Reparations: Responsibility of Turkish Government Is Undeniable

The following interview was conducted by ARF Press Service correspondent K. Teruni. In the interview, ARF Bureau member Garo Armenian comments on the failure of the so-called Turkish Armenian Reconciliation Commission (TARC).

K. Teruni: Last month, a study on applicability of the UN Convention on the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide to the events that occurred in the beginning of the 20th century was published. The study was conducted by the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ).

Certain elements in the US and Armenia that had supported the activities of the self-proclaimed Turkish Armenian Reconciliation Commission tried to present the publication of this study as a major achievement of TARC. What is ARF's viewpoint on this issue?

Garo Armenian: It is clear that such groups distort the facts. It is obvious that TARC is once again trying to enter the political arena in an attempt to distort the stand of the international community towards the recognition and punishment of the Armenian Genocide. Meanwhile, our nation knows who the sponsors of TARC are.

We believe that the February 4 report ordered by TARC and published by the New York-based International Center for Transitional Justice is nothing more than a new regional policy tool in the hands of Turkey and its allies. It serves the purpose of diminishing the significance of the Armenian Genocide and removing the issue from the political agenda of the international community, particularly the Western countries.

Under the disguise of "objective and legal" discussion, the anonymous authors of the above-mentioned study present a vulnerable and arbitrary explanation to the grave crime Turkey planned and committed against our nation. On the other hand, they raise the issue of applicability of the UN Convention on Genocide to the case of the Armenian Genocide, putting forward the same empty arguments of retroactive applicability that the lawyers of Nazi criminals were using during the Nuremberg trial.

The ARF once again states that the grave crime of genocide Turkey committed against the Armenian nation, and the responsibility of the Turkish state deriving from that crime, should have no time limitations. Arbitrary interpretations of the 1948 UN Convention on Genocide and other international documents cannot modify or decrease Turkey's responsibility for the Armenian Genocide.

It is obvious that the above-mentioned ICTJ report cannot stand criticism: it was worked out to pursue a specific political objective and seems to be drafted to suit the goals of TARC and its sponsors. It was supposed to fulfill a specific task: to state that genocide was committed against the Armenians, while at the same time finding a suitable "way out" that would allow the Turkish state responsible for committing the crime against the humanity to shirk responsibility without any compensation to the Armenian nation.

As to the attempts to present the ICTJ report as an achievement of TARC, I should say that this is a new trick of TARC. How can they speak about an achievement? Many world renowned and respectful people have stated numerous times that the Armenian Genocide meets all the requirements of the definition of the 1948 UN Convention on Genocide.

The anonymous authors of the report have not contributed to the research and analysis of the issue. They admit that they did not aim at revealing facts. Through a superficial and thus vulnerable and hesitant recognition of the Armenian Genocide, they want to say that the 1948 UN Convention on Genocide cannot be applied to the case of the Armenian Genocide, insisting that the convention does not have retroactive force. This conclusion that lacks any arguments to support it cannot be considered an achievement.

KT: Some articles that appeared in the Turkish media stated that during the negotiations with the Turkish government on Iraq, US President George W. Bush had threatened to recognize the Armenian Genocide. What can you say about this?

GA: I would question the credibility of the Turkish media as far as it concerns the issue of the Armenian Genocide. President Bush has never made any statements like that to the leadership of the Armenian community in the United States. Unfortunately, he has disappointed the Armenian-Americans in this respect.

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) and other leading organizations of the Armenian community in the US are determined to continue the struggle in the US Congress. In this case, the united political forces of the Armenian-Americans will play a decisive role in spite of the constant interferences on the part of Turkey and its allies.

TARC with its new initiatives has no influence on that political stage. Recognition of the Armenian Genocide is on Armenia's foreign policy agenda today, and it is a nonnegotiable priority for our nation. It cannot be modified to suit the interests of various institutions, artificial "commissions," and arbitrary groups supporting them.