YEREVAN (ArmRadio)—“Genocide means not only the extermination of the nation, but also its generations, culture, traditions, cities and villages, and this is what happened in Turkey,” famous Turkish publisher and activist Ragip Zarakolu told reporters in Yerevan on Wednesday. Zarakolu is in Armenia to present the launch of the Turkish edition of “Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey: Testimonies of the Survivors,” a book published by his firm.
In 2012, Zarakolu’s Van Publishing House issued the three-volume work titled “Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey: Testimonies of the Survivors,” which presents eyewitness accounts of the Genocide, valuable archival documents, maps, and photos. In 2013 the book was published in English, and now it’s available in Turkish, as well.
“I was greatly excited by the content of this book, because it includes interviews made in 1916; that is, immediately after the Genocide. This is a very valuable document against Turkish denialism,” Zarakolu said.
“This is denialism: once you lie, you have to do that constantly. This is Turkey’s policy, which I have long been fighting against,” he said.
Zarakolu and his wife have been persecuted in Turkey because of their activity. He has published a number of books on the Armenian Genocide, and this one will come to enrich the list of banned literature in Turkey. “Thanks God there is Internet, and the book will reach the reader,” the publisher said.
Zarakolu said much has changed in Turkey over the past years. “People are tired of lies, they want the truth,” he said.
Ragip Zarakolu referred to Turkish Prime Minister Regep Tayyip Erdogan’s address to the Armenian people on the eve of April 24 and Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian’s invitation to the Turkish leader to visit Yerevan on the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. He also spoke about the recent article by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, in which the latter notes that “unjust memory has been created around the events of 1915.”
“Davutoglu’s scales are wrong,” the publisher said. “If we look at the period from 1915 to nowadays, we’ll see that two million Armenians living in Western Armenia do not live there anymore. Had there been no genocide, there would be 8-10 million Armenians living there.”
10 million Armenian only in western Armenia eastern not included imagne our population. stil its not to late to rise again
Honest and outspoken Turks like Mr. Zakarolou could prove to be more reliable partners than the Russians. I hope I live to see the day when a generation of Zakarolou’s challenge their government on the genocide, and finally establish relations with Armenia. This would give as an exit to the outside world and give us more chips to bargain with, especially in terms of Armenia’s slave-master relationship with Russia.
Mr.Zarakolu a righteous Turkish gentleman!
People already now the “truth”. Besides, ordinary people don’t count in this world, people with power are the real power brokers, therefore, there must be some kind of incentive for those ‘people’.. Otherwise nothing is going to change anytime soon.
*know
Every country has a History, past decades and even centuries. Turkey and the Armenian Genocide will not be an exception. Every country in its past had good and bad things in their History.
My late father told me about his past. He was four years old, when he saw the Turkish soldiers filled the church with Armenians and pour the fuel on the door and set the fire. As my pregnant mother was crying as well as me, the Turkish soldier came to us, he opened my mother’s belly with his sword and killed my mother and the baby. Then he grabbed me and hit my back with his dagger, and threw me on the ground. I kept crying. He came back and did the same again. And I did not die and kept crying. He came back and hit me with his dagger the third time and threw me to the ground. I kept crying. As he came back to pick me up, there was an old man who picked me up and sent the soldier away, saying that the kid is almost dead, what do you need more? Then he rushed me to the American Hospital about 800 feet away. Then later, my uncles found me and we joined the Deportation.
Truth is there… there and endless truths
My stories, my books, my poems… all are proves
plus others’ …others’…others’
Photos of Wagner …
Books of Henry Morgenthau…the ambassador…
Definition of genocide by honest lawyer Lemkin…
Ask your self why Tehlerian will kill the butcher Talaat …
And call himself, “I killed but I’m not a killer”
Every Turks knows it but they don’t want to confess…
They think they are angels…
They don’t say, that “our genes filled with killings” …
We never carried a flag ‘Singing Peace’
But only scimitars to kill, confiscate, rape and live
Since your late grandfathers arrived a millennium before
Transforming ‘Armenian Highland’ to heaps of skeletons blood…
still seen in desert Der Zor
You the new generation of Seljuk-Ottoman’s-Turks
I tell you …
Open your ground and all is there …
You can easily find Armenians’ DNA
Bones can’t turn to oil and melt in the sands…
AWAKE & CONFESS your criminal acts
The last Martyr was honest Hrant Dink…
Can you forget such a peaceful flying bird
You shot him by your cruel gun …
Can’t you ask your self… WHY…WHY…WHY…???
Shame on your genes and your cyanosed blood…
AWAKE …CONFESS…CLEAR YOU GULTS
What your grandfathers did no race has done…!
Sylva~MD~Poetry
Written Instantly
July 3, 2014
ISNT IT AMAZING….ONE HONEST turk,OUT OF MILLIONS……
How to deal with totalitarianism, tyrant and denialist who exercise cover up Genocide? They do leave deep scars in any nation that experiences, and history may be helpful in showing results and effects of these criminal act. What is not appreciative in people is the erogans and indifference attitudes people take, there is a call for healing for the victim and victimizer in due time. Ragib Zarakoglu has dedicated his life in the millions of Armenina victims resulting from this dark periods of Armenian History a death of nation as a result of acts of Genicide. His works and efforts may not a benefit only to the victims but also the victimizers. There should time for healing, and any good efforts will do the job.