The Armenian Weekly APRIL 26, 2008
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Cover 4/11/08 8:52 PM Page 1 The Armenian Weekly APRIL 26, 2008 IMAGES PERSPECTIVES RESEARCH WWW.ARMENIANWEEKLY.COM Contributors 4/13/08 5:48 PM Page 3 The Armenian Weekly RESEARCH PERSPECTIVES 6 Nothing but Ambiguous: The Killing of Hrant Dink in 34 Linked Histories: The Armenian Genocide and the Turkish Discourse—By Seyhan Bayrakdar Holocaust—By Eric Weitz 11 A Society Crippled by Forgetting—By Ayse Hur 38 Searching for Alternative Approaches to Reconciliation: A 14 A Glimpse into the Armenian Patriarchate Censuses of Plea for Armenian-Kurdish Dialogue—By Bilgin Ayata 1906/7 and 1913/4—By George Aghjayan 43 Thoughts on Armenian-Turkish Relations 17 A Deportation that Did Not Occur—By Hilmar Kaiser By Dennis Papazian 19 Scandinavia and the Armenian Genocide— 45 Turkish-Armenian Relations: The Civil Society Dimension By Matthias Bjornlund By Asbed Kotchikian 23 Organizing Oblivion in the Aftermath of Mass Violence 47 Thoughts from Xancepek (and Beyond)—By Ayse Gunaysu By Ugur Ungor 49 From Past Genocide to Present Perpetrator Victim Group 28 Armenia and Genocide: The Growing Engagement of Relations: A Philosophical Critique—By Henry C. Theriault Azerbaijan—By Ara Sanjian IMAGES ON THE COVER: Sion Abajian, born 1908, Marash 54 Photography from Julie Dermansky Photo by Ara Oshagan & Levon Parian, www.genocideproject.net 56 Photography from Alex Rivest Editor’s Desk Over the past few tographers who embark on a journey to shed rials worldwide, and by Rivest, of post- years, the Armenian light on the scourge of genocide, the scars of genocide Rwanda. We thank photographers Weekly, with both its denial, and the spirit of memory. Oshagan and Parian for the cover photo regular and special In papers especially written for this pub- and Koundakjian for the photo of the issues, has become a lication, Kaiser, Aghjayan, and Bjornlund Armenian Genocide Memorial in Dzidzer- forum where already look at some archival documents from the nagapert in Yerevan. prominent as well as Ottoman Empire and Scandinavia; Ungor, Most pages of this publication fea- up-and-coming schol- Hur, and Gunaysu address the issue of the ture victims and survivors of the ars, journalists, and activists from around destruction (and construction) of memory; Armenian Genocide. We found it the globe share their insight, research, and Sanjian studies the Azerbaijani dimension appropriate to remember them, to asso- analyses on issues related to history, human of genocide denial; Weitz looks at the ciate faces and names with a crime that rights, and current affairs. shared histories of the Holocaust and the is so often reduced to just contested Keeping true to this “young” tradition, Medz Yeghern; while Theriault, Bayrakdar, numbers of its victims and dispos- this special issue of the Weekly, titled “Com- Ayata, Papazian, and Kotchikian discuss sessed. We thank their families for sup- memorating Genocide: Images, Perspectives, Turkish-Armenian and Kurdish-Armenian porting this publication. Research” deals with genocide, memory, and relations and dynamics. We also thank the churches, organiza- denial. It brings together archival historians, This publication also features photo- tions, and individuals that made the publi- political analysts, commentators, and pho- graphs by Dermansky, of genocide memo- cation of this issue possible. April 26, 2008 | THE ARMENIAN WEEKLY | 3 Contributors 4/13/08 5:54 PM Page 4 Contributors George Aghjayan is a fellow of the Ayse Hur was born in Artvin, Turkey, in Society of Actuaries and author of Genocide 1956. She lived with her parents in Urfa, Denial: Denialist Rhetoric Compared: The Nazilli (Aydin), and Edirne, then moved to Armenian Genocide and The Holocaust. He is Istanbul. Having completed her double- chairman of the Armenian National Com- major in 1992 from the departments of his- mittee (ANC) of Central Massachusetts and tory and international relations at Bogazici is a frequent contributor to the Armenian University, she joined the History Founda- Weekly. He resides in Worcester with his tion of Turkey and worked on such projects wife and three children. as the Istanbul Encyclopedia. In 2004, she completed her master’s thesis on “The European Union’s Policies of Reconciling with Bilgin Ayata is completing her Ph.D. at the History and the Armenian Question” at the Ataturk Institute of department of political science at Johns Bogazici University. She is currently pursuing her doctorate Hopkins University, Baltimore. Her research degree at the same institution. She is a member of the editorial interests include the politics of displacement, board of Social History, and writes historical and political articles trans-nationalism, social movements, and in various newspapers and journals, including Taraf, Radikal, migration. Her dissertation examines the dis- Birikim, and Agos. placement of Kurds in Turkey and Europe. She currently lives in Berlin. Hilmar Kaiser received his Ph.D. from the European University Institute, Florence. Seyhan Bayraktar holds a research posi- He specializes in Ottoman social and eco- tion at the department of politics and public nomic history as well as the Armenian administration at the University of Konstanz Genocide. He has done research in more in Germany, where she has taught masters- than 60 archives worldwide, including the level courses in comparative genocide studies Ottoman Archives in Istanbul. His pub- and European integration. She recently sub- lished works—monographs, edited vol- mitted her Ph.D. thesis, titled “Politics of umes, and articles—include “Imperialism, Racism, and Denial: The development of the discourse Development Theories: The Construction of a Dominant about the murder of the Ottoman Armenians of 1915 in Turkey Paradigm on Ottoman Armenians,” “At the Crossroads of Der between foreign political pressure and nationalistic defense mecha- Zor: Death Survival and Humanitarian Resistance in Aleppo, nisms.” Her research focuses on memory and identity politics, 1915–1917,”“The Baghdad Railway and the Armenian Genocide, nationalism, political communication, discourse analysis, cultural 1915–1916: A Case Study in German Resistance and aspects of political integration, and Turkey’s minority politics. Her Complicity,” “1915–1916 Ermeni Soykirimi Sirasinda Ermeni current research focuses on migration politics and the role of integra- Mulkleri, Osmanli Hukuku ve Milliyet Politikalari,”“Le génocide tion and assimilation in the current migration discourse in Germany. arménien: négation à ‘l’allemande’” and “From Empire to Republic: The Continuities for Turkish Denial.” Matthias Bjornlund was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1967. He is a Danish Asbed Kotchikian is the assistant direc- historian and freelance researcher specializing tor of the International Affairs Program at in the Armenian Genocide and related issues, Florida State University, where he also teaches particularly as documented in Danish archival courses on the Middle East and former Soviet sources. He is currently working on a book space. His area of research includes the for- about Denmark and the “Armenian Question” eign policies of small states; the modern from 1900–40. He has co-authored articles on political history of the post-Soviet South the concept of genocide and on aspects of the Rwandan genocide. Caucasus; and issues of national identity. Ayse Gunaysu is a professional transla- Dennis R. Papazian is professor emer- tor, human rights advocate, former commu- itus of history and the founding director of nist, and feminist. She has been a member of the Armenian Research Center at the the Committee Against Racism and Discrim- University of Michigan, Dearborn. He is the ination of the Human Rights Association of former president of the Society for Turkey (Istanbul branch) since 1995, and was Armenian Studies and former editor of the a columnist in a pro-Kurdish daily from Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies, 2005–07. currently serving on its editorial board. 4 | THE ARMENIAN WEEKLY | APRIL 26, 2008 Contributors 4/14/08 9:16 AM Page 5 Ara Sanjian is associate professor of Theriault currently serves as co-editor-in-chief of the peer- Armenian and Middle Eastern history and reviewed journal “Genocide Studies and Prevention.” He is also the director of the Armenian Research on the Advisory Council of the International Association of Center at the University of Michigan- Genocide Scholars. From 1999 to 2007, he was coordinator of the Dearborn. He was born in Beirut, Lebanon, Worcester State College Center for the Study of Human Rights. and received his school education there. In 1991, he received his master’s degree in his- Ugur Umit Ungor was born in 1980 tory from Yerevan State University. In 1994, and studied sociology and history at the he received his Ph.D. in modern Middle Eastern history from the Universities of Groningen, Utrecht, Toronto, School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of and Amsterdam. His main area of interest is London. From 1996–2005, he was the chairman of the department the historical sociology of mass violence and of Armenian studies, history and political science at Haigazian nationalism in the modern world. He has University in Beirut. In fall 2003, he was the Henry S. Khanzadian published on genocide, in general, and on Kazan Visiting Professor in Armenian Studies at California State the Rwandan and Armenian genocides, in University, Fresno. His research interests focus on the post-World particular. At present, he is finishing his War I history of Armenia, Turkey, and the Arab states of Western Ph.D., titled “Young Turk Social Engineering: Genocide, Asia. He is the author of Turkey and Her Arab Neighbors, Nationalism, and Memory in Eastern Turkey, 1913–1950” at the 1953–1958: A Study in the Origins and Failure of the Baghdad Pact department of history of the University of Amsterdam. He is also (2001), as well as a monograph and a number of scholarly articles. a staff member at the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies He is currently working on a book-length project on the Armenian in Amsterdam.