Armenian allegation of "genocide" The case takes a new turn

Armenian scholar, writer, and publicist Gagik Ohanjanyan received a letter from the administration of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan promising to notify him as soon as it is possible to start studying Turkish and Armenian archives. Ohanjanyan told about the letter to renowned historian Philip Ekozyants during a program on his YouTube channel.

It is known that Ohanjanyan supported the initiative of Azerbaijani historian Fuad Akhundov, who appealed to Nikol Pashinyan to open access for Armenian scholars to archival documents in order to put an end to distortions of historical facts.

Ekozyants expressed hope that the case will get off the ground and recalled that during Serzh Sargsyan's rule, Armenian scholars were forbidden to work with Ottoman archives.

So this is certainly significant news if we take into account its long prehistory. After all, Turkish President Erdogan voiced his proposal to open mutual access to the historical archives of Türkiye and Armenia almost 15 years ago, and all this time Yerevan resisted such a seemingly tempting prospect. And Ankara kept reminding that the proposal was still in force. And here is the first encouraging development.

Curiously, what can Türkiye and Armenia, and indeed the whole world, gain from the implementation of this initiative? The theme of "genocide" is immutable for most Armenians - it is simply indoctrinated into people from childhood, although the Armenian side has never provided any evidence to substantiate its legend. And the figures of "victims" constantly vary, almost depending on the mood of those who voice them. Will it now be possible to destroy this myth and bring clarity to the historical events of that period? And will Armenians agree to give up the image of an eternal "victim" if Armenian scholars are convinced that there are no sufficient grounds to consider those events a "genocide"?

Togrul Ismail, a political scientist and professor at Ankara University, shared his thoughts on this issue with Caliber.Az.

According to Togrul Ismail, the opening of the archives and the establishment of a joint commission will in practice mean Armenia's rejection of the idea of the "Armenian genocide". This is not good for either the global Armenian diaspora or various political forces inside Armenia. "After all, by playing on this theme, Armenia has always received certain dividends," the professor reminds.

"Whether the archives will be opened or not is not so important for Armenians - they will certainly continue to exploit the myth of 'genocide'", the historian argues.

"It's enough to look at how freely they fast and loose with the figures of the so-called 'genocide victims'. Now they have brought this number almost to 3 million, while so many Armenians on the territory of the Ottoman Empire simply did not exist physically. Famous Russian historians have already written in their time that the total number of Armenians at that time did not exceed 1 million 250 thousand people. This peculiar game is only in the hands of various enemies of Türkiye.

So I think that the Armenian side will not open its archives, it is simply not ready for this. Besides, Armenians take obvious pleasure in exploiting this topic.

That is why today there is still such a notion as the 'Armenian genocide', which has no international, legal, or historical basis. It is a tool of foreign policy pressure on Türkiye, and of course, the Armenian side has always tried to use this tool as much as possible," the scientist noted.

He also deemed it necessary to remind that in 1915 the Ottoman Empire also took part in the First World War, and a number of states (England, Russia) armed various Armenian groups inside the country to fight the Turkish army. Its logistical capabilities were especially fought. "A great many Turks were killed by these numerous illegal Armenian formations, and this is a historical fact. But the fact is that today a lot of things are distorted and used as a tool of political pressure on Türkiye.

The Turkish authorities have long proposed the creation of a joint international commission that would include the Armenian side. They suggested opening archives and involving scientists. But Armenia has refused to do so all these years, as it knows perfectly well that the so-called genocide has no serious historical basis. Therefore, unlike Türkiye, Armenia does not consider this issue positively - both opening of archives and the establishment of a joint commission to study the events of 1915.

I am sure all this is well known and understood in the USA, Britain, and Russia. Their scientists know that it is unjustified to accuse Türkiye of the events of 1915 and call it the 'Armenian genocide'. That is why no important document on this issue has been adopted at the international level so far. There are some decisions of local importance - some parliaments, some states adopt their resolutions. But this does not oblige the Republic of Türkiye to anything. So the current approach to this problem cannot be called anything other than an element of foreign policy pressure.

I think that in time this problem will fade away. We remember that in its time the European Court did not recognise the fabrications of Armenians as a historical fact either.

And here is the point: the US and some other countries from time to time raise the topic of the 'Armenian genocide' to be able to manipulate Türkiye. And in general, there is no international evidence for the recognition of 'genocide', much less legal evidence," concluded the professor of Ankara University.