No one said Turkeys crimes are unique

Submitted by Shishir (United States), Aug 7, 2013 at 08:30

Mr/Ms(?) Cevik. Apologies as my knowledge of Turkish names and genders associated with them is not as strong as Arabic or Persian names.

I dont know who you are addressing but you went off on a bit of a tangent either way because hardly any here are accusing Turks of what you think we are accusing them of

1. Yes ,Greeks and Armenians had acquired land from earlier peoles such as Hittites,Mittani,Hurrians,Cappadocians and so on(not Sumerians who were much further south).And that can be said for pretty much all peoples.But there are no Hittites and Hurrians in existence to press their claims.And much of the current ruckus between Greeks/Europeans and Turkey isnt based that much on ancient history and vendettas but on WWI and Turkeys dealings with Greeks and Armenians in the aftermath.Furthermore there are no Hurrians and Hittites claiming to be Greeks or Armenians and thereby demanding entrance into their club.

2. You compare your record to other imperial powers such as the British ,French and Americans.Very good, now atleast you admit you were an imperial power! So we have reached Step 1! Now being an imperial power isnt all glory and parades but responsibility - a responsibility towards the conquered and you become responsible for their destiny. So whether these countries rise or fall, you will be praised or blamed. It maybe a tad unfair but thats how it is.I am not a fan of British rule in India for instance but most of the problems that plague were due to the British but the Mughals(a Turkic people but thats another story!) and this colonial history allows Indians politicians and civilians alike to avoid responsibility for their own errors by blaming it on the distant past.Before lecturing others on political science 101, you should know that this is imperialism 101.

Now pretty much all countries which were liberated from the Turkish yoke do poorly even in Europe. See Robert Kaplans comparision between Hungary(whose socio economic system was due to the Austro Hungarian empire) and Romania and Albania(which was under Ottoman rule). The latter come off poorly due to the severe autocratic rule which did not develop their potential with universities,free press,industry ,basic human rights or freedom of(and from) religion.

Pretty much all the powers you compared yourself too express remorse and grief for their past transgressions while Turkey still gloats over its empire and elects people like Erdogan who dreams of returning to the Caliphate model.All the while not even acknowledging that the Armenian genocide occurred.

3. You claim not to be a Turkish nationalist.But all of your posts are boilerplate Turkish nationalist positions.Please dont try and pull wool over our eyes by pretending to be an objective observer.You speak of humanism.How humane is it to lock up people who wish the government to acknowledge the genocide of Armenians.You are strangely silent on this matter.If you were a true humanitarian you would petition that Turkish government forbid parents to name their children after genocidal tyrants such Chengiz/.Timujen and Timur(very popular names in Turkey) and for that matter allow Kurds to give their children Kurdish names and not be referred to as "mountain Turks"

All of these should be a greater priority than a relative non event like Mavi Mara where the ship was clearly breaking Israeli law by entering forbidden waters and attacking unarmed Israeli soldiers.So please dont give us this nonsense of humanitarianism

4. The above is the thought process of an average person with knowledge of the region and his opinion of Turkey. You talk a great game of being objective and being a humanist but for you it is a one way street.ie others should give Turks leeway and forgive their aggressions and at the same time not even acknowledge the aggressions suffered by Armenians and Greeks because according to you that would be "just how history evolves and it is futile to address this phenomenon as right or wrong"

Stop insulting our intelligence and stop pretending to be something you are not ,we had your number from your first post itself

Regards

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