European Hypocrisy on Free Speech

1. Laws Preventing Free Speech In Switzerland and France
2. European Responsibility In Ottoman-Armenian Conflicts
3. Mastering Anti-Turkism and Propaganda
4. Ulterior Motives of Governments to Pass Genocide Resolutions and Oppressing Free Speech
5. Forcing Genocide Belief Through Legislation Rather Than Courts

European Hypocrisy is a double standard on the founding democratic principals that European nations were founded upon. It is the suppression of certain view points because of the lack of knowledge of the view points. How does one value the free speech of one over the free speech of another? Will the European Human Rights Court fix the suppression of freedom in Switzerland and France?

Laws Preventing Free Speech In Switzerland and France

Both Switzerland and France have passed laws that prohibit any academic discussion or dispute amongst academics who study the Armenian Genocide debate. Although, many reputable and world-renown scholars disagree with the classification of these events as genocide, it seems that silencing the opposition has become the norm.

Of course, there are ulterior motives for passing such laws in various Western countries. For France, it is the perfect method to wash their hands off of having colluded with Armenian Revolutionaries in their rebellion against the Ottoman Empire.

For Switzerland, it is a great way to detract international attention away from the Swiss-Nazi Collaboration of the Second World War. The act of having stashed away possibly billions of dollars belonging to the Holocaust victims in the very civilized banks of this “neutral” country is a formidable one to hide. <1>

In Switzerland, any denial of an "accepted" genocide is prohibited under a racial discrimination law of 1995. Doğu Perinçek, head of the leftist Worker’s Party of the Republic of Turkey, was convicted under this law for calling the Armenian Genocide an "Imperialist Lie". The Armenian Diaspora has welcomed the decision as setting a precedent for similar cases in the future. Twelve others were previously tried under similar laws and finally acquitted in 2001. Mr. Perinçek is planning to appeal the case to the European Court of Human Rights. <2>

French lawmakers have also approved a bill, if made into law, would curb freedom of speech of Turkish people and effectively prevent them from telling the Turkish narrative. The bill passed without the majority of lawmakers participating in the vote. <3>

Given the hypocritical attitudes of European countries regarding Turkey as well as their opposition of the country’s possible accession to the European Union, it is not surprising that these countries would take an anti-Turkish stance in such a disputed historical tragedy that ironically remains a European responsibility.
European Responsibility In Ottoman-Armenian Conflicts

European nations who were part of the Allied Powers that invaded the Ottoman Territory during World War I have refused to take any responsibility regarding Ottoman-Armenian Conflicts, while knowing very clearly that it was a result of their "divide and conquer" policies that were strategically designed to partition the Ottoman Empire and take control of the oil resources of the Middle East.

Provoking various ethnicities to rebel against the Ottoman Empire as well as against each other was not limited to Armenian rebellions, but includes many other groups within the vast geography of the Ottoman Empire surrounding the Balkans as well as the Middle East.

The invasion of Iraq today and the current sectarian violence as well as infighting can be traced back to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and what the Western powers have done in the Middle East starting with the 19th century in order to awaken the ultra-nationalist feelings of various sectarian and ethnic as well as religious groups. Securing the oil and energy resources of the region became a priority after the 1908 discovery of vast oil reserves.

During its golden period, Ottoman Empire was the most civilized of its time in terms of housing peoples of many ethnicities and religious minorities within its ecosystem. Although it was an empire that conquered a lot of places before its collapse, given the historical context that these conquests were made in and comparing it to other empires of those times, such as the British, it was the most humane. Ottoman Government infrastructure was unique in its time period, as it depended on the “Millet” System to house peoples of all kinds of ethnic as well as religious backgrounds.

As the Ottoman Empire continued weakening starting from 18th century onwards, different peoples within the Millet System were awakened, thanks to the European powers, to a more European idea of "nationhood" that had to do with self-determination. Various nation-states were born towards the end of the 19th century. The First World War resulted in a culmination of this severe collapse, where Armenian factions were also fighting to get their share of land in the eastern part of modern Turkey, which they called “Western Armenia”. War meant many civilian casualties, including many Muslims. Turks also rose to the occasion to defend themselves, as their people were suffering as well as others.

Mastering Anti-Turkism and Propaganda

Propaganda of astounding proportions was created by the invading countries to perpetuate the mythology of "Barbarian Turks". Christian missionaries as well as Western intellectuals have long written about non-Christians as well as indigenous populations of Africa as well as Asia, while stereotyping them as “savages”. The Turks have also been classified in this manner by Western accounts, and this type of myth making has been used as propaganda against the Ottoman Empire before and during the First World War.

Unfortunately, the Western Media today still falls pray to this perception of others as being “inferior” to themselves. Turkish people have received their share of the negative coverage throughout the mainstream media today.

Armenians today continue their insistence on racial stereotypes of Turks while justifying their hatred and defending genocidal viewpoints.

Ulterior Motives of Governments to Pass Genocide Resolutions and Oppressing Free Speech

There are many reasons why Western powers have historically backed and are still backing their Armenian constituents on this issue. First of all, the thesis of the Armenian Genocide fits perfectly with their self-interests. For one, it takes away their responsibility of having masterminded the Armenian Revolt. It also prevents Armenians from blaming the invading Western powers, specifically British and French as well as Russian, for betraying them in their rebellion against Ottoman forces in various provinces of Anatolia. It is a good method of washing their hands from the dirt and mud as well as blood so to speak.

Secondly, backing up Armenian claims brings Geo-political advantages to various European countries. For instance, it prevents today's Turkish Government from asserting its self-interest in the international arena. It serves as a form of blackmail in many issues concerning the Middle East, as well as serving to stall Turkish efforts of entering the European Union.

Therefore, given various historical, economic, strategic, and geo-political factors, there are very good reasons to think that Western powers are continuing to collude with Armenian lobbyists and extremists in order to stall pro-Turkish agendas, which also serves to provoke ultra-nationalistic reactions within the Turkish community.

Given that Switzerland and France have decided to take away freedom of speech of Turkish people and effectively prevented them from telling the Turkish narrative, it is not far-fetched to think that other countries or media organizations could do the same.

Forcing Genocide Belief Through Legislation Rather Than Courts

Armenian Diaspora hopes that passing laws in various parliaments could force Turkey to pay reparations in terms of land, thus the utopia of a “Western Armenia” could perhaps be realized. Armenians thus hope to obtain a land they failed to conquer in a past war at some negotiating table in the future.

There are also more practical aspects to passing genocide laws in all these countries.

The Western System of Jurisprudence requires Judiciary Process to determine guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Instead, Armenians Lobbyists prefer Legislative Processes within various countries to pass laws in their Parliaments in recognition of genocide. This process makes the recognition issue purely political and renders it the domain of experiences lobbyists as opposed to historians.

Bypassing the necessary International Tribunal Process (the Judiciary) in this fashion means that Turkey will never receive “due process” to defend herself against accusations of genocide. The Turkish Government insists on having a debate via a joint commission on this issue involving historians, lawyers, and real evidence by a careful evaluation of archives.

Passing laws in various parliaments may also help Armenian citizens of these countries to require payments from their respective governments’ treasuries. Money can be obtained in terms of tax refunds, insurance payments and government assistance, based on the recently accepted and official status of Armenians as children of “genocide victims”. There have already been cases where globally acclaimed insurance companies have paid considerable amounts of money in terms of insurance settlements to people of Armenian descent.

Armenian National Committee of America, the lobbying arm of Armenians in the United States, makes the following statement regarding the recent AXA and New York Life Insurance Company Settlements:

“While the AXA case is significant in that it recognizes the legitimacy of the insurance claims of Armenian Genocide victims, it is by no means related to any claims for the deaths, thefts, bodily harm, and real and personal property confiscations undertaken by the government of Ottoman Turkey and the Republic of Turkey between 1915 and 1923, the liability and responsibilities for which continue to be held by the modern day government of Turkey. Nor does the damages calculation assigned in this case relate in any way to those claims, which continue to remain outstanding.

The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) remains committed to ensuring that, in time, the Armenian people will receive the restitution they are owed from all those who unjustly profited, either directly or indirectly, from the Armenian Genocide.” <4>

Turkish people have also suffered immensely under similar conditions. Many were deported from their respective lands, deprived of their personal property and killed as well. Yet the Western perspective is not interested in the Turkish suffering. Thus many Turks find it difficult to defend themselves not only because of possible bullying and harassment, but also because of laws that increasingly prohibit an open discussion of this contentious moment in history.

In summary, while Turkey has been criticized for its freedom of speech issues, the Western as well as Armenian hypocrisy regarding this matter has not been analyzed or exposed.

Sources
1. The Full Story of the Fifty-Year Swiss-Nazi Conspiracy to Steal Billions from Europe's Jews and Holocaust Survivors By Tom Bower, HarperCollins Publishers, 1997 -
2. IHT Turkey - http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/09/news/turkey.php
3. EU France-Turkey Genocide Bill - http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/12/europe/EU_GEN_France_Turkey_Genocide_Bill.php
4. - http://www.anca.org/press_releases/press_releases.php?prid=821