Scholar: victims of genocide die twice

PanARMENIAN.Net - Victims of genocide die twice: first in the killing fields and then in the texts of denialists who insist that “nothing happened” or that what happened was something “different, ANU Visiting Fellow on Politics and International Relations at Australian National University, prof. Colin Tatz, says in "Turkey, the Armenian Genocide and the politics of memory" piece published in The Conversation.

On the eve of two centennial anniversaries in 2015 — the Gallipoli landings, and the start of the genocide of long-settled Armenians, Assyrians and Hellenes in Ottoman Turkey – the Turkish denial of events of the latter continues to evoke serious political debate in Australia, Prof. Tatz says.

The South Australian and New South Wales state parliaments have officially recognized the genocide of these three minorities. After the NSW parliament’s vote recognizing the Assyrians and Pontian Greeks as genocide victims (the genocide of Armenians was recognized earlier), the Turkish foreign affairs ministry announced that parliamentarians will not get visas to attend the centenary commemorations at Anzac Cove.

Led by NSW premier Barry O’Farrell, the response to this announcement has been one of outrage at the politicization of Anzac memory.

For all Turkey’s threats that officially recognizing the genocide would destroy the Australian–Turkish friendship, elaborate plans to mark the Anzac centenary continue, with Turkey set to reap rich financial rewards from battlefield tourism. At this stage, the Australian federal government does not officially recognize the genocide, but may well do so after Gallipoli 2015,Prof. Tatz says.

He goes on to remind that from 1914 to 1924, between two and three million Armenian, Assyrian and Hellene men, women and children were murdered, while another two million became destitute refugees. Tens of thousands of female teenagers and children were abducted and forcibly assimilated. The Christian minorities of Anatolia were virtually wiped out.

With Turkey using the 2015 Gallipoli event to threaten Australia not to further recognize the genocide, the relevance and sensitivity of the issue even today is clearly on display, Prof. Tatz says.

Recently, controversial history professor Justin McCarthy was invited by the Australian Turkish Advisory Alliance (Stand Up Against Armenian Lies) to give lectures in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra on “What Happened During 1915–1923? The Armenian Question”.

Melbourne University’s Faculty of Arts and the NSW Art Gallery cancelled the events scheduled there when apprised of the tenor of the lectures. McCarthy is known for arguing that there is: “…no evidence, no proof that the Turks wanted to act in this way. What is said is based on emotion in this case and a desire to prove there is genocide instead of first looking at the facts.”

McCarthy did address a very small “invitation-only” gathering in a federal parliament committee room, organized by Labor MP Laurie Ferguson. Two MPs and one senator attended.

These genocides are recognized by 22 nation states, 60 regional governments and a dozen world bodies. It’s time for the Australian government to do the same, Prof. Tatz concludes.