Top Twenty Tall Turkish Tales
[ 2009/03/27 | 19:16 ]By Lucine Kasbarian
1.That Turks, who turned up in Anatolia from Central Asia thousands of years after the ancient Hittite, Urartian, Armenian, Assyrian, Greek, Roman, and Byzantine structures in present-day Turkey were constructed, are somehow responsible for having built them.
2. That Turks and Armenians lived in peace, brotherhood, and equality ever since the Seljuk Turkish invasions, and that the Ottoman Empire was a model of tolerance towards its subject peoples.
3. That the Ottoman massacres of hundreds of thousands of Armenian civilians in 1894-1897 and 1909 were simply examples of Turkish self defense.
4. That there was no Armenian Genocide. The deaths were just an unfortunate consequence of civil war or wartime conditions. But if there was a genocide, it was Armenians who committed it.
5. That US Ambassador Morgenthau, American and European diplomats, missionaries and others who witnessed and wrote about the Genocide were not credible since they disliked Turks. Even German eyewitnesses (allies of Turkey in World War I) were not credible since they disliked Turks too.
6. That the hundreds of historians and genocide experts who confirm that there was an Armenian Genocide have all been duped by Armenians.
7. That those peoples who “revolted” against the Ottomans or Turkey deserved whatever the Turks did to them because all such revolts were unjustified. (The Young Turks’ revolt against the Ottoman Sultan in 1908, on the other hand, was entirely justified.)
8. That the Armenian death toll was “only 600,000,” not 1.5 million, hence the deaths could not be considered a genocide.
9. That due to wartime necessity, the “deportations” were limited to Armenians from the eastern part of the Ottoman Empire (even though, in fact, Armenians from all parts of the Empire were “deported”).
10. That the Ottoman Turkish archives are fully open, haven’t been tampered with, and prove that Turkey did not commit the Armenian Genocide.
11. That the Genocide survivors and their descendants seek recognition, reparations, restitution, restoration, and return of their so-called historic homeland out of delusion and greed.
12. That the enormous amount of territory allocated to Turkey in the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres was somehow inadequate.
13. That teaching and talking about the Armenian Genocide is a form of hate speech.
14. That Turkey and Armenia would be “reconciled” by now were it not for the malevolent Armenian Diaspora which, instead of acting in Armenia’s best interests, vilifies Turkey with baseless allegations. (Naturally, Turkey acts only in Armenia’s best interests.)
15. That Turkey’s proposal to hold a joint historical commission on 1915 — which would include denialist historians — is not a delaying tactic, but is sincere and would arrive at a truthful verdict.
16. That the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic (NKR) is not historically Armenian; that it was the Armenians in Karabagh who initiated pogroms against Azeris; and that NKR is not entitled to self-determination.
17. That Turkey is qualified to be a member of the European Union and should have been admitted years ago (even if it violates the human rights of its population, stifles free speech, and condones torture).
18. That Turkey is a loyal NATO ally (even if it threatens the United States and Europe and rejects US requests for military cooperation).
19. That if the Genocide resolution passes in the US Congress, Turkey will severely punish the United States.
20. That Turkey’s efforts to penetrate the Caucasus and Central Asia are not attempts to fulfill a longstanding ambition to create a Pan-Turkic empire.
Lucine Kasbarian is an Armenian-American writer.
March 28th, 2009 at 02:09
Journalism or propaganda?
March 28th, 2009 at 11:11
there is a turkish proverb which says:
“he entered the bazar and telling a lie and went out believing his tale.”
“Uzun çarşı başınde bir yalan söyler âlt başınde kendisi inanır”.
March 28th, 2009 at 15:30
You must say the truth as often
as possible if you want your lies
go unnoticed.
March 28th, 2009 at 17:54
thank you very mutch for your courageouse study and assertion for historical facts
our “amiras” also are gulty absolutely
March 28th, 2009 at 17:56
the same=nouyn’e
March 28th, 2009 at 18:00
hay’e hayoun technami
ayss yeghadz e mer pakhd’e gam anpakhdoutioun’e
abriss loussine anouchig kouyrig
March 29th, 2009 at 05:27
Unfortunately, Turkey got away with the 20 lies and more, because the world, with a few exceptions, prefer to accomodate Turkey.
The hypocrisy about the Armenian Genocide tells us that those who are unprincipled on this issue,are unprincipled on all issues.
March 29th, 2009 at 07:13
Another tall tale is that Turks in Turkey are unaware or do not believe a Genocide occurred. I have visited eastern Anatolia and have been told by Turks living in previously Armenian areas exactly how and where Armenians were massacred. Others who have visited these areas have had the same experience. Maybe some “educated” Turks have fallen into the trap of their government’s own propaganda, but many others know the truth.
March 29th, 2009 at 07:57
Agreed, Louise! We must state the truth again and again in the face of the lies that try to drown out the truth so that the truth will prevail!
March 31st, 2009 at 00:50
I put it in simple man’s words:
Armenians submit that Turks have killed them, Turks say Armenians have killed them. Now tell me who still lives on the land (where it happened) and I will tell you who was killed by whom !
I gave this explanation in front of a map of historical Armenia displayed during an “Armenian Week” in Ramada Renaissance Hotel in Alexandria-Egypt, to a couple of “undercover?” Turkish Embassy employees when asked about the whereabouts of Armenia etc.
March 31st, 2009 at 00:56
They both left without a comment.I believe they are still thinking about a proper answer……Or have they found it? Can they talk about it?
March 31st, 2009 at 08:05
Turkish propaganda accepted by power elites to masquerade as journalism in our mainstream media!
April 3rd, 2009 at 02:56
with respect to #1, there’s a turkish festival in southern california today. they were advertising it on tv and taking credit for the culture that many of these races share. sadly, media promotes these fallacies and the ignorant viewer is none the wiser. with respect to #8, empirically speaking, what fraction of a population needs to be annihilated in order for the massacre to technically qualify as a genocide? if #13 were true, then turks are guilty of the same. regarding #6, how about the historians, genocide experts, and entire governments who are bribed and blackmailed into believing that the armenian genocide is an untruth? in any case, historians and genocide experts even among the turkish population recognize the armenian genocide. and it doesn’t stop there. even the simpletons within turkish villages who haven’t been brainwashed and have nothing to lose admit the reality of the genocide. as for self-defense, the armenians didn’t pose a military threat and certainly weren’t on the offensive to warrant turkey’s “self-defense.”
April 7th, 2009 at 04:42
Wow…I am an American and completely KNOW the Armenian Genocide happened. Such blinders 1 nation can wear! (can’t too much for Obama either, he wears blinders too)…We need to stand as a united ppl of ALL nations and recognize ALL genocides…so they will not happen at ALL…and the Armenian Genocide is a great place to start….if for no other reason but for the morality, respect and love of people…no matter the color, race or anything!
April 22nd, 2010 at 07:32
so they will not happen at ALL…and the Armenian Genocide is a great place to start….if for no other reason but for the morality, respect and love of people…no matter the color, race or anything!
April 22nd, 2010 at 07:36
Turkish propaganda accepted by power elites to masquerade as journalism in our mainstream media!