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No official document proves "genocide of Armenians"

28 April 2015 14:00 (UTC+04:00)
No official document proves "genocide of Armenians"

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

A well-known Russian historian's remarks about the reluctance of Armenia to delve into history gained a firm support in Baku, at such a time when Azerbaijan has been angered at Yerevan's desire to escape from historical realities over the so-called "Armenian genocide".

Michael Meyer, the president of the Asian and African Institution, claimed that Armenia's avoidance to open its archives about 1915 events, has lead to speculations over historical realities. The historian said documents are the only basis for any investigation into history.

Supporting Meyer's claims, Fuad Akhundov, deputy department head of the Presidential Administration, said Armenia continues to mislead its own and the international community by not allowing foreign scholars to get involved in the study of 1915 events.

Meyer said "when there is no document, speculations on historical theme take precedence". Akhundov believes that all the efforts Armenia has exerted so far toward its "genocide" campaign have been based on unfounded statements.

Meyer, based on his own scientific diplomatic approach, asked "if Armenians have documents proving that 1915 events do constitute a "genocide", why do they hide it? Akhundov's remarks came as his upholding the historian's opinion when he said "great propagandists like the Armenians would never conceal any information they can benefit".

"If they have any proof at hand, they would of course immediately spread it across the world, filling online sources with it," Akhundov said.

Yerevan still emerges cold towards Ankara's persistent calls for launching a joint survey into the events that happened over a hundred years ago in the Ottoman territory. Akhundov assessed it as proof that Yerevan has no any document to prove its alleged righteousness.

Meyer claimed that the "Dashnaksutyun documents" are hidden in the American archives. Turkey's European Union Affairs Minister, Volkan Bozkir, in turn, said those documents are kept in Boston and that the Armenian lobby has persistently opposed the publication of those papers.

"A good business by Armenia! While Turkey has opened all its archives and announced scholars will be able to freely investigate, Armenians have remained cagey. If anything the Armenian authorities have prevented scholars from looking into the Turkish archives and impeded on the establishment of a joint commission. Moreover, the Armenian archives have remained closed to both the local and foreign scientists," Akhundov said.

"Genocide" realities

Many Armenian scholars in these days argue that what happened to their cognates back in 1915 under the Ottoman Empire was a "mass murder" that constitutes a "genocide". The motives they put behind such allegations are that the Armenians were deported from their homeland in 1915 for simply being Armenian. In this case, many scholars have nodded to the credibility of those arguments due to a lack of information and poor historical documentation on the events. However, Yerevan possesses documents which could disprove such claims of genocide, which it has been keen to keep under lock and key.

Turkish scholars and Western Ottoman experts have argued that the events which led to 1915 tragedy were fueled by foreign interferences - mainly from the British empire. At the time, foreign powers sought to destabilize the Ottoman Empire and to that they encouraged national movements in the Ottoman territories to rise against the Turks and demand independence. Armenians began to revolt against the empire as early as the 1880s. The rise of nationalism slowly led to tensions in between the Christian and Muslim communities in Eastern Anatolia.

Historians argue that European powers mostly Russia and Britain have consistently incited rebellions in the Ottoman Empire and creating a propaganda to support their respective armed interventions.

Some "Armenian genocide" proponents claim that "when Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was asked about where the rest of the world would stand in relation to his Jewish annihilation campaign he replied, "it will be forgotten, like the Armenians". Many Armenians have attempted to use this comment as proof that an act of "genocide" had been carried against them.

Professor Justin McCarthy from Louisville University, Kentucky, U.S.A., noted that like the infamous Hitler's quote, the so-called extermination orders of the Ottoman ruler Talat Pasha were forgeries. "The only relevant Ottoman documents that have come to light indicate a generally solicitous attitude towards the deported Armenians".

Harry Lamb, British High Commission Office member, wrote that the infamous "Talat Pasha telegrams" inside Aram Andonian's book, in which the Minister of Interior of the Ottoman Empire allegedly ordered the extermination of the Armenians lacked official documents to support its claims.

The modern Turkish leadership continues to call on Armenia to give up its efforts to politicize a historical tragedy. Clearly Armenia is only looking to establish itself as a permanent victim to gain financial compensation and exert pressure on its powerful neighbor - Turkey.

Failing to realize the true essence of what happened some 100 years ago only serves to show that Armenia is incapable of engaging with its neighbors other than through provocation.

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Follow Mushvig Mehdiyev on Twitter: @Mushviggo

Follow us on Twitter: @Azernews

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