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O. Faruk Logoglu: To reconcile Turks and Armenians – The Washington Times

Last month, Armenians worldwide remembered a sad
chapter in history, when many of their ancestors perished during the
waning days of the Ottoman Empire.

In the midst of these remembrances, Armenian
activists urged political leaders, legislatures and nations to
recognize their suffering on terms they alone have defined.

As Armenian calls for recognition of their tragedy
grow louder, Turks around the world are also remembering, albeit in a
silent manner. They recall not only their forebears who perished during
the same years in war-torn Anatolia but also compatriots targeted by
Armenian terrorists in the 1970s and ’80s.

Indeed, during the First World War, hundreds of
thousands of Turks and Armenians died as a result of the Armenian
revolt in the Eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire. The cataclysmic
war-borne forces of disease and famine also played a great role in this
human suffering. This was a grievous time for both sides.

We should therefore acknowledge the grief and
sadness felt by present generations of Armenians over the terrible
losses suffered by their parents and grandparents. The same compassion
must be extended to the Turkish people.

While it is important to recognize and respect the
emotions evoked by past memories, we cannot let our unreconciled views
of a specific era dictate our present or our future. Indeed, our
history is also replete with centuries of friendship, fraternity and
mutual respect between Turks and Armenians.

The imperatives of good neighborliness, common
sense and mutual interests demand that Armenia and Turkey — and their
expatriates around the world — come to terms with the past and move
forward in renewed friendship and harmony.

Let’s opt for the positive, for the reasonable and
for what will bond our peoples in mutual acceptance. This can only be
achieved through open and honest dialogue.

That is why Turkey has made a multipronged effort
to engage the Armenian side in dialogue. Our scholars have tried to sit
down with Armenian colleagues. Turkish leaders and officials meet with
their counterparts from Armenia. Even third parties in the United
States and Europe have worked to bring together Turks and Armenians to
discuss their past.

None of these initiatives or contacts has yielded
progress. This is understandable because such dialogue is painful for
both sides after so many years of diametrically opposed monologues. But
these efforts must not be abandoned, as results will come only through
development of mutual trust and confidence through regular discourse.

Today, we have before us an unprecedented
initiative that may finally lead both sides toward reconciliation. In a
letter to Armenian President Kocharian earlier this month, Turkish
Prime Minister Erdogan proposed establishing a group of historians and
other experts to study the events of 1915 not only in the archives of
Turkey and Armenia, but in all relevant archives. Their findings would
then be presented to the international community. The Turkish
parliament has endorsed this unprecedented opening by our government in
clear demonstration of a national will to close the issue based on an
impartial assessment of the facts.

If this opportunity is seized, the 90th
anniversary of the 1915 events might also mark a historic and positive
turning point in Turkish-Armenian relations. President Bush expressed
the same hope in his annual message to the Armenian people on April 24.

After years of disagreement and troubled
relations, it is time for one-sided agendas to be replaced by open,
introspective and results-oriented dialogue. This will require bold
leadership.

Turkey has taken an important first step in this
direction. We hope our Armenian neighbors will test our commitment,
join in this endeavor and seek the common understanding we both should
desire. Once a process is under way, there will be no turning back
until the truth is known. That is what we all need.

Ours is a shared history, and the tragedies of
this difficult chapter belong to both our peoples. Closure, therefore,
can only come by reconciliation between us. No amount of third-country
advocacy or outside interference will lift the burdens of history — or
provide such an opportunity for both our peoples to look together
toward a peaceful and prosperous future.

O. Faruk Logoglu is the ambassador of Turkey to the United States.

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