Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic Genocide News

Turkish-German Association Union Against Genocide
by Ali Ertem
Posted: Tuesday, January 23, 2001 01:17 am CST

Translated from German by Gabriele Yonan

Union Against Genocide
Frankfurt / Main contact address:

Ali Ertem, Eschenheimer Anlage 20a,

D-60318 Frankfurt/Main
Tel. & Fax: 0049/69/5970813
E-Mail: genozidgegner@hotmail.com

21 December 2000

To the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Federal Republic of Germany

Mr. Joschka Fischer

email: Joschka.Fischer@bundestag.de

Criminal proceedings against the Syrian Orthodox clergyman Yusuf Akbulut

Dear Minister,

A trial will start today in Diyarbakir against a Syrian orthodox priest, who is been accused of giving an interview to the Turkish nationalist newspaper 'Hurriyet' confirming the crimes against the Christian population in Asia Minor and Mesopotamia during World War I.

The statement of the priest is in accordance with the decisions and resolutions of international organizations such as the World Council of Churches, the United Nations and the European Parliament. The latter was asking the Turkish government in its resolutions of June 18 1987 and November 14 2000, to accept the genocide of the Armenians as historical facts. Other national parliaments have also recognized the crimes of the former Turkish government as a genocide against the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire.

Yusuf Akbulut belongs ethnically to the Aramaic speaking Christians of Semitic race, also known as 'Assyrians'. They are in four different denominations, the majority of the Arameans, or Assyrians, belong to the Syrian Orthodox Church, and in the Turkish language are known as Suryani ("Syrians"). The number of Arameans/Assyrians (of different denominations) who were killed between 1914 and 1922 is estimated at 500,000.

The trial against a descendent of the victimized population, 85 years after [the genocide], is an outrageous violation of the law and a contempt of the conditions for Turkey's EU membership set by the European Parliament, which also included the abolition of the notorious Article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code, by which inciting people to inter-ethnic hatred is punishable by one to three years imprisonment.

The truth is that those responsible (who gave orders) for the systematic destruction of Armenians, Arameans (Assyrians) and Greeks of Ionia, Cappadocia and Pontos, in World War I and took part actively [in it], were motivated by inter-ethnic hatred.

It is not a crime to name the perpetrator but to commit the crime itself. Nevertheless, it is exactly what the Turkish government, the legislature and the political elite of the Turkish Republic is doing.

We, the signatories, are chairmen of a union whose majority are Turkish citizens i.e. Turks. We have realized that without the study of the historical reasons (of modern Turkish history), the continuing violence in Turkey will not come to an end, and it will be impossible to establish a civil society.

At the end of 1999 we submitted a petition to the Turkish National Assembly, signed by over 10,000 Turkish citizens appealing to finally recognize the historical facts and create a basis for relaxed relations with our Greek and Armenian neighbours, which will also be the condition for a democratic policy of nationalities and minorities (in Turkey).

Unfortunately, our legislators have ignored our request.

It is a matter of fact that all Turkish citizens and finally all foreigners being in Turkey, will be tried under the same Article 312 if they - like priest Akbulut - dare to question the official policy of denying and concealing the genocide. Therefore, beside the actual case itself, it is of general importance to protest against Article 312 as is a tool against Turkish scientists, Human Right activists, or journalists who are working in the interest of democratization and study our modern history. One should become aware that similar court cases can happen to all our members and supporters who enter Turkey.

We are afraid that if father Akbulut is sentenced to imprisonment, he will be treated very brutally and be humiliated. He was named a "Traitor" by Hurriyet and was branded as an enemy who should be fought against. The recent killings of the hunger strikers in our country and the inhuman treatment of the protesting citizens shed a gloomy light for the procedures in the prisons and the neglect of human dignity against the protesting citizens. Taking into consideration all these we are sending this appeal to you, Minister.

We urge you to intervene so that the proceedings against Yusuf Akbulut are dropped. We also ask you to put pressure on the Turkish legislature to abolish the notorious Article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code. This article is used to suppress the Opposition yet it has never prevented inter-ethnic hatred.

May we, respectfully, ask you for your support for the use of the free of speech and criticism concerning a historical taboo such as the genocide of Armenians and other Christian ethnic groups, without facing recriminations?

We are thanking you in advance for your immediate answer regarding the steps you have taken and we apologize that we have sent this urgent message by e-mail.

Sincerely yours,
Ali Ertem
Chairman

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