Cengiz Çandar
Less than two weeks before the centennial of the Armenian
genocide, the leader of the world's billion Catholics made remarks that
shocked the Turkish government and gave a dramatic boost to those who
believe genocide was committed in 1915.
Pope Francis offered the comments during his April 12 sermon at St. Peter’s Basilica, attended
by Armenian dignitaries including Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and
Catholicos Karekin II, the highest religious authority of the Armenian
Apostolic Church. “The first,
which is widely considered the first genocide of the 20th century,
struck your own Armenian people. Bishops and priests, religious women
and men, the elderly and even defenseless children and infirm were
murdered,” he said.
Francis also added that it is “necessary, and indeed a
duty,” to remember the Armenians killed, “for whenever memory fades, it
means that evil allows wounds to fester. Concealing or denying evil is
like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it!”
Sargsyan praised Francis in an interview with The Associated Press for “calling things by their names.”
“The words of the leader of a church with 1 billion followers cannot but have a strong impact,” Sargsyan added.
Francis’ statement on the recognition of 1915 as a
“genocide” is a political and diplomatic development of great
importance. Its importance and consequences may extend beyond the
relations between Turkey and Vatican, already scarred as Turkey
immediately summoned the papal ambassador to Ankara to express its
displeasure and later recalled its ambassador from the Vatican,
ostensibly for consultations.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu promptly
responded, in a tweet: "The pope’s statement, which is far from legal
and historical reality, cannot be accepted.” He added, “Religious
authorities are not the places to incite resentment and hatred with baseless allegations.”
The Turkish Foreign Ministry expressed “great disappointment and sadness.”
Francis had visited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Nov. 28 in Ankara, when the pontiff was in Turkey to meet Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew on Nov. 30 in Istanbul — a meeting that brought the Catholic and Orthodox churches closer together.
The pope was among the first visitors to Erdogan's “new palace” in Ankara and his visit had been interpreted by Erdogan's supporters as further international “confirmation and legitimization of Erdogan's
new status.” Therefore, his sermon on the 1915 events where he
pronounced the “G-word” constitutes a strong blow on the foreign policy
credentials of Erdogan's rule.
Renowned US political scientist and historian Walter Russell Mead wrote an assessment under the title "Does Francis Read Huntington?"
where he said, “By the standards of Vatican diplomacy, this was an
explosion. … For President Erdogan, an attack on Turkey’s ‘honor’ by the
world’s most prominent Christian leader is political catnip; it allows
him to conflate the causes of Turkish nationalism and Islamism as he
faces the fallout of an economy in trouble. In the longer run, Turkey’s
ability to come to grips with this issue remains a key indicator of
where the country is headed.”
He, rightly, observed that Francis was not only talking to
Turkey, as genocide is a topical subject in today’s Middle East and the
pope was speaking with the awareness of the spread of horrific violence
against Christians and other minorities.
Such a phenomenon brings to mind the revival of Samuel P. Huntington’s hypothesis on the “clash of civilizations.”
Turkey’s leaders, including Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, are keen to
talk on behalf of “the Muslims of the world” and in the midst of a
crucial election campaign that the political survival of each seems
jeopardized, Francis’ statement on the Armenian genocide will be
manipulated for ever-increasing Turkish nationalist discourse.
Erdogan and Davutoglu alike are already whipping up Turkish
nationalist sentiment against the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party
(HDP), which is contesting the power of the ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP). According to polls, the pope’s sermon on the
Armenian genocide will serve Erdogan and Davutoglu for both purposes
— as fuel for their Turkish nationalist discourse during the election
campaign and fuel in presenting themselves as main spokesmen for Muslims
all over the world.
Yet, Turkey’s main concern about Francis’ characterization
of 1915 as “genocide” is the impact that it may have on US President
Barack Obama. He has avoided the “G-word” that he used to pronounce
until he became president. In office, he has preferred to call it “Medz Yeghern,” which in the Armenian language means “Great Calamity.” (*) Although the term is not particularly palatable for Turkish officials, as long as the “G-word” is not pronounced by the world’s strongest leaders, they could live with it.
Francis may have set a precedent for Obama. If Obama does
not use the word, it would be embarrassing for him not to do so, because
until now both had found an exit: Francis had cited Pope John Paul II
and Obama had cited President George W. Bush.
Now, that cycle has been broken by Francis. If Obama
follows suit, the direction of the developments from the Middle East to
the Black Sea and Balkans may not be the same.
Francis' pronunciation of
the “G-word” went the extra mile — for Turkey, for the United States
and for the Muslim and Christian worlds.
"Al Monitor," April 13, 2015 (www.al-monitor.com)
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(*) Medz Yeghern does not mean "Great Calamity," "Great Catastrophe," "Great Disaster," or "Great Tragedy." It literally means "Great Crime" and is synonymous to Haygagan/Hayots Tseghasbanutiun ("Armenian Genocide") ("Armeniaca").
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