Debates

Review Forum on my book: Young Turks’ Crime Against Humanity: Margaret Lavinia Anderson, Michael Reynolds, Hans-Lukas Kieser, Peter Balakian and A. Dirk Moses

.REVIEW FORUM_on_YOUNG_TURKS_CRIME_AGAINST_HUMANITY_ JOURNAL_of_Genocide_Research_December_2013 Review Forum on my book: The Young Turks’ Crime Against Humanity. There are 5 reviews of my book written by Margaret Lavinia Anderson, Michael Reynolds, Hans-Lukas Kieser, Peter Balakian and A. Dirk Moses with my response to them: published online: 09 Dec 2013

The Torossian Debates: What’s Ended

As far as this debate goes, let’s accept that the Torossian debates have come to an end with my piece that was published in T24. I showed without question that there was an Armenian officer named Sarkis Torossian and that he fought for the Ottoman Army. Even if his memoir contained information that was exaggerated or wrong in places, in the end he was telling us about his own life and that much of this story should be considered finished. Still, it seems like there is just one issue left over from the first stage of the debate. In a […]

The Captain Torossian Debates: A Tacit Agreement Over Silence

“A while ago, a very violent attack had been organized against one of our locations in Gapatepe [Kabatepe]. [Enemy soldiers] had attacked with such ferocity that after the attack the area between the casements had filled with Turkish corpses. It had been the most courageous attempt by the enemy to tear open the Australian and New Zealand lines. Some of the attackers had come as close as the casements that were being protected by the Victoria units; but our soldiers just disarmed this brave enemy and took them as prisoners. Later on we learned that the attack had been by […]

Where do I stand in the Torosyan debates?

Originally Published in Turkish in Taraf on December 24, 2012 (Translated by Fatima Sakarya) Torosyan and Cleaning House or Where do I stand in the Torosyan debates? When the late Turgut Őzal was asked if there was a difference between Turkey and Europe in the culture of violence, he had answered, paraphrasing, “Of course there is! When a car accident occurs in Europe, the drivers step out and exchange IDs and insurance information. With us the drivers step out and start beating up on each other.” The debate over Lieutenant Sarkis Torosyan’s memoir that Ayhan Aktar produced for publication reminds […]

Where do I stand in the Torosyan debates?

Originally Published in Turkish in Taraf on December 24, 2012 (Translated by Fatima Sakarya) Torosyan and Cleaning House or Where do I stand in the Torosyan debates? When the late Turgut Őzal was asked if there was a difference between Turkey and Europe in the culture of violence, he had answered, paraphrasing, “Of course there is! When a car accident occurs in Europe, the drivers step out and exchange IDs and insurance information. With us the drivers step out and start beating up on each other.” The debate over Lieutenant Sarkis Torosyan’s memoir that Ayhan Aktar produced for publication reminds […]

Sarkis Torossian Debate

Could an Armenian solider have served as a lieutenant in the Ottoman Army at Gallipoli during World War I? That question is at the center of a lively debate in the Turkish media. According to his memoir, Sarkis Torossian was a graduate of the Military College and a decorated Ottoman officer who served at multiple fronts. Learning that his parents and sister were deported and died in the Armenian Genocide, Torossian changed allegiance. He joined the Arab rebellion in Palestine and Syria and fought with a French battalion against Kemalist forces in Cilicia. Torossian immigrated to the United States in […]