Armenia and Turkey 31.3 Armenia and Turkey 31.3.1 In June 2007, the Council Secretary visited Armenia with the Church and Society Commission of CEC. Armenia is very proud of the fact that it was the first officially Christian nation, being proclaimed as such in 301AD. The group visited the memorial for the 1915 slaughter visited upon Armenia in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire. A debate has raged ever since about whether or not the events commemorated there can be referred to as genocide. What happened? During World War I, as the Ottoman Turkish Empire fought Russian forces, some of the Armenian minority in eastern Anatolia sided with the Russians. Turkey took reprisals. But historians argue over the extent to which Turkish policy towards Armenians during that period was motivated by wartime conditions. On 24 April 1915 Turkey rounded up and killed hundreds of Armenian community leaders. In May 1915, the Armenian minority, two or three million strong, was forcefully deported and marched from the Anatolian borders towards Syria and Mesopotamia (now Iraq). Many died en route and numerous eyewitnesses reported massacres by Turkish forces. Atrocities against Armenians continued until the Ottoman Empire collapsed after the war. What do Armenians say? Armenians say 1.5 million of their people were killed during World War I, either through systematic massacres or through starvation. They allege that a deliberate genocide was carried out by the Ottoman Turkish Empire. What does Turkey say? It says there was no genocide. It acknowledges that many Armenians died, but says many Turks died too, and that massacres were committed on both sides as a result of inter-ethnic violence and the wider world war. Turkey estimates the number of Armenian dead to be 300,000. What is genocide? Article Two of the UN Convention on Genocide of December 1948 describes genocide as carrying out acts intended "to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group". What do others say? Argentina, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Russia and Uruguay are among more than 20 countries which have formally recognised genocide against the Armenians. The UK, USA and Israel are among those that use different terminology. Why does the row continue? Armenians are one of the world's most dispersed peoples. While in Armenia, Genocide Memorial Day is commemorated across the country, it is the diaspora that has lobbied for recognition from the outside world. The killings are regarded as the seminal event of modern Armenian history, and one that binds the diaspora together. In Turkey, the penal code makes calling "for the recognition of the Armenian genocide" illegal. Writers and translators have been prosecuted for attempting to stimulate debate on the subject. Turkey has condemned countries that recognise the Armenian genocide, and was furious when the French parliament passed a bill in 2006 outlawing denial of it. Turkey suspended military ties with France in retaliation. The European Union has said that Turkish acceptance of the Armenian genocide is not a condition for Turkey's entry into the bloc. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6045182.stm 31.3.2 In Britain, Armenia Solidarity, the British-Armenian All-Party Parliamentary Group and others continue to call for official recognition of the genocide, while the government steadfastly resists such pressure. Early Day Motion (EDM) 357 noted that 24th April is Armenian Genocide Day and encouraged MPs to wear white poppies to remember this and other genocides. The Church and Society Council was asked to lobby MPs to sign this EDM but, since neither the Council nor the General Assembly had previously discussed the issue, this request could not be met.31.3.3 In the United States of America, the Foreign Relations Committee of the House of Representatives voted to condemn the mass killings as an act of genocide. They had been asked by President Bush not to do so, for fear of damaging relationships within NATO and in the global war on terror, and he expressed his disappointment at the result. Turkey condemned the vote as “irresponsible”. “It is unacceptable that the Turkish nation has been accused of something that never happened in history,” it said in a statement. 31.3.4 Supporters of the recognition, however, point to its symbolic importance not least because of the role it would have in helping Turkey come to terms not only with its past but also with some of its present attitudes and actions. This discussion does not only impact on Turkey’s membership of NATO; it is also important in Turkey’s candidacy for membership of the European Union – of which candidacy the United Kingdom is the strongest of advocates. The European Parliament currently lists among those matters Turkey needs to address before its candidacy can move forward: the role of the army, respect for human rights and freedoms, protection of women’s rights, tolerance of torture, and protection of minority and religious rights. 31.3.5 The Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople/Istanbul is the senior patriarchate of Orthodox Christianity, with an important international leadership role. In September 2007 the Moderator wrote to HMG when a civil court decided to restrict its ministry to Turkey alone. She suggested that the Turkish decision to disallow the Patriarchate’s historic international role within Orthodox Christianity represented a threat to religious minorities of all kinds in Turkey, and called into question Turkey’s suitability for entry into the European Union. When Jim Murphy MP, Minister for Europe, replied, he stated HMG’s strong support for Turkey becoming a member of the EU, but expected that the European Commission would be robust in pointing out the progress Turkey needs to make in the area of religious freedom. It is clear, from continuing damage to Christian property and continuing problems for Christians in many parts of the country, that Turkey has some way to go before such progress has been achieved. 31.3.6 A major step in the right direction would be a frank acknowledgement of the past, an acceptance of what happened in 1915, and a real effort at reconciliation with Armenia. Without these and other steps, it will be very difficult to imagine any future for Turkey within the EU. We believe that this process will be encouraged by UK recognition of the Armenian genocide. Church and Society Council Church of Scotland 121 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4YN Phone: 0131 225 5722 www.churchofscotland.org.uk Charity Number: SC011353 May 2008