....What should be clear to everyone is this: In Turkey, genocide denial is an industry. It is also a state policy of primary importance. The National Security Council, Turkeys highest constitutional authority, established in 2001 a Coordinating Committee for the Fight Against Baseless Claims of Genocide. All of the important ministries, including the Armed Forces, are represented on this committee, which is chaired by the vice prime minister. I repeat: Denying the genocide is one of the most important national policies of the Turkish state. You need to realize that you arent just confronting a simple denial, but youre up against a denialist regime.
As long as Turkey continues this state policy of genocide denial through its institutions, relations, and mentality, Ankara will be sensitive to external pressure. In fact, this pressure should be increased. What happened in Libya and Syria needs to happen in Turkey also, with regard to genocide denial, even if the content and scope of the pressure are different.
If the West is serious about democracy in the Middle East, it cannot build democracy by supporting a denialist regime. Historical denial, both as institution and mindset, is probably the greatest stumbling block to peace and democracy in the Middle East. Why do Christians, Kurds, and Arabs in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq feel intimidated by Turkey? Why arent they keen on Turkeys intervention for democracy and human rights? Because they see, in todays denialist regime of Turkey, the Unionists mentality that committed crimes against them in the past.
The South African regime didnt collapse from internal pressure alone. The support of international public opinion was also very important. As long as the West allows Turkeys denialist politics to continue, genocide denial will go on.
We are faced with the huge issue of how to prevent mass murders and genocides in todays global community. To that end, the space for genocide denial in the international arena must be narrowed and ultimately eliminated. Turkeys denial policy should be reconsidered within this perspective of prevention of genocide in the global world.....