Topic of Debate - Turkey
"The Greek" has had much to say about Turkey this week. See our articles, "Turkish Crimes Require Atonement" and "Greece, Turkey Relations - Massacres at Ponti, Chios and Smyrna," and tell us how you feel. Have we been too critical? What did we leave out? Should Turkey be accepted into the EU? What about the Cypriot issue? What's more important, justice or preserving a strategic alliance?
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Please comment below by clicking upon the "comment" link. We want to hear from you!
posted by The Greek | 1:20 PM
7 Comments:
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Although I am quite unfamiliar with the gruesome historical tragedy you discussed in "Turkish Crimes Require Atonement," I do believe it is rather unfair to suggest that Turks today should be apologetic for their ancestors' actions. Though I agree that such a horrible event should be acknowledged by the Turkish people as a scare on the nation's history, it is unfair to hold such a grudge simply because of ancestry.
I have German ancestry and I would find it quite ridiculous if a Jewish person asked me to apologize for the events that took place in Nazi Germany. I can feel incredibly ashamed for that period in Germany's history and I can also show compassion and heartfelt sorrow for my fellow man without apologizing for crimes I have absolutely no connection to.
I am ashamed that I had never heard of these atrocities. I am a college educated American and considered myself a bit of a history buff until now. This story needs to be picked up by the MSM so that the world will be made aware of the Turkish barbaric behavior.
By Turkey accepting its past it will show the world that it really looks forward for its future within the modernised world, the world of EU and USA that its leaders clame that Turkey belongs ever since the creation of their Modern Nation.
I remember reading an article in "the Economist" a while back relating to Turkey and the EU. I believe it related to Sarkozy simply stating that Turkey is part of Asia and his belief is that they should never be granted admission.
I do understand that Turkey has had a turbulent past and continues to operate with political instability, but wouldn't acceptance into the EU allow the European community to have greater influence in the region?
Maybe even help boost relations with the west?
Dear Mr Kaminis,
Thank you for speaking the truth about the genocide that took place in Turkey (then Ottoman empire) against the Greeks, Armenians and Assyrians. I just wanted to add that the genocide against the Christian and non-turkish speaking indigenous populations of eastern Asia Minor was planned and engineered before the Balkan Wars (1912-1913). It was a pure act of "ethinc cleansing" effort by the Three Pashas (Enver, Jemal and Talat) due to their belief on the superiority of the turkish "race" and language. Other bloodthirsty ethnic cleansers like Topal Osman were awarded with a national monument in the eighties, by the turkish government.
Thea Halo 's book "Not even my name" gives a touching account on one of the many personal tragedies lived by the "lucky" survivors of the holocaust.
Last but not least, we should never forget the "Cristallnacht" of September 1955, were the indigenous Greeks of Istanbul (Constantinople) were ousted from the city they founded, just because the turkish authorities decided to do so, and of course, most foreign governments (the US included!) looked the other way.
Rest assure that we won't rest til the genocide is recognised by the country of the perpetrators!
Sincerely,
Alex Palantzas
I believe that Turkey should apologize to all of the countries that suffered. I agree with d.cody that individual people living today should not be held responsible, but the country should recognize what it did.
Turkey should also remove the requirement that the Patriarch of Constantinople should have to be born in Turkey. That would be like asking that the Pope always be Italian. The church of Hegia Sophia should also be returned to the Orthodox people. This would be a nice sign of change in a country that considers itself an EU candidate and one that is westernized.
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