By Naira Hayrumyan
YEREVAN (ArmeniaNow) — After the surprise announcement by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who apologized for the massacre of Kurds in Dersim in 1937 to 39, when, according to official figures, 13,000 were killed, a question arose about the next step. First of all, will this be limited to an apology, or will there be some reparations to the Kurds for their material losses, and secondly, will the Turkish prime minister also apologize to the Armenians for the 1915 Genocide?
Apparently, Turkey feels very uncomfortable because of international pressure and by taking “preventive” steps, is trying to shift the issue from the material-territorial plane into the moral dimension. Any hope of an apology to Armenia has always been colored by whether Genocide survivors would demand a return of their lands.
Armenia has repeatedly stated that it has no territorial claims against Turkey. At the same time, the government of Armenia does not recognize the current borders of Turkey. And, for decades, the Armenian Diaspora has pushed for international recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the fact that the Turkish Republic was built through the extermination of the indigenous population. And this could call into question the legal basis of Turkey’s territorial integrity.
Presumably, the Turkish government is preparing some kind of gesture timed to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, although it is hard to predict anything now. This opinion was expressed by Turkish historian, professor of the Clark University in the United States, prominent scholar Taner Akçam.