The Armenian genocide - why Britain is at fault

Interview by Chris Green

Thursday, 21 February 2008

Donald Bloxham is professor of modern history at the University of Edinburgh. He argues that the extermination of approximately one million Armenian Christians by Ottoman-Turkish authorities during the First World War was genocide, and that Britain is guilty of hypocrisy in its attitude towards the events.

The Kurdish and Armenian Genocides: From Censorship and Denial to Recognition

Turkey’s repression of the Kurds has been widely documented - and is acknowledged as a major obstacle to Turkey’s accession to the European Union. But what lies behind such repression? Fernandes confronts the issue head on, forcing the reader to probe a question that many in Turkey and elsewhere would rather avoid: does the systematic repression of the Kurds amount to genocide? Open discussion of this issue is critical if a long-term resolution of the Kurdish issue is to be achieved – Nicholas Hildyard, Policy Analyst.

The book is an exceptionally important read for anyone with a broad interest in human rights and social justice. It has a scholarly account of the historical background to the present awful situation of Turkish Armenians and Turkish Kurds. In particular, the book provides a powerful comparative analysis of the policies of the US, Israel and Turkey in terms of their rationale for labelling human atrocities as genocide – Dr. Julia Kathleen Davidson, Research Fellow, Faculty of Education, University of Glasgow and Membership Secretary of Scotland Against Criminalising communities (SACC).

In this important book, Desmond Fernandes exposes the details of the sordid and largely hidden role of Israel and the US Israel Lobby in preventing Congress from recognizing the Turkish genocide of the Armenians – Jeff Blankfort, Former Editor, Middle East Labor Bulletin.

Among its Cold War victories the United States certainly succeeded in its ambition to make the world safe for nationalism. As identity politics is reprocessed as a function of global capital, and rehabilitated as its natural ally, Desmond Fernandes documents the fractured consequences of the ready-made social fantasy - Variant: Cross Currents in Culture.

Desmond Fernandes writes for those who spoke the truth and were murdered, those who spoke 200 days ago and are still imprisoned, and for those who live in terror and in silence, or who meet in nameless buildings, so that the words ‘GENOCIDE’, ethnic cleansing, or the Turkish military word ‘TEMIZLEME’, may be heard as a siren call for the muted victims of the Turkish state - Diamanda Galás, Composer and Performer of Songs of Exile, Vena Cava, Schrei X, Plague Mass and Defixiones, Will And Testament.

Fernandes’ painstaking investigation sheds much needed light on the collusion between the Turkish State and the Israel lobby in preventing recognition of one of the darkest episodes of the past century, the genocide of Ottoman Turkey’s ethnic Armenians - Muhammad Idrees Ahmad, Spinwatch.

[This is] a judiciously assembled vast, syntactic mosaic ‘illustrating’ the total state terror inflicted upon two ancient peoples ... Desmond Fernandes has laboriously integrated a vast amount of historical events, scholarly data, secret documents, live witnesses, relevant literature and even poetry ... [He] has hit the target: mainly encapsulating the enormity of censorship, denial and recognition of that ultimate crime of man’s inhumanity to man - Genocide - Khatchatur I. Pilikian [from the Epilogue].

Desmond Fernandes is a policy analyst and former Senior Lecturer in Human Geography and Genocide Studies at De Montfort University, England. He has published widely in a number of journals and is co-author of Genozid an den Kurden in der Türkei? - Verfolgung, Krieg und Zerstörung der ethnischen Identität (2001, Medico International, Frankfurt). Forthcoming titles by the author include The Kurdish Genocide in Turkey and US, UK, German, Israeli and NATO ‘Inspired’ Psychological Warfare Operations against the ‘Kurdish Threat’ in Turkey and Northern Iraq, due to shortly be released by Apec Press, Stockholm.

Change of name and expansion of activities

With effect from 14 February 2008, the Armenian Genocide Trust of Great Britain has been renamed the Armenian Council to better reflect broader scope of our current and future activities. More information on the Armenian Council and its activities will be available in due course from the Council's web site at www.armeniancouncil.org.

Decision of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court on the Perincek case (in French)

Attached is the published decision of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court in the case of Swiss Armenian Association and Ministere public du canton de Vaud vs. Dogu Perincek. The Swiss Federal Supreme Court has upheld the decisions of lower courts convicting Mr Perincek of racism and negationism of the Armenian Genocide. The Court has affirmed the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide which is beyond legitimate historical debate. The decision of the Court is final and is not subject to appeal in Switzerland. We congratulate the Swiss people and the Swiss Armenian community for this victory of justice over intimidation and propaganda.

For Hrant, for Justice: The ongoing struggle for freedom of expression in Turkey

7pm Thursday 28 February 2008
Amnesty International UK - The Human Rights Action Centre

Amnesty International UK, in association with English PEN, the Armenian Institute and Index on Censorship invite you to this special event. It will be one year on from “Sincerity, My Only Weapon”: A tribute to Hrant Dink which was held at the HRAC and marked the fortieth day after the murder of Hrant Dink, Editor in Chief of the bilingual Armenian and Turkish weekly AGOS.

Through his journalism, Dink sought to heal the scars in Turkish-Armenian history. His commitment to full and frank dialogue led to his conviction in 2005 under Article 301 of the Turkish penal code for “denigrating the Turkish state”. He was murdered on Friday January 19th 2007 in front of his Istanbul office.

The event will see the premier screening of a 50-minute documentary by Nouritza Matossian of in-depth interviews with Hrant Dink. This is followed by a panel discussion with:

Nouritza Matossian – Writer and Broadcaster
Ayse Onal - Writer and Broadcaster
Andrew Gardner – AI Turkey Researcher

The event will be followed by a reception.

Booking details

7pm Thursday 28th February 2008 (Doors open at 6.30pm)

Amnesty International UK, The Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA

Tickets are free of charge - Book online at www.amnesty.org.uk/events or call 020 7033 1585