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YEREVAN, APRIL 23, ARMENPRESS. Associate Professor of the Holocaust & Genocide Studies of the New Jersey Stockton University Elisavon Joeden-Forgey arrived in Yerevan to take part in the upcoming 2nd “Against the Crime of Genocide” Global Forum. “Armenpress” had an interview with Joeden-Forgey.
-More than a century later after Armenian Genocide the Turkish state continues to refuse the historic truth. How would you comment this official position of Turkish Republic?
-It is in the interest of the Turkish state to recognize the Armenian Genocide, as well as the genocide of Assyrians, Greeks and other minority populations during WWI. Such recognition would allow it to come to terms with its own past and join the global community in recognition of this massive crime. Recognition would also allow Turkey to examine its own political traditions with a fresh perspective, perhaps leading to a greater toleration of national differences within its borders as well as more productive approaches to diversity.
- Taking into account the fact that while adopting the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 9 December 1948 the United Nations emphasized the necessity of international cooperation in the struggle against that crime, don't You think that the international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide will be a significant step for the prevention of genocides in future?
-Yes, I agree. International recognition of the Armenian Genocide will aid genocide prevention in several ways. It will show that the international community requires states that have committed genocide in the past to take measures to account for and repair that damage in the present. It will bring attention to patterns of genocide that are not as well-known as the Holocaust but that we see repeated time and time again, especially by Isis now against religious and national minorities in Iraq: the direct massacre of men and older boys alongside the rape and enslavement of women, girls and younger boys (who may or may not be killed later on). It will put pressure on Turkey in particular not to repeat the patterns of the past in eastern Turkey, where it is now using high levels of violence against Kurdish populations. It will serve the cause of religious freedom and toleration, and contribute to reaffirming our commitments to diversity and multiculturalism.
-Today Turkey arms the terrorist groups that are committing crimes against humanity in Middle East. Don’t you think that this kind of activities of Turkey comes from the impunity for the Genocide committed in the beginning of 20th century?
-One thing that research in genocide prevention has taught us is that the states and societies most vulnerable to committing genocide and mass atrocity in the present are those that have committed genocide in the past without taking responsibility for it. Impunity is a breeding ground for genocide.
-What steps are needed towards the recognition of Armenian Genocide? How important, in your opinion, are the claims and compensations?
-As someone who is part German, I can say I understand how hard it is for a society to face its past. However, Turkey has the possibility of demonstrating global leadership by recognizing the genocide committed within its borders during World War I. I believe the security and stability of Germany after 1945 comes from the fact that Germany was forced to face its past and that this project was adopted by young Germans in the 1960s. National identity will survive a recognition of past genocide, indeed, one could argue that it is strengthened as it then becomes invested in the truth and in the moral authority that comes from taking responsibility for the truth. Recognition can help states avoid repeats of the past every time there is a crisis involving religious or national differences. Recognition in itself is not enough, however. Repair is also necessary, because communities that have been destroyed by genocide suffer in the long-term--over centuries, as we see from the Armenian Genocide. Repair can come in many forms. The processes set in motion by recognition can also set the stage for deliberations about repair and what that might entail--land concessions and other forms of restitution, security and trade agreements, legal protections for survivor families still in residence in Turkey, and so forth. Issues of restitution and repair are still being raised related to the Holocaust, so it is a long process once it gets started. But the genuine engagement of the Turkish state with the Armenians around this issue would be an enormous show of goodwill and a model for moral governance that the rest of the world could follow.
Interview by Araks Kasyan