|
Abp. Barsamian Becomes Latest Victim of Turkish Misinformation
The Turkish press widely disseminated earlier this month controversial statements on the Armenian Genocide attributed to Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church. The Turkish newspaper, Sabah, published on June 8 an interview held with
Abp. Barsamian in New York. The most sensational parts of the Archbishop's alleged words were reprinted by several other newspapers and broadcast by Television stations throughout Turkey. Sabah headlined the interview: "Here are Brave Words." The Turkish Daily
News titled its report: "Brave Remarks from Armenian Leader."
Sabah wrote: "Abp. Barsamian is from Arabgir [Turkey] and speaks fluent
Turkish. In his clerical garb, he is a self-confident man. He is the
leader of 67 churches and is an important person in shaping public
opinion."
Ms. Pinar Turench, Sabah's reporter, recalling "the anti-Turkish
statements made by the leaders of the Armenian Assembly," asked Abp. Barsamian:
"Even though 100 years have passed, some Armenians still view Turks with hatred. They believe that Turkish hands are bloody. When
you were shaking my hand, did you see any traces of blood on it? "No," the Archbishop was quoted as answering. "I don't view you as the grandchild of a criminal. I feel close to you. Despite some feelings pent up over the years, I consider you to be close to us. Genocide is an important issue. I am not saying whether it's true or not, but it's an issue. We should accept that it's an issue about which we should establish a dialog. This was previously our pain, now it has become your pain too. If we don't talk to each other, extremists will surface. My grandfather, who was killed in 1915, perhaps he too could be considered guilty. We should recognize the truth even if the truth is painful to us. I believe in these words. We should come together, form committees. I understand very well the situation of Turkey. I too would get very angry if someone were to call me a criminal."
The Turkish Daily News published on June 9 its own more colorful English version of the Sabah interview. Here are some excerpts: "Barsamyan believes the 'Armenian genocide' campaign must be brought to
an end. He said, 'it is high time we sat down for talks. Let us form joint committees. You will see that this will create a positive situation. Let us know about the facts. My grandfather disappeared
during the 1915 incidents. In that incident, he may have been guilty as well.
You too suffered. If we cannot speak about these facts, this will lead to extremism.' Stressing that he does not see the Turks as the
grandchildren of murderers, he said that on the contrary he found Turks quite close to himself. He said: 'They condemn you by taking a political
stance. Who separated the people who liked one another in Anatolia? That is
what we must understand.' "After this interview, Abp. Barsamian led a large group of
Armenian-Americans to a pilgrimage of Armenian religious sites in
Turkey.
During his trip, he gave several more interviews to Turkish newspapers.
Fortunately, none of them created as much controversy as the one
published by Sabah.
Abp. Barsamian released on June 15 the text of a letter he sent to Ms.
Turench of Sabah, criticizing the newspaper's "misrepresentations" of
his words. Here are some excerpts of his letter:
"I was deeply disturbed by a significant misrepresentation of some of
what we discussed during our cordial meeting last month, which was intended
to focus on the pilgrimage in honor of the 1700th anniversary of Armenia's
conversion to Christianity. The news story… incorrectly leaves the
impression that the Armenian Genocide is still open to question and
perhaps more troubling, that some of the victims may in fact have played a role
in their own demise.
"These assertions are clearly not what I know and feel as a descendant
of a genocide survivor. The Genocide is not a matter of conjecture or
opinion, but of historical fact….
"As a church leader and as an individual, I believe that a cooperative
and congenial relationship between the Armenian and Turkish people today is
vital and in the self-interest of both countries. And it is important
that we open lines of communication between our people in order to facilitate
productive dialogue. But nothing can erase the facts surrounding the
Genocide of the Armenians early in the 20th century and
the tremendous impact it has had on both our peoples around the world.
"…Our conversation was held in good faith and in a spirit of openness.
My hope was that it would contribute to the establishment of an atmosphere
for dialogue toward an eventual reconciliation.
Unfortunately, having my comments misconstrued and taken out of context
does not advance these worthy goals."
I hope Armenians worldwide finally take note of this latest incident of
Turkish misrepresentation. Over the years, I have devoted countless
columns mentioning example after example of distortions by the Turkish
media. The most sensational and significant such distortion was done by
Mehmet Ali Birand of CNN-Turk during his interview with Pres. Kocharian
earlier this year. There is no point in agreeing to an interview,
knowing in advance that the Turkish press will distort and misconstrue
whatever you say.
Abp. Barsamian should have known better than agreeing to grant an
interview to a Turkish newspaper. As a native of Turkey, he doesn't need advice
from others about the poor standards of Turkish journalism. Yet,
amazingly, after Sabah distorted his words, he continued to give
interviews to several other Turkish newspapers during his visit to Turkey.
I hope that Abp. Barsamian as well as other Armenian leaders will draw
the appropriate lessons from this unfortunate experience and refrain from
granting further interviews to Turkish newspapers.
Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic Genocide News Archives