AYSE KULIN: As a Turk, I feel responsibility and pain for not finding the perpetrators of Hrant Dink’s murder.
ENVER AYSEVER: But you are not the one who is governing the State.
AK: True, but that is my feeling.
EA: Do you share that pain?
AK: Yes, I share the pain. I live in this country, I always vote, yet I am not able to solve anything. Despite being an intellectual in Turkey, I cannot help to solve any problems. I am not able to express my feelings. I didn’t exist during the massacres of the Armenians, not even my mother [was alive]. That is why I do not feel responsibility, but that is one of the shameful events of my country, Turkey.
EA: You mean that you don’t feel responsibility for the deportation of Armenians?
AK: No, I don’t feel any responsibility and I don’t believe that it was a genocide, although it was a very bad event.
EA: You don’t think that what happened was genocide?
AK: No, I do not believe that it was genocide.
EA: But Armenians…
AK: Armenians may think it was.
EA: Armenians insist that it was a genocide. They might get angry.
AK: They might. I like Armenians very much, but those were deportations during the war. It is difficult to call what happened during the war genocide. They didn’t do anything to them like the Jews. We did not butcher the Armenians without a reason.
EA: You said “we” again, but they were the Ottomans.
AK: We too are Ottomans.
EA: Do you feel that way?
AK: Of course, we are the heirs of the Ottomans.
EA: Do you feel yourself an Ottoman or their heir?
AK: No, I am a daughter of the new Turkish Republic, but my generation is different. I grew up in my Ottoman grandfather’s arms.
I wonder why she does not understand the meaning of butchering!
MAKE UP YOUR MIND. IN SEVERAL WAYS YOU DENY WHAT YOU DID, IN ANOTHER STATEMENT
YOU SAT YOU DIN’T BUTCHER FOR NOTHING. TURKEY COME TO TERMS WITH YOUR HISTORY.
ARCHIVES??? YOU DON’T HAVE ARCHIVES, YOU HAVE DESTROYED EVERYTHING.
This is what passes for an “intellectual” in Turkey these days? If so, I’d hate to see what an ignorant Turk looks like.
Another lying ugly,ugly,ugly turk..
I bet your grandfather was one of the Ottoman butchers! Another brain washed Turk!
Stifle yourself, Ayse Kulin.
And what was the reason according to her?? Since she is denying the genocide then she should have been able to give us that “reason”.
and she calls herself an intellectual?
Like ALL the Armenian Genocide Deniers, Ayse this so called “Intellectual” is confused and humiliated when trying to defend her culture of Genocide denying.
The COWARD TURKS had the KURDS to do the job,now they are doing the same to the Kurds..I noticed,the UGLY turk ,divulged,her true feelings…BUTCHERING,but she failed to mention,the jerky turks COWARDICE
Very confused, delusional and demented answers. She should seek professional help for her inner struggles.
Dear Ottoman Lady, What happened in 1915 through 1923 was a State Terrorism, nothing more and nothing less. Take care.
‘We Didn’t Butcher the Armenians without Reason.’ This sounds fascist. And it’s coming from a writer, someone who is able to “broadcast” ideas to the masses.
I guess murder of entire families, abduction of girls, torture, mutilation, rape and robbery is considered deportation to turks. what a piece of garbage.
ms intelectual one day you might find your grandmother was an abducted armenian what then
So according to her whatever happens during a war time can not be considerrd a Genocide? Oh then according to this logic also he shoah was not genocide since it took place during a war time too. And his s a Turkish intellectual? we can guess how logical could the non turkish intellectuals be then…
Dear Ayse Kulin,
As you know, The Armenian Genocide is documented by foreighn missionaries diplomats and eye witnesses, the number of the victims in the villages and the cities, on your request I will send you a copy of this documents, besides, some of the perpatrators of the Armenian genocide were sentenced to death between 1919-1920, on the Taxim square there was also a mnonument dedicated to the victims of the Armenian genocide, as you know, the Armenian young men, who were serving in the Ottoman army, they had to hand over their guns and after being cheated, they had to dig their own graves, thousand of them were burried alive, others were killed by bayonets to save bullets and others were burned into ashes, many women and children were burried into ashes in the churches, remember all these crimes are documented by Foreighners as I mentioned above. As you know, we comemorate the Armenian Genocide on 24th of April because on that day hundreds of our intellectuals were arrested, tortured and butcherd, all this crimes took place on our land, as you know, untill the year 1070 there was not a singel Turk in west Armenia, please take a look to the old maps, look for example to the visser map of the year 1657, you will see Armenia Major, Armenia Minor, Cilicia etc.
I agree with you, it was time of war, but we didn’t had an army. like I wrote above, our youth were serving in the Ottoman army where they were butcherd. I also respect you as an intellectual, I respect your freedom of speech, you said “There must have serieus reasons to butcher the Armenian race, you are totally right, you will find this reasons in one small book, the title of this book is “The auction of the souls” By Gates, the ancestors of Bill Gates (Microsoft)? If you want to do a favour to yourself, please read this book, I am sure this book will give you a clear answers and the reasons why the Armenian race was butchered, keep this big secret for yourself, after reading this simple book you will feel very peaceful, whole your life.
One more thing, when Raphael Lemkin coined the woord Genocide in 1943, the woord Genocide was and is the synonym of “The murder of a race” or “The murder of a nation” etc. To the contrary of the present Armenian Historians, I am a full supporter of a dialogue with the entire Turkish people, starting with honest rehabilitation by the Turkish people to the Armenian people for all the damages, the sufferings and the massacres committed between 1896, 1909, 1915 and put the question of the Armenian Genocide as the second topic on the agenda as a compromis and as a good will from the Armenian people.
What’s your opinion about my proposal?
Yours faithfully,
Nicolai Romashuk Hairabedian
This shows the mindset of most Turkish people, Turks have low esteem and untrustworthy, how can US trust these cowardly people if they can’t come in terms with their past, WAKE UP US, TURKY CAN’T BE TRUSTED
This lady instead of B shtng in the US, she could do a better job by going back and help Turkey to become a real Democarcy, let the people of Turkey in a Democracy judge if it was or it was not a Genocide,
Pervers and contradictory – I Quote –
EA: You said “we” again, but they were the Ottomans.
AK: We too are Ottomans.
EA: Do you feel that way?
AK: Of course, we are the heirs of the Ottomans.
AK: No, I don’t feel any responsibility and I don’t believe that it was a genocide, although it was a very bad event
Comment –
I think that every Nation uppon Earth is ruled by the Principle that,
when you inherit your Father and Grandfathers Assets – You also inherit their Depts.
This Women calls Herself and Intelletual but seems a Idiot and Fool to me.
Her Mind i certainly Perverted by a Turkish-Mongol Personality because,
She does not look like a Mongol in any way.
Arn.Sweden.
Ays kulin she don`t look like a Mongol. she declare that the Arminians been butchered for a reason but she don`t say what was the reason, and also she don`t want to call it genocide.massacres deportation butchering and killing young children men and women,trying to distroy a hall nation if is not a genocide and then what is it.
WHERE IS THE JUSTICE ?
Ayse Kulin as a Turk & writer feels responsibility &pain for not finding the perpetrators of Hrant Diink murder
as a Turk also she cannot remember that Turkish police took a happy memorabilia photo with 16 years old
Turkish murderer for killing innocent human being just the victim was Armenian.
Let us refresh memory of this Turkish writer with another incident, on the eve of 24 April Sevak balkchi has been shot & killed as usual according Turkish media explained the happening as an incident
Certainly there was a reason. Looting, plunder, violent brutality, the uprooting and eradication of a race whose territories lands and material possesion were to be transfered into turkish ownership. That is good enough reason to genocide an entire race from its ancestral territories. The war situation was an ideal and perfect scenario for such a vast enterprise. What happened to the Armenians was far worse in scale and magnitude than other ethnicides. We are not dealing with having decimated a few millions here and there; we are dealing with the utter destruction of a race in its own homeland; this is unprecedented in modern history. What would the map of Turekey look like today if the genocide had not been succesfully accomplished ?
Folks, give her a break. Remember what happened to her fellow intellect, Orhan Pamuk. She knows very well what happened. I am surprised she said this much. She can’t say the word “Genocide’ because she’ll get a bullet in the head like Hrant Dink.
It is very very disturbing that you feel that way, even though you state that you were not part of them but you use the word “we” when you refer to the Ottomans.. Who massacred A Million and a half Armenians, you may want to consult some other “intellectuals” of Turkish decent whose Grandfather was the perpetrator of the Genocide, and he apologized recently to the Armenians regarding the Genocide that the Ottoman Turks committed… There is No Getting away and No other way out! You have to own it and ask forgiveness from the Armenian people for the Atrocities committed which were very well documented! It’s time for you to stop denying!!
“We did not butcher the Armenians without a reason.” This is the very same thing that upsets me about the attitude of the stance the issue that people like Ayse Kulin and other authors or “intellectuals” of the Turkish community take on brutality that their government inflicts on people. If not the Armenians then what happened to the Greeks? And, is it enough to say if they had a reason that the acts would be ok? They are not ok. Being brutal is not ok and there was very good reason to get rid of the Armenians. Ethnic cleansing of areas isn’t unknown. And, New York Life just paid out millions in life insurance claims that Armenians held while living under Turkey. There was reason enough. Armenians held lands, they had business, they had lands with a lot of rich value. I just want to say, you haven’t paid enough in losses. You still have to pay for the genocide or whatever you want to call it for the loss of the people in my family. Sadly, though I tried hard and have no ability to recover any records, I could not find people who were alive today that knew whether our family had any stake in these life policies so I wasn’t able to retrieve the money back. She makes such poor arguments for evidence that we have in many books that show photographs of people with mass graves.
Anyone who tries to deny the genocide in any way is either a liar or a fool. But what I’m worried about is are we misinterpreting what she’s saying?
Not that it makes one bit of difference to the Armenian people or ultimately in the eyes of God, but when she says, “They didn’t do anything to them like the Jews. We did not butcher the Armenians without a reason,” is she really saying “Yeah, we killed them, but we had a reason to.”
Or is she saying “We didn’t do what the Nazis did. We didn’t murder a race without any reason, like the Germans did to the Jews.”
Actually, I think they did commit the butchery, and they haven’t even admitted it happened, much less apologized or made reparations for it.
But I think the posters here are misinterpreting her intent, trying to make it sound as if she is trying to justify the genocide. Instead, I think she’s guilty of what today’s Turks are guilty of; ignoring and trying to wallpaper over a heinous act.
Like I said, it doesn’t make any difference, but let’s excoriate her for the right reasons.