WHAT?S WRONG WITH SAYING ?WE ARE ALL ARMENIANS??

Last night a friend forwarded me a sarcastic e-mail. It was a fabricated public invitation to a funeral for a transvestite, Cansu, who was supposedly killed on the streets of Istanbul. They were calling everyone to shout “We are all Cansu’s, we are all homosexuals.” Can you imagine tens of thousands of masculine Turks doing that? I like the way the Turkish mind works, especially when it comes to jokes. There are Turkish jokes that could kill you from laughing. On the other hand, there are facts of life in Turkey that might literally kill you. At times it can be very difficult to communicate with the Turkish public. Some of us made a big issue out of the chanting of “We are all Hrant’s, we are all Armenians” during Hrant Dink’s funeral. But I still don’t get what’s wrong with saying that.

Dink’s funeral has become an international litmus test for Turkey. We passed it with the peaceful attendance of huge crowds. But we later lost much of the credit gained by that as a result of the disputes over the slogan. Politicians have repeatedly been asked about it. Unfortunately most responses were disappointing. They have chosen to shy away from it probably due to fear of a political backlash.

Was it okay to say “We are all Armenians” when an Armenian citizen of Turkey was killed mainly due to his ethnic origin and conciliatory views? To me, yes. Yet an obvious sign and gesture of sympathy on the part of funeral organizers was turned into a fierce debate.

Everybody knows that the French are generally not in love with Americans, and they are extremely proud to be French. But following the attacks of Sept. 11 the front page of country’s prominent newspaper Le Monde read “We are all Americans.” Did that mean that the French had suddenly discovered American roots? Or was it an elegant way of saying “We feel your pain as if we are also Americans”?

I wonder if Turks who object to other Turks saying “We are all Armenians” in the wake of a hate crime are unable to comprehend such civilized gestures. Or they are simply mad at seeing some Turks actually feel pain for a murdered Armenian? Or are they fearful the statement could be used as evidence by the Armenian lobby to claim Turkish land because we finally “confess” we are all Armenians?

Isn’t it such unsubstantiated fears, prejudices and ignorance that have inflicted great damage to our nation for such a long time? How many more civil wars should we engage in to finally respect our differences and embrace the “other”? When are we going to give up othering at all?

One of the instigators of Dink’s murder, Yasin Hayal, was so full of hatred towards minorities that the police have reportedly asked him whether he was aware of Sultan Mehmet’s 1478 decree to protect Christian priests in Bosnia. “I didn’t know that,” the young man responded. Well, it was too late for Dink… Ironically, main plotters are from Trabzon, a city where another great intellectually able and tolerant Ottoman sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, was born and educated.

The main cure of excessive othering is free thinking which could best be gained through better civic and social education. Ignorance is the breeding ground for hate and bigotry. Our textbooks, starting with the elementary level, should emphasize the diverse nature of our nation’s tradition. History education should not be reduced to tales of armed conflicts. Instead, a deliberate effort should be made to acknowledge the contributions of non-Muslim and non-Turkish elements in our early and modern history.

The fact that a challenging slogan like “We are all Armenians” was possible to be put out and approved by millions of Turks proves democracy and freedoms in Turkey have come a considerable way. But widespread displeasure also hints we still have a long way to go.