Turkey’s People and the Genocide Controversy
Re “The Turkey-U.S. Divide,” Commentary, June 8: According to Ekrem Dumanli, the executive editor of the Turkish newspaper Zaman, “so far the Turkish government has not formally recognized that such a thing [the Armenian genocide] occurred. If that changes, the Turkish public will not react calmly.”
So, let’s get this straight. The Turkish government doesn’t formally recognize the Armenian genocide because it fears a harsh public reaction in Turkey!
Armenians have never blamed the Turkish people for the heinous genocide perpetrated by the criminal Ottoman government. In those horrific days, many Turks saved the lives of many of their Armenian friends and neighbors by hiding them or helping them to flee.
It’s unfair to blame the Turkish people for the incompetence of the Turkish government in accepting the wrongs of its predecessors. Of course it wouldn’t be easy, especially when Turkish media, including the Zaman newspaper, through a constant genocide-denying campaign, keep the Turkish public opinion constantly aggravated against any domestic or international effort in this regard.
Remo Alexandri
Glendale
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I really enjoyed Dumanli’s article about U.S.-Turkey relations. It portrays the true relationship between two countries.
Faruk Taban
Reno, Nev.
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