Formation of commission of historians on Genocide unreal, Turkish expert says

September 6, 2010 - 11:54 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Official Ankara’s attitude towards the fact of the Armenian Genocide has been changing over the past 30 years, a Turkish expert said.

“In 1980ies, the Turkish government insisted there was no Genocide. Then, reports about Armenians killing Turkish civilians were spread. Burial places were dug up and the remains of Armenians killed in the years of deportation were presented as Turkish. In late 1980ies, reports said that deportation of Armenians really took place. The deaths were blamed on Kurds, who attacked the columns of refugees, and Germany, which approved the deportation of the Armenian population,” said Zafer Yoruk, Lecturer of Media and Politics at Izmir University of Economics.

He also noted that formation of a commission of historians to study the Genocide issue is unreal. “No commission can draw a conclusion admissible for both sides,” Yoruk said.

For his part, Behlul Ozkan, Lecturer of Foreign Policy at Bogazici University in Istanbul, said that present-day Turkey is not responsible for the Armenian Genocide, which was committed by the Ottoman Empire.

“In 1923, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk renounced the Ottoman heritage. We must not pay for Young Turks’ sins. At the same time, I should note that deportation was needed for formation of the Turkish nation,” he said.