TORONTO, Canada—On Jan. 19, the Toronto Armenian community gathered to commemorate the 7th anniversary of the assassination of Hrant Dink. More than 500 people filled the Armenian General Benevolent Union Centre to capacity, with standing room only. The keynote speaker was renowned Turkish journalist and author Hasan Cemal, who also happens to be the grandson of Cemal Pasha, one of the three leaders of the Committee of Union and Progress (Ittihat ve Terakki), which planned and perpetrated the Armenian Genocide in 1915.
Mgrditch Mgrditchian was the master of ceremonies. After a beautiful rendition of Sari Aghchig and Cilicia by young soprano Lynn Anoush Isnar, Raffi Bedrosyan, one of Hrant’s friends, introduced Hasan Cemal. Bedrosyan explained that Hasan Cemal worked for many years (until 1992) as the editor-in-chief of the Cumhuriyet daily, the official mouthpiece of the Kemalist state and the defender of the denialist official version of history related to the 1915 events. Hasan Cemal then moved on to Sabah newspaper, the newspaper with the largest circulation at the time, as editor (until 1998), and then to Milliyet until March 2013, when he had to resign under pressure from Prime Minister Erdogan for criticizing the anti-democratic policies of the government. In recent years, Hasan Cemal got influenced by the writings of journalist Hrant Dink and historian Taner Akcam, and started questioning the veracity of the state version of history. As a result, he went through a gradual intellectual transformation, until he reached the conclusion that those events were indeed a genocide. In 2008, the year after Hrant Dink was assassinated, he went to Armenia and visited the Genocide Memorial, placing flowers there for Hrant and all the past genocide victims, sharing their pain. In 2012, he wrote a book titled 1915: Armenian Genocide in Turkish. The book, explaining his personal evolution, became a bestseller.
In his speech, Hasan Cemal stressed the need to separate personal family history from general history. He gave examples as to how he had to distinguish between his grandfather’s actions versus his stand against the genocide, and his dramatic meeting in Yerevan with the grandson of one of the planners of Cemal Pasha’s assassination in Tbilisi in 1922. Hasan Cemal also explained the long journey he had to go through from having a “captive” mind, based on the state version of history, to an “emancipated” or “liberated” mind, after seeking and finding the facts and truth about the 1915 events. Cemal stated that a small but fast increasing segment of the Turkish civil society has already started to acknowledge the truth about the genocide, and urged the Turkish state also to face its past and acknowledge and apologize for the 1915 events.
After his speech, there was a short discussion session among Hasan Cemal and two Zoryan Institute representatives, president Kurken Sarkissian and Executive Director George Shirinian, moderated by Raffi Bedrosyan, about the significance of building a “common body of knowledge” regarding the historic facts of 1915, in order to be able to have meaningful and constructive dialogue toward reconciliation between Turks and Armenians.
The Toronto commemoration was another proof that Hrant Dink’s legacy lives on and gains more momentum every year, both within Turkey and in all four corners of the world, with demands of truth and justice to prevail for the 1.5 million Armenians plus one.
Raffi Bedrosyan
Latest posts by Raffi Bedrosyan (see all)
- Reactions to Biden in Turkey - May 4, 2021
- What can the Diaspora do now? - January 6, 2021
- Armenians and the Turkish coup d’etat of September 12, 1980 - September 16, 2020
Hasan Kemal, should bring the attention of run away Turkish nationals in Canada, that his grand father was one of perpetrators of Christian Genocide Of Ottoman Turkey!!
“In his speech, Hasan Cemal stated that a SMALL … segment of the Turkish civil society has ALREADY STARTED (!!!!!) to acknowledge the truth about the genocide…”. Great!
This is NOT a matter of insulting “good Turks” but being a realist and not utterly starry eyed and naïve. We, as a nation and people (and hopefully one day soon a strong state in Yerevan) must learn from our history and not make the same short-sighted mistake again and again.
The core of the Turkish state and society at large is the same as it’s ever been whether Ottoman-imperial/Young Turk/Kemalist or now “moderately Islamic”: Racist-nationalist, and viciously anti-Armenian in particular.
Theses days some ‘far-sighted’ or liberal Turks have realised they cannot enter Europe and the modern era (21st century) without a semblance of democratic and civilised European values and what better than the Armenian Genocide and its “recognition” by Turkey as a forum and programme of action to that end!
I say – and in my view we should say – GOOD LUCK to these people AND we wish them every success. But remember the Young Turks, who were campaigning against Abdul Hamid’s autocracy and apparently for “equality, fraternity and liberty” slogan of the French revolution? Nothing wrong with that IF our leadership had not naively fallen for the Young Turks and their beautiful slogan totally and had not COLLABORATED with them right until the even of 1915 instead of keeping its independent vision and programme of action over and above those slogans FOR OUR NATIONAL SALVATION. And there are other examples spanning the last 100 or so years when we have not been able to articulate and implement a programme in our NATIONAL interest – have failed to see sometimes diametrically opposed interests of the Turkish parties we collaborate or work with, with disastrous results for us.
Amen.And suppose hundreds nay thousands of Hasan jemals come and knee ,oh yes even kneed down like Willy Brandt at Tzitczernakapert,thus paving the way for many more to finally have the republic of Turkey Govt.(for above reasons brought by Bagratuni)officially accept the Genocide by their previous Govt.s..then what????
And I really believe this is what they plan to do, to by and by come to do that,in order to blow dust into our eyes and odars.
Thus, the majority of Armenians will then(expecially those both in Diaspora and Armenia ,who are Paremid(not to say Barzamid)kind-minded not simple minded…) then be content that well,you see Turks have finally come to terms and we shall now be good neighbours.Right?
No not right!!! our ancestors besides being submitted to slaughter and eviction THEY LOST land-PROPERTY AND RICHES, NATIONALLY owned CHURCHES AND THE LIKE, SCHOOLS,monasteries ETC.,
In short both LIVES AND REAL PROPERTY AND RICHES…EVERYTHING THEY OWNED-So???
NO COMPENSATION ‘ JUST KNEEL DOWN AND SHOW TO WORLD THAT THEY HAVE REPENTED?????
BROTHER WHAT DO THEY TAKE US FOR ? NINCOMPOOPS-DONKEYS? OR WHAT???
I f some of us are outright Parzamid and content that thius they have achieved something then what AVEDIS AHARONIAN WROTE:::
and I quote¨AYSKAN ARIUN TE VOR MORNAN MER VORTIK, TOGH VOGHJ ASHKHARH HAYUN GARTA NAKHDINK¨¨ UNQUOTE.Means,¨¨If our sons forget so much blood, then let the whole world call us insults¨.
So wake up Armenian before it is too late. These Conferences are O.K. if our side participants,ALWAYS REQUEST THE CONFERREES or Turkoisjh speakers ´´PLEASE RELAY TO YOUR GOVT. THAT WE EXPECT T O T A L COMPENSATION ,PLUS I N T E R E S T to be compounded for 100 years. i.e,, compounded per year.For… some of us maybe over kind -minded but those of us who know better, will not be taken in by such SHOWS-simply put .No better word for it.
Mr. Cemal is not speaking trully!
Please open Armenians and Russian’s archives and see reality.
World archive indicate, that 3 millions innocent Christian population wiped out of Eastern Ottomans Empire, during first world war, where Western Armenia is located, and world map called Armenian Highlands. An artificial state named Turkey never existed at that time yet!!
I wonder, why brainwashed Turkish nationals like Senturk, run away from persecution of penal code 301, and find comfort in foreign countries, all of sudden they become professional denialists of Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek Genocide!
This Cemal is confusing facts about Tehcir with an AAG. I am dying to know how and where he reached to the fact of 2.5M Armenians having been physically eliminated by an official act of the Ottoman government.
More importantly, where is the Armenian Hasan Cemal, Akcam and even Hrant?