruhunu bu soykırımdan Celal Başlangıç reminds us of massacres and injustices that happened in the past, inviting people to confront these collective misdeeds regardless of the names attached to them.
Ermenilere yapılan bir soykırımdır; Hacı Teyzem tek başına bir belgedir! Nurcan Baysal tells the story of an Armenian Muslim-convert whom she knew as a child, expressing her “intense grief as a Kurd whose ancestors were involved in the Genocide.”
Soykırımın ‘yeni’ belgesi toprak-tazminat sorunu Veysi Sarısözen argues that the Turkish government fears future compensation demands for losses and confiscation of possessions, and that Germany, which has recently acknowledged the Armenian Genocide, should also own its responsibility in this “sinful” act.
Sözde soykırım demek çare değil… Sevgi Akarçeşme thinks that the state needs to change its policy around the Armenian issue by “acknowledging the human suffering, apologizing and making some gestures which could decrease the pressure on Turkey.”
June Election
CHP`nin seçim stratejisi: İktidarın adını anmadan muhalefet (1) - (2) Ruşen Çakır analyzes the CHP’s changing oppositional policy, and argues that the HDP could be the main oppositional force in the country if it realizes its potential.
İdeolojik halay çekelim mi? HDP`ye oy vermeniz için 6 neden Pınar Tremblay lists six reasons why a “white” Turk should vote for the HDP, which she argues has become a party for all citizens of the country, not only for Kurds.
Umudunu al gel: HDP, barajı geçsin diye verilecek bir oydan fazlasını hak ediyor Hürrem Sönmez writes that support for the HDP should aim more than only working against the AKP, but should be a means to generate consensus around common goals and imagine an alternative future.
HDP’nin seçim bildirgesi: Kaynağı da var, insanı da Veysi Sarısözen finds the CHP’s election manifesto to be intentionally vague in terms of its economic policy, and fearful in its advocacy as compared to the HDP, rich and realistic in human and economic resources.
Türkiye’de demokrasi HDP’ye sahip çıkılarak kurulur According to Besê Hozat, all of the the AKP’s efforts to keep the HDP beneath the election threshold demonstrate the AKP’s hostility toward marginalized groups, which constitute the HDP’s core group of supporters.
Seçim bildirgeleri Examining the election manifestos from the AKP, CHP and HDP, Nazan Üstündağ shows how the HDP’s visibility and political vision continue to expand its voter base.
AKP`nin çekirdek oyunda çözülme başladı Bekir Ağırdır claims that the “radical Erdoğanism” of the AKP, along with the corruption allegations and the rise of ISIS, has damaged the integrity and cohesion of its voting base.
Published on Jadaliyya
Let Us Make a New Beginning: Speech for the Armenian Genocide Centennial Commemoration in Istanbul
Soykirimla yargilanmayi arzuluyorum...
Turkiyeli Ermeniler’den Cagri: Bak Kardesim
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
Istanbul Film Festival Cancels Competitions Due to Censorship
Okmeydani: A Targeted Territory
The Present and Future of Climate Change in Turkey and Beyond: An Interview with Umit Sahin