The Cop-Out Argument

Despite all these cop-outs and cautionary advice pressure on Turkey pays off. Turkey cannot go on defying world public opinion with impunity, although the Turkish foreign minister continues warning that Turkey cannot be intimidated to give in and back away from its position.

The proof of the pudding is in its eating. A case in point is the visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who went to Turkey to drive home her position on Turkey’s future relationship with the European Union. She maintains, as some other European leaders do, that Turkey should not be accorded full EU membership but must have a “privileged partnership,” which Ankara refuses adamantly. But Turkey cannot intimidate, alienate or drop Germany, its major trading partner and a huge source of income from the 3-million-strong Turkish community in Germany (although a nuisance for the Europeans).

Also threats against France did not materialize when that country’s parliament adopted the Armenian Genocide resolution.

As countries, one after another, consider or adopt Genocide resolutions, such as Sweden, US Foreign Affairs Committee, Catalonia in Spain, Bulgaria, Serbia, Israel and Great Britain, Turkish leaders will sober up, especially when the international momentum of the avalanche gives more ammunition to domestic Turkish voices that Turkey has to come to terms with its history.

Recently, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was threatening to expel 100,000 migrant workers from Armenia. Today, not only has he retracted his threat, but he is also considering a very controversial educational issue. Indeed, Turkey had banned the children of migrant Armenians from attending any schools. Now the government is considering the lifting of that ban.

It is ironic that Erdogan himself is asking the German government to open more Turkish schools on German soil for Turkish migrants, yet he bans schooling for migrants in his own country.

On the other hand, he has invited Armenian community leaders to resolve some of the artificially-created outstanding issues. Deputy Prime Minister Arinc who was with the prime minister at the said meeting, has promised to return more confiscated community assets, in addition to eight pieces of real estate recently returned to the community.

Still another public relations good-will gesture is the announcement that the government will open up the Holy Cross Akhtamar Church for religious services, albeit once a year.

Certainly, the “60 Minutes” episode featuring the Ecumenical Greek Patriarch Bartholomew and the Armenian Genocide impacted on the Turkish leaders’ thinking.

The late Patriarch of Istanbul had a saying: “Turks are like wolves, when you run away, they attack you; when you attack them, they will run away.”

These words of wisdom have to be served to all the cop-out apologists. If Turkey will become a member of the civilized family of nations, it has to abide by its rules.

The truth should not scare Turks. It can only educate them — and also the cop-out philosophers.