Recognition of the Armenian Genocide as an Issue in Political Discourse in Armenia, Turkey and selected EU Countries

Vol.15,No.4(2013)

Abstract

The issue whether to legally recognize the tragic events of 1915 in Eastern Anatolia as a genocide remains a key  political issue which drives an edge between Armenia and the Republic of Turkey. Through their European diaspora communities, the issue has also entered the domain of the European Union (EU), becoming even more controversial as Turkey is in the process of hotly contested EU accession talks. The present article uses the instruments of discourse analysis to focus on the current perceptions of the Armenian genocide in the various countries involved, specifically within the EU, Armenia and Turkey, in order to explore the political rationale behind the commitment of various states to recognize or deny the aforementioned historical events as an act of genocide. After providing a brief historical overview of the 1915 events, we analyse internal EU perceptions of the “reality” of the Armenian genocide recognition, primarily in relation to Turkey's accession efforts. We then focus on the domestic discourses in Armenia and Turkey, with the goal of shedding light on the rationale behind both Yerevan's encouragement of genocide recognition and Ankara's unwillingness to recognize the genocide, as well as on the political implications of recognition and denial.


Keywords:
Genocide Recognition; Armenia; Turkey; Caucasus; European Union
Author biographies

Emil Souleimanov

Department of Russian and East European Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague

Katedra ruských a východoevropských studií, Fakulta sociálních věd, Universita Karlova, Praha.

Maya Ehrmann

King's College, London.

Vincenc Kopeček

Department of Human Geography and Regional Development, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Ostrava

Katedra sociální geografie a regionálního rozvoje, Přírodovědecká fakulta, Ostravská univerzita, Ostrava.
References

Açar, A. A. – Rüma, İ. (2007): External Pressure and Turkish Discourse on ‘Recognition of the Armenian Genocide’, Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, vol. 7, no. 3, s. 449–465. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683850701566419

Ágoston, G. – Masters, B. (2009): Encyclopedia of Ottoman Empire, New York, Facts on File.

Akçam, T. (2004): From Empire to Republic: Turkish Nationalism and the Armenian Genocide, London, Zed Books.

Akçam, T. (2006): A Shameful Act. The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility, New York, Henry Holt and Company.

Algan, B. (2008): The Brand New Version of Article 301 of Turkish Penal Code and the Future of Freedom of Expression Cases in Turkey, German Law Journal, vol. 9, no. 12, s. 2237–2252. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2071832200000845

Altinbaş, D. (2011): The “Armenian Question” in European Union Institutions, Review of Armenian Studies, no. 23, s. 147–232.

ANCA (2013): Genocide Rcognition, Washington, Armenian National Committee of America, on-line verze (http://www.anca.org/genocide/recognition.php), [cit. 07. 12. 2013].

ANI (2000): Sweden Parliament Report, Armenian National Institute, on-line verze (http://www.armenian-genocide.org/Affirmation.165/current_category.7/affirmation_detail.html), [cit. 3. 12. 2013].

Armenian Issue (2001a): What is genocide? Armenian Issue, allegations – facts, Ankara, Forsnet, on-line verze (http://www.ermenisorunu.gen.tr/english/intro/genocide.html), [cit. 3. 12. 2013].

Armenian Issue (2001b): Massacres of the Turks by Armenians. Armenian Issue, allegations – facts, Ankara, Forsnet, on-line verze (http://www.ermenisorunu.gen.tr/english/massacres/assesment.html), [cit. 3. 12. 2013].

Asbarez (2012): Aram I calls for return of stolen Armenian Churches, Asbarez , February 24, on-line verze, (http://asbarez.com/101190/aram-i-calls-for-return-of-stolen-armenian-churches/), [cit. 12. 08. 2012].

Avakian, A. V. (2010): A different future? Armenian identity through the prism of trauma, nationalism and gender, New Perspectives on Turkey, vol. 42, s. 203–214. https://doi.org/10.1017/S089663460000563X

Bakalian, A. (1993): Armenian Americans: from being to feeling Armenian, London, Transaction Publishers.

Balci, A. (2010): A Trajectory of Competing Narratives: The Turkish Media Debate Ergenekon, Mediterranean Quarterly, vol. XXI, no. 1, s. 76–100. https://doi.org/10.1215/10474552-2009-035

Bartrop, P. R. (2001): The Holocaust, the Aborigines, and the bureaucracy of destruction: an Australian dimension of genocide, Journal of Genocide Research, vol. 3, no. 1, s. 75–87. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623520120037716

Baser, B. – Swain, A. (2009): Diaspora Design versus Homeland Realities: Case Study of Armenian Diaspora, Caucasian Review of International Affairs, vol. 3, no. 1, s. 45–62.

Bedrosyan, R. (2011): Special report: What is Turkey returning to Armenians?, The Armenian Weekly, August 31, on-line verze, (http://www.armenianweekly.com/2011/08/31/property-return/), [cit. 15. 02. 2012].

Beneš, V. (2008): Diskurzivní analýza, in: P. Drulák (ed.): Jak zkoumat politiku. Kvalitativní metodologie v politologii a mezinárodních vztazích, Praha, Portál.

Bilali, R. (2013): National Narrative and Social Psychological Influences in Turks’ Denial of the Mass Killings of Armenians as Genocide, Journal of Social Issues, vol. 61, no. 1, s. 16–33.

Brave Heart, M. Y. H. – DeBruyn, L. M. (1998): The American Indian Holocaust: Healing Historical Unresolved Grief, American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research, vol. 8, no. 2, s. 60–82. https://doi.org/10.5820/aian.0802.1998.60

Bryce, V. – Toynbee, A. (1916): The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, 1915-1916. London, Sir Joseph Causton and Sons.

Bullough, O. (2010): Let Our Fame Be Great. Journeys Among the Defiant People of the Caucasus, Philadelphia, Basic Books.

Bürgin, A. (2010): Cosmopolitan Entrapment: The Failed Strategies to Reverse Turkey’s EU Membership Eligibility, Perspectives: Central European Review of International Affairs, vol. 18, no. 2, s. 33–56.

Clark, B. (2007): Turkey’s Armenia dilemma, BBC News, February 27, on-line verze (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6386625.stm), [cit. 19. 03. 2011].

CNN (2012): French Senate passes Armenian genocide bill, CNN, January 24, on-line verze (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-01/24/c_131375506.htm), [cit. 2012-03-18].

Cohen, R. (2008): Global Diasporas. An Introduction, Abingdon and New York, Routledge.

Cooper, B. – Akçam, T. (2005): Turks, Armenians, and the “G-Word”, World Policy Journal, vol. 22, no. 3, s. 81–93. https://doi.org/10.1215/07402775-2005-4009

CSR (1998): Armenian Claims and Historical Facts, Ankara, Center for Strategic Research.

CSR (2007): Armenian Genocide? Facts & Figures, Ankara, Center for Strategic Research.

Dadrian, V. – Akçam, T. (2011): Judgment at Istanbul: The Armenian Genocide Trials, New York, Berghahn Books.

Dadrian, V. N. (1991): The Documentation of the World War I Armenian Massacres in the Proceedings of the Turkish Military Tribunal, International Journal of Middle East Studies, vol. 23, no. 4, s. 549–576. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020743800023412

Dadrian, V. N. (1997): The Turkish Military Tribunal’s Prosecution of the Authors of the Armenian Genocide: Four Major Court-Martial Series, Holocaust Genocide Studies, vol. 11, no. 1, s. 28–59. https://doi.org/10.1093/hgs/11.1.28

Dadrian, V. N. (2004): The History of the Armenian Genocide: Ethnic Conflict from the Balkans to Anatolia to the Caucasus, Providence, Berghahn Books.

De Waal, T. (2012): Černá zahrada. Arménie a Ázerbájdžán v míru a za války, Praha, Academia.

Dixon, J. F. (2010): Defending the Nation? Maintaining Turkey's Narrative of the Armenian Genocide, South European Society and Politics, vol. 15, no. 3, s. 467–485. https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2010.513605

Dugan, L. et. al. (2008): Sudden desistance from terrorism: The Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia and the Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide. Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict, vol. 1, no. 3, s. 231–249.

EC (1993): European Council in Copenhagen, Conclusions of the Presidency DOC/93/3, on-line verze (http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_DOC-93-3_en.htm?locale=en), [cit. 3. 12. 2013].

Edwards, D. – Potter, J. (2001): Discursive psychology, in: McHoul, A. – Rapley, M.: How to Analyse Talk in Institutional Settings, London and New York, Continuum.

EP (2006): Turkey’s progress towards accession, European Parliament resolution 2006/2118(INI), on-line verze (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+TA+P6-TA-2006-0381+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN), [cit. 3. 12. 2013].

Foucault, M. (1994): Diskurz, autor, genealogie, Praha, Nakladatelství Svoboda.

Gregg, H. S. (2002): Divided They Conquer: The Success of Armenian Ethnic Lobbies in the United States. The Rosemarie Rogers Working Paper Series, Working paper #13, Cambridge, MA, The Inter-University Committee on International Migration, on-line verze (http://web.mit.edu/cis/www/migration/pubs/rrwp/13_divided.pdf), [cit. 07. 12. 2013].

Gunter, M. M. – Rochtus, D. (2010): Special Report: The Turkish-Armenian Rapprochement, Middle East Critique, vol. 19, no. 2, s. 157–172. https://doi.org/10.1080/19436149.2010.484532

Gunter, M. M. (2011): Armenian History and the Question of Genocide, New York, Palgrave Macmillan.

Hakki, M. M. (2006): Turkey and the EU: Past Challenges and Important Issues Lying Ahead, Turkish Studies, vol. 7, no. 3, s. 451–471. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683840600891141

Hale, W. (2013): Turkish foreign policy since 1774, New York, Routledge.

Hovannisian, R. G. (2007): The Armenian Genocide: Cultural and Ethical Legacies, New Brunswick, Transaction Publishers.

Hülsse, R. (2006): Cool Turkey: Solving the Image Problem to Secure EU Membership, Mediterranean Politics, vol. 11, no. 3, s. 309–327. https://doi.org/10.1080/13629390600913908

Hyland, F. P. (1991): Armenian Terrorism, Boulder and Oxford, Westview Press.

Cheterian, V. (2010): Armenian genocide and Turkey: then and now, Open Democracy, April 24, on-line verze (http://www.opendemocracy.net/vicken-cheterian/armenian-genocide-and-turkey-then-and-now), [cit. 18. 9. 2012].

Chrisafis, A. – Hopkins, N. (2011): Turkey freezes all political relations with France over genocide row, Guardian, December 22, on-line verze (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/22/turkey-france-freeze-relations-over-genocide), [cit. 18. 09. 2012].

ICG (2012): Armenia: An Opportunity for Statemanship, Europe Report N° 217, Brussels, International Crisis Group, on-line verze (http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/europe/caucasus/armenia/217-armenia-an-opportunity-for-statesmanship.pdf), [cit. 07. 12. 2013].

ICTJ (2002): The applicability of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide to events which occured during the early twentieth centrury, New York, International Center for Transitional Justice, on-line verze (http://ictj.org/sites/default/files/ICTJ-Turkey-Armenian-Reconciliation-2002-English.pdf), [cit. 05. 08. 2011].

Jaimes, M. A. (ed.) (1992): The State of Native America. Genocide, Colonization and Resistance, New York, South End Press.

Jenkins, G. H. (2009): Between Fact And Fantasy: Turkey’s Ergenekon Investigation, Silk Road Paper, Washington and Stockholm, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, on-line verze (http://www.birolbasaran.com/ergenekon/Between_Fact_and_Fantasy-Turkiyes_Ergenekon_investigation.pdf), [cit. 6. 12. 2013].

Jones, A. (2006): Genocide. A Comprehensive Introduction, London and New York, Routledge.

Jung, D. (2003): The Sevres Syndrome: Turkish foreign policy and its historical legacies, American Diplomacy, vol. VIII, no. 2, on line verze (http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/archives_roll/2003_07-09/jung_sevres/jung_sevres.html), [cit. 12. 08. 2012].

Kelly, M. J. (2008): Genocide – The Power of a Label, Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law, vol. 40, no. 1-2, 147–162.

Kérvorkian, R. (2011): The Armenian Genocide: A Complete History, New York, I. B. Tauris.Kiernan, B. (2007): Blood and Soil. A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur, New Haven, Yale University Press.

Kesler, M. (2011): Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk gets fined, Hürriet Daily News, March 27, on-line verze (http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=orhan-pamuk-will-pay-compensation-for-his-words-court-decided-2011-03-27), [cit. 05. 12. 2013].

Koc, I. – Hancioglu, A. – Cavlin, A. (2008): Demographic Differentials and Demographic Integration of Turkish and Kurdish Populations in Turkey, Population Research and Policy Review, vol. 27, no. 4, s. 447–457. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-008-9072-y

Košťálová, P. (2011): Arménské kroniky od jezera Van: 16.–18. století, Červený Kostelec, Pavel Mervart.

Kuper, L. (1981): Genocide: Its Political Use in the Twentieth Century, Harmondsworth, Penguin Books.

Kurtiş, T. – Adams, G. – Yellow Bird, M. (2009): Generosity or genocide? Identity implications of silence in American Thanksgiving commemorations, Memory, vol. 18, no. 2, 208–224.

Lepsius, J. (1919): Deutschland und Armenien 1914-1918. Sammlung diplomatischer Aktenstücke, Potsdam, Tempelverlag.

Lomsadze, G. (2011): Georgia Recognizes Circassian Genocide, Eurasianet, May 20, on-line verze (http://www.eurasianet.org/node/63530), [cit. 07. 12. 2013].

Lowell, L. B. – Gerova, S. G. (2004): Diasporas and Economic Development. State of Knowledge. Prepared for World Bank, Washington, Institute for the Study of International Migration, on-line verze (http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROSPECTS/Resources/334934-1322593305595/8287139-1327608098427/LowellDiaspora.pdf), [cit. 07. 12. 2013].

Maksudyan, N. (2009): Walls of Silence: Translating the Armenian Genocide into Turkish and Self-Censorship, Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory, vol. 37, no. 4, s. 635–649.

Mammadov, G. (2011): Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: Armenia’s Victory or Nightmare?, Foreign Policy Journal, October 13, on-line verze, (http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2011/10/13/nagorno-karabakh-conflict-armenias-victory-or-nightmare-2/), [cit. 18. 9. 2012].

Manaseryan, T. (2004): Diaspora. The Comparative Advantage for Armenia, Working Paper No. 04/14, Washington: Armenian International Policy Research Group, on-line verze (http://aiprg.net/UserFiles/File/wp/jan2004/14.pdf), [cit. 07. 12. 2013].

Martin, J. J. (1981): Raphael Lemkin and the invention of ‘genocide’, The Journal of Historical Review, vol. II, no. 1, s. 19–34.

MFA (2011a): Nagorno-Karabakh issue, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, on-line verze, (http://www.mfa.am/en/artsakh/), [cit. 18. 9. 2012].

MFA (2011b) Bilateral relations – Turkey, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, on-line verze, (http://www.mfa.am/en/country-by-country/tr/), [cit. 18. 9. 2012].

Morgenthau, H. (1918): Ambassador Morgenthau’s story, New York, Doubleday.

Moses, D. A. (2004): Genocide and Settler Society. Frontier Violence and Stolen Indigenous Children in Australian History, New York and Oxford, Berghahn Books.

Moshman, D. (2001): Conceptual constraints on thinking about genocide, Journal of Genocide Research, vol. 3, no. 3, s. 431–450. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623520120097224

Mustafayeva, A. – Garayev, R. (2013): Legal Aspects of Reparation for Damage Caused to Azerbaijan as a Result of Armenian Aggression, IRS Heritage, vol. 14, s. 50–61.

Mutafyan, L. (2011): Preservation of Armenian Identity is Encouraged, Hayern Aysor, October 13, on-line verze (http://test.armdiasporamuseum.com/en/խրախուսվում-է-հայապահպանությունը/), [cit. 20. 09. 2012].

Nekvapil, J. (2006): Úvodem k monotematickému číslu „Analýza promluv a textů, analýza diskurzu“, Sociologický časopis, roč. 42, č. 2, s. 263–268.

Oberpfalzerová, H. (2012): Tranziční spravedlnost a proces národního usmíření v Bosně a Hercegovině, Mezinárodní vztahy, roč. 47, č. 3, s. 5–28.

Oğuzlu, H. T. (2012): Turkey and the European Union: Europeanization Without Membership, Turkish Studies, vol. 13, no. 2, s. 229–243. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683849.2012.685256

Papazian, D. R. (1995): The Struggle for Personal and Collective Identity: The Ukrainian and Armenian Experience in America, Journal of American Ethnic History, vol. 14, no. 3, s. 52–56.

Parliament (2006): Assyrian and Armenian Genocide in 1915, Early Day Motion 1454, on-line verze (http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2005-06/1454), [cit. 3. 12. 2013].

Paul, R. A. (2000): Grassroots mobilization and Diaspora politics: Armenian interest groups and the role of collective memory, Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, vol. 6, no. 1, s. 24–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/13537110008428586

Peterson, S. (2010): Turkey cancels summit with Sweden over Armenian genocide resolution, The Christian Science Monitor, March 12, on-line verze (http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2010/0312/Turkey-cancels-summit-with-Sweden-over-Armenian-genocide-resolution), [cit. 07. 12. 2013].

Petrosjan, J. V. (2011): Genocid armjan: voprosy vozmeščenija matěrialnogo uščerba (reparacii i kompensacii), Jereven, Sankt-Petěrburskij institut vněšněekonomičeskich svjazej, ekonomiki i prava, filial v g. Jerevaně, on-line verze, (http://www.spbivesep.am/genocid/elena.pdf), [cit. 02. 05. 2012].

Phillips, D. L. (2012): Diplomatic History: The Turkey-Armenia Protocols, New York, Institute for the Study of Human Rights.

Poulton, H. (2000): The Muslim Experience in the Balkan States, 1919–1991, Nationalities Papers, vol. XXVIII, no. 1, s. 45–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/00905990050002452

Richmond, W. (2013): The Circassian Genocide, New Brunswick, Rutgers University Press.

Shain, Y. (1994): Ethnic Diasporas and U.S. Foreign Policy, Political Science Quarterly, vol. 109, no. 5, s. 811–841. https://doi.org/10.2307/2152533

Siroky, D. S. – Dzutsev, V. (2012): Rational or reckless? Georgia’s zugzwang in the Caucasus, Nationalities Papers, vol. 40, no. 3, s. 303–314. https://doi.org/10.1080/00905992.2012.685063

Souleimanov, E. (2006a): The Politics of France’s Genocide Denial, Central Asia – Caucasus Analyst, vol. VIII, no. 20, s. 6–8.

Souleimanov, E. (2006b): Bezpečnostní aspekty případného členství Turecka v Evropské unii. Středoevropské politické studie, roč. VIII, č. 2-3, s. 298–313.

Suleymanov, E. (ed.) (2006): Khojaly Genocide (in documents, facts and foreign press), Baku İnkişafına Yardım Assosiasiyası.

Suny, R. G. – Göçek, F. M. – Naimark, N. N. (2011): A Question of Genocide : Armenians and Turks at the End of the Ottoman Empire, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Suny, R. G. (1993): Looking toward Ararat. Armenia in Modern History, Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana University Press.

Tait, R. – MacAskill, E. (2010): Turkey threatens “serious consequences” after US vote on Armenian genocide, The Guardian, March 5, on-line verze (http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/mar/05/turkey-us-vote-armenian-genocide), [cit. 07. 12. 2013].

Tatz, C. (2001): Confronting Australian genocide, Aboriginal History, vol. 25, no. 1, s. 16–38.

The Telegraph (2012): Turkey attacks France over Armenian ‘genocide’ bill, The Telegraph, January 24, on-line verze (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/9034755/Turkey-attacks-France-over-Armenian-genocide-bill.html), [cit. 18. 03. 2012].

Today’s Zaman (2012): If Armenian ‘genocide’ proven, Turkey will apologize, says Bağış, Today’s Zaman, February 5, on-line verze (http://www.todayszaman.com/news-270579-if-armenian-genocide-proven-turkey-will-apologize-says-bagis.html), [cit. 3. 12. 2013].

Tölölyan, K. (1992): Terrorism in modern Armenian political culture. Terrorism and Political Violence, vol. 4, no. 2, s. 8–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546559208427146

Tölölyan, K. (2000): Elites and Institutions in the Armenian Transnation, Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies, vol. 9, no. 1, s. 107–136. https://doi.org/10.1353/dsp.2000.0004

UN (1948): Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Adopted by Resolution 260 (III) A of the United Nations General Assembly, New York.

Uras, E. (1976): Tarihte Ermeniler ve Ermeni Meselesi, Istanbul, Belge Yayınları.

Valigholizadeh, A. – Zaki, Y. – Barani, K. Z. (2013): An analytical study of geopolitical consequences of normalization of Turkish–Armenian relations, Journal of Eurasian Studies, vol. 4, no. 2, s. 197–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euras.2013.03.009

Vidlickova, A. (2012): Turkish-Armenian Relations and the Issue of the Recognition of the claims of the Armenian genocide, Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations, vol. 11, no. 1, s. 1–16.

Wald, P. M. (2007): Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, Washington University Global Studies Law Review, vol. 6, no. 3, 621–633.

Walker, C. J. (1997): World War I and the Armenian Genocide, in: R. G. Hovannisian (ed.): The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times, volume II, New York, St. Martin’s Press.

Yacoubian, G. S. (2010): Financial, Territorial, and Moral Reparations for the 1915 Armenian Massacres, War Crimes, Genocide & Crimes against Humanity, vol. 4, s. 59–98.

Zekian, B. L. (2010): Armenian-Turkish Relations in the Framework of Turkish and Armenian Scholarships, Iran and the Caucasus, vol. 14, no. 2, s. 367–385.

Metrics

0


1608

Views

226

PDF (Čeština) views

768

HTML (Čeština) views