Epress.am News from Armenia
An Epress.am correspondent in Istanbul had a chance to catch up with Turkish public figures, journalists, students and artists on April 24, the day when the victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 are commemorated in different cities around the world. A handful of Turkish residents’ opinions are presented below.
Kemal Göktaş (journalist)
“Two years ago, when the Hrant Dink Foundation had organized a visit to Armenia for Turkish journalists, Armenian Genocide Museum and Institute Director Hayk Demoyan said to the 10 Turkish journalists:
“This is a museum that contains Armenia’s and Turkey’s history. I think that we can collaborate in the future. The museum is the only place for this. I hope that one day there can be a museum in Ankara and the history can become visible then.’
“Ankara or anywhere else. A genocide museum in Turkey means to accept what happened in 1915, to realize that Armenians were persecuted, to not allow Armenians to be cursed, humiliated, and viewed as the enemy. If we did this, if we could apologize, would Hrant Dink have been a target? Would he still have been murdered?”
Şeyhmus Diken (writer, scientist, Diyarbakır Municipality employee)
“We can throw into oblivion the intellectuals, the ancestors who lived on these lands, but we cannot forget the sadness that has remained and destroy this land, which has been left without its owner. Every time I see an Armenian house or a dilapidated Armenian church, these are the feelings I have. Before a century has not yet passed, we have to confront our bloody face.”
Mehmet Göcekli (Demokrat Haber Editor)
“April 24, 1915 is one of those dates that Turkey has to confront — maybe the most important one. In this situation, the best move Turkey could make is to begin to ask, “What happened on April 24?” and then try to find out why it happened.
“To remember, to write, to speak, to organize conferences… Because Turkey has still not reached the word ‘understanding’ as Hrant Dink said. To face April 24 we have to first understand, but to understand we have to know.
“For this reason we want to uncover the facts, to talk about the reality, to conduct research, and to remove the seal that is covering these events. And we have to remember Hrant Dink, who opened the curtains first.”
Photo: genocide-museum.am, Leslie Davis collection