A Shameful Act, The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility
rick murphy
http://www.historyoftruth.com/authors/a-shameful-act-the-armenian-genocide-and-the-question-of--turkish-responsibility-805.html
A Shameful Act, The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish
Responsibility
Thursday, 31 July 2008
Book Review
By Taner Akcam, 2006
Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt and Company, 175 Fifth Avenue, NY
The author, Taner Akcam, is a Turkish and a German citizen. He was
born in Ardahan in 1953, in eastern Anatolia, whose father was a very
respected educator and writer, Dursun Akcam, who died several years
ago and buried without Taner Akcam being present at his funeral. A
Cultural Center established in Dursun Akcam’s name in Ardahan was also
inaugurated a few years ago, again without Taner Akcam being present
during the ceremonies. So much for the author’s relation with his
family. He studied at the respected Middle East Technical University
in Ankara but fled Turkey while in prison due to his subversive
activities. So much for his love of his country. After getting a PhD
in Germany, he was hired by the University of Minnesota where he still
teaches at the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies together with
other self declared genocide scholars, to the surprise of many who
know the background of Taner Akcam.
In the acknowledgements section of the book, Taner Akcam states that
the origin of his book go back to his Ph.D. thesis at the University
of Hanover in Germany in 1995. He gives special thanks to his mentors,
Professor Vahan Dadrian and Professor Peter Gleichmann and much of the
material referenced in the book has been put at his disposal by
Professor Dadrian, who is known for the misinformation on the subject.
The author states that the English version is a revised edition of his
book published in 1999, Insan Haklari ve Ermeni Sorunu (Human Rights
and the Armenian Question), which the author states is a revised and
expanded version of his thesis. And what is his thesis: The Ottoman
Turks deliberately committed genocide, which is disputed by many
scholars from different countries and Turkey and the case has never
been proved in a court. Therefore, Akcam’s thesis is nothing more than
his personal vendetta which meets Zoryan institute’s goals, the
organization responsible for the English translation and probably free
distribution to libraries across America, where I also borrowed the
480 page book, surprised that a library in a small town, Flemington,
but famous for the “Lindberg Kidnapping Trial”, has a copy.
The book consists of basically 3 sections, with each section heading
referring to the Armenian genocide and 10 chapters. There are long
explanations on the state of the Ottoman Empire and its non-muslim
populations, going back to 1829 when Greece gained their independence.
One of his main goals is to discredit those who have argued that most
Armenians lived in peace wherever they were without stating that the
conflict arose when Armenian committees began their revolt to
establish a state of their own on lands where they were not the
majority. Akcam mentions the battles that the Ottoman Empire fought in
the Caucusus, the Middle East and Gallipoli, but reciting never ending
explanation as if the fight was only against the Armenians with the
purpose of their total annihiliation, for no purpose other than
cleansing Anatolia of all Christians as a result of the Balkan wars.
The book is essentially about the party in power during the war, the
Committee of Union and Progress (the CUP), with incredible stories on
who said what to who, and when, with reference to over 1809 notes for
the 10 chapters, a difficult task to follow and cumbersome to read.
Akcam makes reference to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk several times, even
noting that the British called him "Blondie", something this writer
never heard of before. Akcam also makes references to the trials and
execution of those who did not took proper care of the people during
the relocation who are described as being responsible for the
genocide. There is also a map of Turkey which is noted as being based
on a map of the Armenian genocide by Ara Sarafin, Gomidas institute,
2005. There is no separate List of References.
There is very little about the uprisings of the Armenians, but claims
of organized massacre of Armenians carried out in Zeytun, Trabzon,
Erzurum, Bitlis, Van, Harput, Diyarbakir, Sivas and Cukurova. On the
Van uprisings, Akcam states that it deserves to be examined separately
and what really happened has yet to be researched throughly. For the
benefit of the readers, a review of a book “The Armenian Rebellion at
Van,” by Prof. Dr. Justin McCharthy, an American professor, is given
below. In close to 100 pages of notes for the 10 chapters of the book,
there is not a single reference to Justin McCharty, who has written
many books and articles on the Armenian issue, including "The First
Shot" that provides information on who started the killings and who is
responsible for the tragedy.
Akcam makes reference to Hovhannes Kachaznuni only once (p.198), the
first president of independent Armenia and several times the leader of
the Dashnak Party, who states that “despite the Dashnak congress’s
decision to support the Ottoman regime, inevitabley some Armenians
would refuse.” That is all. Again, for the benefit of ther readers, an
excerpt from www.tallarmeniantale.com on Katchaznouni, and his book,
"Dashnagzoutiun Has Nothing to do Anymore”, as reported by Mehmet
Perincek, is provided below.
Among the many reader reviews in the amazon.com, the one from
"Booklist - a publication of American Library Association" states that
Akcam's book is a companion to Peter Balakian's Burning Tigris (2003),
which is debatable since Balakian's book is full of distorted and
fabricated stories, some of which are attributed to Consular reports,
just like the Akcam book which makes extensive references to
Ambassador Morgenthau's Story, a not so reliable source as has been
shown by many researchers.
Nothing that the Turks and their supporters write, publish or state
will ever change the Armenian’s view of the conflict as a mythical
genocide which they believe took place by reading hundreds and
thousands of books with falsified and fabricated information,
including the consular reports that found its way into Ambassadorial
books. This book will also serve their purposes very well. Therefore,
Turks and their supporters everywhere should make every effort to
disseminate the truth to Americans by every means and perhaps call on
to the United Nations to hold a conference on the Armenian issue to
enlighten everyone involved.
Yuksel Oktay
New Jersey
24 November 2007