October 8, 1912 is the date the Balkan wars started. During these wars, almost two hundred thousand soldiers lost their lives on the fronts within less than a year. Although it is assumed that the number of civilian deaths is multitudes of this number, no exact calculation has been made. The Turkish migration, starting from Thrace (Rumelia) with the “War of 93” between 1877 and 1878, has turned into an ultimate deportation during the Balkan Wars and the succeeding World War. The numbers of those who perished or migrated has taken its place among the unrecorded tragedies of recent history with untold stories, buried in the collective memory of the Turkish people. Among the limited numbers of research made on this issue, those of Ambassador Bilal Şimşir and Professor Justin McCarthy are the first to come to mind. Indifference and negligence is not the answer to why the number of atrocities, deaths and migrations the Turks were subjected to in Rumelia was not recorded and why those responsible for these acts were not brought to account. The Republic of Turkey, which has assumed the heritage of the Ottoman state, has adopted the principle of founding the new state on looking forward to the future, opening a new chapter and bringing peace and stability to the region in the future instead of coming to terms with the past. This approach of the Turkish Republic was also valid for the atrocities mutually committed in the eastern borders of the Ottoman state in the eve and during the First World War. It was hoped also here that leaving the tragedies of the war behind would serve a new understanding. While Turkey’s silence has been regarded as a stand of maturity in the context of the tragedies on the other fronts, the Armenian side in particular and their advocates who helped provoke and mobilize the Armenians have resorted to abusing it as acceptance of crime merely through the interpretation that silence is rooted in consent. At the point reached today, unfortunately, the old books are opened enabling mutual accusations and callings to account, thus leading the constructive energy towards developing good neighborly relations to give way to destructive energy. Notwithstanding, a great potential exists for the peoples and governments of both countries to achieve together regional peace and prosperity. Historical memory and emotions are never one-sided. A saying in this geography could give guidance to efforts of imposition: enforced beauty cannot be. The sincere call of Center for Eurasian Studies, which pays meticulous care to academically filtering Turkish-Armenian relations, is for the constructive energy to come into play as soon as possible.
© 2009-2024 Center for Eurasian Studies (AVİM) All Rights Reserved
No comments yet.
-
EXTREME NATIONALIST ARMENIANS IN THE USA OPPOSING CHUCK HAGEL’S CANDIDACY AS SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
Alev KILIÇ 22.01.2013 -
QUEST FOR A NEW ORDER AND UNITY IN EURASIA WITH RUSSIA IN THE LEAD
Alev KILIÇ 27.11.2012 -
TURKEY AND THE NEW CONFIGURATIONS IN CENTRAL ASIA
Alev KILIÇ 20.09.2013 -
THE ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS INDICATE THAT THE TENSION IN THE REGION WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD UP
Alev KILIÇ 18.12.2012 -
THE ONGOING ONE-SIDED INTERPRETATION OF HISTORY BY ARMENIAN NATIONALISTS
Alev KILIÇ 28.11.2012
-
THE ARMENIAN REVOLUTIONARY FEDERATION’S EMBRACE OF TERRORISM
AVİM 29.01.2020 -
THE END JUSTIFY THE MEANS FOR WEBER
Hazel ÇAĞAN ELBİR 18.10.2018 -
ANTI-TURKEY AND ANTI-TURKISH VIEWS EXPRESSED AT A CONFERENCE ORGANIZED BY THE LSE TURKISH CHAIR
Mehmet Oğuzhan TULUN 28.05.2015 -
YEREVAN IS CRITIZING TURKEY (2)
Ömer Engin LÜTEM 20.06.2010 -
WILL THE U.S. STATE OF CALIFORNIA GIVE GREEN LIGHT TO TERRORISM?
Ali Murat TAŞKENT 09.01.2017
-
THE TRUTH WILL OUT -
Türk-Ermeni İlişkileri Üzerine Ömer Engin Lütem Konferansları 2023 -
Türk-Ermeni İlişkileri Üzerine Ömer Engin Lütem Konferansları 2022 -
RADİKAL ERMENİ UNSURLARCA GERÇEKLEŞTİRİLEN MEZALİMLER VE VANDALİZM -
PATRIOTISM PERVERTED -
MEN ARE LIKE THAT -
BAKÜ-TİFLİS-CEYHAN BORU HATTININ YAŞANAN TARİHİ -
INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARS ON THE EVENTS OF 1915 -
FAKE PHOTOS AND THE ARMENIAN PROPAGANDA -
ERMENİ PROPAGANDASI VE SAHTE RESİMLER -
Türk-Ermeni İlişkileri Üzerine Ömer Engin Lütem Konferansları 2021 -
A Letter From Japan - Strategically Mum: The Silence of the Armenians -
Japonya'dan Bir Mektup - Stratejik Suskunluk: Ermenilerin Sessizliği -
Türk-Ermeni Uyuşmazlığı Üzerine Ömer Engin Lütem Konferansları 2020 -
Anastas Mikoyan: Confessions of an Armenian Bolshevik -
Sovyet Sonrası Ukrayna’da Devlet, Toplum ve Siyaset - Değişen Dinamikler, Dönüşen Kimlikler -
Türk-Ermeni Uyuşmazlığı Üzerine Ömer Engin Lütem Konferansları 2019 -
Türk-Ermeni Uyuşmazlığı Üzerine Ömer Engin Lütem Konferansları 2018 -
Ermeni Sorunuyla İlgili İngiliz Belgeleri (1912-1923) - British Documents on Armenian Question (1912-1923) -
Turkish-Russian Academics: A Historical Study on the Caucasus -
Gürcistan'daki Müslüman Topluluklar: Azınlık Hakları, Kimlik, Siyaset -
Armenian Diaspora: Diaspora, State and the Imagination of the Republic of Armenia -
Ermeni Sorunu Temel Bilgi ve Belgeler (2. Baskı)
-
EU-TÜRKİYE COOPERATION IN CENTRAL ASIA AND SOUTH CAUCASUS: TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE ENGAGEMENT IN ENERGY AND CONNECTIVITY -
AVİM 2023 YILLIK RAPOR | ANNUAL REPORT -
ÇAĞDAŞ BATI AVRUPA AKADEMİ DÜNYASINDA IRKÇILIĞIN VE YABANCI DÜŞMANLIĞININ ARAŞTIRILMASININ ZORLUĞU: FRANSA ÖRNEĞİ
-
CONFERENCE TITLED “HUNGARY’S PERSPECTIVES ON THE TURKIC WORLD"