Statement from the CTC: Canada must be on the side of reconciliation and urge Armenia to remain committed to the scholarly study of Turkish-Armenian tragedy

Council of Turkish Canadians (CTC) calls on the Government of Canada and the opposition parties to support the process of normalization between Turkey and Armenia and the Protocols they signed to this effect in October 2009 in Zurich. The announcement yesterday, 22 April 2010, by the Armenian Government to suspend the ratification of these Protocols is deeply worrying.

We call on the Government of Armenia not to give into the pressure of nationalistic groups in Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora which have been opposing the process of reconciliation from the very beginning. Canada should encourage Armenia to remain committed to its agreement with Turkey to establish an international commission of historians to conduct an “impartial scientific examination” of the historical events, as decided in the Protocols.

For over 800 years Turks and Armenians lived peacefully together. During the First World War, Great European Power rivalry, a rise of fervent nationalism, violent uprisings, forced relocations, failure of governance, inter-communal reprisals, epidemics and famine regrettably changed this relationship. Armenians suffered immensely in Anatolia. Turks suffered in greater numbers across a wider geography as the Empire was torn apart.

This suffering was enormous regardless of the appropriate legal terminology that needs to be applied. However, since the word “genocide” is a clearly defined crime under international law, adopting this term without the required due process does not serve to produce justice. Failure by the Canadian Parliament to resist being drawn into pronouncing a verdict on this yet-to-be fully investigated tragedy by presenting it as genocide by one group against another is at best a selective show of compassion.

The growing literature challenging Armenian claims and allegations cannot be brushed aside given its scholarly and historical value. The accusation of “denial” is unfair and misleading. Objective assessment of Armenian claims and the resulting arguments that challenge Armenian views are legitimate and necessary for the pursuit of truth and reconciliation.

The memory of so many dead, Turkish, Armenian, and others, mostly innocent civilians, needs to be respected and the right lessons need to be drawn. For this to be done properly, we need to courageously go beyond the national memories of either side and establish a more reliable factual account. Impressing upon the other side what it has registered in its own memory is not productive. Turks and Armenians can seek mutual empathy and eventually find ways of rebuilding a common future.

We therefore call on Canadians of Armenian descent, without expecting them to change their historical interpretations overnight, to join us in supporting Turkey and Armenia who agreed to improve their relations and to scientifically investigate the historical record of the time. The protocols signed in Zurich for normalizing the relations between Turkey and Armenia need to be taken forward.

We call on the Parliament and the Government to join in this positive initiative by supporting the reconciliation process and encouraging Armenian Canadians as well as the Government of Armenia to work for peaceful co-existence.