Telling the Truth in Turkey
By David Aikman
Beyond the News
Many people know that one of the first terrible acts of genocide in the 20th century was the Turkish deportation and massacre of hundreds of thousands of Armenians during World War I. The problem is that the Turks themselves have never admitted this atrocity.
Recently they even put on trial a popular Turkish writer, Orhan Pamuk, who had the courage to remind them of that atrocity. His crime?--he was charged with insulting Turkish identity.
Under great pressure from the European Union, which Turkey wants to join, a Turkish court dismissed the charges against Pamuk. But the statute making an attack on so-called "Turkish identity" punishable by a prison sentence remains on the books.
Nations only become healthy by admitting the truth about their past both to themselves and others. Pamuk deserves the applause of truth-seekers everywhere for his honesty and courage.
Beyond the News
Many people know that one of the first terrible acts of genocide in the 20th century was the Turkish deportation and massacre of hundreds of thousands of Armenians during World War I. The problem is that the Turks themselves have never admitted this atrocity.
Recently they even put on trial a popular Turkish writer, Orhan Pamuk, who had the courage to remind them of that atrocity. His crime?--he was charged with insulting Turkish identity.
Under great pressure from the European Union, which Turkey wants to join, a Turkish court dismissed the charges against Pamuk. But the statute making an attack on so-called "Turkish identity" punishable by a prison sentence remains on the books.
Nations only become healthy by admitting the truth about their past both to themselves and others. Pamuk deserves the applause of truth-seekers everywhere for his honesty and courage.
posted by HeavyHanded at
8:27 AM
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