Tall Armenian Tale

 

The Other Side of the Falsified Genocide

 

  Commentary by Edward Tashji   
HOME
First Page
Background
Scenario
End-of-argument

 

SECTIONS
Quotes
Thoughts
Census
Questions
Reviews
Major Players
Letters
Cumulative
Search
Links & Misc.

Translate

COMMENT
Mahmut Ozan
Edward Tashji
Sam Weems
Others
 

 

It's tragic how many Armenians are so blinded by hatred that they prefer to live in the past, and deny themselves the joys of their roots. Not all Armenians are like that. Some Armenians prefer concentrating on their emotional attachments to the old country. These Armenians know Turkish music, food and language form as much a part of their identities as anything else, and don't appreciate being ostracized by the larger, more hateful Armenian group. They feel they are robbed of their precious past and cherished memories, and resent the domineering attitude of the other group.

I'm a big fan of Edward Tashji, who has the guts and the love to come right out and declare where he stands. In his own words, this "Armenian-American has become 'famous,' (he said with all humility), within the Turkish community, while becoming "infamous", (he said with deep regret), within the Armenian community." Also, in his words... he is : "An American born of an Armenian mother and a Syrian-Orthodox father (.) He is the younger son of parents who had been born in Ottoman Turkey, became eye-witness to the conflagration of the First World War in their beloved homeland, and as a result, their destiny brought them to the land where millions had emigrated."

 

 
We Must Respond Vociferously to Stereotypes and Hurtful Negligence!


The constraints of space precludes a lengthy description of my perspective on what we must do, and therefore, allow me to present to you, factually, what we HAVE DONE! (The dates are accurate but not significant, our reactions and the results are of extreme importance.)

I. One of America's most prestigious publications is The Reader's Digest magazine. In its may 1971 issue, we had found a lengthy article entitled: "Let's Halt Heroin At the Source," written by Mr. William Schulz. The author emphatically blames Turkey for the scourge of drug addiction in the United States; (I'm being brief, remember?) In my three-page letter of protest dated May 28, 1971 refuting many of the groundless accusations, I had submitted many facts such as the following: the growing of the poppy seed, (in Turkey), which is used in the production of heroin, was under strict government (Turkish) control, and that it was sold ONLY to pharmaceutical firms in France where the heroin was produced for medical use. We received a response from the Editor-In-Chief, Mr. Hobart Lewis, and his letter of June 6, 1971 is most interesting NOT for what he had written, hut rather for what he DID NOT write! Not one of my comments was refuted, and he made vague references to drug addiction and official meetings.

II. One of America's most renowned corporations is the Kimberly-Clark Company. In its advertising campaign. a full-page advertisement had been printed in Modern Beauty Shop magazine, dated February, 1974. In its attempt to publicize its paper products, the following words are seen: "Don't let this terrible turk, (small t), take from your till..." "Get rid of that 'profit robbing' Turk (capital T)". There appear two images: one is of a bizarre-looking man with a large towel around his head, an ugly moustache, and an expression which can be described only as grotesque. The
second image is of a drawing of a mosque with minarets on either side. (This despicable "advertisement" had been shown in The Turkish Times of June 15,1993.) To my two letters of vehement protestation of March, 1974 — I had received the following two responses: (shown in part) "...I must confess, (sad to say, after the fact), that you had a right to be offended..." — "...and unfortunately, (we) overlooked the implications the ad would have for the Turkish people..." signed by Mr. Kenneth A. Grogan, Vice President-Publisher, of the magazine mentioned above. The second reply: "...we are canceling future production of this advertisement as quickly as we can. Your letter, Mr. Tashji, has taught us to be more sensitive to peoples' feelings of justifiable pride about their culture and history..."; signed by Mr. M. C. Sacher, Marketing Manager for Kimberly-Clark Corporation. I am certain that the compassionate Turkish heart will forgive them, but I CAN NOT and WILL NOT!

III. In the front-page headline of the New York Post, dated February 27, 1991, we read: "ALLIES TAKE KUWAIT', surrounded by the flags and names of the 35 nations which had formed the United Nations Coalition against Iraqi aggression. Would you believe the flag of one nation was "overlooked"? First, I pick up the telephone and reveal my protest; then I write a letter to the Editor with this opening sentence: "It is an outrage!!..." The very nexy day, the Post entered a picture of the Turkish flag and beneath it stated: "Missing flag — The Turkish flag was inadvertently omitted from the Post's Page One yesterday. We regret the oversight" What I was mumbling to myself cannot be printed here, but the tollowing day I had sent a letter of appreciation; (you see. I can be nice also.)

IV. In the issue of Newsweek Magazine, dated March 18, 1991 —a full page color advertisement states:
"Thanks America and the Global Family of Nations," with the flags and the names of the nations which had participated in the Persian Gulf War. The ad had been sponsored by the Government of Kuwait. Need I tell you which one country was NOT mentioned?? As politely as I could, in my letter of March 13, 1991 — to the United Nations Ambassador of Kuwait, I reminded the gentleman of Turkey's immediate action against Iraq, and that the Turkish-American community was bewildered by the omission. In his response of March 22, 1991, (he replied quickly didn't he?), His Excellency Ambassador Mohammad A. Abulhasam, Kuwait's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, wrote in part, "I would like to reassure you that such (an) unfortunate oversight...is truly regrettable. I would like to seize the opportunity and renew the gratitude and thankfulness of the Government and people of Kuwait toward the Government and people of Turkey for their outstanding support and participation in the liberation of Kuwait,..". This was followed by my letter of gratitude.

V. Another advertisement, this time a television commercial. As I had been the Public Affairs Director of the Federation of Turkish-American Associations, Inc., on May 7, 1993 — I had phoned the executive offices of the Miller Brewing Company, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to register my emphatic protest for a T.V. commercial which had been shown in several southern states, that was degrading to the Turkish people. Within FOUR HOURS, I had received a call from the Vice-President of Corporate Affairs for the Miller Brewing Company, Mr. Richard Klemp, apologizing to the Turkish people and adding: "...That particular ad.. was pulled from the air..." In FOUR HOURS a fax followed and its apologetic content was repeated in a formal letter.

We have other examples in which a prompt and effective response has resulted in proper recognition and respect of the Turkish people. NO subject is to be considered insignificant when it pertains to the Turkish people or the Turkish Nation. If you would like to read my other examples, just ask please; until then, our work continues...


Edward Tashji

I am Called: "Turk Dostu" — A "Friend of Turks"

The Turkish Times

 

 

 


 Related:

A Tashji letter, critical of NBC... featured in a Mahmut Ozan essay

 

  

 

ARTICLES
Analyses
"West" Accounts
Historical
Academic
Crimes
Terrorists
Politics
Jewish
Miscellaneous
Reference

 

REBUTTAL
Armenian Views
Geno. Scholars

 

MEDIA
General
Turks in Movies
Turks in TV

 

ABOUT
This Site
Holdwater
  ©  



THE PURPOSE OF TALL ARMENIAN TALE (TAT)
...Is to expose the mythological “Armenian genocide,” from the years 1915-16. A wartime tragedy involving the losses of so many has been turned into a politicized story of “exclusive victimhood,” and because of the prevailing prejudice against Turks, along with Turkish indifference, those in the world, particularly in the West, have been quick to accept these terribly defamatory claims involving the worst crime against humanity. Few stop to investigate below the surface that those regarded as the innocent victims, the Armenians, while seeking to establish an independent state, have been the ones to commit systematic ethnic cleansing against those who did not fit into their racial/religious ideal: Muslims, Jews, and even fellow Armenians who had converted to Islam. Criminals as Dro, Antranik, Keri, Armen Garo and Soghoman Tehlirian (the assassin of Talat Pasha, one of the three Young Turk leaders, along with Enver and Jemal) contributed toward the deaths (via massacres, atrocities, and forced deportation) of countless innocents, numbering over half a million. What determines genocide is not the number of casualties or the cruelty of the persecutions, but the intent to destroy a group, the members of which are guilty of nothing beyond being members of that group. The Armenians suffered their fate of resettlement not for their ethnicity, having co-existed and prospered in the Ottoman Empire for centuries, but because they rebelled against their dying Ottoman nation during WWI (World War I); a rebellion that even their leaders of the period, such as Boghos Nubar and Hovhannes Katchaznouni, have admitted. Yet the hypocritical world rarely bothers to look beneath the surface, not only because of anti-Turkish prejudice, but because of Armenian wealth and intimidation tactics. As a result, these libelous lies, sometimes belonging in the category of “genocide studies,” have become part of the school curricula of many regions. Armenian scholars such as Vahakn Dadrian, Peter Balakian, Richard Hovannisian, Dennis Papazian and Levon Marashlian have been known to dishonestly present only one side of their story, as long as their genocide becomes affirmed. They have enlisted the help of "genocide scholars," such as Roger Smith, Robert Melson, Samantha Power, and Israel Charny… and particularly  those of Turkish extraction, such as Taner Akcam and Fatma Muge Gocek, who justify their alliance with those who actively work to harm the interests of their native country, with the claim that such efforts will help make Turkey more" democratic." On the other side of this coin are genuine scholars who consider all the relevant data, as true scholars have a duty to do, such as Justin McCarthy, Bernard Lewis, Heath Lowry, Erich Feigl and Guenter Lewy. The unscrupulous genocide industry, not having the facts on its side, makes a practice of attacking the messenger instead of the message, vilifying these professors as “deniers” and "agents of the Turkish government." The truth means so little to the pro-genocide believers, some even resort to the forgeries of the Naim-Andonian telegrams or sources  based on false evidence, as Franz Werfel’s The Forty Days of Musa Dagh. Naturally, there is no end to the hearsay "evidence" of the prejudiced pro-Christian people from the period, including missionaries and Near East Relief representatives, Arnold Toynbee, Lord Bryce, Lloyd George, Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, and so many others. When the rare Westerner opted to look at the issues objectively, such as Admirals Mark Bristol and Colby Chester, they were quick to be branded as “Turcophiles” by the propagandists. The sad thing is, even those who don’t consider themselves as bigots are quick to accept the deceptive claims of Armenian propaganda, because deep down people feel the Turks are natural killers and during times when Turks were victims, they do not rate as equal and deserving human beings. This is the main reason why the myth of this genocide has become the common wisdom.