By Varant Meguerditchian

Much has been written about the pitfalls of the Armenia-Turkey Protocols and how they could potentially, yet fundamentally alter the course of Armenia's future and ultimately endanger the rights of Armenians throughout the world.

Signed late last year, but yet to be ratified by the respective parliaments of Turkey and Armenia, the Protocols still remain a source of discontent amongst the overwhelming majority of Armenians in Armenia and the diaspora.

The Protocols, which according to some Western sources are designed to normalise relations between Armenia and Turkey, instead put at risk Armenia's national objectives and reward Turkey; the unrepentant perpetrator of genocide.

Among the concerns raised by Armenians was the issue of placing international recognition of the Armenian Genocide in jeopardy, due to the formation of a sub-commission which would study the events of 1915 before determining the veracity of that tragedy. This was seen by Armenians as a ploy by Turkey to create a vehicle to deny, distort and dispute the historical reality of the Armenian Genocide and in so doing, ultimately remove genocide recognition from the political and legal international arena.

Considering Turkey's track record in the denial of the Armenian Genocide, these concerns were warranted. Immediately after the signing of the Protocols, Turkey claimed a diplomatic victory when Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu invited historians 'to discuss and study the events of 1915', and in chorus declared that the Armenian diaspora should abandon efforts to have the international community affirm the historical reality of the Armenian Genocide.

Guest of the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee of Australia this year, Political Analyst and Lawyer Mr. Seto Boyadjian, remarked at the time of the signing that the Protocols represented a black day in the history of the Armenian people. Having served as the Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America in the 1990s, Boyadjian suggested that amongst other concerns, the Protocols would hinder efforts to have the United States of America join the list of nations that have come to recognise the Armenian Genocide as crime against humanity.

In order to determine whether Boyadjian's comments were legitimate, we must look at the denialist tactics utilised by Turkey over the past 95 years to distort reality, as well as the arguments presented by the Armenian National Committee to overcome these.

Without delving into the intricacies of denial, we see that the primitive basic Turkish government argument alleged: that less than the actual 1.5million Armenians died; that the real numbers were between 300,000 and 600,000; that the Armenians rebelled against the Ottoman forces and sided with the invading Russians; that there were deaths on both sides; and that there was no intent to murder Armenians, thus what happened cannot be labelled genocide.

To which, the Armenian National Committee responded with; the affirmation that the number of deaths has been evidenced with scholarly study but should in no way be a determinant of genocide in any case; that the Armenians did not rebel but rather developed methods of defending their livelihood against persecution; that Armenian soldiers served with Ottoman forces as citizens of the Ottoman empire; that Turkish and international sources sight the Ottoman Turkish government's intent to annihilate Armenians; and that Polish jurist Raphael Lemkin, when coining the term genocide in 1944, cited the Turkish extermination of the Armenians as the defining example of what he meant by genocide.

But in recent times, the Turkish denialist government has become more sophisticated in its methods of denial. Davutoglu, in a CNN interview recently, emphasised the significant trade and military partnerships Turkey held with foreign governments, and claimed that the issues of 1915 should not be discussed otherwise relationships with Turkey could be placed in jeopardy. Instead, he suggested that the issue be discussed between Armenia and Turkey alone, away from the international spotlight.

Turkey's ingenuine approach was later exposed, when individuals in Turkey continued to be prosecuted under Article 301 of the Turkish penal code. Defined as insulting 'Turkishness', the Article considers discussion of the Armenian Genocide an offence punishable with a prison sentence. As a consequence, foreign governments became fully aware that open and honest debate of the Armenian Genocide was restricted in Turkey.

With little room to maneuver, and on the verge of having the most powerful legislative body in the world in the government of the United States of America, recognise the events of 1915 as the Armenian Genocide, President Gul and Turkey were given one more opportunity to deny. This was achieved by claiming that the historical differences between Armenia and Turkey would be resolved scientifically by a sub-commission in accordance with the stipulations of the Protocols.

In the face of these Protocols, the most recent obstacle placed in the path of genocide recognition, the diaspora came to life. If advocacy for recognition was already at a peak before the Protocols, it definitely rose to additional prominence thereafter. In spite of the signing of the Protocols, the Armenian people recently registered a number of significant political victories.

First, Armenia's Constitutional Court ruled that the Protocols did not violate the constitution, adding that the normalisation of relations with Turkey could not be linked with a resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, nor impede Armenia from attaining international recognition of the Armenian Genocide as predetermined in the Republic of Armenia Constitution.

Earlier this month, the US House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a resolution recognising and condemning the Armenian Genocide and recommending that the Congress do the same. According to Boyadjian, this was a tremendous victory because it was a pure and simple fight between the Republic of Turkey and the Americans of Armenian descent. However, he did note that a similar resolution had been passed with more votes for, by the same Committee in 2007. In the most recent vote, he attributed the loss of three votes to Turkish lobbying and the introduction of the Protocols.

Then, just last week, the Rikstag, or Swedish Parliament, passed a resolution which mandates Sweden to officially describe the large-scale murders of Armenians and other ethnic groups in Turkey in the early years of the last century as genocide. However, this did later lead to a recognition regress when Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt stated that the resolution could potentially harm the Protocols and tried to appease Turkey.

Following these triumphs in advocacy, Australia too played its role on the world stage when for the first time in any Parliamentary sitting week, three Members of Federal Parliament spoke about the Armenian Genocide in the House of Representatives and called for recognition of this crime against humanity.

Most significantly and in response to the threat by Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan to deport working Armenians from Turkey, his Armenian counterpart, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan stated that deportation was a reminder of 1915 and that Turkish-Armenian reconciliation would ultimately improve only when Turkey recognised the historical reality of the Armenian Genocide.

The importance of this statement must not be underestimated. It represents the first time that the head of the government in Armenia made a direct call for Turkey to accept responsibility for the Armenian Genocide.

At this critical moment in the history of the Armenian people and in light of the Protocols, Armenians still seem to be exposing Turkey's denial while gaining recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

To discuss the current political obstacles faced by Armenians in the struggle for universal recognition of the Armenian Genocide, join lead Political Analyst, Mr Seto Boyadjian, myself and a select group of panellists at the AYF Australia Panel Discussion, Recognition in light of Protocols.

CLICK HERE FOR PANEL FLYER

Varant Meguerditchian - President of the Armenian National Committee of Australia