Arda Akchay has never met an Armenian. True, he has friends in Istanbul that have Armenian friends, “but they are half-Armenian, half-Turk,” he says. Arda is already a student and recently came to Berlin to study Informatics in light of the Erasmus international program.
– What do you know about Turks and Armenians?
– I know that Armenians and Turks have lived together for many years without any disputes.
– What do you know about the Armenian Genocide?
– I haven’t really read much about that.
– Why? Aren’t there any books about that in Turkey?
– I personally haven’t read that much, but in my opinion, the murders of the Armenians can’t be compared with the Holocaust in Germany. True, many Armenians were killed in, I think, 1915.
– How do you regard the fact that Turkey denies the Armenian Genocide? Do you appraise that?
– The fact of the matter is that we must keep reading and reading in order to say whether that was genocide or not.
– There are numerous books, many proofs. The entire international community knows about it.
– The difference is that the acts committed by the Germans were aimed towards eliminating the Jewish; it was a purposeful massacre.
– Why are you certain that the goal of the Ottoman Empire wasn’t to eliminate the Armenians?
– In the English-language articles, I have read that the Armenians were deported from the Ararat territory to Syria and other sites; I can’t remember where. That was the decision of the Ottoman Empire because we’re talking about 1915. That was the Ottoman Empire, not the Turkish government.
– In your opinion, does Turkey correspond to EU standards? You live in Ankara and thus must be the first to feel that. Is there any progress?
– (Silently shakes his head-I.S.) I don’t think that Turkey and the Turkish people are real members of the EU. But the majority of Turks want to become part of the EU. However, I think that’s not the important thing. The problem is that people think that everything will change after EU membership. But that’s not the way it is. We’re going to continue living the way that we have always lived. Many hope to work in EU member countries later on. I don’t know what Turkey will get out of EU membership and I don’t care if Turkey joins the EU or not. As for the EU, I think that it needs Turkey because it is striving to be the competitor of the U.S and Turkey is on the border of Iraq and Syria.
– Let’s get back to Armenian-Turkish ties.
– We don’t have any problems at the national level. We used to live together during the years of the Ottoman Empire. During World War I, the Armenians expressed the desire to go to Eastern Armenia. This was all at the political level.
– In that case, why doesn’t Turkey want to establish diplomatic ties with Armenia? The Armenian side is ready for a dialogue.
– To be honest, I’m hearing that from you for the first time. I know that Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan had proposed discussing the Armenian Genocide issue and was ready to open the archives. But Kocharyan rejected that proposal.
– He rejected because there was no need to discuss when there are proofs. You said that Armenians and Turks are in good relations. In that case, how do you explain the assassination of Hrant Dink on the part of the Turk youngster?
– I think that Dink had made negative remarks about the Turks during a court trial.
– Do you think that that could have served as a ground for assassination?
– No, of course not. (He gets up immediately.-I.S.). First of all, Hrant Dink is Turk. He is a Turk and Armenian, just like you and I. He was raised and lived in Turkey. Dink is a journalist; I don’t know, it’s simply absurd to murder someone, it’s absurd and wrong. Recently, I get the impression that there is a group of people that wants to breed strife between the Armenian and Turk citizens. I don’t know if it’s really like that or not.
– Do you consider the normalization of Armenian-Turkish ties and the opening of the border as realistic?
– I think that Turkey will never open the border as long as the Armenian Genocide issue remains unsolved. Turkey doesn’t want to recognize the Armenian Genocide just like that. If there really was genocide, I think that it will recognize it sooner or later. But Turkey definitely won’t change its position without discussions.
– There’s going to be a demonstration in front of the Turkish Embassy in Berlin on Saturday dedicated to the murder of Hrant Dink. What are you planning on doing while that is going on?
– If there is going to be such an event, I will also participate. Why not? I am familiar with Hrant Dink’s articles. His mission was the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Dink always strived to start the dialogue between Armenia and Turkey at the political level, establish real diplomatic relations between the Armenian and Turkish governments. That’s the important thing.
– Would you like to add anything else?
– We are all the same people-Hrant Dink too. Unfortunately, he is not with us anymore. But I hope that no other Armenian journalist will be assassinated. I hope. Enough is enough with the murders, please.